Atomic Reactions - Action Hero!

Then came the "Action Heroes". When Dick Giordano took over the editorial reins of Charlton Comics in the late 60's from Pat Masulli, he wanted to make the comic line more exciting and in keeping with a then surge in comics interest as a result of the pop-culture hit Batman TV show. To that end he wanted to create more heroes, but not necessarily "super-heroes" but low-powered types who had to really struggle to defeat their enemies. Judomaster, Thunderbolt, and a soon to debut Peacemaker fit the bill snugly. But Captain Atom and the Blue Beetle were world-beaters - what to do.

Well Steve Ditko, fresh from his days as the drawer of all things spidery, too control. He completely revamped the Blue Beetle creating one of the most durable superhero designs of all time. As for Captain Atom, things were a little bit more convoluted.

Beginning with Captain Atom #83, the good Captain was de-powered by a complicated set of circumstances which caused him to max out his abilities to restrain the danger of an out-of-control nuclear core. At first he's without any powers, but slowly they return, but not in the same way or degree as before. Suddenly the hero who could fly to the end of the universe was limited. With the new powers came a new look as in the very next issue he doffs his gold costume and puts on for the first time my favorite Captain Atom look. Actually "putting on" is an ideal way of stating it as the costume is actually a few coats of a special metallic substance which protects the public from his radiation as well as serving as a handsome outfit. He eschews a mask as he'd previously been publicly unmasked but no one seemed to connect the silver-haired Atom with the brown-haired Adam.

 The new Atom battles a relative small-time thug Iron Arms before in the very next issue teaming again with Nightshade, who became something of a regular, to battle the criminal duo Punch and Jewelee, two small-time thieves who get their mitts on some other-dimensional weapons. After that the Ghost returns and we discover that he has connections with a mysterious cadre of green-haired gold-armored women from another dimension, the same from which the mysterious weapons appeared.

After that Captain Atom is on his own again as he battles the bluntly named Fiery-Icer, a criminal with basic motivations. This was the very first Captain Atom comic I ever read, the one that made me fall in love with the character. Then Cap goes on his strangest mission yet, aboard a time-warp ship built by the United States government he travels to the far reaches of outer space to answer a distress call from a mysterious planet assaulted by giant insects. He finds a world abandoned by its people and operating on automatic because they had become overcome by ennui when all the challenge in their lives was removed by conveniences.

Then Cap returns home in time to battle both the Ghost and a new foe called Thirteen, as these apparent criminals battle for control of a mysterious device Cap had unintentionally brought back to Earth with him. Thirteen has a fun cat familiar and uses seeming magic, but his secret is more complex still.

Then it ends...just like that. The "Action Hero" line folds, and soon both Dick Giordano and Steve Ditko are gone to DC.

But eventually another story drops, one plotted and drawn but not scripted when the axe fell. This story appeared many years later in the fanzine Charlton Bullseye in two parts, with a script by two fans and inks by an up-and-coming John Byrne. In the story Captain Atom and Nightshade fight their ultimate battle against the murderous Ghost and solve the mystery of the other-dimensional women who worship him. (More on this story next week.)

Soon after that DC acquires the rights to the Action Hero line, and Captain Atom joins Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman in a spanking new DC Universe. There's some success of course, but rarely does he achieve the sparkling heights he had at Charlton.

More Captain Atom tomorrow. 

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Solar Reflections - Nuclear Nightmares!

In the third volume of Doctor Solar Man of the Atom from Dark Horse, we are treated to a fully-realized superhero. Gold Key had been reluctant to dive into the superhero pool, clearly showing a disdain for the underwear crowd which commanded so much attention in the field. But eventually they follow the patterns and give us a Doctor Solar who functions in many ways like a hero in the classic modes.

Paul S. Newman, the ubiquitous writer for Gold Key continued to handle the chores on that end and Frank Bolle had successfully taken over the art, if his style was somewhat less dynamic than what had come before. With this team we continue to get stories which are rock solid science fiction such as when Doctor Solar is forced to travel back in time to stop a deadly doomsday device by going to before it began, and later he confronts a sun spun out of control and threatening to destroy the Earth itself.

Then the stories begin to focus more on the machinations of Solar's arch enemy Nuro, an obscure behind-the-scenes villain akin to many masterminds from the Bond films and other such tales. Nuro employs a robot dubbed "Orun", one who'd battled Solar before and makes of him a steady henchman and persistent threat to Doctor Solar. We get a glimpse of Nuro's face after many years of shadows and see that he has a rather porcine countenance. Nothing much is made of this, but it suggests a slight change in the tone of the series.

Those changes continue when Dick Wood takes on the writing and veteran Al McWilliams steps into do some art on the series and we meet Hamilton Mansfield Lamont, who is Gale's nephew. This brilliant young man joins the cast which had long been comprised of love interest Gale and Dr. Solar's longtime boss and confidant Doctor Clarkson and soon becomes a nerdish Snapper Carr/Rick Jones like figure. You can for sure say that the Man of the Atom becomes a bona fide superhero when he gets a teen sidekick.

We also get a new villain, sort of when King Cybernoid is birthed as Nuro's intellect becomes entrapped in the robotic form of his henchman. This new more physical opponent again creates a more pure superhero dynamic for the book and draws it away from its sci-fi roots, though of course those notions still function to supply threats.

Here are the covers of the issues included in this volume.

Next time Doctor Solar really goes through some changes, and we chase the character through the decades of the 70's and the 80's.

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Ditko Cover Classics - Captain Atom #84!

Captain Atom #84 is by scripter Dave Kaler and artists Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio. Ditko asserts even more control over the character by changing his look and lowering his power levels. This is doubtless in keeping with both Ditko's own philosophy about the nature of heroes as well as Dick Giordano's desire to keep his line-up of "Action Heroes" more man and super. The Blue Beetle returns with scripting by Gary Friedrich. 

You can read it at this link. 

Captain Atom gets a smashing new look, losing his golden Cold War togs and replacing them with a more colorful combo in red, white and blue. He loses his mask as well, figuring I guess that his stark transformation will be enough to throw anyone off his trail. 

More Captain Atom and Blue Beetle next time. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - Captain Atom #83!

Captain Atom #83 is by scripter Dave Kaler and artists Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio. The credits showcase that Ditko plotted this tale. His revised version of Blue Beetle debuts in this issue with a script by Gary Friedrich. 

You can read it at this link. 

With the arrival of Blue Beetle, this comic really becomes a Ditko tour de force. More Captain Atom and Blue Beetle tomorrow. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - Captain Atom #82!

Captain Atom #82 is by artists Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio. This issue marks the debut of both Captain Atom's second super-villain The Ghost and his first ally in fighting crime the deadly Nightshade. Ditko fan Dave Kaler takes over the scripting officially, though Kaler has stated he added little to Ditko's work. 

You can read it at this link. 

The fandom grows as Dick Giordano is working hard to make the most of the Action Hero line-up. More Captain Atom tomorrow. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - Captain Atom #81!

Captain Atom #81 is by writer Joe Gill and artists Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio. This dynamic issue marks the return of Dr. Spectro. 

You can read it at this link. 

More Captain Atom tomorrow. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - Captain Atom #80!

Captain Atom #80 is by writer Joe Gill and artists Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio. The story is a full-length thriller which doesn't hide its inspiration. 

You can read it at this link. 

More Captain Atom action tomorrow. 

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