DC Relaunch: Captain Atom

It's kind of a story you've heard before. The main character works for the government. He's set up. They offer him a way out by means of experiment and he gets superpowers. Sounds familiar right? Well he's testing an alien spacecraft. Right, still, you've heard that one. Okay, so they're dropping a nuclear bomb on him. Now we're moving. How about that nuclear bomb melds that spacecraft to his body? And then the blast shunts him off to the future, where it turns out his whole world has been turned upside down, and he still owes one to the government. Hello Nathaniel Adam, otherwise known as Captain Atom, this is your life.



Now, whether this will still be Captain Atom's origin remains to be seen. He looks about the same. But Captain Atom has never been very happy-go-lucky. He's Mr. Down on his luck. He's been used, he's been brainwashed, and he's come out still trying to redeem himself everytime. All the same, he's a potential nuclear bomb with amazing powers. And he's a travelled time and space, though rarely has been an intentional excursion. He's got the ability to absorb powerful energy and expel it. But he's usually composed, reflective. Many times he's willing to put his life on the line to save everyone without even thinking twice about the possibility of his life ending. I know that's what a superheroes supposed to do, but I think we've many times seen that moment of hesitation on panel that he is completely devoid of. But at the same time, it's hard for him to let anyone in. Many of these aspects were drawn on when Alan Moore tackled the character as Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen.


JT Krul is handling the hazmat hero, with Freddie Williams II on art. JT Krul we've met, he's working on Green Arrow as well, and you can check out a few things about him there. This is his first time handling the character of Captain Atom. Freddie Williams II has a unique style that I am very interested to see in this series. He most recently has worked with Matt Sturges on JSA All-Stars and with Fabian Niciezca on Robin prior to the Batman: Reborn line-wide changes. He also worked with Grant Morrison on Mister Miracle, as part of his Seven Soldiers mini-event, the events of which lead into Final Crisis.


Captain Atom has a few things here and there as far as his own series (which can be found in your local comic shop's longboxes!). However, in collection, I'd recommend checking out Justice League: Generation Lost, as well as Captain Atom: Armageddon, where he is accidentally shunted off into the Wildstorm Universe.



Tomorrow I'll be talking about Deadman, as well as the concept of the anthology, as we'll be looking at the upcoming DC Universe Presents.