Why Blue Beetle Hated Captain Atom, Part 2

[richardak]

Here, because you demanded it, is part two of why Ted Kord hated Cameron Scott.

We begin with Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Mr. Miracle gathered in Cap's DC apartment, as Cap confesses the truth about his origins and the deception he pulled on his fellow leaguers and the entire world:





Note that what he says about being guilty until proven innocent is a figure of speech, as that would of course be unconstitutional.  It is the case, however, that courts martial tend to be much more likely to convict defendants.

At this point, we're going to skip ahead a few pages.  A lot happens in this issue, but I can only post seven pages, so I'll have to sum up.  The four of them get a lead on Yarrow that suggests he might have been the victim of foul play.  In the mean time, Cap gets a call from General Hilary with a lead on the Cambodian.  Booster and Mr. Miracle investigate the first lead, while Cap and Beetle pursue the second.


Now, it certainly seems in these last two panels that Ted might be inclined to let bygones be bygones.  In any case, the two of them pursue the Cambodian and interrupt his planned auction of X-ionized weapons.  They fight the Cambodian himself, plus the two bidders, one from South Africa, the other from Bialya.

Now it really looks here like Ted has forgiven Cameron, doesn't it?  I'll say more about this after the last page, because of course the Cambodian has to escape.



Dunh-dunh-dunnnh!  Okay, so the plot has thickened, but it definitely looks like Beetle has forgiven Cap, right?  Except, as we shall see in future scans, Beetle later continues to express deep antipathy for Cap.  It's possible that that might just be a retcon, but I believe that there is reason to believe otherwise.  Remember, the basic rule of Captain Atom is this: there is always another level to the deception.  I suspect that Beetle is only pretending to forgive Cap, in order to turn the tables on him, winning his trust by making him think they're friends now.  Although Beetle, Booster, and Miracle don't play much of a role in the next installment, I think you'll see that there is a clue in part three that Ted may be less than sincere in his forgiveness.

Comments

[q99]

Yea, I'm not entirely buying it either :)

Good stuff.

[heckfire]

Note that what he says about being guilty until proven innocent is a figure of speech, as that would of course be unconstitutional.
Yeah, because my beloved countrymen in power would NEEEEEVER be unconstitutional in order to cover them lining their own pockets. EVER.

[baxter2814]

That's what she/he means by "figure of speech" - it happens in practice, not in law.

[richardak]

That's right. I don't want to spoil anything, but as will be seen, Nate's trial was definitely so corrupted as to not constitute a fair trial.

[heckfire]

Incredible! Really? I'd never have guessed! Maybe you can help me with this "sarcasm" thing I keep hearing about, too...can you eat it?

[baxter2814]

What I meant was that your comment was NOT sarcastic: your comment was based on the assumption that she was saying that officials never do unconstitutional things. Your comment was: "Yeah, because my beloved countrymen in power would NEEEEEVER be unconstitutional in order to cover them lining their own pockets. EVER." She wasn't implying they wouldn't. She was clarifying that the law does not allow the army to ignore the constitution. Your comment was not "sarcasm", it was pretending that she said something else so that you could make a joke.

Also, please don't be so rude unless someone says something that actually warrants your disgust.

[baxter2814]

Keep 'em coming! I love this series, have never read it before, and you're just inspiring me to go buy this old stuff. And isn't that what this site should be all about?

[richardak]

Absolutely, and I'm glad you're enjoying this. Part three will be up soon.

[recognitions]

Interesting. How much of this was in continuity before this, does anyone know? Or was it a top-down retcon? I'd be curious to see people's reactions to it at the time. Of course, retconning an entire character's history wasn't done then with the frequency and carelessness we see today. Also, I know Bates isn't Giffen and DeMatteis, but I keep expecting Beetle and Booster to be goofier.

[richardak]

I'm a little unclear on what you mean. How much of this was in continuity before what? Also, it can sometimes be a little hard to say what constitutes an official retcon versus a writer just forgetting or not bothering to look up or research a given detail. My guess is that the writer of Extreme Justice probably just figured something to the effect of, 'oh, Cap and Beetle were in the JLI together, so they must be friends,' and never bothered to look up their actual interactions. I would be surprised if he actually consciously decided to retcon away their earlier conflicts.

As for people's reactions at the time, I have to confess that I stopped reading Extreme Justice after the first few issues, so I don't really know if people wrote in letters complaining. Someone else might know though.

The depictions of the League in Captain Atom were definitely quite different from in the League titles themselves.