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    • 1985 – Crisis on Infinite Earths
    • 1988 – Millennium
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Splitting Atoms

~ A Captain Atom blog.

Splitting Atoms

Tag Archives: Rob Leigh

Superman (Vol 3) #50 (May 2016)

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by FKAjason in Cameo, Captain Atom Versus Aliens

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Aquaman, Ardian Syaf, Black Adam, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Elasti-Girl, Gene Luen Yang, Gorilla Grodd, Hi-Fi Design, Howard Porter, Jon Bogdanove, Killer Croc, New 52 Captain Atom, Patrick Zircher, Rob Leigh, Superman, Vandal Savage

“What Could Have Been, What Still Can Be, and What Is”

  • Writer: Gene Luen Yang
  • Pencils & Inks: Howard Porter, Ardian Syaf, Patrick Zircher, Jon Bogdanove
  • Colors: Hi-Fi Design
  • Cover Artists: Dave Johnson, Dave McCaig, Kaare Andrews, Danny Miki, Arif Prianto, and John Romita, Jr.
  • Letters: Rob Leigh
  • Editors: Andrew Marino & Eddie Berganza
  • Executive Editor: Bobbie Chase

The New 52 Captain Atom (sporting pants) has a brief cameo in this issue of Superman. Vandal Savage and Superman are visiting a simulated possible future in which Earth is under Savage’s rule, with Superman as his general. Earth is under attack by the Dominators, but a group of heroes and villains led by Superman quickly ends the invasion.

It is fine as far as cameos go, but I have to wonder why they gave him pants. He never needed pants before. Also, I’m sad to say I don’t know who some of these characters are. Is that Killer Croc and Gorilla Grodd? And Rita Farr, the Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol?

superman.v3.50.01

superman.v3.50.02

superman.v3.50.03

superman.v3.50.04It has been one year since the New 52 Captain Atom was last seen.

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

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Captain Atom #2 (December 2011)

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by FKAjason in Captain Atom: Healer, Origin Stories

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Captain Atom, Dr. Megala, Freddie E. Williams II, J. T. Krul, José Villarrubia, Mikey Parker, New 52 Captain Atom, Ranita Carter, Rob Leigh, Scott Alexander, Stanley Lau

“Rebuilding Blocks”

  • Writer:  J.T. Krul
  • Pencils & Inks:  Freddie E. Williams II
  • Colors:  José Villarrubia
  • Letters:  Rob Leigh
  • Cover Artist:  Stanley Lau

This issue came out on October 19, 2011.  When we last saw the New 52 Captain Atom (excluding his cameo in Justice League International #1), he had been torn apart while trying to extinguish a volcano.  As he was melting down, he thought to himself, “If this is the end, at least I died doing some good for once.”  A news reporter covering the story says that Cap vanished right after he put out the mysterious Manhattan Volcano.  She suggests he has disappeared because he is hiding something.  Meanwhile, Cap begins to reconstitute his body in a nearby river (the East River maybe?).

This is not a new power for Cap.  The first time he used it was in his original origin story way back in 1960 (by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko).  The Modern Age Captainm Atom never used this power (and most likely didn’t have it) but Dr. Manhattan did.  Like the Silver Age Captain Atom, it was the first trick he learned (and he said as much to Ozymandius in Watchmen #12).  While it is an interesting power, it is a bit problematic.  It means that the New 52 Cap is really indestructible.  Godlike.  Or, as my stepson is fond of saying, “OP” (over-powered).  And Cap doesn’t have a Kryptonite weakness like Superman.  What would it take to defeat him?

This is the fundamental problem with Captain Atom.  He’s just too powerful.  Impossible to defeat with no end of powers.  Who could possibly challenge him?  After the Bronze Age, when the DC Universe was first rebooted in 1985, from which the Modern Age Cap was born, he was less powerful than his earlier incarnation.  He worked better as a character.  He didn’t lose touch with his humanity as Dr. Manhattan did.  Captain Atom works best when he is not indestructable.  At least, that’s my opinion.  Anyway, Cap resurrects himself.

Cap is briefly pleased that he saved Manhattan from the Volcano, but is soon bombarded by a “strange new energy pattern” pounding his brain.  His mind is beset by images and text gleaned from the internet, some of them about himself and not very flattering.  He hurries to the Continuum, where he begs Ranita Carter to “make it stop.”  Megala quickly submerges Cap in “superfluid” (your guess is as good as mine) which appears to calm him.

When Ranita remarks that Cap is lucky to have Megala, the doctor reveals that he feels responsible for Cap’s “current state.”  He’s surprised Cap confides in him at all.  He quickly tells Ranita of how Captain Atom came to be.

Unlike the previous, Nathaniel Adam (The Modern Age Cap), this fellow was a volunteer and not a convicted murderer (although that Nate was innocent – but that’s another story).  Though the project did not kill Nathaniel, it did change him forever.  Touched by Cap’s struggle, Ranita reaches out to him.  Her boyfriend Scott Alexander then bursts into the lab, angry with Ranita.  Cap tells Scott to relax and Scott tells Cap to stay away from Ranita.  Scott says Cap should be under quarantine and mentions that the Justice League “didn’t want him.”

Cap leaves the Continuum and flies about “reading” the internet images he can see in the air around him.  He is his own wifi hot-spot.  He comes across a message (email?) from a kid dying from cancer who is begging Cap to help him.  Making himself invisible (just like the original Captain Atom!), Cap enters the boy’s room at the hospital.  He learns the boy (Mikey) has a brain tumor that is more or less inoperable.  Shrinking himself to a microscopic level, Captain Atom enters Mikey’s body to attack the tumor.

A drug the doctors inject into Mikey mistake Captain Atom for a foreign object (which he is, to be fair) and attack him.  Cap dispatches the attacking drug and focuses his efforts on the tumor he has found.  We are treated with a really stunning splash page.

This is Freddie E. Williams II and José Villarrubia at their absolute best.  And I’m not a huge fan of Williams’ work on this title.  This is a truly beautiful work of art.

Mikey awakens as Captain Atom leaves his body.  The tumor was destroyed.  Mikey is certain that it wasn’t a miracle drug that saved him.  He asked Captain Atom for help and Captain Atom saved him.  He’ll live a long, healthy, normal life (cue ominous foreshadowing music here).  Cap, happy that he has done something non-destructive for once, flies away from the hospital room.

Meanwhile, in a dirty city alleyway, a man goes to chase fighting dogs away from his door.  He is shocked to discover that one of the dogs has a human face on his back. It is the face of the rat guy from the last issue (cue even more ominous foreshadowing music here).

I like this issue a whole lot.  It has a lot of nods to the Silver Age Captain Atom (rebuilding his body atom by atom, healing a sick child, becoming invisible and shrinking) and the Bronze Age Captain Atom (public mistrust of the hero).  This is a good amalgamation of the Silver/Bronze Age Cap and the Modern Age Cap with a bit of Dr. Manhattan thrown in.  Though very short (what’s that about anyway?), the story was well-told and compelling.  And the art in this one was stunning.  Upon rereading this series, I’m slowly warming up to Freddie Williams.  This issue deserves an A.

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

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Justice League #40 (June 2015)

01 Friday May 2015

Posted by FKAjason in Cameo, Crisis (1985), Justice League

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Alex Sinclair, Brad Anderson, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Dan Jurgens, Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Jerry Ordway, Jim Lee, Kevin Maguire, Phil Jimenez, Rob Leigh, Scott Kolins, Scott Williams

This has been quite the month for Captain Atom spotters.  So far we’ve seen the Modern Age Captain Atom in Convergence: Justice League International #1 and he had a cameo in Convergence: Green Lantern Parallax #1.  Monarch has appeared in Convergence #3 and Convergence #4 so far.  The Bronze Age Captain Atom popped up in Convergence: Blue Beetle #1 as well as this quick cameo in Justice League #40:

This is an often-repeated image from the Crisis on Infinite Earths series.  In this issue, Metron is talking about his involvement in the Crisis (among other DC events).

Justice League #40 was written by Geoff Johns with pencils by Kevin Maguire, Phil Jimenez, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Jason Fabok, and Jim Lee, inks by Kevin Maguire, Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Jason Fabok, and Scott Williams, colors by Brad Anderson and Alex Sinclair, and letters by Rob Leigh.

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

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The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 (January 2015)

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by FKAjason in Earth-4, The Multiversity

≈ 2 Comments

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Blue Beetle, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison, Iron Arms, Jae Lee, L.A.W., Nathan Fairbairn, Nightshade, Patrick Gleason, Peacemaker, Rob Leigh, Sarge Steel, Sentinels of Justice, Silver Age Captain Atom, The Question, Tiger, Vincent Deighan

“In Which We Burn”
  • Writer:  Grant Morrison
  • Pencils & Inks: Frank Quitely
  • Colors:  Nathan Fairbairn
  • Letters:  Rob Leigh

Yes, I am a fan of Grant Morrison.  Yes, I am a fan of Frank Quitely.  I mean, I have EYES, don’t I?

The concept of DC Universe’s “multiverse” was scrapped as a result of the 1985 maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths.  But, as with all things in comics, it was not to stay dead.  After the events of Infinite Crisis there was another maxi-series entitled 52.  It was in the pages of 52 that DC revealed that the multiverse still existed.  The Multiversity was a limited series of one-shots set in the DC Multiverse in The New 52. The one-shots in the series are written by Grant Morrison, each with a different artist. The Multiversity began in August 2014.  This issue was published November 19, 2014.

This issue takes place on Earth-4 (The Charlton Universe) and opens with the rather gruesome assassination of the President of the United States by Peacemaker (aka Christopher Smith).  Chris has been captured and is being questioned by government suits.  But the Peacemaker isn’t talking.

As Chris is lead out of the interrogation room, he passes Senator Warren Eden, who is discussing this turn of events with his daughter Eve (Nightshade).  Eden tells his daughter that Peacemaker’s actions have essentially killed the idea of a “super hero” and made the term a dirty word.  Warren advises his daughter to savor her time as a super hero, as he is putting certain plans into motion.  The government had two super heroes on the payroll, but Peacemaker has killed the President and Captain Atom is missing in action.  The government needs a convincing exit strategy to distance itself from the heroes.

Elsewhere, Blue Beetle has been tracking the Question with his Bug.  The Question is trying to run from the Bug, but Beetle points out that is impossible.  The Question tells Beetle he’s barking up the wrong tree by chasing him, that he is trying to find the murderer of Nora O’Rourke and solve the mystery of “algorithm B.”  He refers to this as “The Yellowjacket Case” (four unsolved murders of four prominent scientists).  Beetle tells him there is no Yellowjacket case and for Question to be reasonable.  “His people” are all over the Question.

Blue Beetle says he made peace with the government but the Question contends that Beetle is going about crime-fighting all wrong.  The Question pulls a device out of his coat and activates a crane that Beetle has conveniently parked the Bug under.  The Questions tells Beetle he should never rely on technology and takes off.  He ducks into a subway station where he is then confronted by Nightshade.

The Question quickly overpowers Nightshade and hops onto a passing train.  But before he does so, he tosses her one of his calling cards.  It bears a question mark that has been augmented to resemble the symbol for infinity.

The Question then goes to the crime scene where Nora O’Rourke was murdered.  She was apparently Chris Smith’s girlfriend.  He had left early that day when someone crept into his apartment, picked up a heavy statue, and crushed Nora’s head with it.  That killer may look familiar to fans of Charlton comics.  He appears to be Captain Atom’s old enemy Iron Arms.

This is when Captain Atom enters the story (the same Captain Atom that Warren Eden said was missing in action).  He is at some science facility working on a particle accelerator, apparently some time prior to the president’s assassination.  The scientists are working in the control room as Cap is reading a comic book.  He is commenting on how he can read the story any way he chooses, flipping through it backwards or starting in the middle, and there is nothing that the characters in the story can do about it.  He can perceive time any way he wishes but they are limited in their perceptions.  The characters are unaware of his scrutiny.  It is hard to tell if he is talking about the comic book, the scientists he is with, or even us as the readers.  The scientists switch on their device (just as Cap says he can “read” their “thought balloons” and knows what they are planning.  Once the device is activated, Cap vanishes, the comic books bursts into flames,  and one of the scientists announces that Captain Atom has left the universe.

There is another man in the control room; a man whose face we do not see but can assume is Sarge Steel because he has a metal hand.  He pulls a gun on the scientists, who argue they did everything he asked.  They opened a black hole inside Allen Adam’s skull.  This does not sway Steel, who shoots them all dead.

We then cut to Nightshade visiting her mother.  Mom seems a little on the senile side and bitter about her ex-husband.  Nightshade tells her mom that Allen Adam is helping her dad to harness the power of a black hole so the empire will no longer rely on oil.

The scene switches to Chris and Nora having a discussion about someone named Harley (the President’s father and comic book writer) as Sarge Steel beats the living hell out of someone.  The story is kind of hard to follow as it isn’t presented as a linear path.  It is as if we are reading the comic the way Captain Atom sees the world.  The scene does reveal that Peacemaker had plans to run away with Nora after he did “what had to be done.”

The next scene is night on a rooftop.  The Question is standing over a man who is pinned under a fallen sign.  The Question reveals this man is not the high-level mob fixer he pretended to be but an undercover dirty cop on the payroll of the Vice President.  He lays a revolver on the floor in front of the prone man and begins to drone on about an eight-stage color coded system of development that all societies must pass through.  The cop begs the Question let him go (an exposed wire from the sign is sparking nearby and the cop is in a puddle – he fears he will be electrocuted).  The cop tells him that his orders come from the Sarge and that he really doesn’t know anything.  All he knows are rumors – about Captain Atom being killed and something about a secret formula.  The Question leaves the man to die on the rooftop.

Cut to the past, and Nightshade, Peacemaker, Tiger, Blue Beetle, and the Question are meeting with a government official.  They are sporting new “uniforms” and Tiger is unhappy about the changes.  Peacemaker welcomes them all to the Justice League of America (which prompts Blue Beetle to ask, “How about the Sentinels?”).  President Harley then enters the room and tells them their trademarks and code names belong to the U.S. government now.  When the Question complains, the President leans in and asks, “Are you in the box or out of the box, Mr. Sage?”  This reveals that the government knows the Question’s alter ego, but the comment about the box implies that Vic Sage is gay, I guess.

Later, when President Harley reveals the team at a press conference, he announces that their leader is Captain Atom.

Captain Atom has trouble focusing on the task at hand because he is being distracted by a conversation he will have in the future (this is some trippy Dr. Manhattan level stuff – which makes perfect sense when you think about it).

The conversation is actually in the past. Cap is in a park interacting with a dog.  He’s surrounded by strange statues of people in distress and is talking to the dog.  Governor (not-yet-President) Harley is about to meet with him but Cap’s handlers warn him that Cap has been heavily sedated since “the U-235 incident.”  The scientist tells Harley that the statues were once people and he should warn them immediately if Cap’s speech becomes disorganized, anxious, or aggressive.  Another of Cap’s handlers thought it would do him good to be reunited with his pet dog.

Cap disassembles the dog, thinking the “pieces would explain the whole.”  When he realizes he has just killed his pet Butch, Cap begins to cry.  He asks for more sedatives and asks when he will go back to normal.  He then wonders aloud what it would be like if Butch was both alive and dead and suddenly there is a brand new Butch standing next to the old, dead one.  He then says it isn’t the same.  Harley introduces himself to Allen Adam.  Cap says it must be hard work being the president, to which Harley responds he is not.  Harley brushes it off and asks Cap to walk the gardens with him.  Harley says they are a world famous masterpiece of design and organization.

So it was Harley that “inspired” Allen Adam to use his powers as Captain Atom.

Cut to some 2005. A terrorist has crashed his plane on the White House lawn and taken President George W. Bush hostage.  He plans to kill the president.  He stomps and spits on the American flag.  Governor Harley is also present, confident, and a little cocky.  Peacemaker and his drones show up and take out the terrorist’s men.  Harley warns the terrorist that this is just the beginning.  Some day there will be more Peacemakers.

On the streets, the Question and Blue Beetle are confronting a heroin dealer and arguing.  The Question tells Beetle he could use his money to build homeless shelters and try to cure society’s ills rather than constructing a giant flying Beetle.  He force-feeds the dealer a substantial amount of heroin and leaves him tied to a light post.  The Question brings up Yellowjacket (America’s first superhero) and his fate. Yellowjacket has vanished and no one knows what became of him.

We then see a young man (clad in a yellow jacket) visiting the grave of Governor Harley’s father.  He sits and waits for a considerable amount of time.  Captain Atom appears and tells him, “The door has one side and opens both ways.  Let me show you.”

The man in the yellow jacket is then forced to confront a memory.  He was young, snooping in his father’s studio late one night.  He found a scrapbook of newspaper articles about Yellowjacket and a revolver.  Then Yellowjacket himself comes through the window and the boy shoots him dead.  It was his father, and the little boy was future-president Harley.

This was pretty awesome.  It gives us an idea of what Watchmen might have been like if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons had been allowed to use the Charlton characters.  While visually beautiful, it doesn’t really compare to Watchmen, though.  I love Frank Quitely but I love Dave Gibbons style even more.  Also, I always thought the name “Frank Quitely” was a crazy coincidental name (Quite Frankly, Frank Quitely) but never gave it much thought.  I did not realize it was a pseudonym used by Vincent Deighan.  I give the art an A and the story an A.  I am a sucker for Grant Morrison.

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General Adam (Flashpoint – 2011)

12 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by FKAjason in Cameo, Flashpoint

≈ 1 Comment

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Alexandra Gianopoulos, Andy Kubert, Art Lyon, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carlos Mangual, Dan Jurgens, Dave Sharpe, Don Ho, Doomsday, Flashpoint Superman, Gene Ha, General Adam, Geoff Johns, Hi-Fi Design, Ibraim Roberson, Ig Guara, Jeff Lemire, Norm Rapmund, Pat Brosseau, Pete Pantazis, Rick Leonardi, Rob Leigh, Ruy Jose, Scott Snyder

Flashpoint was a five-issue mini-series centered around the Flash and leading into the New 52.  The plot was beautiful in it’s simplicity and a pretty good read, if you overlook the abundance of convenient coincidences.  Basically, the Flash learned that Professor Zoom (Reverse Flash) was the man who murdered his mother.  So Flash used his speed powers to travel back in time to save her.  This action screwed up the time stream in such a cataclysmic way that he himself no longer had superspeed, Bruce Wayne was gunned down as a child and his father became the Batman, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman were having a war to end all wars.  And Superman’s rocket didn’t crash in Smallville but in the heart of Metropolis, where the baby Kryptonian was kept a prisoner his entire life.  Pretty crazy stuff.

The mini-series was written by Geoff Johns with art by Andy Kubert.  There were several tie-in series in 2011 that expanded the new universe the Flash had inadvertently created.  Just about every major character in the DC Universe was altered in some way, and Captain Atom was no exception.

Nathaniel Adam is first seen in Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 (written by Jeff Lemire, pencils and inks by Ibraim Roberson, colors by Pete Pantazis, and letters by Pat Brosseau).  After being frozen for 60+ years, Frankenstein and his creature pals awaken in the same military/science complex that was holding Superman.  Upon their escape, the director of the facility is introduced.  It seems Nathaniel Adam was never accused of murder, never signed up for the Captain Atom project, and never got a quantum boost into the future.  Now he’s a hardened military man somewhat reminiscent of General Eiling.

We next see General Adam in Flashpoint: Project Superman #1 (written by Scott Snyder and Lowell Francis, pencils and inks by Gene Ha, colors by Art Lyon, and letters by Rob Leigh).  Nate now appears as an ineffectual failure, more doughy and less stern, even though his appearance in the issue was thirty years ago (maybe he has that Benjamin Button disease).

General Adam then appears in Booster Gold #45 (written and drawn by Dan Jurgens with inks by Norm Rapmund, colors by Hi-Fi Design, and letters by Carlos M. Mangual), where he’s controlling Doomsday from a remote location.  This freaks the dimension-hopping time-traveling Booster out because he remembers who Nate was in the “original” universe.

Booster manages to give Doomsday/General Adam the slip, leading Adam’s cohorts to be a little miffed.
Booster hacks into a stranger’s desktop computer and learns the horrible truth about this world.  He learns Batman is operating in Gotham City (or at least, “a” Batman) and heads that way.  Nate’s crew manages to track him down.  They believe Booster to be a terrorist in cahoots with Aquaman.
General Adam’s team manages to get the jump on him just outside Wayne Manor.
A young woman with powers of her own (whom Booster met earlier in this issue) attacks Adam’s mobile command center, causing his link with Doomsday to be broken.
This is pretty bad news for Booster Gold.  Doomsday was, after all, powerful enough to actually kill Superman.
So we are left with that little cliffhanger for 30 days as General Adam next appears in Flashpoint: Project Superman #2 (with the same creative team as issue #1).  It takes place twenty years in the past and tells the story of Sam Lane’s inability to maintain control over young Kal-El.  General Adam pops up at the end and is once again an evil bastard.
General Adam next pops up in Booster Gold #46, continuing his head-butting with Booster (Ig Guara helped with pencils on this one and Ruy José aided with inks).
So Doomsday is no longer under Adam’s control and the General’s command plane is going down.  Booster tries his best against Doomsday but his attacks have little effect.  As the creature uses the hero as a punching bag, Adam’s team regains control of their plane.
Of course, Adam’s assumption that Doomsday is mindless is completely wrong.  He learns the truth once the link with the helmet is reestablished.
Booster takes advantage of Doomsday’s disoriented state and hits the beast with everything he’s got.  In a moment when Doomsday is distracted, Booster slaps the psi-helmet back on his head.
However, this does not exactly mean success for Booster Gold, as General Adam has a serious desire to kill him.  This issue leads into Booster Gold #47, and General Nathaniel Adam’s final appearance in the DC Universe (for now).
This issue was written by Dan Jurgens with pencils by Rick Leonardi and Dan Jurgens, inks by Don Ho and Norm Rapmund, colors by Hi-Fi Design, and letters by Dave Sharpe.  
Booster’s friend Alexandra (a meta-human with the ability to mimic others’ powers – a woman Booster met when he began tangling with Doomsday) pleads with the General, telling him that Gold’s story of time-travel and alternate realities is true.  Adam doesn’t buy it, however, and threatens to use a powerful truth drug on the bound hero.
Booster catches a glimpse of Superman on a monitor, but so does Doomsday.  Doomsday was originally drawn to Superman and killed him.  Booster warns Adam and his team that it is about to happen again.  Before Adam can get the psi helmet back on, Doomsday becomes alert and begins to wail on Booster Gold.  Alex manages to slip the helmet on herself, stopping the monster in his tracks.  Now under her control, Doomsday reaches into his own chest and kills himself.
*
With Doomsday defeated, Booster and Alex go on to Europe to catch up with the Flash.  General Adam’s part of this story is over.  When the universe was reset after Flashpoint, Nate became the New 52 Captain Atom and this version of Nathaniel Adam never existed.  Well, maybe he is somewhere in the multiverse.  But I doubt we’ll ever see General Nathaniel Adam again.

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Captain Atom #1 (November 2011)

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by FKAjason in Captain Atom Versus Nature, New 52

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Captain Atom, Dr. Megala, Freddie E. Williams II, J. T. Krul, José Villarrubia, New 52 Captain Atom, Ranita Carter, Rob Leigh, Stanley Lau

“Evolution of the Species”

  • Writer:  J. T. Krul
  • Pencils & Inks:  Freddie E. Williams II
  • Colors:  José Villarrubia
  • Letters:  Rob Leigh
  • Cover Artist:  Stanley Lau

And then there was the New 52.  In September, 2011, DC Comics consolidated and relaunched their comic lines, discontinuing some series, and introducing yet other series, resulting in 52 titles, each with a new #1. That consolidation included the incorporation of both WildStorm Productions and the reincorporation of certain Vertigo properties into the mainstream DC Universe.  One of the characters given another shot at a series was Captain Atom (the New 52 also saw the return of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man – one of Cap’s old buddies).  Captain Atom (volume 3) #1 was available for sale on September 21, 2011.  It did not feature an origin story (that was to come a year later in Captain Atom #0), but did again establish that Nathaniel Adam was an Air Force pilot who somehow gained super powers.

The story opens (after a brief interlude in San Francisco with a rat rummaging around a sleeping homeless guy) in Chicago with Captain Atom blasting a robot dude on the streets.  He chides his enemy, telling him that “firing energy cannons at the guy who absorbs energy – not the smartest strategy.”  Preparing to punch the guy and “crack his eggshell,” Cap pauses as he notices something on a microscopic level.  He evaporates the man’s robot armor – turning it to dust – then gazes at his hand (which appears to begin dissipating), thinking he is losing his control over his body at the molecular level.
Cap returns to his home base, the Continuum (located “somewhere in Kansas”).  He briefly flirts with Dr. Ranita Carter before she is dismissed by Dr. Megala.  The New 52 Megala is even more crippled than the Modern Age Megala.  Megala asks Cap what went wrong with robot guy.  Cap sums up the exchange.
Dr. Megala explains that Captain Atom’s powers are nuclear in nature; that he taps into the SNF (Strong Nuclear Force – the energy that binds protons and neutrons in the nucleus).  His body seems to split atoms repeatedly, giving him incredible energy.  His hand became unstable because it did not reform the atoms as quickly as it split them.  Megala explains to Nathaniel that he was lucky it was his hand and not his brain.  He would cease to exist.  In simple terms, using his powers could kill Captain Atom.
Ranita interrupts the two with information that there is significant seismic activity detected in New York City.  As a result, the nuclear reactors at Indian Point are critical and a breach is iminent.  It is not the result of an earthquake, but a volcano in Manhattan.  Captain Atom doesn’t hesitate, flying for New York.
Cap makes it to Indian point from Kansas in about an hour (the original Captain Atom could also fly at super speeds).  Cap absorbs the leaked radiation while Megala’s words haunt him (“Using your powers could kill you.”).  That part of the crisis averted, he moves his attention to the volcano.  Realizing there are too many people in harm’s way to effectively move them all to safety, he transmutes to lava into snow (“the opposite of lava,” he thinks).
Meanwhile, on the streets of San Francisco, a homeless man is chasing a rat.  His homeless pals thinks he plans to eat it, but the rat (with ominous glowing red eyes) has been stealing his food and he wants to break it’s neck.  But before he can get his hands on it, the rat transforms into a multi-limbed, multi-mouthed monster.  Interesting interlude that I’m sure will pay off later.  Back in New York, Captain Atom is determined to stop the volcanic threat at the source.  The heat is producing too much energy for him to absorb (it isn’t yet established whether or not the New 52 Cap will “time bump” when absorbing too much energy [as he predecessor, the Modern Age Cap, did], but clearly there are limits to how much he can take in before harming himself).  He jumps into the volcano, trying to neutralize it at the source.  Although he does manage to “put out” the volcano, the heat begins to tear him apart and he can feel himself losing control.
As he melts down, he thinks to himself, “If this is the end, at least I died doing some good for once.”  Meaning what exactly?  Is this Nate also a war criminal?  Has he hurt people?  When the New 52 was introduced, the readers were tossed into the new books with their stories already in progress (for the most part).  After a year, DC launched a “zero month” with special issues that featured the character’s origin stories (although this wasn’t the case for Firestorm and some others, it was for Captain Atom).  This means we are fed little bits and pieces of Captain Atom’s history and abilities as the series progressed.  Of course, he didn’t die in this issue because there was a #2.  As well as 3-12 and #0.
I have to be honest.  This is not my favorite version of Captain Atom.  I don’t hate it.  Just not entirely in love with it.  I think he’s too much like Dr. Manhattan.  The original Cap was a brilliant scientist as well as an Air Force Captain.  He was almost omnipotent.  So was Dr. Manhattan.  The Modern Age Cap was just a soldier who gained powers.  And he had some serious limitations.  It is hard to get excited about a guy who can do practically anything.  That’s why I lost interest in Superman.  No real challenges for the heroes.  Also, at first, I was not super crazy about Freddie Williams artwork.  I thought it looked kind of sloppy.  It has since grown on me and I now think it is quite good.  It has a certain dark and ominous tone.  And J. T. Krull certainly had me hooked with the story.  I wanted to know more about Nate, more about Ranita, and was extremely curious to find out whether General Eiling or Major Force would return.  Or perhaps someone from Cap’s Silver or Bronze Age days.  Nightshade?  The Ghost?  Dare we hope, the Fiery Icer or Iron Arms?  One can dream.  I give this issue an A-.

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Ion: Guardian of the Universe #10 (March 2007)

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by FKAjason in Monarch

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Captain Atom, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Greg Tocchini, Ion, Jay Leisten, Modern Age Captain Atom, Monarch, Richard Horie, Rob Leigh, Ron Marz, Tanya Horie

Kyle Rayner (at this time going by the name Ion, but a once and future Green Lantern) bumped into Captain Atom while exploring the Bleed.  This is the Cap as he appeared after Battle for Blüdhaven, during which he began wearing the Monarch armor.  Written by Ron Marz with pencils by Greg Tocchini, this issue was inked by Jay Leisten and colored by Tanya and Richard Horie with letters by Rob Leigh.

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DC Universe: Legacies #5 (November 2010) and #10 (April 2011)

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by FKAjason in L.A.W., Sentinels of Justice, Team-Ups

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Allen Passalaqua, Blue Beetle, Brad Anderson, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Firestorm, Gary Frank, George Pérez, Jesus Saiz, Jon Sibal, Judomaster, Karl Story, L.A.W. Captain Atom, Len Wein, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nightshade, Oracle, Peacemaker, Red Tornado, Rob Leigh, Scott Koblish, The Question, Thunderbolt, Tom Chu

DC Universe: Legacies was a ten-part history of the DC Universe that spanned five generations, starting with the dawn of the Mystery Men to the modern era.  With the rebooting of the DC Universe and the advent of the New 52, it has become moot.  The Bronze Age Captain Atom and his old pals from the Sentinels of Justice (along with Judomaster, Thunderbolt, and Peacemaker) make an appearance in issue 5.  This panel was penciled by George Pérez, inked by Scott Koblish, and colored by Allen Passalaqua with text lettered by Rob Leigh.

DCU: Legacies #5

In DC Universe: Legacies #10, the Modern Age Captain Atom is seen at Sue Dibny’s funeral (his pals Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, and Firestorm are there along with many others).  This page was penciled by Jesus Saiz with inks by Karl Story and colors by Tom Chu.

DCU: Legacies #10

Later in this issue is a back-up story entitled “Snapshot: Redemption!”  Written by Len Wein with pencils by Gary Frank, inks by Jon Sibal, colors by Brad Anderson, and letters by Rob Leigh, this story is labeled “From the super-secret blog of Ted Kord, a.k.a. the Blue Beetle.”  In the telling of the history of the Blue Beetle, the rarely-seen L.A.W. Captain Atom pops up, along with Oracle, Judomaster, and Peacemaker.

DCU: Legacies #10

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