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 Young Justice
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.
A Charlton Comics superhero who got incorporated into the DCU following Crisis on Infinite Earths. The original Charlton Captain Atom was Allen Adam, created by writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko.He first appeared in Space Adventures #33 (March, 1960). Allen was a scientist in the United States Air Force who was working on an experimental rocket when it was accidentally launched.
- Captain Atom first appeared on the Justice League during the team expansion that followed the Thanagarian invasion of Earth. During his first mission he helped Green Arrow, Green Lantern and Supergirl stop an atomic-powered juggernaut during a rampage through the Chong-Mai region of China, though it caused his containment suit to rupture. He was also part of an orbital defense team that was.
- After the League discovers that he was spying on them for the Air Force, and then proceeding to rage-quit the Air Force itself, Captain Atom needs a job. He gets one at Ferris Air under the alias Cameron Scott, except Hal Jordan is interested in him, and, despite knowing that Hal is Green Lantern. Nate cannot tell him his real identity.
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.
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.
Captain Atom Powers
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.