Over the years, DC has attempted to reinvent the character several times. In both DC Comics incarnations, he is an Air Force pilot named Nathaniel Adam, who was a test subject in a scientific experiment who seemingly disintegrated in the process, only to reappear later as the super-powered Captain Atom. In the Charlton Comics continuity, he was a scientist named Allen Adam and gained his abilities by accident when he was seemingly "atomized" and then his body reformed, now existing as an atomic-powered being. In all incarnations, the character initially served for the military. Throughout the years, the character has been featured in several moderate-to-short-lived eponymous series, and has been a member of several different versions of DC's flagship superhero team, the Justice League. Captain Atom was the character inspiration for Doctor Manhattan, who was featured in the miniseries (and later live-action film adaptation) Watchmen, which would be connected to the DC Universe in the miniseries Doomsday Clock. In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its superhero comics and rewrote the histories of some characters from scratch, including Captain Atom, giving him a new origin, appearance and slightly altered powers. Captain Atom was initially created for Charlton Comics, but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for DC's Post- Crisis continuity. 2.4 DC Rebirth: The Fall and Rise of Captain AtomĬaptain Atom was created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Space Adventures #33 (March 1960).
Superhuman strength, flight, energy blasts, minor atomic transmutation, and huge atomic absorption molecules manipulation and manifestationĬover for Captain Atom vol. Cover of DC Comics Presents Captain Atom #1 (December 2011, DC Comics), art by CAFU.