Captain Atom

• Title: Captain Atom #2
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: J. T. Krul
• Artist: Fernando Pasarin

The comic opens with Captain Atom bombarded with “wave transmissions from all across the human spectrum.” Unable to deal with the overwhelming amount of information attacking his brain the hero retreats to the Continuum where Dr. Megala helps him regain control.

The second part of the comic is a little weird as it’s so obviously a Ray Palmer Atom story. Concerned with a dying boy in Kansas City, Captain Atom shrinks himself down to a microscopic level and erradiates the tumor growing in the boy’s brain.

Thankfully, the one part of the story I was dreading (the mutated dog creature) is given little more than a cameo here on the comic’s final page. I know we’ll get to that story at some point, but I hope it’s put off as long as possible.

Writer J.T. Krul continues to explore the limitations and abilities of the new Captain Atom. I’d still like a little of the old Captain to shine through this Dr. Manhattan makeover, but as long as that dog story is kept on the back burner I’ll keep giving this one a shot. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

• Title: Captain Atom #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: J. T. Krul
• Artist: Fernando Pasarin

I’ve been a fan of Captain Atom since the late 80’s reboot of the character and his subsequant runs on Justice League Europe and recently Justice League: Generation Lost. He’s had more than a few ups-and-downs in his career including his unfortunate role as Monarch, that awful golden and red look, and that time he got lost in the WildStorm Universe.

The latest reinterpretation of the Charlton Comics character by writer J.T. Krul is a new version of the character far more like the Watchmen‘s Dr. Manhattan (who was coincidentally created from the Charlton version of Captain Atom) than we’ve seen before.

In the comic Captain Atom’s powers are expanding as he discovers the ability to manipulate molecules outside of himself. Our hero is informed by Dr. Heinrich Megala, the scientist in charge of the project that transformed Nathaniel Adam into a nuclear-powered super-hero, that this ability, which in turn effects his own molecules, could end up killing him.

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