“Yesterday’s” Comic> Captain Atom #87

I’ve already reviewed #s 83-86 when I was looking into the pre-DC history of Ted Kord as Blue Beetle. We rejoin the series already in progress.

Wait, wouldn’t that make him his own weakness?

Captain Atom #87

Charlton Comics Group (August, 1967)

“The Menace of The Fiery-Icer”

WRITER: Dave Kaler

PENCILER: Steve Ditko

INKER: Rocke Mastroserio

COLORIST: unlisted

LETTERER: A. Machine

Nightshade: “The Image’s Idyl!”

CREATOR/WRITER: Dave Kaler

ARTIST: Jim Aparo

[Read along with me here]

A new villain appears. The Fiery-Icer’s outfit is fitted with both a freezing weapon and a flame weapon. He also forced a scientist to make his headquarters, but the scientist escapes, with Captain Atom and Gunner coming across him. Fiery-Icer and his minions attack the seaside missile base, but despite being put out of commission more than once, our hero manages to stoy the villain’s plans and the villain himself.

What they got right: The Fiery-Icer has potential as a villain, though admittedly we don’t see as much as we could this issue. He does combine his two weapons for various attacks, giving our hero a challenge.

What they got wrong: It’s been awhile, and I forgot about Abby Ladd, the girl reporter out to expose Captain Atom as an egotistical fraud perpetrated by the government or something. She shows up here but serves no purpose in the story except to remind us she exists. I wanted to forget that.

Nightshade takes over for Blue Beetle as the backup feature. As she thinks back to her origins and the day her mother taught her and her brother how to enter the land of nightshades, her father, Senator Wayne Eden, in the present is being threatened by The Image, whose outfit allows him to travel through reflective surfaces like mirrors. In the flashback her mother reveals to the kids that they have inherited her powers, but when they arrive in the nightshade world they’re attacked by an enemy of her mother’s, the Incubus, who has a serious hatred for the former princess. In the present, the Image captures Eve (secretly Nightshade) to force her father to kill the latest defense bill.

I see we’re not only sticking with “damsel of darkness” but adding “nymph of nemesis” to her nicknames. Also, they should have stuck with either Eve’s origin flashback (we are told multiple times that her mother and brother are considered dead) or this story with The Image, who is basically a Mirror Master knockoff. Trying to stay interested in both stories isn’t easy as both would stand better on their own.

What I think overall: The dialog is a bit clunky but interesting. I can kind of see why Nightshade seems to have vanished from the DC Universe and I never heard of the Fiery-Icer until now, probably for a reason. It’s an okay read, but not really outstanding.