Captain Atom (DC, 1987-1991) # 21-30 & Annual # 2 [COMICS]

Continuing my run through Captain Atom (previous posts here and here) with a look at Issues # 21-30 and Annual # 2.  The third year of the series is something of a mixed bag, with a through-line of the military/political drama but more of an emphasis on super hero adventure and connections to the rest of the DC Universe.

Issue # 21 starts like generic filler, as Adam takes a week-long gig as a soldier-for-hire to help someone find their son injured on a foreign battlefield.  The first part of the issue is a very generic "freedom-fighters vs. commies in the jungle" story, but then things start to get good when it turns out that Plastique is fighting on the other side!  Adam has to turn into Captain Atom to fight her, and this causes an international incident that brings in one of the 80s' best characters, Amanda Waller.  The story continues into the next issue.

In Issue # 22, The Wall sends Nightshade to corral Captain Atom, who has taken it upon himself to destroy both sides weapons (on the theory that forced disarmament will bring peace).  It resolves with the cynical "guns don't kill people, people kill people" ending, but there's a good battle in the meantime between Atom, Plastique, and Nightshade.  Plastique escapes, but Atom and Nightshade fly home together and I get the sense she lurves him.

Although the Faceless One is dead, his minions aren't, and in Issue # 23 they succeed in assassinating business owner Martin Lockleed.  Lockleed's son, Homer, inherits the company, but since he's in a mental institution Megala gets control of it.  I don't really know where this is headed, but I know Homer reappears as some point.  More interestingly, Peg (Adam's daughter) tells him that she and his old friend Goz are engaged.  But Peg is white and Goz is black, and for the first time, Adam and Eiling are agreed on something: the marriage can't go forward!  It's a good storyline.

Crossover time starts in Issue # 24, as Captain Atom reaches the big-time: he's Commander-in-Chief of all superheroes on Earth as they fight off the aliens in Invasion!  Atom authorises a mission to try to turn an old satellite from Apokolips that's in orbit around Earth (from a previous JLI issue) against the invaders' fleet, but those sneaky shape-changing Durlans sabotage the plan!  It's a fun, clear story and great to see Cap get his due as the military general he's clearly suited for.

The aftermath of Invasion! is seen in Issue # 25.  Following the successful defense of Earth, Captain Atom gets one-on-one time with ol' Ronnie Raygun himself--the President!  The Prez reinstates Atom to the military and even gives him a promotion to boot: he's now a major!  However, another major (Major Force) isn't happy about this and goes on a rampage and Atom has to rein him in.  It's a solid, enjoyable issue.

One of the most important storylines in the series' run starts in Issue # 26.  It's a three-part storyline that ties into a lot of previous continuity (and his origin), and it starts here with Atom's JLI colleagues confronting him over their suspicions that he's been lying to them.  I'm a huge fan of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Mister Miracle, so it's always a joy to see them even if they're not as witty as over in the JLI.  Anyway, there's a storyline here of Atom's new assignment as a major to investigate a murder--which has links to his original trial for treason 20 years before!  It turns out that the murderer is the Warlord from Cambodia (issues # 6-7).  I'm doing a terrible job explaining it, but it's a good story nonetheless.

In Issue # 27, Cap comes clean with the JLI about everything--his fake "origin," how he was convicted of treason (after being framed for the murder of a superior officer), how he's been turning in reports on them to the government, etc.  He makes a sincere apology for all of the lies, and it's a nice resolution to a long-running story arc.  (a conspicuous ad for Justice League Europe, which Cap will lead, is surely just a coincidence . . .)  The trio of Justice Leaguers agree to help Cap investigate the murder and conspiracy around it (which now includes several suspects).  A lot's happening, but it's solid comic book story-telling.

As an aside, it's odd to say that one of my favourite things about these issues is the monthly column by editor Denny O'Neil.  A dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, the columns are a fascinating snapshot into life in the 80s, and are always well-written and thought-provoking.

Issue # 28 is the culmination of storylines reaching as far as back as Issue # 1.  It turns out that the Cambodian committed the original murder that Adam was framed for so long ago, but he did so under the orders of the Ghost (Alex Rois) who, one should add, has been sheltering another member of the conspiracy: Yarrow, who served as Adam's defense attorney!   Atom confronts the Ghost and seems to be losing, only to be rescued by Eiling!  But what Cap doesn't know is that . . . Eiling was apparently the mastermind of the whole thing!  It's a big twist and a great resolution to the first two years of the comic.

Annual # 2 focuses on the fictional nation of Bialya, and its glamorous (but treacherous!) ruler, Queen Bee.  Bialya is the place for some important JLI storylines in the time period, but suffice it to say that after a long period as a rogue state, it's not been opened for business as a tourist destination.  Captain Atom is sent undercover to see what's going on (along with Sarge Steel, Rocket Red, and Major Force--pretty much the worst espionage team ever!).  There's a terrorist attack on the palace that the heroes stop, but it's really all a ruse to expose the fact that Western nations have sent super heroes into Bialya.  There's also a storyline about chemical additives in the food that allow Queen Bee to control people, but Captain Atom snaps out of it and escapes.  It's a bit of an uneven issue, with an interesting idea that's let down in the second half.  There's also a couple of short back-up features, but they're inconsequential.

Adam is at Smitty's bar (from the Christmas issue) in Issue # 29 when he sees a patron, Chester King, getting mugged.  After helping him out, King confesses that he was part of a developer's plan to commit arson and is feeling tremendously guilty about it.  Adam helps put together a sting to get the developer arrested, and King will reappear in some future issues.  Meanwhile, Eiling arranges for a leak to the press showing that Captain Atom and Nathaniel Adam are one and the same--what is he up to?

There's a pretty cool cover to Issue # 30, with Captain Atom fighting an unlikely foe--Black Manta!    The issue is Part 11(!) of a (otherwise excellent Suicide Squad/Checkmate) crossover called the Janus Directive, and I thought it was weird that previous issues made no mention of what was coming.  Anyway, the issue starts with a sort of joint break-up between Atom and Nightshade; it's a well-written scene.  Adam's daughter Peggy reads the newspaper report from the previous issue and decides that she'll never be able to trust her father again.  Peggy, her brother Randall, her fiancee Goz, and her step-father Eiling go off on an ocean cruise.  But Captain Atom, monitoring things at the Justice League Europe's headquarters (in the first official mention in his own series that he's head of a super hero team!) learns that Black Manta is in the area where the cruise ship is headed!  And then in the sort of development that can only happen in comics, Adam and Randy get captured by Black Manta and forced into an underwater gladiatorial ring.  Comics!

Overall, with a couple of exceptions, this was a solid run in the series.  There's plenty of action, but the series avoids the "every issue is a super-villain slugfest" problem.  Instead, it continues delving deeper into Atom's backstory while making good use of the series' excellent supporting characters.