A scientist gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time during a military bomb test. Instead of killing him, the radiation blast transforms the man into a being of unimaginable power. Sounds like a lot of Marvel superhero origins in general, and the creation story of the Incredible Hulk in particular. But over a year before Marvel would use variations on this theme repeatedly, creators Steve Ditko and Joe Gill would use it to excellent effect in Space Adventures #33, cover-dated March 1960 from Charlton Comics. There's a copy of Captain Atom's first appearance and origin in Space Adventures #33 CGC 6.5 Off-white pages up for auction in today's session of the 2021 March 21-22 Sunday & Monday Comics, Animation & Art Weekly Online Auction #122113 from Heritage Auctions.
CAPTAIN ATOM #83 1ST APPEARANCE TED KORD AS BLUE BEETLE. DC Archive Editions The Action Heroes Captain Atom Volume 1 2004 Original Sealed. 4 Comic Book lot. Captain Atom #9-#12.Superman Silver. Captain Atom is a recurring fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.The Captain Atom moniker has existed in three basic incarnations, but the most recognizable version of the character is Captain Nathaniel Adam. Publisher is Charlton. We have 16 books to download or read online the latest is Captain Atom 89. Captain Atom, along with Major Force, Starfire, Power Girl, Black Lightning, Katana and John Stewart, is hired by President Lex Luthor to bring Superman and Batman into custody.
Steve Ditko's talent and career on such comics has become deservedly well known, but it's Joe Gill's part in this tale that interests me in the case of Captain Atom's origin story. Through a wide-ranging career at Charlton and elsewhere — and as I noted recently in regards to the first appearance of Peacemaker in Fightin' Five #40 — Gill had a knack for weaving specific military hardware and events into the fabric of his stories.
Captain Atom Movie
The Space Adventures #33 Captain Atom story is full of such details. The fateful rocket mishap is referenced as taking place on an Atlas rocket, and identifiable as such as drawn by Ditko. Atlas rockets had by then already become famous as part of Project Mercury, and as part of the United States' first ICBM program. A Jupiter rocket is also identified as a part of the story involving a sabotage plot foiled by Captain Atom.
Captain Atom Wikipedia
But the most fascinating aspect of the story which borrows from real life involves Captain Atom's origin moment itself. The man who would become Captain Atom was caught inside a missile preparing to launch an atomic warhead test 'preset to explode in space.' This is almost certainly a reference to Operation Argus, a series of high-altitude 1.5 kiloton nuclear detonation tests of up to nearly 500 miles above Earth. The secret tests were conducted in August-September 1958 and uncovered by the New York Times in a March 19, 1959 story — likely just a few months before this Captain Atom story was being created.
The combination of Steve Ditko's storytelling prowess and Joe Gill's attention to real life detail makes Space Adventures #33 a fascinating artifact of the Cold War era and the Silver Age. There's a copy of Captain Atom's first appearance and origin in Space Adventures #33 CGC 6.5 Off-white pages up for auction in today's session of the 2021 March 21-22 Sunday & Monday Comics, Animation & Art Weekly Online Auction #122113 from Heritage Auctions.
Space Adventures #33 (Charlton, 1960) CGC FN+ 6.5 Off-white pages. Origin and first appearance of Captain Atom. Steve Ditko cover and art. Vince Colletta art. Overstreet 2020 FN 6.0 value = $465; VF 8.0 value = $992. CGC census 3/21: 13 in 6.5, 16 higher.
The Superhero Database Classification number, or SHDB Class, is a number that represents the overall 'power' of a character. All traits of a character are used for calculating the Classification.
What it DOESN'T mean
This doesn't mean that a higher class would always beat a lower class character. But the bigger the difference in Class is, the more obvious it is who'll win in a fight.
Captain Atom Voice Actor
How is this calculated
Super Power Score and Level
Every Super Power has a score (SPS) that is used to calculate the Class. Each Super Power also has 3 levels (SPL). The level is set when connecting that Super Power to a character. The level determines the final score, of the Super Power, being used in the calculation.