“Yesterday’s” Comic> Space Adventures #33

“I’m going to miss my flight. Oh wait, I can fly.”

Space Adventures #33

Charlton Comics Group (March, 1960)

Just like we did when the Ted Kord Blue Beetle debuted in the pages of Captain Atom. we’ll start Cap’s history with the anthology series he debuted in, Space Adventures, and will pick up the remaining issues later. This is another series that had its numbering taken over by a war comic but eventually got their numbers back. Hopefully I remember that when we start reading Charlton’s non DC-acquired titles in the future.

No credits given on any of the stories, but research says Captain Atom was created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, so I assume they worked on this story somehow. We have three tales and a text adventure, so let’s get started.

[Read along with me here]

The Galactic Scourge

Our first story find a group of astronauts sent to a galaxy similar to our own. They also find a solar system with a planet similar to Earth and also the third planet of that system. However, a force drags the ship to the fourth planet where they’re forced to fend of mechanical scorpion-like things responsible for numerous ships crashing. Managing to destroy them the Earthmen manage to leave the planet and reach the third planet, Krydon, to be celebrated by the residents of that planet.

I kept waiting for the twist. Maybe they’d go the “Planet Of The Apes” route and they’d end up looping back to Earth in the future. Maybe the Krydons are secretly the baddies and the scorpions were trying to help, but were unable to convince them. Nope. Just land on planet, blast the bad things, get celebrated and promise to fight evil. There was nothing to this story, not even some decent action.

Introducing Captain Atom

Now comes the story we’re here for, the origin of Captain Atom, who would later become a DC character and constant attempts would be made to turn him evil ever since…for some reason. (Captain Atom was the inspiration for Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen after Alan Moore wasn’t allowed to use the new Charlton acquisitions because DC would want to use them in the main universe untainted to the audience.) Captain Adam (not given his first name, Nathaniel, in this story) is the military’s top radiation expert. Accidentally trapped in a nuclear missile being exploded in space…your guess is as good as mine, the soldier is transformed into a radioactive man, complete with amazing new powers. Believed dead thanks to a press leak, the President names him Captain Atom (easy enough to remember), who must immediately stop a sabotaged hydrogen missile from exploding in a country hoping to use the opportunity to declare war. Cap manages to destroy the missile over the seas as originally intended.

This is so by the book it hurts. Only the melodramatic narration and dialog gives it any impact, and it’s still weak because of how over the top it is. Otherwise, the story is just here to give their new superhero an origin and show off his powers, and that’s the only thing it does well.

The Captive World

Ah, the corny melodrama continues. An Earth colony is attacked by a slave race whose masters want to conquer the universe. Space Marshall Joe Blount (‘kay) opts to have Earth abandon them as they would be no match. The whole planet is taken to their masters, but it takes Joe literally one second to convince the slaves to revolt on the masters, destroying the equipment used to control them. Joe returns to the planet in its new location as the slaves are unable to travel through space without their masters’ influence. And they’re all dead now.

This comic is not ending on a high note, but it is league with the other stories. The melodrama is the lowest of the three, but it’s all by the numbers, bland, and just not very interesting.

overall

that last sentence is a good representation of the entire book. The writing is so outdated even I can’t find enjoyment in it. The art’s okay but not outstanding, and it’s the only praise I can give it outside of interesting plots that are weak in execution. I hope this isn’t the norm, since we’ll be following this series until our superhero manages to get his own title. If this does continue, it will be the last we see of it.