Captain Atom #23 (December 1988)

Tags

Babylon, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dan Raspler, Dennis O'Neill, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Romeo Tanghal, Sgt Jeffrey "Gunner" "Gos" Goslin, Shelley Eiber, The Ghost

“Prey for the Dead”

Written by Cary Bates & Greg Weisman

Pencils by Pat Broderick

Inks by Romeo Tanghal

Colors by Shelley Eiber

Letters by Carrie Spiegle

Assistant Editor: Dan Raspler

Editor: Denny O’Neil

This issue begins with the murder of millionaire aircraft industrialist Martin Lockleed. He received a message, supposedly from Captain Atom, to meet him at one of his hangars at midnight. What actually met him there were uniformed mercenaries who surround him before identifying themselves as servants of the Faceless One. They use their shock batons and electrocute the wealthy man.

Later, at the Damon Clinic, Dr. Megala and Babylon approach Martin’s son, Homer, to give him the bad news. Megala gives Homer a copy of his father’s will, which hands the company over to Homer. Megala himself has been appointed Executive Officer of the Lockleed Corporation, until such time as Homer is deemed competent by his doctors. Homer was initially locked up because he stalked and kidnapped Peggy Eiling, pretending to be her believed-to-be-long-dead father Nathaniel Adam. Homer promptly eats the will.

Megala and Babylon take their leave of Homer, saddened by his mental state and sure he’ll never be able to run his father’s company.

Meanwhile, at a nice outdoor restaurant, Nate and Starshine are having lunch with Peggy and Goz when Peggy finally drops the bombshell that she and Goz are engaged. Nate is, of course, shocked by this news. She really wants her father’s blessing, but Nate is not yet ready to give it. He starts to voice his objection but a quick under-the-table kick from Starshine shuts him up. He says he needs time to let it sink in. When Peggy and Goz leave, Nate and Goz share a tense handshake.

After they are gone, Nate confides in his girlfriend that he’s uneasy about this union. He’s worried because Goz is twice his daughter’s age and black. I remember when I first read this back in the 80s and wishing Nate hadn’t mentioned the race thing. I can get onboard with him having a problem about the age difference (it is his only daughter, after all). But to bring race into it left a bad taste in my mouth even then. I suppose it was a different time and Nate himself was a product of 1950s America, but I just wish they had left that aspect of the relationship alone. And if I recall correctly, DC got hate mail for hooking Peggy up with a black man. So it was an issue for some reason back then and in some places still an issue today. Perhaps Bates and Weisman were being bold. I don’t know. I just feel it never should have been brought up.

Apparently, Peggy let her stepfather know about the engagement via a note taped to the refrigerator. That’s cold, Peggy. This man loved and raised you after your father died. He may be an evil sadistic control freak, but he was still your daddy. Eiling takes his aggression out on Allard.

At Lockleed Labs, Megala and Babylon are looking over the Stealthray prototype. It was a teleporter developed by Alec Rois. Rois, of course, is the Ghost (a.k.a the Faceless One), who faced off with Captain Atom and Nightshade. He is also a holdover from the 1960s Charlton Captain Atom series, where he butted heads with Captain Atom and Nightshade. Rois was supposedly killed in that skirmish and his stealthray teleporter was destroyed. We readers know better, of course.

A quick cut to an unknown airport shows some Hare Krishnas being accosted by followers of the Faceless One. It is a cute scene that does not progress the plot at all.

Nate goes to visit his wife Angela’s grave. He confides in her that he knows that Goz and Peggy’s union is a mistake. But he decides that it is time for him to step aside and let Peggy be a grown-up. He later confides in Dr. Megala, who tells him that their relationship may be difficult, but not insurmountable. If they truly love each other, they’ll be fine. I honestly didn’t realize Nate and Heinrich were this close. The reason for Nate’s visit to Megala is so he can use his quantum powers to help work on the stealthray prototype.

Meanwhile, the Faceless One’s followers are paying a visit to Megala’s home. They are turned away by Babylon, but the cultists are persistent. They push past him and use their shock batons on him. Since these batons killed Martin Lockleed, things aren’t looking too good for old Babylon.

Back at the lab, Megala has Eiling over for some reason. I would think the Air Force wouldn’t be overseeing this private-sector project, but Lockleed probably has a government contract. Megala tries to explain what he is doing, but Wade is just too distracted by the Peggy/Goz situation. Seems to me he and Nate should have a sit-down.

Just after Wade leaves, a figure appears from within the stasis pool Megala has been working on. It appears to be Alec Rois. Also as he appears, Megala is approached by someone off-panel who appear to be the followers of the Faceless One.

Back at the Damon Clinic, Peggy and Goz are visiting with Homer. He is far more animated with her than he was with Megala. And, considering that Homer tried to kidnap her, Peggy is a saint for visiting the man in the hospital. No wonder Goz is so enamored with her. Homer is led away by a nurse, prompting Peggy to say she feels sorry for him. His father never had time for him when he was alive and now Martin is gone forever.

Back at the lab, the Faceless One Cult are demanding that Megala continue his work and allow the Ghost to push through. Megala admits that it may be possible to save Rois from the quantum field some day but it would require more research. The cultists tell him to do it now or they will kill Babylon. I suppose he survived the shock that killed Martin because he is younger and stronger. Megala agrees, but needs to call in Captain Atom for assistance.

Nate says he can come help tomorrow but Megala freaks out and says it has to be now. The cultists say they’ll be in the next room with Babylon and if Heinrich makes one wrong move, his friend is dead. Captain Atom arrives and they get right to work. Megala tells him to increase the intensity of his quantum blasts, which Nate does. He doesn’t suspect anything is amiss. The increase in energy allows the Ghost to emerge from the quantum field.

Megala takes advantage of the distraction by attacking the cultists with a fire extinguisher. Cap blasts at the Ghost but his quantum powers appear to have no effect. Megala manages to untie Babylon and they retreat to the lab. Captain Atom and the Ghost continue to blast at each other but before things go critical and the lab is destroyed, Nate scoops up Babylon and Megala and flies them to safety. Rois did vanish before the explosion, but it is unclear if he was sucked back into the quantum field or he teleported out. The end.

Not bad for a little filler story. I like anything that connects DC’s Captain Atom to his Charlton roots. Plus, Pat once again brought his A-game. Tanghal really compliments his work. Although the cover is misleading, I give this book an A. I like this modern, more-powerful version of the Ghost. Now, if only we could get some more Nightshade guest appearances…

In the next issue, Captain Atom goes to war with the aliens in an Invasion crossover.

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Secret Origins #34 (December 1988)

Tags

Alan Weiss, Babylon, Buddy Larson, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, General Datko, General Eiling, Green Lantern (G'Nort), Greg Theakston, Greg Weisman, Harry Denison, Helen Vesik, Jerry Ordway, Joe Rubinstein, Matilda Denison, Modern Age Captain Atom, Rocket Red #4, Silver Age Captain Atom, Stove Datko, Theresa Delgado, Ty Templeton, Uri Voskof

“Yesterdays Once More”

Writers: Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
Pencils: Alan Weiss
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
Cover Artists: Jerry Ordway & Ty Templeton
Colors: Greg Theakston
Letters: Helen Vesik
Editor: Mark Waid
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

Secret Origins was an ongoing comic book series published by DC Comics from 1986 to 1990. It spanned a total of fifty individual issues as well as three annuals and one special. Unlike Secret Origins (Volume 1), this series did not rely on reprinted material, but provided new and sometimes updated origin stories based on the framework provided by their original authors. The initial format of the series focused on the history of a single character, alternating issues between Golden Age characters and Modern Age characters. Beginning with issue #6, the title changed to a double-sized format and featured at least two character stories per issue, one Golden Age tale, and one modern tale. Occasionally, the series would alter its format to accommodate multi-title tie-in stories including the Legends crossover event and the Millennium crossover event. With the exception of issues #32-35, each issue of Secret Origins was a self-contained comic with no lead-ins to previous or later issues. Secret Origins #32-35 was a multi-issue event chronicling the entire career of the Justice League of America and its various members. This issue featured the Modern Age Captain Atom, Rocket Red #4, and Green Lantern Gnort.

The cover art of this issue was fine. I found it nothing special. Jerry Ordway and Ty Templeton did a good job and I have nothing to complain about. It isn’t spectacular but it is by no means bad. I like the red eyes and the yellow energy aura surrounding Cap. I thought they were a nice touch. As far as action shots go, it isn’t astounding. Just three super-heroes flying out of a building.

The big payoff is inside!

The opening splash page of the Silver Age Captain Atom is beautiful. Alan Weiss really seems to have captured Steve Ditko’s essence. Cap even has the little stars following him! Unfortunately, there are places later in the story where the art was less than stellar.

I have one complaint about this page. Why is Pat Masulli given creator credit for Captain Atom? I’ve never seen him credited before. He was Executive Editor of Charlton Comics when Captain Atom first appeared in Space Adventures #33, so I suppose a case could be made. I’ve just never seen him credited as a creator. Oh, well. On with the story.

A group of people have gathered in a Las Vegas hotel conference room to discuss Captain Atom. They are calling themselves “Friends of the Captain,” and appear to be a support group for people who have interacted with Captain Atom in some way. They’re a fan club of super-hero groupies. They’re discussing their thoughts on Captain Atom’s “classic” costume when the youngest among them, Theresa Delgado, calls the “meeting” to order. Theresa, regular Captain Atom readers will know, is part of the Air Force’s “Captain Atom Project” PR team.

Theresa asks General Datko, an aging soldier, to share his story. His name being “Datko” was not lost on me, and I had to wonder if his first name was “Stove.” Datko holds up a screwdriver and says his Captain Atom story is probably the oldest one, as it is the origin story. He tells the story (sort of ripped from the pages of Space Adventures #33) of the young Air Force man trapped in an Atlas rocket after dropping a screwdriver inside minutes before the launch.

The fact that the airman got stuck in the rocket seconds before launch always seemed a bit hokey to me, but in this telling of the origin, it seems a bit more believable. The screwdriver bounces further into the rocket and he scrambles in deeper to recover it, becoming horribly stuck. He thought the ground crew knew he was still inside and wouldn’t launch. But, as in the original Gill/Ditko story, the ground crew realizes he’s still inside when it is too late and the rocket launches. Of course, the rocket detonates in the upper atmosphere and the airman is vaporized.

“Even though my head is smaller than my hand, I still love Captain Atom!”

Later, while glumly sitting in the dark, Stove Datko is contacted by the airman, who was able to survive the blast and return to Earth. “Maybe it was something in the mix of the atomic radiation and the cosmic rays… or maybe it was some unknown ‘X-factor’ that will never be found for sure. I didn’t know or care about the explanation,” finishes Datko. “All I knew was my friend was alive and back on the base that very night.”

Miss Delgado then introduces Buddy Larson, a folksy country boy. He says he owes his life to Captain Atom, and begins to share his story.

As a boy, Buddy was very sick. Doctors didn’t know exactly what he had, but knew he’d be dead within a week. Buddy mentions that his father was a n Air Force mechanic, and that is presumably how Captain Atom found out about his sickness. Cap shows up in Buddy’s hospital room, takes the boy by the hand, and abducts him.

The two fly off into space. Luckily, Buddy has a child-sized astronaut suit to wear as he rides Captain Atom’s back into outer space. They land on an asteroid and begin to play tag. What the kid didn’t know, but Captain Atom did, was that the asteroid’s radiation had healing properties that completely cured the boy.

This story was lifted from Space Adventures #40, and was titled “The Boy and the Stars.”

Theresa Delgado next gives the floor to Matilda and Harry Denison. Matilda tells a tale of she and her then-new husband Harry being lost at sea on the other side of the world in a life raft after their boat capsized. They drifted into a Naval atomic testing area and were in danger of being vaporized by a hydrogen bomb when Captain Atom appeared out of nowhere. They watched him come in as the bomb detonated. He scooped up their raft and flew them to the safety of a nearby resort island. He swore the Denisons to secrecy, promising that they would be able to tell their story one day.

The last speaker introduced is a Russian cosmonaut named Uri Voskoff. Twenty-five years earlier, the guidance system on his orbiting spacecraft failed and he began to spiral towards the planet’s surface. Out of his window, he sees Captain Atom grab hold of the craft and guide it safely to the spot where it was intended to splash down.

Uri says that Captain Atom revealed himself to the Soviets only because he knew they’d never admit their cosmonaut was rescued by an American super-hero. This part of the story is a paraphrased version of “The Second Man in Space,” which appeared in Space Adventures #34.

Miss Delgado excuses herself and goes into an adjoining room, where General Eiling and Dr. Megala were watching the meeting through a two-way mirror. The two are not happy with the performance they just witnessed. Of course, the story of Captain Atom gaining his powers in a NASA mishap and being a super-hero in secret for years was a lie. All of the speakers at the Friends of Captain Atom meeting are paid actors. And the General and Megala found inconsistencies in their stories.

Eiling suggests changing Buddy’s story from being flown to the asteroid belt to being flown to the Arctic, where he was exposed to healing radiation. He suggests changing the Denison’s story and having Cap approach from a different direction, as they would have been blinded if they watched him come from the direction of the blast. Eiling also suggests they change Uri’s story so that Captain Atom releases the capsule’s parachute and can remain unseen by everyone except Uri. Lastly, he orders “Datko” to lose the screwdriver prop.

“But, General! It distracts people from my disproportionately small head!”

Dr. Megala finds the whole charade distasteful, prompting General Eiling to very breifly sum up Captain Atom’s “real” origin story (from Captain Atom #1).

Nathaniel Adam, an Air Force Captain, was a condemned traitor who volunteered to be the test subject in a government experiment. Megala and Eiling detonated an atom bomb under him to see if an alien metal would protect him. The metal not only protected Nate, but bonded with him and transported him 18 years into the future and endowed him with amazing powers.

Megala leaves in a huff. Miss Delgado hands the actors their new scripts and they run through their parts again.

Now, knowing what I know about Wade Eiling, after all these actors get their parts right and have them recorded for posterity, they are all going to be killed. With the possible exception of Theresa Delgado, these peoples’ days are numbered. Eiling does not like loose ends.

I give this story an A. Bates and Weismann were writing the regular Captain Atom series at the time, so this fits right in within the continuity. And I definitely liked all the nods to Steve Ditko’s original stories. And it was great to see Cap back in his yellow suit.  The art, however, was not the best. After a really promising start, things went a bit “Liefeld.” Alan Weiss did some work for DC Comics and Marvel in the 70s-80s, but not a long run on any one book. Joe Rubinstein, who inked this issue, said of Alan Weiss, he was “the most difficult guy in the business to ink, without exception.” He went on to say he really liked inking Weiss’ pencils. I guess you had to be there. It isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen and perhaps Weiss was under some pressure to meet a deadline. I give the art a D, making this adventure of Captain Atom a C.

Captain Atom next appears in Justice League International #20.

I discussed this issue of Secret Origins on Ryan Daly’s Secret Origins Podcast on 4/18/2016. Although I was a bit hard on Alan Weiss, Ryan did open my eyes to how good Weiss could be with inanimate objects. Check out this image below as an example:

The tubes and wires and whatnot of the rocket really do look great and adds to the whole claustrophobic nature of the scene.

(All characters and images belong to DC Comics and I am not making any profit off this blog.)

Silver and Gold Episode 07: Missing In Action!

Tags

Anton Sarrock, Augustin Mas, Aunt Jeanie, Babylon, Blackguard, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dirk Davis, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Homer Lockleed, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Martin Lockleed, Mike DeCarlo, Mindancer, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Skeets, The Director, Thorn, Trixie Collins

This time out, Jay and Roy review Booster Gold (vol 1) #4 by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, and Augustin Mas. Thorn, Booster, and Skeets battle Mindancer, Blackgaurd, and the 1,000. Then we review Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #4 by Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, and Augustin Mas. Nathaniel Adam is finally reunited with his daughter after his 18-year-absence. Plus, scads of your listener feedback!

Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Peaches – The Presidents of the United States of America
Silver and Gold – Pee Wee King

Direct Link.

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Check out or tumblr page for images from this issue.

Captain Atom #18 (August 1988)

Tags

Babylon, Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Colonel Uber, Dr. Megala, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Major Force, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Master Militarius, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Shelley Eiber

“Power Play”

• Writers:  Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
• Pencils:  Pat Broderick
• Inks:  Bob Smith
• Colors:  Shelley Eiber
• Letters:  Duncan Andrews

This issue was published in May of 1988.  It opens with General Eiling paying a visit Dr. Megala.  He demands that Megala quit “playing sick” and gets back to the base.  Eiling wants Megala on hand for the launch of something called the Force-One.  Megala points out he is convalescing and that he is no longer needed for the Force-One project anyway.  Eiling tries to convince him that he needs to come because the Force-One is a vital key to keeping Major Force in check.  The General leaves, meeting Allard outside with a chopper.  Allard asks if there is any improvement in Megala’s condition.  Eiling says Megala feels guilt over unleashing Major Force on the world.  More likely, he feels guilt over the government’s treatment of Nate and could care less about Clifford Zmeck.

Later, as Nate tries to wrap a gift, he receives a call for help from a Colonel Uber.  It seems that Eiling’s helicopter never made it back to base.  Uber, fully aware of Nate’s secret identity, is asking for Captain Atom’s help finding the General.  Nate is not amused.

Back at the base, it seems Megala decided to come in after all. He says it was the General’s “pep talk” that brought him in.  Noticing a glitch, he goes up into the gantry to repair the faulty Force-One.

Later, Nate presents Peggy with the birthday gift he bought her: a bracelet she’s had her eye on for a while.  Peggy begins to cry because this is the first birthday Eiling hasn’t called her since he became her stepfather.  Not expecting this guilt trip, Nate drops in on his ex-wife Angela after dropping Peggy off.  Of course, Angela has been dead for a few years so he visits her at the cemetary.  He still doesn’t understand why she married Eiling after his own “death,” but concedes that he was a good father and must have been a good husband.  He drops flowers on her grave and tells her he knows what she’d want him to do.

Cut to some place completely dark where Eiling and Allard are being held.  Allard lights a match, but visibility is near zero.  We get a rare glimpse of Eiling’s human side when allard apologizes for passing out and the General says there no shame in it; he passed out himself.

Back at the base, Captain Atom shows up with Eiling’s crashed helicopter.  He found in on the north face of Wiley’s Peak.  Colonel uber appreciates Cap’s help but when pressed, Nate refuses to tell him why he changed his mind.  Uber theorizes that the General was kidnapped by Major Force, who has been AWOL for ten days.  The Major has strayed 200 miles outside of their sensor range.  Uber explains that Megala’s Satellite (set to launch that night), the Force One, will fix that glitch and give the military constant tabs on Force.

All the while Cap and Uber are talking we see Megala hard at work on his rocket.  Atom flies off to continue his search for General Eiling.

Eiling and Allard manage to burst out of their dark cell.  Allard is convinced that Major Force is their captor, but the General is not so sure. Allard recall nozzles coming out of the helicopter’s control panel and shooting nerve gas at them.  Eiling says the gas only could have been put in at Megala’s retreat.  The evidence doesn’t add up to Major Force.  Eiling can recall seeing someone beat their downed helicopter with an iron mallet before passing out.

Just then, a television mounted on the ceiling outside their cell comes to life and General Eiling meets his kidnapper.

 “Master Militarius,” according to Allard, was one of the villains Captain Atom fought while he was working in secret (the “Big Lie” – Nate’s cover story).  Whomever this is, they most likely know Cap’s cover is a lie.  Allard and Eiling don’t have a chance to work this out.  A cannon emerges from the walls and begin to shoot bouncy black balls around the room.  The two captors use the wooden door of their cell as a shield, but the balls begin to smash it to bits.  Clearly Master Militarius means to kill them or do serious bodily harm to them.  The two prisoners use the door to jam the cannon, which destroys it.  They go into the next room, the room that housed the cannon, only to find another monitor.  Master Militarius tells them that the entire house was recently renovated with booby traps.  Allard hears rushing water.  The room begins to fill with water while back at the base Uber continues with the countdown for Megala’s rocket.

General Eiling and Allard duck under the water.  Eiling finds a weak spot in the wall where the wood had been rotting and shoves his weight into it.  The two captors burst out of the room, and completely out of the house onto a tranquil hillside.  Eiling thinks their escape was too easy.  He finds Militarius’ costume in some nearby bushes along with a note warning him that he’s in danger of being listed as AWOL.  Allard points out the launch of Megala’s rocket in the distance.

As the two hike back to base, we see Babylon hiding in the bushes wearing Militarius’ coat.

Later, back at the base, Eiling confronts Megala.  He has figured out that it was Babylon that kidnapped him on orders from the doctor.  Megala explained that he needed Eiling out of the way while he added something special to the satellite’s payload.  There is a monitor connected to a device in the rocket. At the point of Megala’s death, a message will be broadcast to the world by the satellite.  The message will expose the truth about Captain Atom and expose Eiling’s involvement.  It is Megala’s insurance policy (Eiling has tried to have the doctor killed at least once before).

Captain Atom appears, with a very drunk Major Force in tow.  He found the Major stinking drunk in the Swiss Alps, and returned him to Eiling as a favor to the Swiss people.

The issue charmingly ends with Major Force puking on General Eiling’s shoes.

This was not my favorite issue of Captain Atom.  There was not a lot of super-heroing going on.  While I do like to see Nate’s human life, I’m not overly fond of Eiling-heavy stories.  And Allard is such a dork, I wonder how he ever rose so high.  Also, Babylon’s deathtraps really could have killed Eiling and Allard.  Like dead for realsies.  Is that really the kind of guys Babylon and Megala are?  The art was great, though.  Pat Broderick was doing great.  I give this issue an A for art and a C+ for story.

(All characters and images belong to DC Comics and I am not making any profit off this blog.)

 

Captain Atom #16 (June 1988)

Tags

Babylon, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Doctor Spectro, Dr. Megala, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, Major Force, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Mister Miracle, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Red Tornado, Shelly Eiber, Starshine Stone, Swamp Thing

“The Big Blowout”

• Writers:  Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
• Pencils:  Pat Broderick
• Inks:  Bob Smith
• Colors:  Shelley Eiber
• Letters:  Duncan Andrews

This issue hit the stands on March 1, 1988.  This issue featured Cap’s JLI friends and his first meeting with Red Tornado.

When this issue opens, General Eiling and Dr. Megala are looking at images of Captain Atom taking a beating from Major Force (from the last issue) and discussing whether or not Force should be reprimanded.  Dr. Megala thinks he should be, but Eiling says that since Nate quit the Air Force, he had that beating coming to him.  Megala warns that if the surveillance video of the fight ever gets out, it would be devastating to their project.  Eiling says that isn’t a concern; he is having Allard wipe the tapes.  He begins to wheel Megala out of his command room, but is intercepted by Babylon.  Allard reports that Major Force is again under control as Babylon wheels Megala away, and Megala continues to beat himself up over the mess he’s gotten Nathaniel Adam into.

Back in his apartment, Nate has made the discovery that bruises acquired in his metal exo-shell also appear on his human non-super-hero face.

Nate is upset that he couldn’t stay away from Major Force and Dr. Spectro.  Upon leaving his apartment (wearing dark sunglasses and a fedora to hide his bruises), Nate discovers an eviction notice on his apartment door.  He pawns his watch for $375.  As he walks home contemplating his bills, Nate discovers a business called “Mellow Yellows.”  The sign outside declares it an “authentic 60s nostalgia outlet,” and that they buy and sell memorabilia.

Inside Mellow Yellows, two boys are arguing about the first astronaut to go up in a Gemini capsule.  One says it was John Glenn, the other insists it was Gus Grissom.  Nate cuts in and says it was actually Alan Shepard and that the model the two are arguing over is of a Mercury capsule, not Gemini.  The owner of the business comes over and introduces herself as Starshine Stone.  Nate introduces himself as Cameron Scott and asks how much she’ll give him for an authentic JFK keyring from the 1960 presidential campaign.  She offers him $250 and then tells Nate if he can answer four more “vintage questions,” she’ll pay him double.

Of course, Nate wins the wager.  After all, it was the 1960s just a year or so ago for him.  After a little shameless flirting with Starshine, he leaves the store with his slightly-ill-gotten $500.

The story cuts to a couple of freaked-out meteorologists (probably at the National Weather Service).  They are very worried about a storm brewing off the Eastern seaboard of the United States, from the Gulf of Mexico as far north as Washington, DC.  Not only is the storm massive, but one of the meteorologists thinks it is alive.  He warns his coworker that they must notify the Governor, the National Guard, and the Justice League.

At the JLI New York Embassy, Blue Beetle is on monitor duty when the warning comes through.

Beetle assembles the Justice League.  Mister Miracle, Black Canary, and Booster Gold come running.  The hurricane is somehow “saying” that it has a duty to cleanse the Earth.  With Blue Beetle as acting leader, the JLI piles into the shuttle and heads towards the eye of the storm.  As they approach, some relief workers on the ground who are busy piling sandbags hear the “voice of the storm.”  It says, “I descend upon the Earth to rid it of the impurities which have tainted its skies for so long! For I am the elemental of the air!”  This is the first mention of elementals in the pages of Captain Atom, and it is an important theme throughout the title’s run.

On the shuttle, Black Canary recognizes the voice of the storm as that of her old team-mate Red Tornado.  She uses her sonic scream to communicate with the Red Tornado elemental/hurricane.  In response, the storm blasts the shuttle, sending its occupants flying about the cabin.  A giant cloud hand grabs the shuttle and places it on the ground outside the storm’s radius.  The JLI emerges from the ship and the face of Red Tornado appears in the clouds and addresses them.

He warns that if they try and interfere again, he will kill them.   Blue Beetle calls for backup, which means Cap’s pager goes off just as he is buzzing Peggy and Goz up to his apartment.  He leaves his friend and daughter a hastily scrawled note of apology and jumps out the window on his way to the storm in Louisiana.

The JLI has their hands full saving civilians on the ground and have just about given up hope that their backup will arrive when Captain Atom arrives on the scene.  They brief Cap on the situation and point out how dangerously close the storm is to the Langley Nuclear Reactor Plant.  Beetle doesn’t believe Cap is up to the task of fighting Red Tornado (based on the bruises on his face), but Cap ignores him and flies towards the storm.

Red Tornado knocks Cap into the Gulf of Mexico, but the hero doesn’t stay down.  He returns to the storm and begins circling it at a rapid speed.  He draws energy from the quantum field to create a counter-vortex that deflects the storm from the path of the nuclear plant.  The storm is diverted over a nearby swamp, where the battle is watched by an angry Swamp Thing.

To be continued next issue.  So we have the earth elemental, the air elemental, and Captain Atom facing off in the next issue.  It promises to be an epic battle.

This wasn’t a spectacular story.  I do like Blue Beetle’s mistrust of Captain Atom for no particular reason that is hinted at in this story, though.  I never cared much for Starshine Stone, either.  I don’t know why she bugs me.  I give it the story B-.  But Pat Broderick and Bob Smith have knocked it out of the park again. A for art.

Captain Atom #10 (December 1987)

Tags

Anton Sarrock, Babylon, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, Dr. Mortimer, Duncan Andrews, Francis Travis, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Harry Hadley, Homer Lockleed, Martin Allard, Pat Broderick, Sissy Housten

“Wish You Were Here…”

• Writers:  Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
• Pencils:  Pat Broderick
• Inks:  Bob Smith
• Colors:  Carl Gafford
• Letters:  Duncan Andrews

Okay, it is right there on the cover.  This may be an issue of Captain Atom but Captain Atom isn’t in this issue.  It is an indirect tie-in with the Millennium crossover event and Bates & Weisman used the absence of the main character to flesh out some of the subplots.

This issue came out September 29, 1987, which was the same week as Millennium #3 but the action takes place prior to (or during) Millennium #1.

It begins in a spa or gym.  Babylon is working out while Dr. Megala chills out in the hot tub.  Babylon is telling Megala an off-color joke that he attributes to Nathaniel Adam, (who really really isn’t in this book).  He says Nate has a new joke for him every time they meet up and he suggests that Captain Atom host Saturday Night Live.  Megala advises Babylon not to mention that in front of Nate, as he just might be interested in doing it.

As Megala and Babylon chat about Nate, two assistants come in and hoist Megala out of the hot tub.  Babylon, unaware of this, is left in the spa alone, talking to himself.

Back in his lab, Dr. Megala is recording some data, getting ready to run some experiments on Captain Atom.  Babylon enters, still sweaty from his workout, and tells Megala that Captain Atom won’t be available.  Megala delivers a weak pun.

What Megala is unaware of is that Captain Atom has been holed up in the New York embassy of Justice League International with the rest of the team.  Although it has been in all the papers, Megala is completely oblivious.

Elsewhere, journalist Sissy Housten is thinking of her friend and fellow journalist Mabel Ryan, who has been missing for five months.  The last person to see her alive was Tom Emory (aka Dr. Spectro) and swears she was alive and well (in truth, Emory killed Mabel).  Sissy’s “Deep Throat” contact at the Pentagon calls her up and says she has info on Mabel and it isn’t good news.  They agree to meet at a parking garage.

Later, Babylon is driving Megala to visit his friend Anton Sarrock.  He is trying to cheer Megala up, but the doctor’s mind is on Captain Atom and the Justice League.  They arrive at the Damon Clinic where Megala is greeted by Dr. Mortimer as a former patient.  Babylon has to surrender his revolver.  Mortimer tells them Sarrock is catatonic, and has been for a year… since Nate emerged from his quantum time-travel trip.

Another patient, Homer Lockleed, is mopping the hallway as Mortimer, Babylon, and Megala pass through.  I’d wondered what happened to him since he tried to kidnap Nate’s daughter Peggy.  Using the pretense of asking for some magazines, Homer approaches a security guard and clocks him in the face with the icky end of his mop.

In Sarrock’s room, Babylon and Megala discuss their friend as he stares at cartoons on his TV.  He was once one of the most brilliant astrophysicists in the country before suffering a nervous breakdown.  Dr. Megala believes that Sarrock’s relapse is a result of Megala not being around all the time.  This is a great failing of Heinrich Megala.  He seems blind to the fact that Sarrock’s mental problems are tied in with the alien metal that coats Nathaniel Adam.  It doesn’t all click into place for him until Silver Shield shows up, in Captain Atom #35.  But that’s two years away.

Homer enters the room and shoots out the TV with Babylon’s gun.  An orderly jumps at Homer and the gun goes off again.

At the Pentagon, Martin Allard and Harry Hadley show up for the unveiling of a Justice League “strategy room.”  There are images of JLI members on the wall with “risk codes.”  Blue Beetle and Black Canary are green, Batman is orange, and Rocket Red #7 and Guy Gardner are red.  Hadley mentions that he was the one who subdued Captain Atom with a gas that he synthesized (and will be used to subdue Atom’s “successor”).  The man in charge of this room, Lieutenant Eliot, reveals that Captain Atom was placed with the JLI as a spy.  Allard says the collected data will be extremely valuable to the U.S. government (“Among other organizations,” thinks Hadley.).  Hadley excuses himself for another appointment.

Back at the Damon Clinic, Homer banishes Babylon and an orderly from the ward.  Babylon is carrying another orderly; the man Homer shot.  Babylon warns Homer that if he hurts anyone else, he’ll come down on him so hard it will kill his family.  This causes Homer to rant about his “wife/daughter” Peggy.  Police and paramedics show up and Babylon loads the wounded orderly into an ambulance.  Hearing the police argue, Babylon realizes it will be up to him to save Megala.

The police call Homer (this is a full-blown hostage situation now).  Homer demands that he be allowed to speak to his father.  He also wants to see his “wife,” Margaret Eiling-Lockleed, and his “daughter,” Peggy.  Homer is seriously unhinged.  In the hospital, Megala thinks of Homer as “another Damon Clinic failure,” like Sarrock or himself.  He clings to the vain hope that Nathaniel will sweep in and rescue him.

I didn’t see this before, but I think it is possible that Heinrich Megala is in love with Nathaniel Adam.

Sissy meets with her shadowy “deep throat” contact.  He hands her a package, and she takes it and gets in her car.  She opens the package, which turns out to be a bomb.  Her contact turns out to be none other than Harry Hadley.

Hadley is a Manhunter.  They are the primary villains in the Millennium crossover event.  He’s been spying on Captain Atom all this time on behalf of his masters.

Back at the Damon Clinic, Babylon uses a grapple to get to the roof.  The police see what he’s up to but don’t know who he is.  Inside, another inmate tells Megala he wishes Anton were there mentally instead of just physically.  Megala recounts a time when Anton helped another inmate; himself.  Megala talks and talks, but (as another inmate points out) it makes no difference.  Anton Sarrock is totally checked out. Down on the ground, the police realize Babylon is on the roof.  The officer in charge, Francis Travis, radios his man on the roof.  But it is too late.  Babylon clocks the roof cop from behind.

Homer tells Travis (via phone) that if his demands aren’t met, he’s going to start killing people, starting with the cripple in the wheelchair (Megala).  Megala rushes Homer, who shoots him.  Homer barks into the phone, “You see?  You made me kill the cripple!”  Babylon hears this and freaks out.

Travis says that Margaret Eiling is willing to come down and talk to Homer but they couldn’t find his daughter Peggy.  Homer says if Peggy isn’t there in two minutes he will kill everyone.  He begins counting down from 120.  The other inmates right Megala’s chair (Megala is fine).  A voice calls out to Homer, telling him to stop counting.  Homer ignores this.  Then the voice says it more forcefully.  It is Anton Sarrock.

Homer stops counting.  Sarrock tells his fellow inmates that they must help Homer.  He slows Homer down, but the crazed fellow still says he’s going to kill everyone; that it is too late.  That is when Babylon crashes in through the window armed with a machine gun and disarms Homer, saying it is never too late.

Babylon and Megala welcome Sarrock back to reality.  In the background, a TV plays a news report about the JLI emerging from their embassy.  The reporter goes to interview Captain Atom just when a hospital staff member turns the TV off.

This was good.  By no means my favorite issue of the series, but I like that they let the subplots breathe.  We learn a little sliver more about Megala.  Not a lot, but more will trickle out over the next few years.  The art is good, but nothing spectacular.  Pat Broderick at his worst is still better than some.  I’d say overall this issue of Captain Atom is a B.

Captain Atom #8 (October 1987)

Tags

Babylon, Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Plastique, Randall Eiling/Randy Adam, Ronald Reagan, The Cambodian

“Live or Let Die?”

• Writer:  Cary Bates
• Pencils:  Pat Broderick
• Inks:  Bob Smith
• Colors:  Carl Gafford
• Letters:  Duncan Andrews

The first thing to strike me about this book is the cover.  It is an homage to Michelangelo’s Pietà sculpture housed in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.  The statue depicts Mary holding Jesus after he has been crucified.  In this case it is Plastique holding Captain Atom after he has been cut open by the Cambodian.  This touches on a running theme with this incarnation of Captain Atom; he was raised Catholic.  That really comes in to play heavily about thirty issues down the line.  We’ll get there.

As this is a continuation from Captain Atom #7, we are treated with a quick refresher.  Cap is passed out after releasing a bunch of energy from his cut.  Plastique is standing over him, contemplating killing him.

Plastique refers to Captain Atom as the only man who has bested her in a fight.  Is she forgetting Firestorm?  Or does he not count because Ronnie Raymond is a teenager?  Probably she just has a very selective memory.

As she stands over Cap, savoring this moment when she will kill him, a group of armed Cambodians in red shirts and caps emerge from the jungle and approach the Samurai.  He comes to and orders his men to kill Plastique and Captain Atom.  They open fire, but Plastique quickly picks up Cap’s unconscious body and uses him as a shield.

Plastique kills the soldiers with her pink energy blast but the Cambodian is protected by his X-Ionized shield and armor.  She uses her blasts to topple a tree on top of the Cambodian, the picks up Captain Atom’s inert body and carries him deeper into the jungle.

Meanwhile, in General Eiling’s office, he and his stepson Randall are playing chess.  Randy wins just as his tearful sister Peggy bursts in and throws her jacket at the board.  She is upset that Randy and the General don’t care that Captain Scott (aka her father Nathaniel Adam) hasn’t been heard from.  Eiling tries to calm her, but she knows neither the General nor her brother give a damn about Nate.  Randy catches her in the hallway after she storms out and hands her a transcript of Nate’s trial.  He wants her to read it cover-to-cover to find out “exactly what kind of man Nathaniel Adam really was.”

Now, I may be reading too much into this, but Randy’s use of the word “was” seems to indicate – on some level – that he may think his father isn’t the criminal he always believed he was.  Like a part of him desperately wants to believe Nate has or can redeem himself.  I’m probably stretching here.  I really want to like Randy but Cary Bates isn’t making it easy.

Back in Cambodia, every time Plastique stops to rest she notices that Captain Atom’s condition seems to have worsened.  He’s feverish and his wound appears to be bubbling with what looks like lava.  She has no idea what to do for him.  Why does she care?  Perhaps she sees him as her only way out of the jungle.

She finds shelter in a cave just in time to miss a downpour.  She doesn’t think Captain Atom will live through the night.  She watches him sleep, wondering if there is anything she can do about his wound.  She finally decides to attempt using her own powers and cauterize the cut and burn away any infected tissue.  She does so, causing Captain Atom to sit up and scream in pain and revert to his human appearance.

Plastique recognizes Cameron Scott, but already suspected he was Captain Atom.  As he lays there, curled in the fetal position and naked, Plastique approaches him with her right hand charging with power.  She hates both Cameron Scott and Captain Atom.  Now would be a prime time to kill him, in his weakened human form.  She flashes back to a time after her last encounter with Cap.

She was being transferred from Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana to a maximum security prison in Ontario.  The transport was ambushed and Plastique was freed by her comrades, who then dissolve their relationship with her.  That is why she put her terrorist skills on the open market and how she came to be in Cambodia.

Nate awakens the next day, surprised to find himself with Plastique.  He is equally shocked when he realizes he is naked and that she knows his secret identity.  She outfits him with a stolen Cambodian uniform and they begin trekking through the jungle.  She explains that she kept him alive because she knows he is an expert on the Cambodian terrain (she learned this when watching his group and reading their lips).  As they hike along, Nate tells her she knows what he must do once he is strong enough to transform again.  While she doesn’t admire his directness, she is glad she kept him alive.  They make good time.

As they climb the Dangrek Mountains, Nate tells her they’ll be in Thailand soon.  Plastique then decides she will kill him.  But she loses her footing and slips, nearly falling over a cliff.  Nate catches her by the wrist and hangs on, halting her fall.  He can’t keep hold of her without transforming and she warns him this might rip open his wound.

Disregarding the consequences, he transforms and lifts her up.  The wound didn’t open.  Captain Atom says, apart from a little numbness, he feels fine.  He seems to be able to heal at a rapid rate (New power!).  Plastique decides it would not be prudent to kill him now, but will wait until they are out of Cambodia.  They continue hiking (But why?  Can’t he just fly them out now?).

Just as Plastique is preparing to attack, Captain Atom sees something behind her and pushes her to safety. It is the Samurai (the Cambodian), who narrowly misses taking Plastique’s head off.  Cap dropkicks him, but he regains his balance using his sword and amazing reflexes.  The Cambodian smacks Cap in the face with his shield.  He blasts back but the shield protects the warlord.  Plastique decides now would be a good time to head for Thailand.

Captain Atom jumps and narrowly misses being cut in half, but the Cambodian grabs his ankle and slams him to the ground, dazing Cap.  As the Cambodian prepares to slice Cap in half from the rear, Cap reaches back and blasts him in the face with two-fisted quantum fury.  The Cambodian goes down, but one of his soldiers emerges from the jungle and opens fire.  Plastique returns and takes the soldier out before he can hit Cap’s wound and reopen it.  The two hightail it to Thailand.

Back stateside, Eiling is receiving his third star from none other than President Reagan.  Babylon and Dr. Megala are in attendance as well, though they don’t seem pleased.

Megala and his assistant feel Eiling’s third star is not deserved.  Babylon notices that Randy and Peggy have ducked out of the ceremony early.

Randy is upset with his sister because she maintains her father’s innocence even after reading the transcript.  She says all it did was strengthen her belief that someone framed Nathaniel Adam.  She throws the report at her brother and storms away.

In a little Thai village, Nate meets up with Goz, who was waiting for his friend’s arrival.  Plastique blends in with the villagers, but not before Goz spots her.  Nate pretends he doesn’t see Plastique.  Goz isn’t buying this and disapproves but lets it go.  The two soldiers board a helicopter and fly away, watched by Plastique.

This was a fun (if wordy) issue.  Not a lot of action but what is there is splendid.  The Cambodian, with his X-Ionized sword and lightning-quick reflexes, is a worthy adversary for Captain Atom.  And I really like the vulnerability Cap showed (not that he had much choice; he was unconscious through most of the book).  And the stage has been set for a few interesting things to be resolved (Randy’s devotion to Eiling, Peggy’s devotion to Nate, and the uneasy alliance between Plastique and Captain Atom).  Cary Bates told a good tale and managed to make Plastique a lot less two-dimensional.  And Pat Broderick knocked it out of the park with the cover alone.  A+

Captain Atom #5 (July 1987)

Tags

Augustin Mas, Babylon, Bob Le Rose, Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Doctor Spectro, Dr. Megala, Firestorm, General Eiling, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, Mabel Ryan, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick

“The Return of Dr. Spectro”

• Writer: Cary Bates
• Pencils: Pat Broderick
• Inks: Bob Smith
• Colors: Bob Le Rose
• Letters: Agustin Mas

This issue opens with journalist Mabel Ryan reading an article about Captain Atom to her publisher.  It is the story of Captain Atom (in his Bronze Age costume) fighting Doctor Spectro for the final time.  Of course, the story is totally bogus because Dr. Spectro and the Bronze Age Captain Atom are fabrications created by Eiling and his cohorts.  In the article (from a magazine or book entitled “Captain Atom Tells His Story”), just as it appears Spectro is getting the best of Cap, he goes nuclear and blows up Spectro’s base.  Cap sees Spectro escape in some sort of capsule and he is never heard from again.  Mabel is trying to convince her publisher to let her go out in search of Spectro.

Mabel says to her publisher (Walter) that Captain Atom has become a hot media property, joining the ranks of “…Max Headroom, Eddie Murphy, and Crocodile Dundee.”  Oh, brother.  What horribly dated references.  Well, it was 1987.

Back at the base, Dr. Megala is explaining to Nate what we’ve all already figured out.  When he absorbs too much energy (as he did in issue 3), he will be bumped forward in time equal to the amount of energy he has absorbed (what a crappy power).  He advises Cap to exercise moderation.  Nate, meanwhile, is playing with a yo-yo.

Babylon comes in with orders for Cap from Eiling.  Nate says he is on leave still and plans to take Peggy to the carnival.  Babylon chucks the orders as Nate leaves, much to the pleasure of Dr. Megala.  Nobody likes General Eiling.

Meanwhile, at a government building in downtown Washington, DC, Mabel has gotten a friend to pull some strings and is searching through a national database.  She won’t say what she is looking for, and instructs that the program they are running be deleted when they are done.

At the carnival, Nate and Peggy are riding kiddy rides with Goz.  When Nate goes for cotton candy, Peggy confides in Goz that her dad is sort of treating her like a kid.  He gave her the yo-yo.  She says her father seems oblivious to the fact that she is only five years younger than him.  Goz tells her to give Nate time, that her dad is still adjusting to his new world and life.  It is pretty clear that Nate told Goz and Peggy about the time-jump, but probably left out the Captain Atom part.  Goz sees another Airman at the carnival (he assumes the guy is looking for Cap) and excuses himself to go talk to the man.

When Nate rejoins Peggy, he asks after Randy.  He says whenever he brings his son up, Peggy changes the subject.  She says it is nonsense and quickly changes the subject.  A barker interrupts them and suggests Nate try and win a prize for his lovely girlfriend.  This pisses Nate off, but Peggy seems slightly amused.  Ew.

Meanwhile, Goz intercepts the Airman and takes Cap’s orders, promising to deliver them (he outranks the courier).  Then Goz slips into a photo booth and uses a little spy camera to snap some pics of Cap’s orders before delivering them to Nate.  Seems sketchy.  What’s he up to?

Later, in a “small midwestern town,” Mabel comes across a man named Tom Emery at a pool hall.  I’d like to know what is going on there, but we cut back to Nate and Peggy, who are visiting Angela’s grave.  Nate says he misses his wife, and doesn’t understand why she married Eiling.  Neither do I, Nate.

Goz makes his ill-gotten photos into slides and studies them.  Nate’s orders are written in a code that hasn’t been used since before the Vietnam War.  Goz is confident he can decode the message, and then “…I’ll know for sure if my gut is right about you.”

Back in the “small midwestern town,” Mabel is sitting in a poorly-lit office with Tom Emery (he appears to be the owner of the pool hall).  She explains how she used her government connections to create a database of people who could be Dr. Spectro.  She said that the top of the list was Roy G. Bivolo, the Rainbow Raider.  However, Bivolo was in prison at the time of Captain Atom’s last battle with Dr. Spectro.

But, Mabel says, Bivolo had a lab assistant who suddenly came into money a few years back and paid off all his debts.  A lab assistant named – yup, you guessed it – Tom Emery.  Emery tells Mabel that anyone who puts on a costume is a freak and tells her to get out.

Firestorm was on the cover of this issue.  He is in this comic, isn’t he?

On her way out, Mabel mentions the $50,000 advance her publisher gave her for Tom’s story.  This piques Tom’s interest, and the two of them drive off to his house (Tom makes sure she has a cashier’s check first).  During the drive, he comes clean about Dr. Spectro; that it was Tom, using Bivolo’s old equipment.  Of course, we know this can’t be true.  Dr. Spectro was made up, wasn’t he?

Later, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, Captain Atom is on hand at the unveiling of a new plane.  There is a crowd of civilians watching, one of whom really seems to dislike Captain Atom.
Who is this brown-haired fellow who so dislikes Cap?  I would say it is Ronnie Raymond (AKA Firestorm), but Ronnie is a redhead.

Back at Tom’s place, he is showing off his equipment and telling Mabel “his story.”  He claims that he didn’t go in for goofy costumes or aliases because that just attracted attention from super-heroes.  Then he found out about a “secret” super-hero named Captain Atom.

Back at Wright-Patt, the demonstration of the “Vanquisher” goes on.  The general who is hosting the event describes the plane’s revolutionary automated guidance system, the new “Smart-A-Z-Z” (real subtle, Mr. Bates).  Just then, someone launches a heat-seeking missile at the Vanquisher.

The crowd panics.  The young man who has a hate-on for Captain Atom sees that Cap isn’t springing to action.  He decides to take matters into his own hands.
He transforms into Firestorm (pulling his cohort Martin Stein away from a delicious hoagy).  Finally, the Nuclear Man is on the scene.  Captain Atom quickly flies off after Firestorm, leaving Goz (whose presence here makes no sense and is mis-colored as a white guy) to observe “…these two are going to mix about as well as oil and lemonade.”

Cap tries words first.  Let it be known he didn’t start this.  He tells Firestorm to stand down.  Firestorm says Cap is afraid folks will see him for the “silver-plated phoney” he really is.  Stein (who is a disembodied voice in Ronnie’s head, for those who don’t know) advises Ronnie to use better manners.

Firestorm zips around Cap and flies after the plane.  Captain Atom again gets between Firestorm and the Vanquisher and tells him again to stand down.  Firestorm will have none of this and sucker-body-slams Captain Atom.

Firestorm fires some nuclear bolts at the missile (which both Ronnie and Stein think is weird for having not yet hit the plane), but Captain Atom deflects the beams and absorbs them.  Cap and Firestorm barrel head-first into each other as the missile makes contact.  Firestorm is knocked to the ground.

The missile was a dummy warhead, to demonstrate the plane’s maneuverability.  The Vanquisher lands safe and sound.  Captain Atom advises Firestorm to better assess the situation in future conflicts.  And, yeah, Ronnie’s a bit of a hot-head (pun intended), but how was he supposed to know it was a demonstration?  Go easy on the guy, Cap.
You too, Professor Stein.

In the crowd below, watching as Firestorm and Captain Atom fly off their separate ways, Goz gets a look at Cap with his binoculars.  He thinks, “Funny thing about that silver skin and those glowing eyes, ol’ buddy… together they do a great job of keeping your secret from just about everybody.  Almost everybody.”  So that’s what Goz’s gut is telling him; that Nate is Captain Atom.  Oh, and Goz is black again.

Back at Tom’s place, Mabel says she’s convinced that Tom is Dr. Spectro.  She gives him the cashier’s check and then uses Tom’s phone to call one of her associates, Sissy, back in Washington.  Sissy tells Mabel she’s stumbled upon a big story: Captain Atom’s entire origin story is a fake.  Sissy gets cut off (rather ominous) and Mabel dials another number.  She tells Tom she’s calling her publisher to stop payment on his check.

Tom admits he made everything up.  Then he uses one of Bivolo’s machines to incinerate Mabel.  He says that maybe the whole Dr. Spectro thing was made up, but he’s decided that he will be the new Dr. Spectro.

I expected better from Captain Atom’s first interaction with another super-hero.  I wanted more fighting.  Or talking.  Or anything, really.  After putting Firestorm on the cover, he doesn’t show up until halfway through the book.  But I liked the Dr. Spectro stuff in the beginning, from Cap’s fake past.  And I like Tom Emery (so far).  I’m very pleased that Cary Bates worked the Bronze Age villain into the Modern Age mythos.  The Tom/Mabel and Peggy/Nate stuff were this issue’s saving graces.  It earns the book a B for story.  A for art again.  I’m really digging Pat Broderick’s style, although I’m not crazy about Tom’s weird Harry Potter glasses.  I had a few complaints about the colors, but nothing major.  Overall, this is a B+ book in my opinion.

Captain Atom #4 (June 1987)

Tags

Anton Sarrock, Augustin Mas, Babylon, Bob Smith, Cal Gafford, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Homer Lockleed, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick

“Father’s Day”

• Writer: Cary Bates
• Pencils: Pat Broderick
• Inks: Bob Smith
• Colors: Carl Gafford
• Letterer: Agustin Mas

This story begins seven hours after Captain Atom absorbed the excess radiation of the disabled nuclear sub and vanished.  A Navy sub and battleship are at the site but have had no luck finding Cap.  The captain of the battleship calls it: Captain Atom has died in service to his country.

Five days later, back at the base, Eiling and Megala are meeting up.  Eiling tells a story about his dog dying when he was ten and that death is a part of life.  He and Megala agree, Captain Atom must be dead.  Eiling says he will notify the president once he has finished his tour of the Middle East.  Internally, he seems very pleased with this outcome.  He considers taking Margaret to dinner.

Meanwhile, Margaret (Peggy) Eiling (Adam) is meeting with her psychiatrist.  She is describing to him a nightmare she had in which she and Randy (as children) are attacked by a monster.  An armor-clad knight in white armor (hoo, boy) appears and rescues them.  He has their father’s voice, but when he removes his helmet, the knight has no face.  It is a recurring dream she has been having.  The doctor says it is not surprising that the knight has no face, as General Eiling destroyed all photographs of Nathaniel Adam when Peggy and Randy were very young.  She has no recollection of her biological father.  In the dream, Peggy and Randy are again attacked by the monster, but their dad takes off.  Peggy feels abandoned by her father.

The doctor feels confident he and Peggy can get past her daddy issues (Peggy’s not so sure).  Someone is watching her and keeping detailed notes as she leaves his office.

Later, as Babylon is walking Dr. Megala home, the doctor is reading a magazine article about Captain Atom.  He calls it insipid, worse than the TV interview Nate gave in the last issue.  Just as he is throwing the magazine in a nearby trash can, the back of a van opens up and a manic red-headed man with a complicated-looking weapon appears.  He is revealed to be Anton Sarrock, someone from Megala’s past who was in a straightjacket and padded cell last time Megala saw him.

Dr. Megala says, ” No one informed me you were out, Dr. Sarrock.  You really won’t last very long, you know.  Reality will again be your downfall.”  But there is no malice in his words.  You can tell by Megala’s eyes that he is surprised.  And that is not a typo – Megala’s eye patch (which he had three panels back) has vanished.  That may have been intentional, though.

Sarrock opens fire on Megala with his weapon, which turns out to be a particle wave beam.  Babylon jumps in front of the Doc, but the beams are deflected upward (much to Sarrock’s chagrin).  Captain Atom is hovering above them and has absorbed the beams, which he deflects back at Sarrock’s van, obliterating it.  Megala says he and Babylon never gave up hope, that they knew Nate was still alive (this is not what he said to Eiling).

Nate is angry about the charade he’s been living.  Megala tells him The Lie was a necessary evil.  Nate says, “Apology not accepted!” before vaporizing Megala.

Of course, it was a dream.  A nightmare.  Megala carries a lot of guilt concerning Nathaniel Adam.  When Babylon checks on the doctor, Megala is muttering in his sleep that he deserves to be damned and that it is too late to beg for Nate’s forgiveness.  This is why I think the exclusion of the eye patch was not a mistake; it was a dream sequence.

The next morning in the Eiling household, the General confronts Peggy about the man she was photographed with at the airport (Nate, in the last issue).  Eiling tells her the man is a deranged madman and that he would never bother her again.  Peggy is perturbed that her stepfather has her under surveillance.  He says he’s worried about her and sends her out to do her shopping.

In the next room, a young man is closely studying a picture of Peggy and thinking to himself, “Margaret Lockleed.  Homer and Margaret Lockleed.  Mr. and Mrs, -” when Eiling calls him in.  This is the man who has been tailing Peggy under Eiling’s orders.  The General tells Homer that he won’t need to follow his stepdaughter anymore.  The man from the photograph has been dealt with.  He tells Homer to return to the base and resume his normal duties.

Back in her therapist’s office, Peggy is bitching about her stepfather having her tailed.  She feels like she and Randy are just prizes he won when Angela Adam finally agreed to marry him.  She feels like he thinks of her as a possession.  She feels warmer towards her “long-dead” father than the man who raised her.  Peggy says she has an Electra complex, which she says is psychobabble for a daughter straddled with an unconscious obsession with her father.  Her doctor cuts her off because her hour is up.

Unbeknownst to Peggy, Homer is still following her.  He’s listened in on the whole conversation with a high-powered microphone like John Travolta had in Blow Out.  He thinks to himself that he now knows how to win Peggy’s heart.

Back at Megala’s house, the doctor is recording a journal entry in which he states that he now believes that Nate is dead.  He is interrupted by Babylon, who has spray-painted himself silver, donned some blue boots and red gloves, and painted a lopsided Captain Atom symbol on his chest.  He says he’s ready to take over for Nate, but he won’t allow Megala to detonate a nuke under his butt.  Megala and Babylon have a good laugh (aren’t they just the most adorable pair?).

Meanwhile, out in the ocean, the water begins to bubble and surge and out pops the real Captain Atom.

Back at the Eiling house, Peggy gets a phone call.  The caller identifies himself as her real father and he wants to meet with her.

Later that evening, Eiling is downstairs on his phone speaking to “Martin.”  He says he hasn’t seen Peggy all day and that if Martin’s “flake of a son has gone off the deep end” and done something untoward, he’ll wring the boy’s and Martin’s necks.  This would be Martin Lockleed he is talking to, but his conversation is cut short when Captain Atom arrives and tells the General to hang up or he’ll melt the phone.

Eiling asks Nate if he’s aware he’s been AWOL for six days.  Nate explains that he time-jumped again when he absorbed the radiation of the disabled sub.  Nate also says he has been a sap and a coward but on the ocean floor he realized that his children mean more to him than his own life.  He demands to know where Peggy is.  When Eiling doesn’t answer, Nate gets the angry eye flares, which seems to startle the General.  He confesses he doesn’t know where Peggy is, but suspects Homer Lockleed has taken her somewhere.

At this point, Allard enters and plays for them a recording off Peggy’s phone (Cap says, “You bugged Peggy’s phone?  Eiling, you’re one of a kind.  A real paragon of fatherhood.”  They learn that Peggy was to meet her “father” at the Lockleed Air Field at 9:00 pm, five minutes ago.  Eiling and Atom exchange a look, and Nate flies off toward the field.

Meanwhile, at the Lockleed Air Field, Peggy approaches a uniformed Air Force officer.  She realizes at once that the man (Homer Lockleed) is wearing make-up to make himself look older.  He says, “Your father’s never going to leave you again.”  He grabs Peggy, drags her onto a waiting plane, and flies off.

Captain Atom swoops in.  He grabs the plane and pushes it down onto the ground.  He punches through the roof and clocks Homer on the head.  Then he absorbs the flames off the damaged fuselage.

Peggy staggers off the plane, marveling at the fact that she is still alive and sees another Airman standing over the prone Homer Lockleed.  They then have a very touching exchange.

NATE:   Are you all right?
PEGGY: You–?!  You’re the captain I met at the airport.
NATE:   Not at the airport.  Southern General Hospital.  7:05 am.  August 9th.
1968.  The day we met you weighed six pounds, fourteen ounces.  You
had your mother’s eyes.  You still do.  I love you, Peggy.  I’m here for you…
here to stay this time.  If you’ll have me.
PEGGY: Omigod.  Its true.  It really is you.  (She rushes into her father’s arms.)
It was you all along.  The face from the armor… the face from my dreams…
the face of my father!
PEGGY and NATE embrace and weep. <SCENE>

I have to say, I love the human drama that is unfolding here.  Both Nate and Eiling care about Peggy, each showing it in their own way.  Perhaps Eiling doesn’t care quite as much, but he is a cold, cold bastard.  Megala is carrying a lot of guilt, over Nate and possibly over Anton Sarrock.  Homer is a seriously disturbed young man.

Cary Bates, wherever you are right now, pat yourself of the back, sir.  You and Pat Broderick have knocked this one out of the park. The story and art are just beautiful.  I give this issue of Captain Atom an A+.

Captain Atom #1 (March 1987)

Tags

Angela Eiling, Babylon, Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Harry Hadley, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, John Costanza, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Randall Eiling/Randy Adam, Ronald Reagan

“Point of Origin”

• Writer: Cary Bates
• Pencils: Pat Broderick
• Inks: Bob Smith
• Colors: Carl Gafford
• Letters: John Costanza

This is the first appearance of Captain Atom in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity.  Every appearance of him prior to this point never happened as all the parallel Earths in the multiverse merged into one.

Cary Bates was a bit of a prodigy.  Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167.  Thank you, Wikipedia.  He was 39 years old when he was tapped to write the new ongoing Captain Atom series for DC.

Pat Broderick was 34 and already had worked for both DC and Marvel.  During his time at DC, Broderick worked on Firestorm, Captain Atom, Batman: Year Three, Swamp Thing, and Green Lantern.

So what was our world like in March 1987?  In January, New York mafiosi Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno and Carmine Peruccia were sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering.  Nine days later, Pennsylvania Treasurer Budd Dwyer shot and killed himself with a revolver during a televised press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering (It was tragic and sad and Bud was later found to be innocent.  The video can be found online, but I strongly advise against anyone seeking it out.).  The same month this comic came out, the Irish pop band U2 released The Joshua Tree (in my opinion, their finest album).

This issue opens in a control room with a sign over a huge TV screen that reads “Captain Atom Project, Docket #788 UR9544, -Countdown in Progress-.” On the screen we see a young man in his underpants sitting in what looks like a metal Terry’s Chocolate Orange.  He’s cracking jokes but looking nervous.  Observing this, a scientist on crutches who we learn is Dr. Heinrich Megala, says, “I take it you are not amused by our subject’s attempt at bravado, Colonel Eiling.”  To which his partner replies, “Nathaniel Adam was found guilty of treason and sentenced to die.  If he survives this experiment, the government has agreed to commute his sentence and make him a free man.  That prospect does not ‘amuse’ me, Dr. Megala.  Not in the least.”

Already there are a lot differences.  Charlton’s Allen Adam was a super genius.  DC’s Nathaniel Adam is a crook or killer or something.  Treason could be anything.  We’ll find out more about that later.

The egg closes up and lowers down underground.  Adam mentions what a dumb name “Project Captain Atom” is.  Shut up, Nate.  I like it.  He reminds Colonel Eiling to deliver a letter to “Angela and the kids” in case things go South for him.  Eiling rips the letter up, showing us just what kind of a douchebag he is.  Wait, kids, he gets even douchey-er.

There is an explosion.  A nuclear bomb has been detonated under the egg. The egg melts itself onto Captain Adam.  He stands up, still telling his awful jokes.  He’s cut off mid-sentence as he vanishes.

We cut to a tranquil park.  Angela Adam is there with her kids, Peggy and Randy.  Randy is riding the shoulder of Jeff Goslin, an airman who is apparently Nate’s friend.  This is a call-back to the old series, where Captain Atom had a friend and confidant name Jeff “Gunner” Goslin.  Jeff tells Angela that a spaceship crashed in Nevada a year before that had a hull made of an impregnable metal alloy.  Nate is going to help them find out if it can be destroyed or not.  That is the extent of his knowledge of what is going down.

So that’s what the chocolate egg is made of.  Nate is a crash-test dummy.  Seems really implausible that they’d use a human being, even a criminal.

Jeff assures Angela that Nate will be okay.  “Lissen up,” he says, “this is the same Cap’n Adam who went down with his plane 30 miles inside Cambodia and managed to walk out again a week later.  The man’s a natural-born survivor, Ange.  He’s got a knack for it.”

So Nate was in Cambodia.  He’s in the military.  That puts this in the 1960s.

Cut to an airstrip at night.  A fighter is coming in for a landing (the pilot’s name is Maverick – Top Gun reference) when a glowing ball of energy appears on the strip.  A humanoid shape emerges and blasts the plane with some sort of energy.  The plane skids to a stop and we see a sign that reads “Winslow Air Force Base. Restricted.”

Now we cut to the interior of an office.  The man at the desk is on the phone with his daughter, Margaret Eiling.  Ah, so this is Colonel Eiling.  His aide (Martin Allard) bursts in and says there’s an infiltrator on the base. “The infiltrator doesn’t appear to be human, General,” he says.

Back on the field, soldiers have opened fire on the creature.  The bullets bounce off, but a rocket knocks it down.  The creature, a glowing red molten lava creature, collapses and delivers the punchline to the joke Nathaniel Adam was telling when he vanished.  The Sergeant in charge (Goslin, naturally) is about to open up with another volley when the creature glows and layers of its mass disappear.  It passes out and is brought into a lab and strapped to a table.

The head scientist, Harry Hadley, reports to Allard that the creature appears to be taking on a more human form (heart beats at 72 bpm, temp is 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and breathes oxygen).  Allard loses his shit because he thinks it is an indestructible alien come to do horrible things.  The General comes in in time to see that – apart from silver metallic skin – the creature appears completely human.

Everyone is shocked when the creature speaks English.  It looks at the General and says, “Eiling! What happened to you. You look so… old!”

General Eiling clears the room.  He recognizes that the creature is Nathaniel Adam. Nate is as surprised as Eiling that he survived the Captain Atom project.  He tells Nate that in the short time (in Nate’s perspective) that he was gone, John Wayne has died, as have Martin Luther King (which Nate remembers) and Robert Kennedy.  That makes Nate lose his shit and break free of the straps holding him down.  Eiling goes on to tell him Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Jack Benny, Anwar Sadat, Indira Ghandi and John Lennon are all dead.  Nate sees himself and freaks out.  Eiling has him gassed and he passes out again.

Then Dr. Megala pays General Eiling a visit.  He is in a wheelchair and appears to be a quadriplegic.  He has robot arms attached to his chair that he must control with his mind.  Megala realizes that the creature was Captain Adam, bumped ahead in time from 1968 to 1986 by Project Captain Atom.  He has merged with the alien alloy and traveled in time 18 years.

Eiling leaves Megala, then orders Allard to have Megala killed.  Eiling has the still-unconscious Adam loaded into a rocket and blasted into space.  (See, I told you ripping up the letter was the tip of the General’s douchebaggery.)  Meanwhile, Allard’s assassin is stopped by Megala’s bodyguard Babylon.

Cap comes to on the rocket.  He realizes where he is and what is happening.  He blows up the rocket with his energy blasts, surprising himself.  As he plummets to the Earth’s surface, he is struck by lightning but is unharmed.  Still, he’s pretty sure he’s going to die when he hits the ground.  But when he relaxes and accepts his fate, he finds he can fly.  So he flies home.

But a new family is in his home.  It still hasn’t sunk in for Nate.  Megala and Babylon  show up, the doctor having anticipated Adam would go to his old home.  Megala tells Adam it is 1986.  He then brings the Captain to his estate.  Megala explains to Adam: “Ancient Chinese masters called it ch’i — the invisible, intangible form of matter which is present throughout the cosmos.  Modern physics concurs.  But we call it the quantum field.  It is the underlying essence of all matter and all energy.  You, Nathaniel Adam, have experienced what science has only been able to observe on the subatomic level.  You have passed through the ch’i — the field — from one place in space/time to another without travelling in between.  You made the damndest quantum leap in history.”  Megala speculates that the metal alloy attunes itself to Adam’s ch’i and draws power from the quantum field.

Eiling has spies watching Megala’s house and recording everything.  They report to him everything they’ve learned.  Megala and Adam discover that the metal alloy skin absorbs all kinds of energy and that Adam is now super-strong.

Eiling leads a team into Megala’s home and demands to see Captain Adam.  But Adam is in the room, having learned he can “turn off” his metal skin to blend in with the normies.  Eiling says he can lead Adam to his wife, Angela.  Cap picks him up and flies off, demanding to see her now.  Eiling leads him to a cemetery.

Angela died in 1982.  Eiling says she mourned Adam for three years before (weird plat twist) falling in love with and marrying General Eiling!  I told you he was a bad dude.  He knew damn well when he tore up that letter, he was going to woo Adam’s widow.  But why? Just to be a dick, I think.

The General presents Cap with a Presidential order calling on Adam to provide service to his government as a secret operative.  Eiling says Adam will have plenty of time to pursue clearing his name (Adam insists he is innocent of treason).  A costume of sorts is fashioned for Captain Atom with a nuclear symbol on the chest, gloves and boots.  How they etched these things on the metal is a mystery, as they have established earlier in this issue that lasers have no effect on the alloy.

The issue closes with Eiling in the White House with President Reagan, discussing Phase Two of Project Captain Atom.

So that’s it.  Pretty well-executed for an origin story.  Vastly different and more complex than Ditko’s Captain Atom.  I like Eiling as a foil for the Captain.  I like that they brought Goslin into the story.  Some of Cary Bates’ stories on the Captain Atom series were wonky at times, but I think he kind of knocked this one out of the park (I know I nit-picked a little, but it was overall a great story).  The art was pretty good.  Sometimes, Broderick’s faces seem kind of the same.  Allard looks like Hadley, Adam looks like Allard, and later in the series sometimes Gos looks like Babylon.  But honestly, that’s the extent of my criticism.  I love the way Pat Broderick draws Captain Atom.

So… Story: A, Art: A.  Captain Atom #1 is definitely “A” material.  I look forward to rereading the entire series.