Warning! This look at the Captain Atom series that launched in 1987 contains spoilers.

Captain Atom always popped in and out of my DC back issues. I had nothing against him, he seemed interesting. I mean just look at the setup. Nathanial Adam, convicted of treason, promised a pardon if he would only sit in a container made of some alien metal. Whereby the U.S. military proceeded to explode an atomic bomb right underneath him, causing him to be propelled to the 1980’s, and voila! Captain Atom.

And if that wasn’t enough to peak my interest, the General who oversaw the Captain Atom project, General Eiling was, you guessed it, one mighty bastard. He not only forced Nathanial Adam to change his name to Cameron Scott, but also used the power of the U.S. Military to devise a cover story to sell to the public of his fake origin. Oh, and I forgot to mention that when Adam reappeared in the 1980’s, he discovered that Eiling ended up marrying his wife and took custody of his two kids, who now think he was a traitor to his country and a horrible father.

Wooooooweeeee.

The Captain Atom series launched after the Legends event, which also kicked off probably the most beloved and talked about era of DC Comics. The DC legend Cary Bates was assigned the writer, who was himself a “legacy” writer, probably best known for his longest run of the Flash. Which I believe is the longest run in the history of comics by the way. Though I would need to fact check that. Nevertheless having Bates on the title was indeed something because when DC moved into the post-Crisis of Infinite Earths era, it also showed most of the legacy creative teams the door.

And the series rocks. It has pretty much everything that a great comics series needs. Drama, intrigue, sex, a bit of controversy, and explosive action. And Bates weaves in the drama and it fires on all cylinders. And because it was firing on all cylinders Bates eventually called on Greg Wiseman to help him with the stories and plotting.

Together they built a world that also weaves in and out of the DC Universe at the time that makes it that more rich. From Captain Atom’s first love interest of Nightshade on the Suicide Squad to the femme fatale of Plastique who would attempt to thwart or at least complicate whatever mission our Captain was on. By the time you get to issue 30 you realize it’s a very rich world indeed.

And I think what makes Captain Atom even that more special is that the creative team always set out to remind its readers that this wasn’t your everyday, old fashioned super-hero. Though he was shiny on the outside, in reality he was the complete opposite. He continually lived a lie, and he continued to lie to all those around him even when he had the chance (at least from our perspective) to come clean. The big lie always hung around every issue and when everything seemed to go right and things finally started to go well for him, the lie would come back and knock him down.

 I suppose I was expecting the usual line between right and wrong to be just as clear-cut. So what happens? I end up more confused than ever.

Captain Atom, Captain Atom #21

And to keep things even more interesting, Bates and Weisman continue to pack in the drama and have his daughter fall in love with his best friend, who happened to be African-American. And you are shocked when our beloved Captain is actually bothered by it. This is the protagonist for crying out loud not not to mention the star of book! But he was a product of the 60’s and Bates and Weisman reminded us of that fact.

And the series was very much rooted in the military. This caused much debate but it also clearly depicted Captain Atom’s internal struggle and realization that he had such blind faith in the military establishment. Despite the fact that the military screwed him over at literally every practical turn. I could go on and on but the point is the book remained edgy and was probably ahead of its time. And if you doubt that then please have just a tiny peek at the issues’ respective letters pages and you’ll know exactly what buttons this series was pressing.

I absolutely loved Pat Broderick’s art. His rendition of Captain Atom is that old, school, Greek mythological sculpted look, taken right out of a George Bridgman course. The perfect look he puts to Captain Atom contrasts perfectly with the reality of what was happening internally, forcing that ugliness right to the forefront.

And Broderick’s character designs were also incredibly rich. From General Eiling’s constant cigar chomping to the robotic scientist in the wheelchair Dr. Heinrich Megala, and accumulating right to the ultimate creation of fanfavorite Major Force. Broderick created a very detailed world that still lives up to this day. I’m not sure why I didn’t “discover” Pat Broderick before, but I will make it my mission to hunt down his other work as well.

Broderick doesn’t stay the whole time unfortunately. Rafael Kayanan (from Fury of Firestorm fame) does pick it up about midway through the series run. But he was a top notch talent at the time so it keeps the momentum going. But I just can’t help it. When I think of Captain Atom I think of Pat Broderick.

Captain Atom is a great series and it’s worth picking up all the back issues or hunting down the collections. Cary Bates and Greg Weisman did a fantastic job keeping everyone interested, and Broderick’s art and creations make it a gorgeous book. It’s definitely a collection I will buy in many forms and mediums in the years to come.