“Yesterday’s” Comic> Space Adventures #39

You’re already shooting him. Pimp slapping him seem a bit unnecessary.

Space Adventures v3 #39

Charlton Comics Group (April, 1961)

Four stories with Captain Atom starring in three of them. Why not just give Atom a longer story and really do something with it? At that point you might as well. Captain Atom the comic has back-up stories. It’s how we followed Ted Kord’s first adventures as the Blue Beetle, and Ted would return the favor with the Question in his own title. Well, let’s get through this batch.

[Read along with me here]

“Test Pilot’s Nightmare” by Steve Ditko

Our first Captain Atom adventure. Captain Adam, the secret identity of Captain Atom, is watching a test for a new oxygen supply pump, but he’s convinced it won’t work properly. The inventor disagrees and makes the test happen anyway, ignoring Adam’s orders only for our hero to be proven right and having to go into action as Captain Atom to save the day. Adam makes a few missteps when it comes to protecting his secret identity, one of which is justified to save the test pilot, while the other has him speeding to the test too far away from when he called the inventor before showing up. Otherwise it’s a decent short adventure. Not every superhero story has to have a villain. It can just have a egotistical idiot.

“The Third Man” by Moltra

Our Atom-free story for the issue and I want to know who named the protagonist Dr Lego. It’s not like the toys weren’t years into existence in the US by then and it just keeps distracting me. Thanks to a mysterious past he isn’t allowed on the first flight of the rocket he designed but he teleports himself on anyway because his home is where they’re going: Saturn. This is another story so basic it’s disappointing. Saturn’s at war with Jupiter, Saturn is more advanced than Earth but Earth mastered electricity, he’s sure Earth and Saturn will be friends…why are these stories so bland? They’re plots with little actual story to them.

“Peace Envoy” by Mastroserio

The remaining stories are Captain Atom in action. Aliens attack Earth and demand we surrender, so Captain Atom is sent as a peace envoy. He then proceeds to beat the living tar out of them, smash their stuff, and literally kicks them out of the solar system. I realise the hippie movement was still a ways off but…we need to work on the definition of “peace” here. If you’re just going to send him to beat them up, fine. They’re evil and think themselves ugly even with Cap’s attempt to make them feel better. But don’t call it peace.

“An Ageless Weapon” by Steve Ditko

Our final story for the issue. Spies kidnap Adam on his way to deliver documents to West Berlin officials, forcing him to cross to East Berlin. They got past the wall pretty easy, and after meeting the ringleader Adam uses his Captain Atom powers without transforming, again forgetting how his secret identity is supposed to work, and captures the agent sent to kidnap him and the ringleader. It sounds like things happen, but like with the non-Captain Atom story it’s a plot in search of a story.

overall

The first story is okay and the third one was just an action piece but the other two needed more panels to make a good story. I’m still not going to miss this series, and we’re almost done.