He discusses his time in the Wildstorm Universe, and his desire to visit other alternate worlds.[11]. Breach is killed when absorbed into Monarch in the last issue of Countdown: Arena. Atom's abilities stem from his link to the Quantum Field, which provides a virtually infinite source of Quantum Energy, which can be used for a vast number of effects. Because of the nearly invulnerable nature of the alien metal discovered, the scientists needed some way to cut it in order to perform experiments. He can fire in multiple directions at once or from every point of his body at once. [24], Captain Atom shares with the group that when he absorbed a nuclear bomb Max had set off, he found himself thrown through time to the future of 24th century, an Earth that had fallen into chaos through metahuman wars and backward in technology. As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-4, including Captain Atom and the other Charlton characters. Over the years, Captain Atom has become an expert at energy manipulation and he can fire energy blasts from any point on his body, although he usually uses his hands for better aim. In addition to high speed flight he has been shown to possess enhanced reflexes. It is notable that he is one of the few superheroes with a "Captain" appellation that corresponds to a military rank he has actually held. by Old Pal. Once transformed, the object would then be able to cut through virtually any material, including the Dilustel (quantum metal) skin of the Silver Shield which was used to empower Captain Atom, Major Force, and Bombshell. Breach, who wields similar energy-manipulating abilities. Suddenly a whole group joined the fray as two teens allegedly punched him before one fly-kicked him to the ground. It is revealed that this mysterious realm is connected to Project 7734 and is part of his conditioning. 00. In 2005/2006, Captain Atom appears in a nine-part limited series entitled Captain Atom: Armageddon under DC's Wildstorm imprint. Later, he learns that Project Atom, a secret government funded group that used new experimental machines to harness powerful energies had repeated the same process and created the super-villain Major Force, a bloodthirsty madman lacking Captain Atom's morality and classic military/A.F. Zombie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Captain_Atom&oldid=1000319303#Rogues_gallery, DC Comics characters with superhuman strength, Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities, Fictional United States Air Force personnel, Infobox comic book title param (addpubcat), Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from April 2012, All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2012, Articles needing additional references from October 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Cameron Scott alter ego of Captain Atom is mentioned in, Captain Atom appears in the animated film, Captain Atom makes a brief appearance in the animated movie, He does not reappear in the subsequent film series, implying either he did not get his powers in the New Timeline or his death could not be undone when Flash reverted the timeline, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 16:49. Atom seemingly sacrifices his life to save Superman and Earth by piloting a starship to destroy a Kryptonite meteor, but as it had previously been established that this type of accident could not kill him, he soon returns to life and to the background of the DC Universe. Captain Atom was created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Space Adventures #33 (March 1960). In addition to his superhuman abilities, Nathaniel Adam is also an experienced United States Air Force pilot. Unfortunately, it also triggers a chain of events which brings Monarch to the present 'time'. In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its superhero comics and rewrote the histories of some … Captain Atom next appeared in issue #7 (May 1982) of the new-talent showcase comic also called Charlton Bullseye, in a story by writer Benjamin Smith and artist/co-writer Dan Reed, which for some reason returned him to his original red & yellow outfit. (Previous stories involved Cold War anti-Communist missions or dealing with aliens). Captain Atom then returns to the League, involved in the Zero Hour Crisis in 1994,[9] founding an offshoot team, Extreme Justice in 1995. While Atom dies, Superman survives, going on to continue his Regime. Several times he has "detonated", releasing a massive amount of energy at once, destroying objects within a certain radius, as demonstrated by his destruction of Bludhaven. No explanation is given for his return to his original appearance, his whereabouts since Countdown to Final Crisis, or why he has reverted to his heroic persona rather than that of the conquest-seeking Monarch. However, this would render the characters unusable for future stories. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-4". Captain Atom joins the Justice League at the request of the U.S. government, eventually serving as leader of Justice League Europe. [27], Captain Atom is propelled through time again to 112 years in the future, where a metahuman war against the OMACs had devastated the planet. Before he can decide if he wants to go ahead with it, Wonder Woman appears and slices his containment suit with her sword, an act which will kill him and destroy anything in their radius. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations.[1]. Local man Ben Sami tried to intervene, but was threatened with a large stick. With focus and effort, Captain Atom can increase any of his abilities to match his current willpower, up to an unknown level. Proof the Pfizer Covid vaccine works in the real world? He was thrown back to 2017, the result of the time stream correcting itself. Soon afterwards, he reappears, now an energy-based life form. This energy can be used for flight (which is generally faster than the speed of sound in Earth's atmosphere and up to half-light speed in the vacuum of space), super strength (shown at times to be on par with Martian Manhunter, though another source – the DC Heroes Roleplaying Game – defines his level of strength second only to Superman's among the heroes of the DC universe, though as Monarch he was capable of effortlessly overwhelming three versions of Superman), durability (he has survived exploding nuclear weapons, and even energy sufficient to wipe out all life within the Universe of Earth 51 – although this was his own energy) self-sustenance and life support (allowing him to live and even speak in space), and controlling energy of any form.