Following my Flash Vol. 1 write-up, Captain Atom Vol. 1 is next on the read list. It takes place after Justice League Vol. 1, and the Q-Pad is featured fairly prominently.
J.T. Krul — Writer
Freddie Williams II — Artist
Published 28 Nov 2012.
Collections Captain Atom 1 – 6 (21 Sep 2011 — 15 Feb 2012)
Art | |
Story | |
Average |
Art
Generally very clean, but gets a bit chaotic in the fights. That could be an intended design choice, though.
Story
The whole book is about how Captain Atom has God-like powers. In fact, one character says of him,
He turned the inorganic [Air Force jet] into organic [feather]. And he didn’t even need a rib to do it.
so the comparison is very well established. The only drawback is that if he gets distracted long enough, he could dissipate into nothingness. Except his whole origin is that his human body dissipated into nothingness in an experiment, and he was still able to pull himself back together. So really his only disadvantage is that he does not want to use too much power against others. He zips around the world fixing problems big and small, including taking down a mech suit villain in Chicago, averting a simultaneous nuclear reactor meltdown and volcano eruption in New York City, curing a little boy’s cancer in Kansas City, saving a billboard worker from falling in Seattle, helping a mother lift an I-beam off a child in Atlanta, saving bystanders from a drive-by shooting in Houston, and taking the pills out of a girl who tried to commit suicide. Then he goes to Libya for an impromptu team-up with Flash to help rebels, ending with him absorbing the force of a nuclear blast. Even Flash, among the strongest of the Justice League, is blown away by his powers. The greatest challenge to Captain Atom is a rat that went through the same experiment and has similar powers. He gets attacked by the military, who want to take them both out, but has no problem taking care of both threats. (By the way, he beat the rat by using too much power and making it dissipate into nothingness.)
Connections
This book introduces Nathaniel Adam (Captain Atom), Dr. Ranita Carter, Dr. Heinrich Megala, Dr. Scott Alexander, Mikey Parker, and General Wade Eiling. Pandora gets her cameo in the Manhattan bystanders as Captain Atom neutralizes the volcano. It is mentioned that the Justice League rejected him because they considered him too unstable.
All-in-all, Captain Atom just seems too overpowered to be compelling. He either needs to be nerfed or meet a villain that honestly challenges him.
Next up, Static Shock Vol. 1 Savage Hawkman Vol. 1.