Earth 2 #4 Atom Smasher

[superfangirl1]

Comments

[big_daddy_d]

1. Atom Smasher looks totally awesome.
2. Hawkgirl being a badass with a scoped bow gun makes me think of how a child of Red Arrow/Kendra would have turned out.

[blueprintstyles]

nice mix of old and new takes of the character

[sailorlibra]

It's funny, this is the first panel I've seen featuring the new Hawkgirl and I already sort of hate Atom Smasher a lot for the way he treats her.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

...wasn't Al's deal the fact that he was short, and thus sought to improve himself?

Giving him the ability to grow seems to defeat that. But that's kinda par for the course.

[superboyprime]

The old Al had superpowers too: Superstrength and an "atomic punch."

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

I remember that. But he was still a runt. Making him Atom Smasher 2.0 just really seems to go against his core character.

[ensiform]

You're thinking of the original, Golden Age Atom of the 40s. He was short and built himself into a paragon of athleticism and combat readiness.

...And was also, much later in his career, given "atomic" powers.

Sigh.

[icon_uk]

In terms of "real world distance from his debut" yes, it was a long time, but IIRC it was a retcon in All Star Squadron that established he gained powers during WWII after fighting the villain Cyclotron.

[cricharddavies]

Actually, I believe that he was given powers when he made his first Silver age appearance. (IIRC)

[icon_uk]

As Robinson had the GA Pratt note when they did a "Talking with David" issue starring the JSA, Al had a mahor inferiority complex because he was short. there were no short role models, since all the big acors were tall etc. I think he notes that Danny DeVito would never have been a serious actor in the 30's or 40's.

Is there still that much stigma against short people that it would be a worthy motivation as a superhero? (Genuine question)

Plus if the Army is wanting a wonder of their own, not sure a non-powered Atom would be that much of a threat to the likes of Flash, GL and Hawkgirl.

[jaybee3]

I always liked the idea that the original Atom was a small guy and yet he didn't let that deter him especially since originally he had no superpowers (with the irony that his godson was a literal giant and his biological son, Damage, may have been the most powerful hero of them all given his DNA from all heroes). If you think about even the "shortest" super-heroes, who are not teens, are well over 5 feet something with WW, Batman and Superman all over 6 feet. Al Pratt originally was a different story.

[kenn_el]

Tom Cruise is incredibly short.So are male gymnasts. Al Pratt IS short. It;;s shown in issue #1.

[icon_uk]

Yeah, Cruise is another good example, I kept thinking of Michael J Fox for some reason, but Cruise is a better exemplar,

A little off topic, maybe

[venatosapiens]

Ok, so this is not primarily the fault of this issue, but it's been bothering me. Why is it that so many superhero fight comics have such terrible, un-dynamic fight choreography? I mean, I can kind of see it in a universe where the heroes are a little inexperienced and don't really know the full extent of their powers, but it seems to me that the artists are choosing the laziest possible ways to smash their action figures together.

I mean, look at Nextwave for crying out loud. Stuart Immonen took a bunch of characters with genaric powers and made them all move differently. Why can't we have more of that?

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[lascoden]

Too be fair, Immonen is really in a whole other category when it comes to comic book artists. No insult to Scott intended, but it's hard to reach that level.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[mrosa]

Too be fair, Immonen is really in a whole other category when it comes to comic book artists. No insult to Scott intended, but it's hard to reach that level.

Bah! Up until the '90s, that was basic requirements for any artist drawing superheroes. Even the much maligned Don Heck could run circles around those trying and failing to stage fight choreographies nowadays.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[mrstatham]

Yeah, but Nextwave was like freaking alchemy. You don't get a pairing like that every day, where Ellis' really fucking gonzo scripts and Immonen's art just meshed so brilliantly. Comparing Scott to Immonen is a little unfair, too, since Immonen's had much longer in the industry, and to be fair, there are dozens of artists at both of the big two companies that aren't nearly as good as Immonen.

Immonen is, after all, the guy who salvaged Fear Itself, to a degree, by at least making it visually impressive.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[venatosapiens]

Well, I adore Scott's work on Secret Six. I just feel that the energetic, balletic qualities of good superhero art are pretty lacking these days at both companies. It seems like superheroes should be a chance to cut loose and really go for weird, destinctive styles and choreography, instead of the 90's "stand/grimace/punch" that we've ended up with.

I mean, throw some capoeira or marial arts in there. Emphasize acrobatic skill. These people are the peak of perfection, and they are moving like bar thugs.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[mrstatham]

Well, that's the thing - About.. What, one writer at DC actually knew about martial arts - and that was Chuck Dixon, from what I recall. I don't think that many other writers know about martial arts beyond the cliches - I'm not saying I do - but as you point out, these people are like, peak human beings from all kinds of backgrounds; They should know more. I mean, have you read Immortal Iron Fist? That was.. Well, it wasn't exactly 'martial arts', but to me, it showed the right way of going about displaying fights and fighters with different styles and with the right levels of energy.

But.. No. Scott isn't a bad artist, but I don't think she quite measures up to Immonen in terms of energy, sense of composition, etc. And I don't think she will because her style doesn't allow it.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[icon_uk]

The trouble with Chuck Dixon is the opposite, that he wouldn't bloody STOP going on aboput martial arts, when Batman and co would be appalling martial artists in the sort of purist circles he introduced, since they mix and match disciplines so much

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[mrstatham]

Oh no, I know the guy was a little too into it, really. I just think it was good someone actually knew what they were talking about, really, and it was a little more interesting than Batman just hammering someone.

Re: A little off topic, maybe

[icon_uk]

I think that might be more down to the artist than the writer. Even the most detailed description from the latter doesn't help if the former can't picture the choreography properly, and a good artist can make any nonsensical fight scene just look cool regardless of how inept the description is from the writer.

[lucky_gamble]

Enjoyed the issue because things are finally coming together. We have a clear villain, got to see a action and even the Atom Smasher.

I shippy part of me wants to see some AtomxGL chemistry. Unlikely though due to the token rule.

[magus_69]

I had some Atom/GL ideas myself. Hopefully we get something romantic from Alan once his heart heals (as much as it ever will).

[jlbarnett]

Corrupt government.

Superhero fights superhero

Villain that can kill by merely existing

Oh, so many things to make me want to by this*sarcasm*

It's time for writers to go back to heroes who get along, who don't cause the villains they want to fight to exist and have to work as hard as the heroes to succeed and them not having the world aligned against them

[michael_ellis_day]

I don't get what the POINT of this concept is. DC just rebooted its entire line and gave us slightly-reworked versions of previously existing characters and set things up to create an almost blank slate in which any past event might be in play as never happening or happening differently. A whole canvas to work with, one would think. But then this comes along to establish yet another new continuity alongside that one, consisting of slightly-more-reworked versions of still other characters, but telling the same kinds of stories with the same foes in pretty much the same writing and art style. Why? What is it for? Surely it can't satisfy fans of the Golden Age heroes (a.k.a. Earth-2 of the Silver Age) and creating two new continuities at once is otherwise superfluous.

If they wanted to honor the spirit of the Silver Age Earth-2 concept, they'd have kept the pre-52 versions of Superman et al on their own parallel Earth and had them show up for team-ups. Not give us new characters called Alan Scott or Jay Garrick or Al Pratt. Really, what is this book even for?

[arbre_rieur]

The premise of EARTH 2 is basically "Earth is still recovering from a devastating war with aliens that killed all the superheroes. Now a new group of heroes is rising, and it's all up to these rookies to stop some new Big Threat."

That's incompatible with the regular DC Universe for more than one reason.

[michael_ellis_day]

I get all that. But my question was, what is it for? Why is this story being told now? There's already a new mainstream continuity with a bunch of freshly rebooted characters we haven't really gotten to know yet. Why add another continuity on another Earth with another set of rebooted characters we don't know yet? DC is suffering from a severe case of reboot/revamp/refresh overload as it stands. Is there any good reason to add still more to the pile at this particular moment? Isn't this a premise and story that could have waited until the New 52 was at least a couple of years old?

[kenn_el]

The difference for me, at least, is that this is a legitimate reboot. Other than the names, these are largely new characters, in new situations. There's a freshness that the Earth 1 characters do not have, because certain things are being held onto while others jettisoned, with little reason as to why. It's like they're moving the line from a house to an apartment, and cannot figure out where to fit the junk they couldn't bear to part with.

[magus_69]

The Atom, eh? Well, well, well...

I can't say that this thrills me much. It's an interesting take on the character, and it potentially sets him up to be the team jerk, but I'd have preferred a more traditional take. Oh well. Oh, and I go back and forth on the topic of his rank, specifically if it's a sly reference or eyerollworthy.

At least he's short when he's not big. And I dug the naked. There aren't enough naked musclemen in comics.

Hawkgirl is Kendra, eh? First: why not Hawkwoman? *sigh* Second: NGL, I half convinced myself that she was Renee Montoya (who AFAIK is still conspiculously absent in the New 52). Badass WOC detective, dresses in blue, keeps a mask on? Oh well. I guess it's not to be.

[jaybee3]

Robinson co-created Kendra Saunders originally when he rebooted the JSA with David Goyer. He probably still owns a piece of her. I don't mind. I think Robinson (like Judd Winick) does best when he plays with his own created toys and not those of a shared universe (which is why Earth-2 is probably a good fit for him). It also still allows the Thangarian Hawkwoman to appear in the regular Earth with little confusion between the two.

[kenn_el]

If the Earth 2 Carter shows up I'm certain they will name him Hawkboy.

[eyz]

Okay, I'll say it here, I haven't liked a single New 52 redesign...until now!
Hawkgirl!Kendra looks great!!

[sleepymax]

Agreed. I've HATED the new 52 designs but I'm really like these two designs. Hawkgirl has been modernized but STILL looks like an actual superhero. Scott's art helps too.

[icon_uk]

Kendra reminds me of the revamped Sorceress in the 2000's He-Man series

[kirke_novak]

James Robinson said that this Atom combines Atom, Atom Smasher and Damage (remember Damaage and SD's favorite 3 way relationship? :) ). I am a bit annoyed at the way Atom's been introduced, nothing pisses me off more than know-it-all, I-follow-orders, I-a-badass-marine military types. They are fighting the rot and saving civilians, I'm sure he can stop his macho posing for 5 sec and give them benefit of a doubt?

[needagasmask]

To be fair, he DID smoosh Grundy before he started being a jerkass, but jerkass he still was throughout the whole affair. Main threat was neutralized, and now he has other metas around he has to deal with. And on top of that, it sounded like Kendra was a part of whatever covert group Al's in and went AWOL or escaped, something the guv'ment don't take too kindly to. As far as things go with Jay and Alan, they're accomplices in his eyes.

Needless Nitpick

[glprime]

Completely unrelated to anything important or fun in comics, but...

1st Page: Would you really design a hazardous environment suit for combat situations where the wearer couldn't turn their head independent of their shoulders? It's a "cool" design, but doesn't make a lot of sense.

Re: Needless Nitpick

[icon_uk]

I think they can turn their head inside the helment, that's why the visor allows more than 180 degree viewing.

[book_of_daniel]

If that's what Al looks like naked then he needs a much skimpier uniform.

And I can't help but wonder if the giant palm print they found him in was his or from someone who gave him the powers....

[shadowpsykie]

Titan: Now Al Pratt recive the powers of Titans!

Al: is being naked really necissary?

Titan: No... we just like looking at you... have you SEEN yourself in the mirror, my GODS man!

[shadowpsykie]

hmmm pre established background with Hawkgirl and Atom Smasher? interesting.

LOVE Nicola's art as per usual.

ooooh a naked man.... :D a HOT naked man (seriously, that was my first reaction)

Hmmm so people are shipping Alan and Al? what brought this on? was there, is there still a don't ask don't tell on earth2? either way, a gay military hero would be cool...

I'm not a fan of the "I am following orders" guys, but i'd like to see where it goes, it could be more than we know. i can't help but feel there is more to the story...

that said, i think they are going for a team origin here. (atom smasher seems a bit like The Atom in personality too) and not all members get along at first but come together despite thier differences. at least thats what i hope they are going for

[jaybee3]

Robinson did say we would see the creation of the "new" (aka this world's) JSA at some point.