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

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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

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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 #15 (May 1988)

Tags

Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Doctor Spectro, Douglas Eliot, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Major Force, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Theresa Delgado

“Slugfest”

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

This issue of Captain Atom, released to the public on February 2, 1988, will always be one of my favorites.  It opens with General Eiling reading a report submitted by Nathaniel Adam detailing the events of Justice League International #11 and #12.  At the end of the report, Nate has tacked on the extremely mature phrase “Eiling bites it.”  Nate thinks to himself how dirty it makes him feel, spying on the Justice League for the government.  Eiling’s underling Douglas Eliot clearly finds Nates extra jab amusing.  Eiling clearly does not.

As a news report mentions the fact that no one has seen Major Force in public lately, Randy calls his dad to let him know he’s out of Project Majestic.  Randy explains it was Peggy’s idea for him to call.  Randy is still upset with Nate for “walking out” on the Air Force, just like he “walked out” on his family.  Nate has trouble hearing Randy and battles with the TV remote.  Randy hangs up and boards a plane as Nate angrily smashes his TV screen with the remote control.

At Eiling’s base, the General and Martin Allard are meeting with the newly-released-from-prison Tom Emory (Doctor Spectro).  He reveals that the UFO used in the Major Force fake origin was one of Emory’s toys.  Emory says he doesn’t mind, as his new government employers have sprung him from prison.  Eiling lets the ex con know he’s not entirely pleased with his Spectro persona and that Emory’s sloppy tech almost blew the whole deal.  Eiling had to transfer his stepson because Randy was close to uncovering the plot.

Eiling gives the floor to Theresa Delgado, who begins to explain how Spectro’s upcoming “battle” with Major Force is going to go down.

Tom says there’s no way he’s putting on the Spectro costume again and getting thrown back into prison.  Eiling calls in Major Force to “persuade” Emory.  The Major bursts through a wall and picks up Tom.  Force says Tom is lucky their battle is scripted because otherwise he would kill Dr. Spectro.  Tom fishes a small disk out of his pocket and flashes Force with dazzling light that knocks the Major out.

When Tom tries to walk out, Martin Allard grabs his arm and twists it behind his back.  Tom threatens to go to the police, to which Eiling counter-threats that he will have Major Force kill Dr. Spectro.

In his apartment, Nate gets a call from his new employer.  Turns out that “Cameron Scott” has some “improprieties” in his service record and the job offer is rescinded.  Nate realizes Eiling has gotten to them.  He checks his mail and reads more rejection letters as he strolls downtown (past an interesting comic book store, I might add – signs in the window exclaim “Comic Cafe featuring DC and that other company,” and “Millennium week 368 is here.”).

Nate thinks to himself that he shouldn’t have quit Eiling; he should have killed the man.  He is completely oblivious to the newspaper headlines in a nearby news-stand that reveal Dr. Spectro’s release from prison.

Two days later, Spectro is fleeing the scene of his latest crime.  He has robbed a bunch of rich snobs who were attending some sort of function in what looks like the Seattle Space Needle (This is New York City so maybe it is The View? I don’t know if it was around in 1988.).  Major Force leaps from a helicopter onto the back out Spectro’s glider and they begin to go down.  All scripted, of course.  They “crash” right in front of a lucky camera crew.  On the streets of DC, Nate catches the live broadcast on a store-front TV.

The Major forgets his lines and begins to ad-lib.  The scripted scene takes an unexpected turn when Captain Atom appears to lend a hand.

Spectro runs.  He’s not wanting to face Captain Atom again.  Cap goes after him, and Major force hops on his back to go with them.  Cap shoots Spectro down and shakes off Major Force.  Tom uses his holograms to appear as a gorilla, but Cap isn’t fooled and knocks Spectro back.

Major Force attacks Captain Atom.  Dr. Spectro thinks Force is a fool to go off script, but the Major points out there are now cameras nearby (they’re in a wooded area – Central Park?).  Tom likes the sound of this.  He uses one of his doo-dads to temporarily blind Cap.  Major Force then channels Ben Grimm and goes to town on Captain Atom, mercilessly beating his disabled opponent.  It says a lot about his character.  He knows he can’t beat Captain Atom in a fair fight and is determined to bring down his enemy any way he can.  But the only reason Cap is his “enemy” is because of the Major doing douchebag stuff like this.

The splash page of the Major beating Cap is some of Broderick and Smith’s best work, but the true hero of the page is Duncan Andrews and his addition of the word “plopffff.”

Major Force and Dr. Spectro leave Captain Atom’s unconcious body in the woods, reminding each other to give the good Captain credit for assisting in Spectro’s capture.

I liked the idea of Captain Atom trying to mess with Eiling’s party and then getting beaten for his trouble.  Very well written and drawn, I give this issue an A.  But why is it one of my favorites?  Well, the answer to that lies on the letters page with this little gem:

“TO:  Captain Cameron Scott/Captain Nathaniel Adam/Captain Atom
FROM:  Sergeant Jason *****
RE:  The Captain Atom Project
MSG:  Sir,
I have noticed over the past few comics that you’ve been taking a lot of unwanted abuse from General Eiling.  As a fellow Air Force officer, I should remind you that you have the power to simply desert the Air Force and forget about the entire Captain Atom Project.  I say this knowing how much you despise being a super-hero in general, and most of all you hate spying on the Justice League International.  You should simply get up in front of the General and retire from the Air Force.  Everyone knows you didn’t kill General Lemar anyway.  You’re too swell a guy!

Sgt. Jason X. Xxxxx”

Yeah, that was me.  No, I was never in the Air Force.  I was 15 years old.  In those days, DC would print the sender’s address along with the letter.  Some months later, I got a letter from a kid who was thinking of enlisting in the Air Force and wanted advice from me.  I should have written him back and said I was just a kid myself, but it just seemed too embarrassing for me at the time.  Also, was I naive or what?  Thinking Cap could just quit like that?  I mean, he DID quit, but not for long.

Anyway, that’s my brush with comic book fame.

Captain Atom #13 (February 1988)

Tags

Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Chester King, Duncan Andrews, Enemy Ace, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Harris Eiling, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Nightshade, Pat Broderick, Randall Eiling/Randy Adam

“We Three Kings”

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

So this is Christmas for Captain Atom.  Morose and bittersweet.  I know a lot of Captain Atom fans are not Christian and do not necessarily celebrate December 25 as the birth of Christ, but Nathaniel Adam was raised Catholic.  So I apologize to anyone if they find anything about this post offensive, but I assure you I am not another pig-headed American trying to force his own religion or politics down anyone’s throat.  I see this as just a plot device.

For those of you who are Christian, I wish you a happy Christmas.  To those of you who aren’t, but still celebrate Christmas, a happy Christmas to you as well.  Also, happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Boxing Day, Day of Goodwill, Slovenia Independence and Unity Day, HumanLight, and whatever significance this time of the year holds for you.

This issue of Captain Atom, cover dated March 1988, hit the spinner rack on December 8, 1987.  It introduced two new supporting cast members (Chester King and Harris Eling [the first Eiling I’ve actually genuinely liked]), and reunited Captain Atom with his old Charlton partner and girlfriend Nightshade (Eve Eden).  It also featured Enemy Ace, a strange character to be found in a Captain Atom book, but it works.

This issue opens with Nate standing on a bridge in a snowy park overlooking a small body of water on Christmas Eve.  He chucks his “Cameron Scott” ID into the water.  In Captain Atom Annual #1, Nate resigned from the Air Force.  He cut all ties with General Eiling, Dr. Megala, Lieutenant Allard, Major Force, and all the other knuckleheads associated with the Captain Atom Project.  But he’s still using the fake identity they provided him with.

Nate feels he is truly free of Eiling.  The General has been keeping Adam in line by threatening to tell Peggy and Randy the truth about their father.  But now Nate feels he has a card that trumps Eiling’s – Major Force.

Noting that the snow makes visibility in the park nearly zero, Nate transforms into Captain Atom, burning away his Air Force uniform in the process, and flies away.

Meanwhile, at his father’s home, General Eiling is stoking his fireplace and thinking about Captain Atom and Major Force.  He knows Nate thinks he has dirt on him, but Eiling also knows he still has dirt on Nate.  Captain Atom is the one, after all, who told the world Major Force’s “origin story.”  Nate can’t reveal the lie without admitting his own guilt.  And that would eventually unravel Captain Atom’s own story – the “big lie.”

So lost in thought is General Eiling that he does not hear his father calling him.  Harris (Eiling’s father) wants to know why his son is so preoccupied.  But Eiling tells his father he can’t discuss “matters pertaining to national security.”  Harris asks his son to try and put his worries aside so that they – and Randy and Peggy – can have a happy holiday.

Back in his apartment (probably in Washington, DC), Nate is going through his bills.  On the coffee table in front of him is the saddest looking Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The apartment is littered with bachelor trash and empty cans (but fear not, Captain Atom fans, it appears Nate has been binge-drinking soda – not beer).  His bank account is dwindling, his friends and family are all out of town, his wife is dead, and he’s sad and alone on Christmas Eve.  But he looks at the bright side – Eiling is no longer in his life.

At this point in the story we meet Chester King.  He’s a young, handsome, happy young man.  He’s on a pay phone with his wife, telling her he has to work late on Christmas Eve for “Mr. Wiley.”  He says he just has to run an errand for his boss and he’ll come straight home.  His wife, a beautiful raven-hared woman in a skimpy outfit, says she’ll keep the egg nog warm for him (gross).  Then Chester calls Mr. Wiley, thanking him for the generous bonus his employer has given him.  Mr. Wiley tells Chester that “the incendiary device” is identical to the type used by the “Black Cougars.”  (The Black Cougars must be the DCU equivalent of the Black Panthers.)

“When the tenement goes up,” assures Chester, “[The Black Cougars] will get all the blame… and you’ll get all the insurance benefits.”

So this “Mr. Wiley” and Chester are involved in some sort of insurance fraud scam.  Chester hangs up the pay phone and is approached by a homeless man who says his name is Bubba.  He asks Chester for a quarter and Chester gives Bubba a wad of bills.

Back at the Eiling house, Randy and Peggy are frolicking in the snow while Harris watches from a window.  He tells General Eiling it reminds him of the first Christmas he spent with them after his son married Angela Adam.  Harris quickly realizes his son isn’t listening to him; he is on the phone with Allard.  General Eiling shoos his father out of the room, citing “national security” again.

Next we see Nate walking the streets of D.C. (and he identifies it as Washington, D.C., so mystery solved!) in a foul mood.  He has no one to spend the holiday with, thinking to himself that even Dr. Megala and Babylon are with friends.  He is also approached by the homeless Bubba, asking him for a dollar.  Nate gives Bubba a quarter, saying it is all he can spare.

Chester King, meanwhile, is breaking into the abandoned tenement, setting the explosives while thinking to himself how happy his wife is going to be with his bonus and a surprise trip to the Bahamas.  He refers to the condemned building as “the Dixie,” and that it is an eyesore anyway.

Bubba and his homeless brethren are enjoying a bit of liquor around their barrel fire and a Christmas tree that is even more pathetic than Nate’s.  Bubba’s friends ask if he has somewhere better to be.  To this, Bubba replies, “Better than this?  There was a time… when only the creme de la creme of the rich and famous could even get into the ballroom of the Dixie Hotel on the night before Christmas.”

Chester bursts into his favorite watering hole, Smitty’s Bar, buying a round for everyone there.  In a dark corner sits the morose Nathaniel Adam, feeling out of place.  Even here, in a bar, we don’t see Nate drinking alcohol or beer.  I guess it wasn’t super-hero-like to be depressed and drinking.  But didn’t Tony Stark (Iron Man) have a well-documented drinking problem?  Not to mention Green Arrow’s pal Speedy being a heroin junkie.  I guess Bates and Weisman wanted to keep Captain Atom light by not showing him drinking.  However, he is clearly holding a beer on the cover.  I’m overthinking this.

Back at the Eiling house, Harris is regaling Peggy and Randy with a tale from his own RAF days.  Stuck in the skies over Germany in World War I with a fuel leak in his Nieuport 10, Harris encountered Hans von Hammer – a.k.a Enemy Ace.  Faulty plane or not, Harris couldn’t pass up a chance to shoot down the German who had racked up “close to 70 kills since the war began.”  Von Hammer, in a brilliant aerial maneuver, looped over Harris and became the pursuer rather than the pursued.  But Enemy Ace never fired on Harris Eiling.  He saw that the Nieuport was disabled and let the RAF pilot go.  He even gave Eiling a salute.  It was against his “battle code” to take down a disabled opponent.  But Harris didn’t live by the same code, and fired on Enemy Ace with his sidearm in vain.  Later in life, he regretted taking those shots.  He felt it was dishonorable.

General Eiling gets really pissed off by his father’s revelation.  He calls it the biggest load of crap he’s ever heard.  He says his father has gone soft and is senile.  He storms out into the snow without putting on a coat.

At Smitty’s Bar, a man crashes in, saying the old Dixie Hotel is on fire.  The patrons go out to watch the fire.  Someone comments on “those poor squatters.”  This alarms Chester.  Mr. Wiley never mentioned squatters.  The onlookers try to organize a rescue but don’t know what they can do.  Except one of those onlookers knows exactly what to do – Nathaniel Adam.

As Nate ducks into an alley to do his super-hero switcheroo, Chester sees a man on fire run from the building.  He throws the man into the snow, smothering the flames with his coat.  With horror, Chester realizes the man is Bubba, and watches him die.  That is when the full scope of what he’s done hits him.  His friends pull him away from Bubba just as Captain Atom bursts on the scene.

Nate thinks to himself that, even though he’s been super-heroing for over a year, this feels like his first time out.  He protects some of the squatters from falling debris before absorbing the smoke and flames.

At the Eiling house, the General is holding his hand over the flame in the fireplace.  He tells his father he will not tolerate any more “weak-willed molly-coddling” in front of his children – especially Randy.  Neither the General nor his father realize that Randy is listening to their conversation, looking a little distressed.

In D.C., firefighters are finishing up at the Dixie.  One of the men returns Chester’s coat, calling Bubba a “bum,”which angers Chester.  He walks home, despondent over what he has done.  Passing a bell-ringer collecting money for charity, Chester drops $5,000 into the man’s bucket.

At Smitty’s, the patrons are lifting Captain Atom up and cheering him.  Nate thinks he’s never felt so close to being a real super-hero.  A blonde woman in the bar flirts with Cap.  She says she’s Eve Eden, and that she and Cap have a mutual “uncle” who asked her to keep an eye on him.  Nate asks her out and they walk out of the bar, hand-in-hand.  Eve Eden is, of course, Nightshade.

Like I said, morose and bittersweet.  Bates and Weisman really captured how lonely it is to be Captain Atom.  He’s missed 18 years and life went on without him.  His children don’t even think of him or seem to miss him on this holiday.  It is really kind of touching.  I really loved this issue.  We have Nate sad and lonely, yet happy he’s free, the return of Nightshade into his life, the introduction of one of my favorite and little-used supporting characters (Harris Eiling), and Enemy Ace.  And I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Pat Brodericks artwork.  I think this may be one of my favorite issues of Captain Atom. A+

The cover alone warrants an A+.

Captain Atom Annual #1 (1988)

Tags

Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dr. Megala, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Major Force, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Randall Eiling/Randy Adam

“The Dark Side of the Force”

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

Although this annual is cover-dated “1988,” it probably should have been the 1987 annual.  It picks up where Captain Atom #12 left off, and was on sale November 24, 1987.  But because comic books are dated 2-3 months after they are published (as are magazines, and I never knew why), this was the 1988 annual.  When annual #2 was published nine months later, it also bore the date “1988.”  So Captain Atom looks like it had two annuals in 1988 when really it was one in 1987 and one in 1988.

Confused?  Me too.

The annual opens to a radio broadcast in a small unnamed community.  Several listeners have reported a UFO in the skies that seems to have gone down in a nearby abandoned limestone quarry.  The DJ suggests that it all just some sort of government plot.  How right he is.

Meanwhile, in his apartment (I think maybe he lives in Washington, DC, but it hasn’t really been established with any certainty yet), Nathaniel Adam is awakened by a phone call.  General Eiling is ordering Captain Atom to investigate the crashed UFO.  Nate seems none too interested until Eiling tells him that Randy will be there.

Indeed, Majestic Squadron is on its way to the quarry via helicopter.  Randy is cracking jokes just like his dad used to do before a dangerous op.  Doctor Megala and General Eiling are watching Randy and Captain Atom’s individual progresses as they head for the crashed ship.

Captain Atom is first to arrive on the scene (aside from some locals).  He touches down in front of the large silver craft as it begins to open.  Cap tries to welcome the aliens to Earth, but the response he gets is an angry rock-man flying out of the open hatch (this is the fellow we met in Captain Atom #12, Clifford Zmeck – aka Major Force).  He lands and then stands before Cap, towering over him.  Nate tells the “alien” that he is his friend, impressing the locals who are watching (Nate is not in the loop – unaware that this alien is actually an Air Force Sergeant).  The alien smacks Cap, sending him flying.

So Cap gets pissed.  He tried the “diplomatic” approach.  Next he tries the “blasting quantum death into the face of the enemy” approach.  The locals cheer for Captain Atom as Megala and Eiling monitor the Major’s vitals.  When Cap goes to investigate the rock face he embedded the Major into, he is blasted by black matter.  Major Force leaps at Captain Atom, calling him “dork face.”

It is the use of the phrase “dork face” that tips Nate off that maybe this dude isn’t an alien after all.  Eiling is proud of “Mr. Zmeck.”  He poses a threat to Captain Atom that Nate hasn’t had to face yet.  Zmeck manipulates matter the way Nate manipulates energy.  It is a welcome surprise to Eiling.  Megala says the use of matter instead of energy could be from the amount of alien metal used on Zmeck, or the lower mega-tonnage of the nuclear device used; or even a variable they don’t even know.

Local news has picked up the battle, which appears to be at a stalemate.  Megala warns Eiling that Zmeck is about to enter his final molting stage.  Eiling orders his man at the scene to step in.

At the scene of the “crash,” a man dressed as an Air Force Major (but wearing green goggle-like glasses that Pat Broderick seems to love drawing) bursts into the crowd of onlookers, saying “My pal, the Captain, needs help.”  He repels into the quarry before the camera crew can get a good look at him.

Zmeck encases Captain Atom in a ball of matter.  Cap tries to break free, but can only manage to get his head and hand out before passing out (from exhaustion I guess).  The mysterious Major has Zmeck in his sights and fires his rifle at the beast just as the final molting process begins.  He then charges at Zmeck, who picks him up to break his back.  Zmeck passes out and the quarry fills with a thick black smoke that obscures the view from above.

Captain Atom revives and sees the alien ship open once more.  General Eiling and Dr. Megala emerge.  A medical team dressed in haz-mat suits check on Zmeck and the mysterious Major (who is actually Lieutenant Martin Allard).  Cap bursts out of his prison, angry that he was used by his superiors.  He says he’d heard rumors of a second experiment with the alien metal.  Eiling explains Major Force Project to Cap (which we learned about in Captain Atom #12).  He tells Cap that the “alien ship” is going to explode and he expects Nate to absorb the flames.  Megala makes a lame apology to Nate for using him like this.  He says Eiling threatened to simply kill Zmeck upon his arrival if Megala didn’t play along.

Cap asks Megala to “please just get out of my sight.”  The doctor follows Eiling into a tunnel that will protect the team from the blast.  The smoke clears just as Majestic Squadron shows up.  Randall Eiling requests a meeting with Captain Atom.  Nate ignores his son (much to his own disgust), picks up Major Force, and flies away.  He pauses long enough to absorb the explosion of the “space craft,” per General Eiling’s orders, before leaving the scene altogether.

Over the next few days, news programs report what little info they have on the crash.  The Air Force isn’t releasing any details, and the identity of the mysterious Major, Captain Atom’s “friend,” is still unknown.  Back at the base, Major Force has been debriefed and has a symbol etched onto his metal skin.  He doesn’t like the implants that monitor his every move or the Delta-9 gas pellets or the head-blowing-off explosives.  Megala doesn’t trust Zmeck but Eiling feels he has complete control over the Major.

Later, Captain Atom holds a press conference.  He explains that Major Force is his ally, an amalgam of the alien and his mysterious Major friend.

Over the course of the next ten days, it becomes clear what a menace General Eiling has unleashed upon the world.  In trying to stop up a breach in the Carson Dam (in Nevada, maybe?), Major Force inadvertently causes the crash of a rescue helicopter and the deaths of everyone on board.  Afterwards he is indignant with witnesses and brags about the thousands of lives he’d saved.  Later, when Major Force responds to a hostage crisis at a “downtown tenement building” (the city is still not identified), he guts the building, sending hostage-takers and hostages alike flying to the ground.  They end up in a local hospital’s ICU.

In an effort to distance himself from Major Force, Captain Atom appears on a news program called Newsprobe.  He apologizes to the public for unleashing Force upon them.  He pleads with Force to curtail future use of his powers.  Eiling, watching the broadcast while on the phone with Megala, thinks he can still spin the Major Force story positively.

Outside the studio, Major Force confronts Captain Atom.  He tells Cap that he’s right – Zmeck has no business being a super-hero.  Upon Force’s request, Cap gives him a lift to the base to see Eiling and Megala (Major Force does not have the ability to fly).  As they approach the base, Force grabs Cap around the neck.  Cap flips Major Force, pissed off that he has been drawn into Eiling’s insane plans.  He thinks to himself, “Never again!”

It appears that, due to his size and strength, Force begins to get the upper-hand.  However, just as he is about to blast Cap with matter, Allard uses the implanted explosives to blow off Major Force’s left hand.  Cap realizes Force is fitted with microphones, cameras, and explosives.  Eiling chides Allard, saying he was supposed to release gas, not blow off the Major’s hand.

“Sorry,” says Allard, “wrong button. Gas activated now.”  (Martin Allard has reason to hate Clifford Zmeck – the Air Force Sergeant killed Allard’s mother in 1969.)

The gas knocks the Major out.  Nate thinks to himself that Eiling made two mistakes.  The first was to underestimate how mentally unstable Zmeck was.  The second was to get Captain Atom involved in the first mistake.  Nate uses concentrated quantum blasts to etch something on Major Force’s chest before tossing the unconscious “super-hero” into Eiling’s headquarters.

Force crashes into Megala’s lab in front of General Eiling, Lieutenant Allard, and Dr. Megala.  Etched on Zmeck’s chest are the words, “I QUIT!”

I vividly remember the first time I read this issue, back in 1987.  It blew my poor little fifteen-year-old mind (for reasons I will clarify when I review Captain Atom #15… How’s that for foreshadowing?).  It was an exciting story.  I loved the idea of another quantum powered dude out there, a less-intelligent Moriarty to Captain Atom’s Sherlock Holmes.  I don’t know why Greg Weisman started shouldering the writing responsibility with Cary Bates, but they seemed to be a good team.  And Pat Broderick and Bob Smith did a great job.  An A effort all around.

This was another important milestone in Captain Atom’s history, although I did not realize it at the time I first read it.  From 1960 to 1975, Cap only appeared in 24 comics as a major character.  That’s just 24 issues spread out over 15 years (and two of those appearances were just in fanzines).  He was always on the fringe of the DC Universe from the time he was purchased from Charlton Comics.  He was included in the Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series but not as a major player.  He really came into his own with this particular series, and was popular enough to warrant two annuals.  I remember (not knowing about the character’s history pre-1987) being anxious about how this was all going to play out when I was a kid.  Rereading this annual transported me back to simpler times in my life, when my $8 a week allowance was blown at Komix Kastle the day I got it.  Ah, youth.

Captain Atom #11 (January 1988)

Tags

Bob Smith, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Duncan Andrews, Firestorm, General Eiling, Greg Weisman, Harry Hadley, Jerry Bingham, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Silver Age Captain Atom

“A Matter of Choice”

• Writers:  Cary Bates & Greg Weisman
• Pencils:  Pat Broderick
• Inks:  Bob Smith
• Colors:  Nansi Hoolahan
• Letters:  Duncan Andrews
• Cover Artist:  Jerry Bingham

This issue came out October 6, 1987 and was a tie-in with the Millennium crossover event.  Since Cap was seen (briefly) in Justice League International #9, he appeared in Secret Origins #22, Blue Beetle #20, Millennium #3 & 4, Teen Titans Spotlight #18, and Action Comics #596.  Suicide Squad #9 leads into this issue and it is followed by Firestorm #68, both of which also feature Captain Atom.

Four of the books tied in with week four of Millennium had covers that combined (not perfectly) to form one complete picture.  They were Captain Atom #11, Spectre #10, Detective Comics #582, and Suicide Squad #9.

At this point in the Millennium story, Firestorm is working with the Manhunters, having been convinced they are his creators.  Captain Atom has been sent by General Eiling to butt heads with Firestorm in the swamps of Belle Reve, Louisiana.  He’s unhappy that Eiling has given him this assignment and he’s super unhappy that he has to deal with that “most immature hotheaded superhero on Earth” again.  But Cap is unaware of the changes Firestorm has recently undergone.

In the apex of a nuclear explosion were Ronnie Raymond, Martin Stein (the two people who make up Firestorm) and Mikhail Arkadin (a Soviet super-hero with nuclear powers of his own that went by the code-name “Pozhar”).  The result was that a new Firestorm emerged with a body created by Martin Stein but a consciousness that held both Arkadin and Raymond (neither of which had control over Firestorm at this point).  This change began in Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Annual #5 (which hit the shelves in July 1987, three months prior to Captain Atom #11).  Firestorm is still trying to figure himself out (FIRESTORM FAN calls him the “blank slate Firestorm.”  Captain Atom also refers to Firestorm’s “blank slate” in this very issue).

The first part of this book is narrated by Firestorm.  And when he first shows up on page 2, the artwork is just fantastic.  Pat Broderick actually drew Firestorm regularly from June 1982 to November 1983.  I don’t know if he had any great love for the character, but I certainly like his take on this version of the Nuclear Man.

Firestorm has thrown up a wall of flame to stop Captain Atom.  He is protecting a Manhunter stronghold.  Of course, Cap blasts right through this wall.  He flies toward Firestorm, who calmly asks Cap to “please disengage.”  Captain Atom keeps coming, and knocks Firestorm into the trees.  I think this proves who the hot-head really is.

Firestorm tells Cap that he has given his last warning.  He means to stop Cap from waging war on his creators.  Firestorm referring to the Manhunters as such leaves Cap somewhat taken off guard.  Firestorm whips up a pink “molecular storm” within a metal sphere to hold Cap.  Atom begins to suspect the nuclear man might be brain-damaged.  When he tried to blast his way out of the sphere, Cap finds his powers useless.  And Firestorm has locked himself in with Captain Atom.  He can regenerate the sphere’s shell as quickly as Cap can disintegrate it.  Checking his watch, Nate realizes he only has 55 minutes until the explosive (brought into the swamp by the Suicide Squad) detonates.  He decides to relax and have a chat with Firestorm.

Realizing that this new Firestorm has a very simplistic world view, Captain Atom attempts to explain why the Manhunters are a threat via a story.  He tells of a young boy with a love of airplanes and a gift for aeronautical design.  This boy, however, had an intense fear of flying.  Determined to rid the boy of his fear, his father took him to an airfield owned by a friend.  Explaining that he was a pilot himself, the father strapped the boy into a crop duster and took to the skies.

As they flew, the father talked to the boy, calming him and reassuring him.  Soon, the boy grew to love flying as much as he loved planes.  When he grew up, he joined the Air Force.  As a result, he one day became Captain Atom.  Firestorm says he realizes, thanks to the story, that it would be bad if the Manhunters prevented mankind from realizing their true potential.  But they have never given Firestorm a reason to distrust them (indeed, he is still convinced they created him).  Captain Atom realizes he’ll need another story.

So Cap makes a colossal mistake and shares with Firestorm a story from his “early” super-hero days when he was still “working in secret.”  He tells of a time when he was called upon by his superiors to assist in a search for two career military men who had stolen a van full of top secret government equipment and fled.  Cap was ordered to bring back the equipment and kill the two deserters.  Not liking the order, yet reluctant to disobey his C.O., Cap discovered the van and realized his intel was wrong.  It was a communications van and the two men were on death’s door with radiation sickness.  They had been exposed to radiation in atomic warfare tests in the desert.  They stole the van to take their story to the public, hoping the end result would be compensation to insure the welfare of their families when they succumbed to the sickness and died.  As they explained this to Cap, the Air Force fired an air-to-ground rocket at the men.

Captain Atom intercepted the rocket.  When the smoke cleared, he, the men, and the van were nowhere to be found.  Captain Atom had moved them to a new location and allowed them to broadcast their story.  His C.O. was furious, but Cap said he would not follow orders that he felt were unjust, choosing instead to follow the dictates of his own conscience.  The two men did receive compensation and all charges against them were dropped.

Firestorm darkens and says he understands. He understands that Captain Atom is a liar.  The Manhunters had revealed to Firestorm the true story of how he became a super-hero.  He knows Cap’s story is a lie.  He leaves the sphere, leaving Cap still trapped within.  Firestorm fills the sphere with “toxic gas” and taunts Captain Atom’s attempts to blast his way out.  Old flame-top turns out to be a bit of a bad-ass in this one.  I’ve certainly learned a lesson here – don’t EFF with the Nuclear Man!

At that moment, “a thousand miles to the northeast,” Captain Atom is missing an interview on WGTV.  G. Gordon Liddy is preparing to go on in his stead, but Harry Hadley is waiting in the wings.  He thinks he will go on instead of Liddy, and plans to expose the Captain Atom Project’s “Big Lie.”  A stage hand directs him to the alleyway outside the studio when Hadley begins to light a cigarette.  Outside, he is confronted by General Eiling.

Eiling reminds Hadley that no one from the Captain Atom Project is ever to appear in public anywhere near Captain Atom.  Hadley showing up at the studio at a time when Cap is supposed to appear is tantamount to treason.  When Hadley pulls a high-tech-looking gun, a sniper takes him down.  Eiling remarks that he had suspicions about Hadley all along.

Back in the swamp, Captain Atom is paralyzed in the sphere while Firestorm chides him.  Cap keeps thinking to himself, “Damn the lie.”  He’s beating himself up for lying to Firestorm.  He should have known that the Manhunters, with all their knowledge, would have briefed Firestorm on his true background.  He doesn’t blame Firestorm for not believing him.

Cap confesses that he lied.  He admits it was wrong.  He tries to point out that the Manhunters also lied to Firestorm.  Their plans to conquer the human race are the truth.  Firestorm angrily exclaims, “The truth?  Someone who has been living a lie still dares to talk to me of truth?”  Cap responds by telling Firestorm the whole truth about his past.

Captain Atom tells Firestorm that he was a convicted murderer.  He says that he was part of a secret government project in 1968.  Yadda yadda yadda, he recounts his origin.  We all know it.  He goes on to say that he wants to clear his name and reconnect with the children he left behind.  Firestorm says, “Enough!” and dissolves the sphere.  He tells Cap he is going with his instinct and following his conscience.  He realizes he’s been duped by the Manhunters and wants to help Cap now.

Explaining the bomb the Suicide Squad placed, Cap flies off with Firestorm.  The Squad won’t be able to evacuate from the blast radius in time.  They have less than a minute to act.  Firestorm says he knows what to do.

The bomb detonates.  Captain Atom absorbs as much of the blast as he can without bumping himself into the future again.  That which he cannot absorb is transmuted by Firestorm… into snow.  He says he saw the Suicide Squad escaping to the west; all of them are safe.  The target – the Manhunter base – was decimated.

Firestorm explains that he changed his mind about Cap when he heard him talk about his kids.  His intuition told him Captain Atom was being honest.  The two walk off together with Firestorm full of questions and Captain Atom declaring, “Super-hero school is now back in session.”

Generally I don’t like issues of comics that tie in with big crossover events, but I really dug this one.  It helped that at the time I was reading Firestorm and was invested in both he and Captain Atom.  It also helped that it was a good story.  Cap’s doubt and Firestorm’s ire were compelling.  I always like it when those two butt heads.  The art is great except for one little thing.  Pat Broderick’s style of drawing children is a little weird.  Like Steve Ditko, his kids seem really cartoony.  Other than that, great great work.  A for art and A for story.

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 #9 (November 1987)

Tags

Bob Smith, Bolt, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Corporal Hart, Duncan Andrews, General Eiling, General Lemar, Harry Hadley, Henry Yarrow, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, Major Gargan, Martin Allard, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick

“Blood and Betrayal”

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

This opens on Nathaniel Adam writing a letter to his son Randy.  Although he is only two years older than his son (which he mentions in the letter), Pat Broderick has somehow make him look his real age.  It is kind of creepy.  Must be the white hair.

Nate is writing to Randy because he missed seeing his son when he was in town for Eiling’s third star ceremony (in Captain Atom #8).  He tells Randy he is spending all of his free time working his case, trying to prove that he was set up, that the murder and charge of treason were part of a bigger conspiracy.  He gives Randy details of his trial in the letter; his side of the story.

Earlier, in Westport, Connecticut, retired Major Alfred Gargan is killed by super-villain-killer-for-hire Bolt in such a way that it looks like an accident.  Later, after the explosion, Captain Cameron Scott shows up at the Gargan home.  Scott is working a 20-year-old Air Force case (the murder trial of Nathaniel Adam, of course), and Gargan figured prominently in that case.  Gargan was Nate’s prosecutor.  Nate recalls his trial.  We finally get details of the crime he was accused of.

In 1968, Captain Nathaniel Christopher Adam was in command of Mayday Company, an “elite Air Force recon team well-trained for infantry action in the bush.”  Their mission during the period leading up to Adam’s crime was to find the remains of a downed reconnaissance aircraft a few miles from the Laos border and retrieve the classified data on board before it could fall into the hands of the North Vietnamese Army (this must be the X-Ionizer).  According to Nate’s account, once they sighted the the wreckage on a hillside, he radioed a request for a two-company perimeter that was denied by General Lemar.  Nate argues that he needs those men but Lemar will not bend.  The NVA can’t get that downed aircraft (seems it would in Lemar’s interest to send Adam the soldiers he needs).  Nate goes to Sergeant Goslin to tell him they need to take the hill now without backup.  Gargan points out this exchange happened while Nate’s RTO (radio telephone operator) was indisposed so they have only Captain Adam’s word that Lemar ordered Mayday Company to take the hill.  Mayday Company found themselves in a three-way VC ambush with AK-47s opening fire on them from all sides.  Goz is wounded but he and Nate manage to disperse the VC with frag grenades.  There are only four survivors from Mayday Company (including Nate and Goz), not – Gargan posits – because of “non-existent” orders from Lemar, but because Captain Adam recklessly exceeded his authority.

Back at Winslow Air Force Base, General Eiling is walking across the tarmac with Allard and Hadley, discussing the death of Gargan.  Hadley mentions it is suspicious that Gargan died the same day as Cameron Scott’s visit.  After Eiling calls it bad timing, Allard agrees with Hadley that it is incredibly suspicious.  Eiling says Nate has his own private agenda and that he’s surprised Adam hasn’t started this digging expedition some time ago (of course, he was busy saving Canada, a sunken nuclear submarine’s reactor bumped him further into the future, and he was lost in Cambodia with Plastique).  Allard tells the General that he updated their files on the other two surviving key personnel from the 1968 court-martial, both of which returned to civilian life some time ago.  They will know if Nate comes into contact with them.  He says that most likely Adam will head out west next, in search of Colonel Yarrow in Las Vegas or Corporal Hart in Los Angeles.  Adam is, in fact, on a boat speaking to Hart at that moment.

Hart says he can barely remember the trial and that Captain Scott’s best bet would be to just read the transcripts.  Adam leaves his number with Hart, telling him to call if anything comes to mind.  Nate’s departure is watched by two men in blue suits who notify Allard of the meeting.  Nate flashes back to the trial, when Hart was on the stand.  He was the radio operator for General Lemar at Dau Tieng.  He testifies about a conversation he had with Lemar the day of Mayday Company’s failed assault on hill 409.  Lemar was upset with Hart, because they had only one working radio (there had been a bombing raid the night before that took out the other radios).  According to Hart’s testimony, it would have been impossible for Captain Adam to make radio contact with Lemar on the day in question.  However, back in the 80s, Hart calls Cameron Scott after their meeting and says Lemar had a second radio in his quarters that no one else knew about.  Hart says Lemar was heavily involved in some sort of drug trafficking operation.  Hart’s call is cut short when a slim beam of energy cuts his phone line.  He looks up to see Bolt standing over him.  At the other end of the line, Nate suspects that Hart is about to face the same fate as Gargan.  He transforms into Captain Atom and hightails it to the marina.  But Cap gets there too late.  Hart’s boat is on fire with Hart’s charred corpse on board.  He swoops down and absorbs the flames before flying away.

Later, Bolt appears in an abandoned building outside Sparta, Illinois.  Contacting his employer via video link, he demands more pay because his job has become more difficult with Captain Atom involved.  Although he hasn’t had to deal with Cap himself, he knows they are on the same trail and it is a matter of time before their paths cross.  His employer agrees that eventually the two will end up at odds, and asks Bolt to open the package on the table before him.  It holds a large amount of cash; it is triple the amount Bolt was meant to be paid.  His employer tells Bolt he’ll receive a comparable amount as final payment when the two remaining people on his list are terminated.  Pleased, Bolt says that for this kind of cash, he’d take on the Justice League (and considering that the Justice League at this point doesn’t include Superman or even Captain Atom himself, Bolt could probably pull it off).

In his letter to Randy, Nate admits he did hate General Lemar.  Almost his entire unit was wiped out and his best friend was put in the hospital.  He held Lemar personally responsible.  But Gargan posited that Adam saw Lemar as a potential threat because he knew Mayday Company was not ordered to take the hill or retrieve anything from the downed aircraft.  He says Adam went into Lemar’s office to kill him in order to cover his own tracks.

In Las Vegas, Captain Scott meets with Henry Yarrow, now a private investigator.  Henry was Nate’s defense attorney in 1968.  Yarrow isn’t fooled by “Cameron Scott” and recognizes him as Nathaniel Adam.  He also says that if Hart’s information is correct, they may have finally found the real reason Nate was framed.  The two men drive away, unaware that Allard’s men are watching them.  Adam reminds Yarrow that in 68 he had entered Lemar’s office to confront him.  He wanted Lemar to confess.  He remembers Lemar reaching for something in his desk but then Nate passed out.  When he came to, sprawled over Lemar’s desk, he saw his own knife sticking out of Lemar’s dead body.  That was when the MPs entered the office and arrested Nate.  Nate then says he thinks Yarrow didn’t give him the best defense.  If he had, the drug ring should have come up in his investigation.  Hart confessed he kept quiet because he was afraid for his life and asks if Yarrow did the same.  Yarrow, insulted, tells Nate he’s heard enough “garbage” and kicks Nate out of his car.  He tells Adam not to look him up again.  This is witnessed by Allard’s men.

As Yarrow drives away, he is zapped by Bolt, who is flying above him.  Bolt ignites the gas tank, but the resulting explosion is absorbed by Captain Atom.  Bolt punches Cap in the stomach before blasting him.  But before Cap can retaliate, Bolt vanishes, teleporting out to fulfill the rest of his contract.  Atom touches down to check on Yarrow, who is fine.  Allard’s men radio their boss to let him know what’s going on.  Yarrow confesses that someone did approach him before Adam’s trial, paying him $10,000 to keep the drug ring out of the trial.  Yarrow accepted because it looked like Adam was guilty anyway.  Captain Atom keeps his temper in check, knowing that Yarrow is confessing this to Atom because he is thankful for the rescue and feeling guilty.  Yarrow says Nate was right, that there is a hit list and Yarrow was on it.  Considering this, Captain Atom takes off.  There was one more man involved in the court martial that must be on the hit list.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the last person on the hit list was Eiling.  Allard has already warned Eiling that Bolt may be moving against him.  Even as Captain Atom streaks towards the General’s house, Bolt appears in Eiling’s front lawn.  The assassin enters the Eiling home, seeing the general sitting on the sofa in front of his wide-screen TV.  Bolt shoots a fine beam through the General’s head.  But it isn’t Eiling; it was a dummy.  Eiling steps out of the shadows and draws a weapon.  They both are about to fire at each other when Captain Atom bursts through the window between them.  Atom punches Bolt out.  Eiling tells Captain Atom he is willing to admit that maybe Nate was, indeed, set up.  He says he won’t acknowledge Nate innocence until he has solid proof, but is willing to be more open-minded on the subject.

Back in his home, Nate crumples up the letter to Randy and throws it away.  He can’t be completely honest with Randy without revealing he is Captain Atom and he can’t reveal he is Captain Atom, even to his family.  He gets a call from Henry Yarrow.  Yarrow tells him he is investigating his case again, and is doing so full time.  He says he owes Nate as much.  Nate thanks him, and says if Yarrow’s willing to talk, he is willing to listen.

This was another wordy issue, light on the action.  But it was an important issue.  We finally know exactly what Nate’s crime was.  We know the major players in the case.  We have people working to clear his name, and we have Eiling willing to admit perhaps Nate is innocent.  Cary Bates has given us another A story and Broderick & Smith have given us A art.  Although I know how this all turns out for Nate, I’m still eager to reread the series again.  It should come as no surprise to anyone, but I really love Captain Atom.