Captain Atom

ARTISTS

Writers: Cary Bates, Greg Weisman
Penciller: Pat Broderick
Colorist: Shelley Eiber
Letterers: Duncan Andrews, Helen Vesik
Editor: Denny O'Neil

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CHARACTERS & SETTINGS

heroes: Black Canary II, Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold, Brainwave II, Captain Atom, Mister Miracle, Red Tornado

Settings: 20th-century Hollywood, CA, USA; 20th-century Houma, LA, USA

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ISSUE SUMMARY

Cover Description: Captain Atom has been subdued by the Swamp Thing in a swamp. (No Booster Gold.)

Brief Synopsis: Captain Atom's fight with the Red Tornado draws the attention and ire of the Swamp Thing.

Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit

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ISSUE ANNOTATIONS

Page 5, panel 6
Booster Gold carries the comatose body of Captain Atom back to the JLI shuttle, refusing help from his teammate Mister Miracle. Though Atom's body is encased in an alien metal, his weight is little concern for the strength of Booster Gold!

Page 8, panel 2
Blue Beetle II snaps at Booster over Booster's irreverence towards Beetle and their present situation. This is a role reversal from previous appearances of the pair, where Beetle was the more irreverent of the two around the other Leaguers.

Page 11, panel 4
Booster directs Beetle towards Stellar Studios in Hollywood, California, so that they can contact Brainwave II, a member of Infinity, Inc, about Captain Atom's comatose state. Stellar Studios is the headquarters of Infinity, Inc. Booster met Brainwave during the Millennium event.

Page 15, panel 6
Booster realizes that Brainwave's comment about Captain Atom's "silver cord" is a reference to astral projection, the metaphysical theory of out-of-body travel through the spirit world. The "silver cord" is what ties astral travelers to their physical bodies, an experience that Booster has not yet had but still seems rather well informed about.

Page 21, panel 3
Booster is the first person to welcome Captain Atom "back to the living." Despite Beetle's pleas, Atom tells no one what happened to him or Brainwave on the "Astral Plane." As a result, Booster is unaware of Swamp Thing's involvement in Captain Atom's recovery.

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ISSUE REVIEW

Boosterrific Review: Despite an artistic improvement from the previous issue, this story manages to be less entertaining as Captain Atom spends time with several of the DC Universe's elementals on the otherworldly astral plane. The problem may be the straightforward fact that this story is metaphysical investigation of Captain Atom's psyche, but it is more likely that the issue's failure is due to Captain Atom's removal from his series' strengths: his supporting cast and their related subplots.

Boosterrific Rating:

• Currently 2.0/5 Stars.

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