Captain Atom Annual #2 (1988/1989)

Tags

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

“Bialya Bound”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Secret Origins #34 (December 1988)

Tags

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

“Yesterdays Once More”

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

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

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

The big payoff is inside!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Captain Atom next appears in Justice League International #20.

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

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

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

Justice League International #17 (September 1988)

Tags

Batman, Big Barda, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire, Green Lantern (G'Nort), Jack O'Lantern, L-Ron, Manga Khan, Martian Manhunter, Modern Age Captain Atom, Oberon, Queen Bee, Rocket Red #4, Wandjina

“Only the Dead Know Bialya”

• Writer: Keith Giffen
• Pencils: Kevin Maguire
• Inks: Al Gordon
• Colors: Gene D’Angelo
• Letters: Bob Lappan
• Cover: Kevin Maguire & Joe Rubinstein
• Editor: Andrew Helfer
• Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

This issue picks up where Justice League International #16 left off. I did not review that issue for this blog because Captain Atom was not featured at all. Check out Boosterrific.com for a fantastic summary of that issue. The two-sentence version is this: Maxell Lord sends Batman, Fire, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold undercover to Bialya to find out what the dictator Rumaan Harjavti is up to.  Meanwhile Big Barda, Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, and Gnort are hot on the Cluster’s trail to rescue Mister Miracle. The most notable thing about Justice League International #16 is that Batman goes undercover as Bruce Wayne.

This issue opens at the JLI New York Embassy. Oberon and Captain Atom are watching news reports of the coup in Bialya. Colonel Harjavti has been assassinated and Queen Bee has assumed control of the country.  Cap is very upset that he isn’t with the team in Bialya.

 

Captain Atom’s ego is bruised because he was left behind. He believes that with his military background, he would have been an ideal choice for the mission. All his angry tirade results in is hurt feelings for Oberon.

In Bialya, Batman has ditched his Bruce Wayne “disguise” in favor of a Maxwell Lord disguise. He and Green Flame have been holed up in their hotel room, not permitted to leave, for two days. Batman escapes up a wall to go find Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, ordering Green Flame to not leave the room.

Booster and Beetle are being held in a cell in less-than-favorable conditions. When a guard brings them a “bucket of slop,” Booster taunts him into shooting him. When the guard pulls out his gun, he lurches into the cell bars and knocks himself out. As Booster retrieves the cell key, he explains to Beetle that he noticed the guard was wearing his Legion flight ring, which Booster is telepathically linked to. The two heroes escape their cell, only to be grabbed by unseen hands once they are out.

Meanwhile, Queen Bee and Jack O’ Lantern are watching video of their mindless drone Wandjina. Jack thinks Wandjina is dangerous and unpredictable, but Queen Bee assures him the creature is completely under her control. She also says it is time to “induct Mr. Lord.”

Mr. Lord (aka Batman) turns out to have been the one that captured Booster and Beetle. They hear gunshots above them and fear that Green Flame may be in trouble. Green Flame is just fine, as she drops from above into Booster’s arms, wearing nothing but her underclothes. She explains that she was washing her hair when Queen Bee’s men stormed in looking for Max. She jumped out the window in her underwear and hoped for the best. The team splits up.

Batman shakes their pursuers and the heroes meet up on a nearby rooftop (or possibly alleyway). The Wandjina turns up, too. Beetle recognizes him as someone the League met way back in Justice League #2, but he is clearly being controlled by an outside force. The team scatters just as Wandjina delivers some sort of powerful nuclear blast thing.

 

The Wandjina reaches down to do something horrible to Blue Beetle (and judging by the cover, it is indeed HORRIBLE) when the cavalry arrives in the form of Captain Atom.

Captain Atom and Wandjina throw various energy blasts at each other as the rest of the JLI scramble out of their way. Batman is, naturally, upset that Cap showed up at all, as he was told to stay behind in New York.

 

This fistful of “spaaak” is brought to you by Bob Lappan.

Captain Atom defeats (kills?) Wandjina, leaving him to face the fury of Batman. Bats’ chastisement of Nate is cut short when Queen Bee arrives on the scene. Thinking the Bialyan people will back him, Batman lays into the Queen, calling her “the bottom of the barrel!” This is when the JLI discovers the Bialyan people like their new monarch. Queen Bee tells the JLI their lucky she won’t report their actions to the U.N. and asks Jack O’Lantern to escort them out of the country.

Meanwhile, out in space, L-Ron informs Manga Khan that his captive (Mr. Miracle) is from New Genesis, and is the son of Highfather. Khan orders his robot to set a course for Apokolips. Perhaps Darkseid will barter with him now!

Pursuing Manga Khan is Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, Big Barda, and G’Nort. They use New Gensis boom-tube technology to try and catch up with Khan. The issue ends with the ship winking out of existence. To be continued.

Captain Atom next appears in Who’s Who Update ’88 #2.

The “Bwah-ha-ha” period of the Justice League was always fun and I thoroughly enjoyed every issue. I loved that Captain Atom saved the team in this issue (even if he did disobey Batman’s orders to do so). Story and art are both As here. I absolutely love the Giffen/Maguire team.

If you are a fan of this era of the Justice League, there’s a new podcast dropping today that you will really love. From the Irredeemable Shag (of Firestormfan.com and one half of the Fire & Water Podcast) comes the Justice League International: Bwah-ha-ha Podcast. This podcast “chronicles the adventures of the Justice League International era by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis,” and is part of the Fire & Water Podcast Network. The first episode can be found here and even though (as of this writing) I have not heard the show, I know it will be one of the best comic-book-review-podcasts available. Shag doesn’t mess around.

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

 

Justice League International #13 & Suicide Squad #13 (May 1988)

Tags

Al Gordon, Amanda Waller, Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Bob Lewis, Booster Gold, Boris Dmitravich Razumihin, Bronze Tiger, Captain Atom, Captain Boomerang, Carl Gafford, Deadshot, Duchess, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Hammer, Javelin, John Economos, John Ostrander, Luke McDonnell, Martian Manhunter, Max Lord, Modern Age Captain Atom, Molotov, Mr. Miracle, Nemesis, Nightshade, Oberon, People's Heroes, Red Star, Rick Flag, Rocket Red #4, Rocket Red Brigade, Ronald Reagan, Sickle, Steve Leialoha, Suicide Squad, The People's Heroes, Todd Klein, Vixen

“Collision Course”

• Writers:  Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
• Pencils:  Keith Giffen
• Inks:  Al Gordon
• Colors:  Gene D’Angelo
• Letters:  Bob Lappan
• Cover Art:  Steve Leialoha & Al Gordon

It is the crossover we’ve all been waiting for.  Justice League International comes face to face with the Suicide Squad.  Part one hit the stands on January 12, 1988.  This had been building in the DC Universe, with Batman uncovering clues to the Suicide Squads existence for months.  Once he discovered what they truly were (supervillains used by the government for covert ops in exchange for reduced sentences), he vowed to Amanda Waller to bring them down.

Tom Tresser, a.k.a. Nemesis, has been captured in the Soviet Union and has been held prisoner there.  He’s been accused of attempting to kidnap a Russian dissident named Zoya Trigorin.  The news has gone public, and Batman follows the story while on monitor duty at the New York JLI embassy.  Batman knows Nemesis, and thinks he’s a “good man.”  While on monitor duty, the dark knight was talking to himself, explaining to Oberon that it helps his thinking process.  Oberon warns Black Canary to stay clear of Batman, as he’s acting a lot more weird than usual.

In a Washington, DC hotel room, Amanda Waller is shouting at Rick Flag via telephone.  Amanda is the creator of the Suicide Squad and Rick Flag is the mission leader.  Rick wants to take the Squad to the USSR to rescue Nemesis, but Waller warns him that the only reason the capture was publicized was to lure them to Russia.  She orders him to stay at Belle Reve and not to go after his teammate.  After Rick hangs up with Waller, Nightshade asks him what the plan is.  Despite the fact that they are fully aware that this is a trap, Rick and Nightshade agree to go ahead with a rescue effort.

Back in New York, Batman is pumping Rocket Red #4 for information (his armor is mislabeled with a “13”).  Dmitri says that just because he’s a Soviet citizen, that doesn’t mean he knows anything about Nemesis.  He says if Batman’s friend is in prison there then he must have done something wrong.

At Belle Reve, Flag has assembled his team (Vixen, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Javelin, Nightshade, and Duchess).  There is a gratuitous and unnecessary shot of Nightshade’s buttcheek.

Flag takes the Squad to an airfield and briefs them on a plane bound for Russia.  When Amanda Waller finds out what Rick has done, she goes immediately to meet with President Reagan in the White House.  She suggests he sends the JLI to Russia to retrieve Nemesis.  He agrees and Waller goes off to meet with Maxwell Lord.

At the JLI New York embassy, Batman is trying to convince Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Oberon, Captain Atom, Black Canary, Mr. Miracle, Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, and Rocket Red #4 to go after Nemesis (invade Russia – again).  Oberon is upset that J’onn (Martian Manhunter, leader of the JLI) would even entertain the notion.  His argument is interrupted by a call from Max, however, sending the JLI to Russia.

On the JLI shuttle en route to Russia, it is revealed that a team of super villains has banded together to attack the very prison that is holding Nemesis.  The JLI all agree it is an unusual coincidence.

J’onn is on the video-phone with Boris Razumihin, the Russian bureau chief for the JLI.  Martian Manhunter assures him the situation – and Guy Gardner – are under control.  Guy has had problems in the Soviet Union in the past.  When he hangs up with Martian Manhunter, Razumihin calls Gorbachev, reminded that Russia has super-heroes of their own.

In New York, at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Amanda Waller pays a visit to Max Lord.  Lord is recovering from the events of the previous issue.  She warns him that the JLI had better maintain the secrecy of the Suicide Squad and she hints that if Max doesn’t play along he might end up dead.

On the other side of the world, the Rocket Red Brigade is training when they receive orders and move out.  Meanwhile, in Moscow, Red Star of the People’s Heroes meets with a Russian government official who warns him of the approaching heroes and villains.  Red Star steals his car and drives off.

When the JLI reaches the prison, they enter the warden’s office and Batman gets right to bullying the warden, demanding to see Nemesis.

The warden says he’s under orders that no one is to see Nemesis.  He also says he thought the Justice League was there to protect them from the villains.  The warden receives a call and then agrees to take the JLI to Nemesis.  Rocket Red #4 reveals that he radioed his government connections and convinced them to allow the JLI access.  As they head to Nemesis’ cell (with Batman griping about J’onn’s leadership abilities), the Suicide is slipping into the prison via the loading docks.  Upon reaching the cell, the JLI finds Nemesis unconscious on the floor.  Batman suggests he was beaten and demands that the cell be opened.  Rocket Red #4 says there’s no way he was beaten and he will not open the cell.  J’onn warns Batman if he doesn’t cease his arrogant, juvenile behavior, he’ll be booted out of Russia and the League.  Batman agrees (after a dramatic pause) and asks Martian Manhunter what their next step should be.  This is when the Suicide Squad appears, facing the JLI.

In New York, Max warns Amanda that even though the situation is bad for the Suicide Squad, it can always get worse.  The Rocket Red Brigade is 60 minutes away from the prison and Red Star is ten miles away.  To be continued (erroneously, it says the story is to be picked up in the pages of Suicide Squad #10 but it was actually continued in #13)…

At the time, I was reading both Justice League International and Suicide Squad, so I was super excited about this crossover.  Not a lot happened in this issue, as it was merely setting up the conflict that would happen in the next issue of Suicide Squad.  I give this an A- for story and a B for art (after all these years, I still go back and forth on what I think about Keith Giffen’s talent).

“Battle Lines”

• Writer:  John Ostrander
• Pencils:  Luke McDonnell
• Inks:  Bob Lewis
• Colors:  Carl Gafford
• Letters:  Todd Klein
• Cover Art:  Steve Leialoha & Al Gordon

Part two of this crossover, cover dated the same month as Justice League International #13, was released to the public on February 2, 1988.  It picks up where Justice League International #13 left off, with the Justice League face-to-face with the Suicide Squad in the corridors of a Russian prison.  Ostrander really seemed to have a thing for Russia.  He introduced Mikhail Arkadin (Pozhar) when he was writing The Fury of Firestorm, and Soviet-era hero-team Rocket Red Brigade were featured in the Ostrander-written Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1.  With the Suicide Squad blundering beyond the iron curtain (not for the first time, either), it looks like John Ostrander was DC’s go-to guy for Russian super-hero stories.  At the time these were published, I didn’t really care for the Russian stories so much.  Looking back now, I really like them.  They serve as a reminder of how it was growing up during the Cold War and being afraid of the Communists, building them up in my mind as something far more efficient and sinister than they really were.  As much as I disliked the Russian angle, I was a huge John Ostrander fan in the mid-80s.  I just about exploded with joy when he started writing Captain Atom, but that joy was short-lived (the series was cancelled just a few issues into Ostrander’s run).  Although I still don’t like some of the stuff he’s written, I think it is safe to say I’m still a John Ostrander fan.

Rick Flag warns his people that they will push through the Justice League if they have to.  Rocket Red #4 (Dmitri Pushkin) warns everyone that he’s gotten word that the People’s Heroes, Red Star, and the Rocket Red Brigade are on their way.  Duchess recognizes Mr. Miracle but doesn’t know from where she knows him (Duchess is actually Lashina – one of the Female Furies – with amnesia).  When she approaches Miracle, Blue Beetle intercepts and flips her.  She begins tearing the prison apart (tearing down the door to Nemesis’ cell) and using the pieces as weapons.

Batman shames Deadshot, who turns his back on the dark knight.  Martian Manhunter confronts Vixen – a former member of the Justice League.  He is surprised to find her hanging out with super-villains.  After some heated words, he hugs her.  Captain Boomerang attempts to burst Guy Gardner’s protective energy bubble.  Captain Atom and Nightshade exchange some unfortunate dialogue.

“We’re supposed to be boyfriend/girlfriend,” Cap says.  What is he, a junior high student?  “Stick close to me in this rhubarb.”  Rhubarb?  Why did he…? Who calls super hero fights “rhubarbs?”  Is it supposed to make him sound hokey and old-fashioned?  That makes sense, actually.  He’s displaced from his own time.  Like DC Comic’s own Captain America.  Still, I’ve never heard “rhubarb” used this way.

Flag confronts Batman, asking him if his team can just get Nemesis and get out, before things get out of hand.  Batman refuses.  He tells Flag that he warned Amanda Waller against using villains.   Bats also says that if Nemesis truly is a member of the Suicide Squad, he’s not the Nemesis Bats once knew.  When Batman begins to walk away, Flag grabs him to stop him.  Bats punches him and they begin to brawl.  Meanwhile, Blue Beetle and Duchess are still facing off, but Beetle refuses to hit her.  Mr. Miracle dodges Deadshot’s attack while Black Canary wonders why these villains and heroes have teamed up again (she faced the Suicide Squad once before).  She pauses trading jabs with Bronze Tiger long enough to learn he won’t explain his team to her.

Dmitri enters Nemesis’ cell to question him (he is incorrectly drawn with a number 7 on his armor again).  Nemesis explains that he was attempting to help the author Zoya Trigorin escape Russia (defect, I guess).  Javelin and Booster Gold face off against each other.  This is particularly interesting because of the similarity in their costumes.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, Amanda Waller is still visiting Max Lord’s hospital room.  Waller is upset because the JLI is supposed to be in Russia only as backup for the Suicide Squad, the existence of which they are unaware of (most of them at least; clearly Captain Atom and Batman know of the Suicide Squad).  But the JLI is butting heads with her team.  She tries to convince Max to pull them out, but Max Lord reveals he knows a lot of Amanda Waller’s dirty secrets.  She threatens to break his foot and Max calls for his nurse.

Back in the USSR, the People’s Heroes, the Rocket Red Brigade, and Red Star are closing in on the JLI/Suicide Squad fast.  Back at the prison, Blue Beetle is doing his level best to bring down Duchess while Captain Atom and Nightshade take part in a little foreplay.  Seriously, get a room you two.

In another secluded corner (does this prison have no guards?), J’onn and Vixen are still making peace with each other.  Dmitri approaches them with Nemesis and says the JLI and Suicide Squad must work together to save Nemesis.  While Dmitri feels Nemesis’ jailing was warranted, he knows the Russian government will treat the prisoner unfairly and have him killed.

The two teams stop fighting each other.  Deadshot was apparently about to blow Mr. Miracle’s head off.  He actually pulls the triggers when Bronze Tiger tells him to stand down.  Luckily, Mr. Miracle seems to have the ability to dodge bullets.  Now, that’s miraculous.

Batman and Rick Flag are still working out their differences with their fists when the truce is called.  Justice Leaguers and Suicide Squaders alike tell the men to stand down, but no one steps between Flag and Bats.  Would you?  Finally, after Batman loses a bat-ear, Bronze Tiger and Blue Beetle pull them apart.  Flag is well beaten, and can barely walk.  Nightshade opens one of her portal thingies and the Suicide Squad leaves.  Before they leave, Nightshade plants a kiss on Nemesis, which bugs Cap.

*

When the People’s Heroes, Red Star, and the Rocket Red Brigade show up at the prison, the Justice League informs them they’ll be taking Nemesis into custody.  Martian Manhunter explains that the JLI’s charter and agreement with the Russian government gives them the right to take Nemesis with them.  Back in the U.S., Max is threatening to sue Amanda (for her assault on him a few pages back).  They are interrupted by a special news report explaining what has happened in Russia.  Max’s only concern is that J’onn granted a (brief) interview with the press.  Later, at the “JLI vehicle hangar,”  Batman expresses his displeasure with the current incarnation of the Justice League and quits.  No surprise there; Batman really doesn’t fit in with them anyway.

At Belle Reve, Flag is taken off to the infirmary.  Captain Boomerang is happy that for once two people he hates beat the hell out of each other instead of himself.

*

This two-parter did a thing that happens in comics that I really dislike.  After all that set-up, while we’re getting ready for an all-out throw-down between all these super powers, something happens at the last second and the fight is avoided.  Aside from that, it was fairly well-written (even if Cap was mostly just in the background) and well-drawn.  I am a fan of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and John Ostrander as writers, and Luke McDonnell did a fine job as well.  I give these two issues a combined A-.

Justice League International #11 (March 1988) and #12 (April 1988)

Tags

Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Dr. Mist, Green Flame, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Icemaiden, Martian Manhunter, Max Lord, Metron, Modern Age Captain Atom, Mr. Miracle, Ms. Wootenhoffer, Oberon, Rocket Red #4, Rumaan Harjavti, The Construct, Tuatara

“Constructions!”

• Writers:  Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
• Pencils:  Kevin Maguire
• Inks:  Al Gordon
• Colors:  Gene D’Angelo
• Letters:  John Workman

Max Lord summons Martian Manhunter and Captain Atom to his office.  He was somehow under the impression that Superman, Hawkman, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan had joined the ranks of the Justice League.  J’onn explains to Max that those heroes had only lent a hand during the Manhunter crisis and have since moved on.  This angers Max, who says he needs “prime heroes – not a bunch of weak-kneed second-stringers.”

Max regains his composure and says he needs help from the most powerful heroes. He says a super-villain is after him.  Somewhere else, someone is secretly watching the meeting in Max’s office on a wall of monitors.  Ominous.

In the New York Embassy, Black Canary is showing the new Rocket Red (#4) around.  He is replacing the last Rocket Red JLI member (#7), who turned out to be a Manhunter.  He cracks wise with Canary, and reveals to her that he lost a tooth when she kicked him in the face (in Justice League #3).  Oberon notifies them of an alert from Captain Atom and Martian Manhunter, so Black Canary and Rocket Red (who asks to be called “Dmitri”) head there.

The Justice League heads for Max’s building in their shuttle.  Blue Beetle warns Mr. Miracle against any further roof-landings while Rocket Red and Green Lantern Guy Gardner get to know each other.  Booster Gold complains of an upset stomach from the League teleporters, and proceeds to vomit in the shuttle.  What a team.

As they approach the building, the JLI shuttle is fired upon by heat-seeking missiles.  Mr. Miracle and Blue Beetle evade the missiles by crashing the shuttle into Max’s building (What, was Guy too busy chatting with Dmitri to do a little creative ring work?).  The team manages to survive the crash without taking out any civilians.  While working out their next step, they are surprised to see Captain Atom fighting some sort of artificial intelligence.

Batman takes charge (mere seconds after he pointed out that Black Canary was in command on this mission), ordering Guy Gardner to neutralize the robot tentacles with his ring.  When the tentacles go for Batman, Black Canary knocks them back with her sonic scream.  Batman is chagrined by her rescue.  As Rocket Red blasts the robot tentacles, Mr. Miracle discovers they are being controlled from within the building.  Black Canary orders Guy to use his ring to create a power surge in the building’s electrics.  As a result, the tentacles – and the entire building – lose power.

Meeting up with Captain Atom and Martian Manhunter, the JLI learns that the building attacked them without provocation.  Max Lord explains that the building’s computer system was taken over by an outside force that is out to get him.  The team thinks Max is being paranoid, but don’t deny that something is going on with the Lord Building.  Batman suspects the enemy may be the Construct, a “nearly invincible computer mind capable of controlling every electronic device on the planet” that the old Justice League defeated once before.

Searching a nearby mountainside for the source of the power emanations controlling the Lord Building, the JLI is attacked by a giant robot – the Construct.  The Construct swings at the shuttle, spouting standard-revenge-against-the-Justice-League crap.  The shuttle dodges the giant robot, and Captain Atom deploys with Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, and Martian Manhunter.

Captain Atom – boob that he is in this series – tries a battle cry or two.  He keeps getting shut down by Martian Manhunter.  It is funny and goofy but actually makes a lot of sense.  At this point in Nate’s personal continuity, he has only just become a legit superhero and not just a government agent posing as a superhero.  He’s trying to fit in, right?

Somewhere else, the battle is being watched on a bank of monitors (which reveal even what is happening inside the shuttle) and commented upon by someone off-panel.  The order is issued for the Construct to return to base.  Someone else (also off-panel) discovers the bank of monitors and exclaims, “What is going on here?”

Realizing the Construct went down to easily, the JLI follows it.  Meanwhile, the monitors are revealed to be in a huge underground complex.  Someone sitting on a floating chair with his back to the reader appears to be having a conversation with the giant computer.  The computer says it is being used, forced to aid someone in their plans of world domination (which includes making android duplicates of world leaders).  The computer called floaty-chair in to help it because it has been turned into a slave.

The Construct crashes in through the well, saying, “Master, help me.”  Floaty-chair seems surprised, as does the Justice League (the Construct was always a sentient entity and had no “master”).  They follow it into the mountainside secret base only to be confronted by the New God Metron (floaty chair guy).

To be continued next issue…

No backup story in this issue.  Cap was given some good goofy lines.  The whole thing is just set-up for the next issue.  It isn’t as fun as JLI usually was, but by no means a stinker.  It was a popular book at the time and it prominently featured Captain Atom, so I loved it.  Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire were certainly churning out some great, fun books in the 80s.  A sold “A.”

“Who is Maxwell Lord?”

• Writers:  Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
• Pencils:  Kevin Maguire
• Inks:  Al Gordon
• Colors:  Gene D’Angelo
• Letters:  Bob Lappan

The issue opens with Metron explaining to the Justice League that his knowledge is his power.  Time and Space are his kingdoms to rule.  And he is very angry.  He says the Justice League has violated the sanctity of his “Earthly chambers” and damaged his “information retrieval unit.”  Blue Beetle is indignant, but Mr. Miracle cuts him off and tells Beetle to let him do the talking.  Captain Atom thinks Metron is powering up to attack and blasts him.  Mr. Miracle tackles Cap, saying he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with, that Mr. Miracle himself is the only one who knows what they’re dealing with.

Metron, completely nonplussed by Cap’s attack, asks Mr. Miracle who these fools he’s surrounded himself with are.  Captain Atom, insulted, wants to attack Metron again.  Metron wants to “explain” some “universal truths” to Cap.  The other Leaguers stand between Metron and Captain Atom to protect their comrade.  Metron begins to attack while Miracle desperately tries to cool the god off.  He reveals to all those present that he is the son of Highfather – one of Jack Kirby’s “New Gods,” and ruler of New Genesis.  Whatever computer entity is monitoring this did not know that Miracle was from New Genesis (technically he was from Apokolips and was raised by Darkseid).  Metron says he was summoned to this place (I guess it is like his Earth “outpost”) by the machinery itself crying out in pain and terror.  He says that prior to the JLI’s arrival, he felt the machine’s sentience.

There is a quick cut-scene involving the Global Guardians.  Green Flame and Icemaiden are collecting their paychecks.  They learn the Guardians have lost their United Nations funding and this is their final paycheck.  Tuatara and Dr. Mist are also present.  Later, Green Flame and Icemaiden show up at the nearest JLI embassy and apply for membership.  Back in the States, Metron has destroyed the machinery after learning the consciousness has fled.  He follows the Justice League shuttle in his Mobius Chair.  Mr. Miracle manages to make a pretty decent Star Trek joke as they fly after the fleeing intelligence.

Back at the Lord Building, Max is beating himself up for sending his team into a trap.  He’s wondering what’s he’s become (nothing compared to what he will become in a few years) when a dead body falls out of his closet.  It is Ms. Wootenhoffer, Max’s personal assistant and Manhunter agent that was killed in Justice League International #9.  Max’s computer reveals it killed her, and that Metron has destroyed it’s “home unit.”  It recommends that it uploads itself into NORAD’s mainframe.  The computer knows Metron is on his way and must work quickly if it is to succeed in taking over the world.  Max, finally growing a conscience, begins to rip the machine apart.  The computer reminds Max of the spelunking accident which took the life of his old CEO the day they stumbled into Metron’s lab.  It reminds him of how they took over the business world together and amassed a great wealth.  It reminds him of how they worked together to make a new Justice League, to “save the world from itself.”  It reminds him of how it manipulated the Royal Flush Gang into fighting the Justice League and how it used satellites to attack Rumaan Harjavti’s Bialya (in Justice League #4 and Justice League #7, respectively).  Max says he remembers, and that (even though the machine had been keeping him alive since Ms. Wootenhoffer shot him) he has had enough.  Max destroys the machine.

At the moment the machine “dies,” Metron senses it.  He bids Mr. Miracle farewell and flies away.  Back in his office, Max begins to bleed from his gunshot wounds.  He collapses.  The following day, Mr. Miracle and Oberon visit with Max’s doctor at the hospital he was admitted to.  He says Max was lucky the JLI found him when they did, otherwise Max may have died.  Oberon says he believes Max “has the right stuff,” and Mr. Miracle says Max isn’t being kicked out.  Martian Manhunter scanned Max’s mind and decided not to punish him (this is problematic for events that happen later on with Max Lord).  The issue ends with Max asleep in his hospital bed, clutching a Justice League pager.

This was a good issue, certainly “A” material.  Just a little light on Captain Atom.  He seemed to get shoved off to the side a lot, at least until the Justice League Europe series.  It was a good issue for Mr. Miracle fans, though.  I’m still a huge fan of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire.

JLA Secret Files & Origins #3 (December 2000)

Tags

Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Drew Geraci, Kevin Maguire, Modern Age Captain Atom, Mr. Miracle, Rocket Red #4, Tom McCraw

This page from JLA Secret Files & Origins #3 was penciled by Kevin Maguire and inked by Drew Geraci with colors by Tom McCraw.

The picture depicts Shazam! (aka Captain Marvel), Captain Atom, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Rocket Red #4, Mr. Miracle, and Oberon.  Not pictured above but part of the original two-page spread are Fire, Ice, Big Barda, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Black Canary, Dr. Light, Batman, Max Lord, Martian Manhunter, and Dr. Fate.