Captain Atom #24 (January 1989)

Tags

Amanda Waller, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dan Raspler, Dennis O'Neill, General Eiling, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Greg Weisman, Max Lord, Modern Age Captain Atom, Mr. Miracle, Pat Broderick, Romeo Tanghal, Shelley Eiber, Steve Trevor, The Flash

“War-Day”

Written by Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
Pencils by Pat Broderick
Inks by Romeo Tanghal
Colors by Shelley Eiber
Letters by Carrie Spiegle
Edited by Dan Raspler & Denny O’Neil

This story is an Invasion: First Strike! crossover. Invasion! was a three issue limited series published in late 1988-early 1989 by DC Comics. It was plotted by Keith Giffen, and ties up a great many plot lines from various Giffen-created DC series, including Omega Men, Justice League International, and Legion of Super-Heroes.  In this crossover event, the Dominators have put together an alliance to invade Earth and eliminate the threat posed by their unpredictable “metahumans” (secretly, the Dominators wish to harness this and breed their own army of metahumans, but this goal is kept from the rest of the Alliance, and from some of their own race). After assassinating many former members of the disbanded Green Lantern Corps, and attacking the Omega Men, the Alliance launches a massive attack on Earth, overrunning Australia and establishing there a base from which to conquer the rest of the planet.

This tale begins with Maxwell Lord being piggy-backed by Captain Atom to the super-hero HQ. Nate isn’t sure he’s the man for the job, but he’s been unanimously chosen as the Commander in Chief of all Earth’s super-heroes. The aliens are spying on him and will be able to hear and see everything that goes on in the command center. Nate learns from Max that Amanda Waller (of the Suicide Squad) will be in charge of Earth’s super-villains and is dismayed to find out the military will be overseen by General Wade Eiling.

Nate and Wade immediately lock horns when they are in the room together. Eiling does not like Captain Atom’s choice for a pilot on a covert mission they are cooking up. Apparently he had planned to be the pilot himself. He is overruled by Waller and Eiling and has to choose a suitable replacement. They want to present him with a list of candidates but Nate says if it can’t be him, it has to be Steve Trevor, who has re-enlisted in this time of war.

Colonel Trevor arrives at the HQ. Atom takes him straight to the briefing room. He learns that there is a New Genesis satellite in orbit around Earth with immense firepower and destructive capability that the Alien Alliance has overlooked. Steve is to pilot a special shuttle to the satellite and realign it so it is facing the enemy fleet in space rather than Earth itself. Steve’s only question is, “Where’s the shuttle?”

At a briefing the next morning, it is revealed that the alien forces are spread out on the surface of the planet and unprepared for a space-bound attack on their fleet. Max is surprised by how well Nate and Wade are actually getting along. The next day, the two men meet in the coffee room and Eiling tells Nate they need to do something to prevent Peggy and Goz from getting married. Wade wants to transfer Gunner and get him away from her, but Nate reminds him how stubborn his daughter is. That has to be put on a back burner, though, as there is trouble with Colonel Trevor.

steve was found that morning, unconscious and surrounded by a mysterious energy. They don’t know what the energy field is and cannot punch through it without endangering the Colonel’s life. Eiling wants to scrub the op, but Captain Atom insists he be the pilot. Odds are whatever the aliens did to Trevor won’t work on him. Of course, Eiling objects, but is overruled by Waller. The mission must go on.

Eiling has to get a last word in with Nate, giving him no-brainer instructions on how to do his job. After Captain Atom takes off in the shuttle (why he needs a shuttle is a mystery), Eiling is talking to an ensign in the control room who reveals that Trevor and Atom took the shuttle out the night before. Wade was unaware of this.

As Captain Atom progresses out of Earth’s upper atmosphere, he and his team on the surface are still totally unaware that their every move is being monitored by the aliens. They don’t know exactly what the humans are up to, but they know it is something. Apparently, the Durlans have a man on the inside down on the surface. Their secret objective is to capture Captain Atom.

Back on Earth, the energy aura around Trevor vanishes and he wakes up. However, back in the shuttle, Nate’s helmet fills with knockout gas. I made this observation in my coverage of the second Captain Atom annual, but I will point it out again. Captain Atom has super-breath-holding. He doesn’t even need a space-suit. Every time he is taken out by “knockout gas,” it is utterly ridiculous. And I will never not point it out.

Back at HQ, Eiling approaches Trevor with his gun drawn. However, it isn’t Steve on the table but his doctor. Colonel Trevor, it turns out, is a shape-shifting Durlan. It was his unauthorized visit to the hangar the night before that gave the spy away. Trevor didn’t have the necessary key-card to get in, but a Durlan could mimic one. The enemy alien flips off the lights and Wade opens fire in the dark.

Back in the shuttle, Nate blasts his helmet visor with his angry eyes and ignites the knockout gas. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Captain Atom floating in space.

Back on the surface, Eiling gets the lights back on but the Durlan has shifted into a research skeleton. It gets Eiling from behind and begins to choke him but Captain Atom bursts in and blows the skeleton apart. He chases the skull down the hallway, but it makes it to the hangar where they lose track of it.

Noticing an extra fuel tank on a chopper that is lifting off, Atom grabs the tank and flings it into the helicopter blades, slicing the Durlan into several pieces. Ew.

General Eiling is a little chagrined as this is the second time Captain Atom has saved his life. Waller and Max enter the hangar just n time to see the two shaking hands, much to their shock.

Later, as Earth’s super-heroes begin to converge on the command center, Eiling is dismayed to learn their commander isn’t even there. He’s on his way to Metropolis to personally recruit Superman. So that cover image, cool as it is, never happened.

Story-wise, I give this issue a B. I’m never super crazy about the crossover issues. They rarely advance the ongoing plot of the hero we’ve been following. I like that Captain Atom is in charge of Earth’s heroes, but I honestly feel there were better choices. Just because he has a military background he was chosen? Wasn’t Hal Jordan once in the Air Force, too? And a space-cop? For that matter, isn’t this version of Hawkman a space-cop?

The artwork is good but nothing jumps out at me. That panel with the Durlan getting sliced is memorable, though. I give it a B for art as well. Overall, not too shabby.

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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.

Captain Atom Annual #2 (1988/1989)

Tags

Captain Atom, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dan Raspler, Dennis O'Neill, Jack O'Lantern, Major Force, Modern Age Captain Atom, Paris Cullins, Pat Broderick, Queen Bee, Rocket Red #4, Sarge Steel, Sgt Jeffrey "Gunner" "Gos" Goslin, Shelley Eiber

“Bialya Bound”

Written by Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
Pencilled by Paris Cullins
Inks by Bob Smith
Colors by Shelley Eiber
Letters by Carrie Spiegle
Edited by Denny O’Neil & Dan Raspler

It seems kind of a shame that the main story in a Captain Atom annual wasn’t drawn by Pat Broderick. But at least he shows up in the backup story. It has a beautiful cover by Paris Cullins who also did the interiors. He is one of my favorite artists so I’m relatively pleased with this so far.

The issue opens with a bunch of tourists swamping a travel agency and going on about how great Bialya is now. “Once an arid third world country,” it seems to have become some sort of vague paradise under the leadership of Queen Bee. This all happened following a media blackout and the world at large can only speculate about what transformed the little country.

Two tourists arrive in Bialya, Cameron Scott and Sarge Steel. Sarge Steel was a detective/spy character published by Charlton Comics during the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton’s Action Heroes line of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group. He was purchased by DC Comics along with the other action heroes. Also arriving is Dmitri Pushkin, also known as Rocket Red #4, member of Justice League International.

• 

• 

• 

Dmitri is visiting the country as a semi-diplomat while Nate and Sarge Steel are being a bit more covert. Rocket Red isn’t hiding his identity at all but the other two are trying to blend in.

The first thing Nate takes notice of in the country is the abundance of video cameras. They are literally everywhere, with Queen Bee having eyes in all corners of her country. There are also posters everywhere stating “your Queen loves you,” and the people seem genuinely happy and not at all subjugated. Later, he interrogates a native who tells him how devoted to her country and her people Queen Bee really is. Why, she gave him a ride to town once when his car broke down and she fed his baby.

Nate thinks that so far this assignment is as exciting as watching paint dry. I’m right there with you, Adam.

Things start to come to a head that night. A team of high-tech mercenaries is attacking the palace at the same time Sarge Steel is breaking in and Rocket Red is paying a visit. Dmitri leaps into action against the mercs as Nate ducks into a phone booth to turn into Captain Atom (not realizing a camera is trained on him. Steel decks one of the mercs just before the Captain arrives on the scene. Just as he is about to mop these terrorists up, who should appear on the scene but good old Major Force?

I say that sarcastically, of course, as Major Force is my least favorite supporting character. We don’t actually see him take anyone out, as he is off-panel, but we do see his powers and we know he’s in this issue because it was announced on the opening splash page.

The people of Bialya are none-too-pleased to see Captain Atom, as the last time he was in the country (in Justice League International #17), he killed their resident super-hero “the Thunderer.” He flies off and Dmitri tries to exchange pleasantries with Steel (who ain’t having it). This is the 80s and nothing is more offensive to a red-blooded patriot like Sarge Steel than a dirty commie super-hero. Cheer up, Rocket Red. You don’t know it yet, but the Cold War is almost over.

Back at their top-secret lair, the six mercenary/terrorists are meeting with their boss, the former super-hero turned super-villain Jack O’ Lantern. He tells them Queen Bee is proud or them. So the whole thing was a set-up just to flush out what super-heroes may be in Bialya. After dismissing his men, he gleefully thinks to himself that Captain Atom is the “prime candidate” for the “next phase of the experiment.”

Queen Bee contacts Jack and is none-too-happy that he staged the fake raid. Had any Bialyan citizens been harmed, he would have been in for a world of hurt. She also informs him of her choice of subject for her experiment. She has chosen Cameron Scott, who she knows is Captain Atom. So she and Jack arrived at Nate as a test subject independent of each other.

Jack sends some sort of signal or energy wave or something to Nate’s room, and it hits just as Major Force creeps in through the window. But Captain Atom has been expecting his old frienemy and he throws the Major across the room. But it looks like Force hasn’t come to fight. Force makes himself comfortable on the bed and reveals he’s been in Bialya for weeks. It turns out the microwave surveillance system in the country blocks the Air Force’s monitoring equipment so he’s been off Eiling’s radar.

Major Force says he’s been having a semi-romantic relationship with Queen Bee, which makes Nate decide he’s had enough. He packs his bag, makes a rude hand gesture to the Major, and exits the hotel room. As his plane flies back to the states, he notices Rocket Red flying away from the country as well.

Nate isn’t home for long before an overwhelming urge to return to Bialya overcomes him. He cannot fight the urge and transforms into Captain Atom. As soon as he is over Bialyan airspace, their military fires on him (at Jack’s order). The Captain makes short work of the anti-aircraft guns and crashes into Queen Bee’s palace.

In the Queen’s bedroom, he is greeted by Jack on a video monitor, who seems to know an awful lot about Cap’s urge to return to the country. What I don’t get is if he wanted Captain Atom to return and drugged him so he would, why did he fire on him when he did? Anyway, he hits Nate with some knockout gas and it’s night-night Captain Atom.

This has always bugged me too. Captain Atom can survive in the vacuum of space for an undetermined length of time. How can simple knock out gas work for him? He clearly has super breath holding just like Superman. I guess I can chalk it up to him being out of his mind from whatever it was Jack did to him, but this plot device has never sit right with me.

When he awakens, Captain Atom is strapped into a high-tech dentists’ chair in Jack’s secret underground lair. Of course, Nate recognizes Jack as a member of the defunct Global Guardians, a one-time hero turned Queen Bee flunky. Jack reveals that because of his tampering with Nate’s brain, the hero had the un-fightable urge to return to Bialya (which is kind of obvious) and this mind control is also keeping him from ripping apart the chair he’s strapped to. Maybe that’s also why he couldn’t hold his breath. He also tells Nate that as long as he stays in Bialya, he’ll feel fine, but once he’s out of range of the mind-control technology, Nate will go through withdrawal pain so horrible he’ll be compelled to return.

Because of his unprovoked attack on the country, the citizens hate Captain Atom and want him out of the country. Jack reveals that the Queen will most likely banish him. This still doesn’t make sense. Nate would have been much more useful as a pawn who was loyal to the Queen. Jack ordering the military to attack him still doesn’t add up. Jack does reveal that he wants information from Atom, and if the Captain cooperates he may be able to stay. But it seems like once the mind control set in, Cap would have played ball anyway. It just doesn’t add up.

Back at the Queen’s bedchamber, Major Force is demanding to know where his “buddy” is being held. The palace security won’t tell him, so he starts matter-blasting folks. But Queen Bee calms him and tells him whatever he wants to know.

Back in the underground base, Nate is filling Jack’s head with lies. He’s passing off the Big Lie as his actual backstory, so maybe the mind-control technology isn’t really working so well after all. When the Queen shows up, he proudly reveals his progress, but Queen Bee knows the story Nate is spinning is a fabrication.

Captain Atom bursts out of the restraint chair and reveals that it was him focusing on his fake backstory that allowed him to beat the mind-control. How convenient. What if they had used it on Superman?

Jack goes for his magic lantern, but Nate blasts him out cold with quantum energy. He then burns Queen Bee’s copy of the Captain Atom Project files. The Queen then reveals her ace in the hole. When she quietly exclaims that Captain Atom is attempting to kidnap her, Major Force bursts through a wall and threatens to pound on him. And Major Force can take out Captain Atom. He is stronger and has comparable powers. We’ve seen Atom take a beating from Force before.

However, when Captain Atom says that he will fight Major Force until the country is nothing but rubble, Queen Bee jumps in and stops her lover. She can’t have the citizens of her beloved country caught in the crossfire of a quantum pissing match between the two. She allows Nate to walk free.

On his way out of the country, Captain Atom spots Sarge Steel and gives him a ride back to the U.S. And the story is over. Talk about an anti-climax. I’d forgive it if we’d gotten some pages of Cap and Force slugging it out, but space had to be left for the “Private Lives” story I guess. Also, what happens when Nate returns home? He’ll just have the urge to return again, right? Or can he get it out of his system like heroin?

This story wasn’t worthy of being an annual. I hate to say it about my beloved Captain Atom title, but it was really stupid. Cary and Greg phoned this one in. Paris Cullins and Bob Smith were the book’s saving grace. The art was a solid B but the story was an F. Overall, Captain Atom Annual #2 earned a D from me. The main story did, at least. I haven’t even touched the B-story yet.

“Reckoning Day” was by Cary Bates and Greg Weisman again. The art was by Pat Broderick and Michael Bair with colors by Shelley Eiber. Letterer was Carrie Spiegle and the story was editied by Dan Rasplar and Denny O’Neil.

The story opens with Nate’s friend “Gunner” Goslin getting ready for a date with Peggy Eiling. Peggy, of course, is General Wade Eiling’s stepdaughter and the biological daughter of Gunner’s best friend Nathaniel Adam. The two have kept their relationship a secret from Nate so far, as Gunner has known Peggy since she was in diapers and Gunner is afraid of how his old friend would react.

Just then, Captain Atom bursts though the wall of Gunner’s apartment with his angry eyes flaring. He has found out about Goz and Peggy, and he is not happy at all. Gunner tries to explain that neither he nor Peggy meant for this to happen, but Nate doesn’t care. He powers up to take Goz out with a quantum blast just as the phone starts ringing and wakes Goz up.

Ah yes, the old it-was-just-a-dream trope. We know it well. It is 11:30 am and Peggy is calling to find out where Goz is. The old codger has overslept. As he showers and dresses, Gunner cannot get dream-Nate’s words out of his head. The old coot is overcome with guilt.

He meets up with Peggy outside the nostalgia shop where Nate works. They go inside and introduce themselves to Starshine as “friends” of Cameron Scott. Since Peggy and Nate are roughly the same age, no one would buy them as a father and daughter, despite Nate’s white hair. Starshine reveals that Cameron never showed up for work, which is a thing he does often apparently.

Gunner is upset that they missed Nate because this was going to be the day they revealed their relationship to him. If I were Goz, I’d be relieved that I dodged that bullet for at least another 24 hours. But he’s worried because he has to sweat over it even longer. Peggy says her dad will take the news in stride. Goz has been in their “family” for years, and Nate can’t say anything about the age difference because Starshine is at least ten years his senior. Ah, poor stupid Peggy.

We are then dropped into what is obviously another dream. Nate, as Captain Atom, is flying his blindfolded best friend and daughter to an undisclosed location. This is obviously a dream because A) Peggy does not know that her father is Captain Atom, and B) Nate does not know that Goz knows he’s Captain Atom.

Dream Nate flies Dream Goz and Dream Peggy to the White House, where they meet the Reagans. Because it is 1988, Ronald Reagan is the president of the U.S. In both the real world and the DC universe. Ron and Nancy want to host Goz and Peggy’s wedding on the White House lawn. Goz responds to Reagan in the positive, but does so out loud.

He has fallen asleep in Peggy’s car as they are leaving Starshine’s shop. Man, Goz is old. The two kiss and drive away, ending the little story.

Yeah, I’m so glad we got those seven pages of nonsense instead of a more fleshed-out ending to the Bialya story. I don’t feel robbed at all. I remember the year of the “Private Lives” stories. Most of them seemed pretty boring but it was nice to see the other side of super-hero life. I appreciate the story, but at the point that the B-story so obviously takes something from the A-story, I get a little ticked off.

The art was beautiful. Really, no one has ever done Captain Atom justice like Pat Broderick. Definitely an A+. And the story, while short and unnecessary, was at least kind of compelling. A B+ that was well-earned. Overall, I give this little bonus an A, but still would have preferred it was just left in the pages of the regular series.

Captain Atom #22 (December 1988)

Tags

Amanda Waller, Bob Smith, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dan Raspler, Dennis O'Neill, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Martin Allard, Max Lord, Nightshade, Pat Broderick, Plastique, Shelley Eiber

“Captain Atom Goes to War”

Written by Cary Bates & Greg Weisman ° Pencils by Pat Broderick ° Inks by Bob Smith ° Letterer: Carrie Spiegle ° Colors by Shelley Eiber ° Editors: Denny O’Neil & Dan Raspler

Well, Nate has gone off the rails in some Central American country (we never learned where he actually was last issue). He has taken the law into his own hands in an attempt to stop a civil war and created an embarrassment for his own country. Meanwhile, Wade Eiling pays a visit to Amanda Waller to find out who authorized her to send Nightshade out after Captain Atom. Waller politely shows the General the door.

Down south, Nate is melting choppers left and right but sparing the operators. He’s only after the weapons. It seems a military man like him would realize there’s always more weapons. Burn them all and people will just use their hands, Nate.

En route, Nightshade (Eve) is being briefed by Waller and thinking to herself she would have jumped at this opportunity regardless. Seems Eve is still carrying a torch for Adam. Back in New York, a frustrated Maxwell Lord fields multiple calls about his rogue Justice Leaguer. Nate, meanwhile, continues to melt tanks and piss everybody off.

Back at the base camp, Nate tries to convince his fellow soldiers that maybe what Captain Atom is doing is right but they won’t hear it. How have they not out two and two together? This white haired pinko shows up in X country the same time Captain Atom shows up and starts melting helicopters and they can’t see they are the same guy? While sitting watch for the night, Cap is knocked out and dragged off by Plastique. The next morning his fellow soldiers are none too concerned as they break camp and move on.

When he wakes up, Nate finds Bette has fitted him with a special collar. If he tries to change into Captain Atom, the explosive will take his head off. She’s also unbuttoned his shirt, but that was really just for her.

In an effort to try and convince Plastique they can make a difference, Nate leads her to a pit where he has melted the government’s and the rebel’s stolen arsenals. Bette did not realize he had been disarming both sides. Back home, Eiling and Allard have realized the same thing. Wade says Nate is in for a rude awakening.

Back down south, Nate asks Bette if she’ll give him give days to sort this war out. But whatever will they do for those give days?

Sly old Nate seduced Bette in an attempt to lift the key to the collar off of her. But she’s too quick for him and ends up pinning him down. Just then darkness falls, but it isn’t a natural darkness. Nightshade has arrived. Realizing there is no way to fight her in the dark (Eve’s turf), Plastique unlocks the collar and Captain Atom brings in the light.

The women begin to scrap, but Nate interferes. He says he’s out to stop all conflict in the country, not just the war but also between Eve and Bette. But before anyone can do any real damage, the trip smells something burning and discover a nearby village in flames. Without their weapons, the soldiers have resorted to using torches. As Adam and Eve watch the locals have at each other with whatever they can get their hands on, Bette slips away.

Nate finally realizes there is no way he can stop this war. He gathers up Nightshade and they fly home.

Overall, I liked this little two-parter. This is the kind of stuff Captain Atom was getting into in his Charlton days, so it was only fitting Nightshade was along for the ride. Only, in those days, he would have solved the problem and not accepted defeat. But this ain’t your grandpa’s Captain Atom. A well-crafted story and great art. Broderick and Smith are a dream team. A.

Captain Atom #20 (October 1988)

Tags

Blue Beetle, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dennis O'Neill, Dick Giordano, Dr. Spectro, Frank McLaughlin, Henry Yarrow, Mister Miracle, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pablo Marcos, Pat Broderick, Shelly Eiber, Starshine Stone

 

“The Silver Lie”

• Writers: Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
• Pencils: Pablo Marcos
• Inks: Frank McLaughlin
• Colors: Shelley Eiber
• Letters: Carrie Spiegle
• Cover Artists: Pat Broderick & Bob Smith
• Editor: Dennis O’Neil
• Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

When is Nate going to learn to stop relying on “the lie” to get what he wants? It blows up in his face every time! Maybe not right away, but eventually the truth comes out for sad sack Nathaniel Adam. And the lie he spins in this issue marks a turning point in his history. Things are set into motion and his future with the Justice League is at risk.

The last time we saw Captain Atom in action was in Justice League International #17. This issue opens in the JLI’s New York Embassy, and right away things look… odd. Not bad at all. Just different. That’s because (for the first time) this issue was not penciled by Pat Broderick. Pablo Marcos did a lot of pencils and inks for both DC and Marvel throughout the 1970s to the 2000s.  He did ink Blue Beetle #13 a year prior to this comic’s publication.

Mister Miracle and Booster Gold enter the monitor room just as Cap and Blue Beetle are taking off on a mission. They are puzzled by BB and Cap’s new bromance.

The mystery is solved when the pair come across a file entitled “Captain Atom Blue Beetle, The Covert Casebook.” I know, I know.  Comics.

According to the casebook, when Cap was operating in secret (which never happened), he occasionally teamed up with the previous Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. According to the fake history, Dan tried to convince Captain Atom to go public with his super-heroing years before he actually did.

Nate flashes back to the beginning of this latest piece of The Lie. It began one day when he was stocking shelves at Mellow Yellows and Henry Yarrow came in. Yarrow was Nate’s defense attorney in 1968 when he was first put on trial. He’s been trying to find evidence to clear Nate’s name. He’s also gotten a face-lift, as he is on the run from some crime organization that wants him dead. Nate closes up the shop and takes a ride with Yarrow, knowing that doing so will anger Starshine.

Yarrow reveals that Lester Bryant, chairman of Zyco Industries, has been buying up small R and D companies. In the 60s, Bryant was one of the Generals who sat in on Nate’s court martial. According to a “deathbed confession” by a “bitter employee,” there is a codebook in a safe in Bryant’s office that incriminates him as a member of a Vietnam, drug ring. Zyco security are on to Yarrow, thinking he is a corporate spy. He can’t break into the office safe, so he gives Nate all the info he has and lets Nate decide how to proceed.

Nate decides the best way to proceed is to lie to one of his Justice League team-mates and use him to gain access to Zyco Industries.  He meets Blue Beetle in a secluded area where Beetle demands to know how Nate found out he was Ted Kord (Kord Industries was one of the companies purchased by Zyco). Beetle, who claims he and Atom never saw eye-to-eye since Cap joined the league, asks Nate why he thinks he’d help him. Nate hands him the secret casebook.

Blue Beetle reads about a time when Dr. Spectro attacked the first Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. The Bronze Age Captain Atom came to Dan’s rescue. This story is told in flashback form throughout the book. It is enough to convince Ted, who agrees to visit Zyco.

Ted calls on Lester Bryant, who is rather portly. He visits Zyco under the pretense that he is seeking a job with the company. Bryant is all too happy to oblige, and sends Ted off with the lovely Miss Devon to take a tour of the company. As Ted flirts with Devon, mini cameras in his cufflinks are snapping pics, which Beetle and Cap pull up on the JLI computer later on.

Captain Atom spots the safe behind Bryant’s desk. He opts to listen in on Bryant’s bugged phone while Blue Beetle goes on a date with Miss Devon. Cap feels like crap for lying to Ted – not only about the “secret casebook,” but also that the airman who’s name they are trying to clear is actually Nathaniel Adam.

Back at Zyco, Bryant places a call. He tells the person on the other end that he was aware of Ted’s wrist cameras, but clearly isn’t aware of the bugged phone. The individual on the other end shares Bryant’s concern about Ted Kord and Miss Devon going on a date, and orders Bryant to have them both killed.

Out on the town, Ted pushes Devon out of the path of a speeding taxi. Before the offending cab can speed away, Captain Atom shows up and grabs the driver. Miss Devon confesses to Ted she knows a lot more than she’s let on, and tearfully offers to tell him everything.

Later, after he’s dropped Miss Devon off with the police, Blue Beetle meets up with Captain Atom at the JLI Embassy to compare notes. After dropping the would-be assassin off at a nearby police station, Cap went over the surveillance footage and discovered that Zyco’s “research submersibles” are being equipped with military-grade weapons. Miss Devon revealed to Ted that two of these prototypes were sold to major drug rings operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

In flashback land, Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett) is strung upside down in Dr. Spectro’s lair. Spectro is torturing the Beetle, hoping to learn his and Captain Atom’s secrets. But before Dan can talk, Captain Atom bursts in to the rescue.

Back in the “real world,” Cap and Beetle come upon the bad guys testing out their new submersibles on an unsuspecting cruise ship. Beetle swings down to take on the baddies while Cap provides air support. Ted’s plan is to confiscate the subs for his repo business. He shatters one of the canopies but isn’t overly concerned as that is an easy fix. He seems mostly concerned with impressing his business partner Booster Gold. Cap accidentally sinks one on the subs and apologizes to Beetle as he rescues the pilot. The second sub is also destroyed by its’ pilot.

Cap thinks Ted will be angry and this actually relieves him. He feels bad for lying to Beetle. However, back on board the JLI shuttle (with the baddies stowed away), Ted tells him he isn’t sore. After all, they have a tradition to uphold. The non-existent tradition of a Blue Beetle/Captain Atom team.

Back at the JLI embassy, Ted and Nate listen in on Lester’s office. He’s on the phone with a very upset third party. They hear and eplosion and take off for Zyco to investigate (this is where we entered this story). They arrive only to find Lester has been killed.

The fake flashback story wraps up with old Cap and old Beetle leaving Spectro’s lair and promising to always have each others’ backs. The issue closes with current Cap and current Beetle (after discovering the safe they were looking for was destroyed along with its contents) making the same promise to each other. Cap flies away feeling like a total a-hole for using Ted that way. Which he is. Honestly, did he really think Ted wouldn’t help him without the lie? I mean, they’re Justice League team-mates. Those guys always look out for each other, don’t they?

So I give Pablo and Frank and A for art. This was beautiful. I love their take on the Bronze Age Captain Atom and the Golden Age Blue Beetle. And I can’t complain about not having seen Pat Broderick’s take on Beetle, because he drew the cover. Cary and Greg get an A for story, too. I’ve always really liked this issue. It was super fun seeing Captain Atom and Blue Beetle teaming up and I will never not love these two Ditko creations.

Silver and Gold Episode 14: The Man of Gold vs the Man of Steel!

Tags

Alan Gold, Augustin Mas, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Dirk Davis, Duncan Andrews, Gene D'Angelo, General Eiling, Martin Allard, Mike DeCarlo, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Plastique, Superman, The Cambodian, The Mongolian, Trixie Collins

Superman teaches Booster Gold a harsh lesson with his fists in Booster Gold (vol 1) #7 by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Gene D’Angelo, Augustin Mas, and Alan Gold. Captain Atom gets sucker-stabbed by the Cambodian while he’s chatting up Plastique in Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #7 by Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, Duncan Andrews, and Dennis O’Neil. And Roy and Jay are there to talk about it!

Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Tomoyasu Hotei

Direct Link.

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Check out our tumblr for images from these issues.

Silver and Gold Episode 12: At Last! The Origin of Booster Gold

Tags

Alan Gold, Augustin Mas, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Doctor Spectro, Duncan Andrews, Mike DeCarlo, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Skeets, Superman

Like Julius Caesar in 49 BC, FKAjason and Roy “Charlemagne” Cleary cross the Rubicon with Booster Gold, Skeets, Superman, and their new pal Z. Finally, the origin of Booster Gold is revealed by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, Augustin Mas, and Alan Gold. We then turn our sights on the new Doctor Spectro trying to get a piece of Captain Atom’s lie with Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, Duncan Andrews, and Dennis O’Neil. All of this and more are found in today’s reviews of Booster Gold (vol 1) #6, and Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #6. Plus, your listener feedback!

Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Channel Z – The B-52’s
Kiss – Prince
With or Without You – U2

Direct Link.

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Check out our Tumblr for images from this issue.

 

Silver and Gold Episode 10: Face Off

Tags

Augustin Mas, Bob Le Rose, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Doctor Spectro, Dr. Spectro, Firestorm, Janice Race, Mike DeCarlo, Mister Twister, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, The Irredeemable Shag

In this episode of Silver and Gold Podcast, Captain Atom faces off with Firestorm, the Nuclear Man! Dr. Spectro faces off with a journalist! Booster Gold faces off with a killer zamboni and the Metropolis hockey team! So many face offs we had to call in the Irredeemable Shag to help us out. We review the Booster Gold (vol 1) #5 story “Face Off” (by the creative team of Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, Augustin Mas, and Janice Race) and the Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #5 story “The Return of Dr. Spectro” (by the creative team of Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Bob Le Rose, Augustin Mas, and Dennis O’Neill).

Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Purple Rain – Prince
Kiss – Prince
Batdance – Prince
Face Off – Bow Wow & Omarion

Direct Link.

Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

Check out our Tumblr blog for images from this issue.