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Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Captain Atom 17 - Swamp Thing meets Captain Atom

Bates, Weisman, Broderick, and Smith conclude Captain Atom and the Justice League's battle against Red Tornado, as Swamp Thing plays peacemaker, in issue 17 (July 1988).

As the story begins, Captain Atom and Red Tornado are enmeshed in a battle, both amping up the force to a destructive level. Swamp Thing intervenes, but to the members of the Justice League International, all they see is Captain Atom get wrapped by vines and pulled to the ground, where he lies as though he were dead. Blue Beetle announces as much after not hearing a heartbeat, but Black Canary has more sense, and gets Mister Miracle to use his New Genesis tech to determine if the hero is still alive under his metallic skin. 

Captain Atom and Red Tornado barely notice that anything has changed. They are both so wound up in trying to defeat each other, they just keep going even though reality has altered around them.

Mister Miracle, meanwhile, discovers that Captain Atom's skin is made up of an alien substance. This puzzles him, as there was nothing alien about the hero's origin. Or at least, the origin that Captain Atom has told the Leaguers.

Swamp Thing has to pull the two fighting men deeper into the Green in order to get them to calm down. This works better than expected, as Red Tornado becomes same again, no longer wanting to destroy the planet. While they are in the Green, Swamp Thing explains how Red Tornado was transformed into an air elemental, and talks about how he became the Earth elemental. Captain Atom notices the similarities between their stories, and about his own "death" and resurrection.

The Leaguers aren't sure what is going on with Captain Atom, and Booster Gold suggests they head to Stellar Studios in California. There they get Brainwave, of Infinity, Inc, to use his mental powers to enter Captain Atom's mind.

The Black Racer, a New Gods character, has also entered the Green, coming after Captain Atom. Swamp Thing and Red Tornado try to run interference, but only with Brainwave's help are they able to keep the Black Racer away, so Captain Atom can be brought safely back to reality.

Captain Atom refuses to explain what has happened, but Red Tornado's storm dissipates, and the emergency is clearly over. Both Red Tornado and Black Racer would return later in the series.

Sooo many guest stars, but they were used well.

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