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Captain Atom Reading Order (Nathaniel Adam)

Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko in 1960, Captain Atom first appeared in Space Adventures #33 published by Charlton Comics, a publishing company later acquired by DC Comics. Back then, the character was named Allen Adam, a technician who was trapped in a rocket that exploded. He should have died but instead became a superpowered atomic hero. His series continued for a few years (until December 1967). Back then, he had a red and yellow outfit and pretty generic powers.

In 1983, DC Comics acquired Charlton Comics’ action heroes and asked Alan Moore to do something with them. That’s how Captain Atom became Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen. Moore’s take on the characters was not what DC’s editors had in mind for them and the British writer had to rewrite some of them to create his own version while the publisher introduced Charlton’s super-heroes (like Blue Beetle) in its Post-Crisis universe. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was established that they were on Earth-4. After that, they found their way into the main continuity.

Captain Atom was then reinvented as Nathaniel Christopher Adam, a United States Air Force officer and Vietnam War veteran. Framed and condemned for a crime he didn’t commit, his only option to survive was to join the military experiment called ‘Project: Captain Atom‘ during which he was placed in an alien craft positioned next to an atomic bomb. The goal was to test the resistance of the ship, but the result was ultimately the creation of a superhero. During the explosion, Nathaniel was disintegrated, but he mysteriously reappeared 18 years later, now bonded with the alien metal that has the ability to tap into the “Quantum Field”. Captain Atom can absorb energy to a certain point (beyond that, he jumps in time).

In 1986, as Captain Atom just reappeared, the military forced him to work for them. He eventually joined the Justice League and later became the leader of Justice League Europe. Through the years, he joined other teams, fought his enemy through times, and became a villain before returning to normal.

Nathaniel Adam: Captain Atom Comics Reading Order

The following guide to reading the Captain Atom comics in order is about the post-Crisis era. The adventures of Nathaniel Adam started with the 1987 Captain Atom series–also known as Captain Atom vol. 3.

Captain Atom and The Justice League International

It’s important to note that the solo Captain Atom comic book series written by Cary Bates with art by Pat Broderick has not been collected (yet?) but its 57 issues are available thanks to the DC’s digital archive.

  • Captain Atom (1987) #1-9

On the last page of Justice League International #7, it is established that Captain Atom has joined the team. He made his first real appearance in the book with the following issue.

  • Justice League International Vol. 2
    Collects Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International #8-13, and Suicide Squad #13.
  • Captain Atom (1987) #10 is one without Captain Atom, it is set during Justice League International #8.

Then, came the Millenium Crossover, but Captain Atom barely does anything during the event. His two issues are set between Justice League International #9 & 10:

  • Captain Atom (1987) #11/Firestorm, the Nuclear Man Vol. 1 #68.

After that,

The Justice League Europe comics started here. Captain Atom is the leader of this new team based in Paris composed of Elongated Man, Power Girl, Flash (Wally West), Rocket Red, Animal Man, Metamorpho, Catherine Cobert, and Sue Dibny.

After that, the only way to collect the Justice League Europe comic books is via the omnibus collection.

  • Justice League Europe #12-13
  • Captain Atom #39-44
  • Justice League Europe Annual #1
  • Justice League Europe #15-19
  • Captain Atom #45-47
  • Justice League Europe #20-22
  • Captain Atom #48-49
  • Justice League Europe #23-28
  • Captain Atom #50-57
  • Justice League America #53-Justice League Europe #29-JLA #54-JLE #30-JLA #55
  • Justice League Quaterly #5

The Captain Atom comics was canceled due to the original plan for the Armageddon 2001 crossover event (Nathaniel was supposed to take a bad turn), but it was changed. Captain Atom didn’t get his series back though and the Justice League Europe comics was coming to an end (but you can continue reading the “Breakdown storyline” sans Atom!).

  • Armageddon 2001 #2 
  • Armageddon: The Alien Agenda #1-4

Captain Atom eventually returned to the Justice League comics (but the one set in America), starting with Justice League America #80.

Justice League America #92, Justice League International #68, and Justice League Task Force #16 are part of the Zero Hour event–the easiest way to read this event is to follow our guide to the Zero Hour comics in order.

After the conclusion of the Extreme Justice comics, Captain Atom made guest appearances in multiple team books before joining the other Charlton Comics characters in a new team known as the Living Assault Weapons or L.A.W.

  • L.A.W.
    Collects L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #1-6.

Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, and Joe Rubinstein got back together to work on a sequel to their Justice League International comic book run: Maxwell Lord decides to open a super-team-for-hire in a suburban strip mall, but first, he’ll need to recruit the team itself! Naturally, he turns to his old pals from the Justice League, but are Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Elongated Man, Captain Atom, and Mary Marvel up for the idea?

In the first story arc of the Superman/Batman comics series from 2003 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness, Captain Atom is working again for the American government, taking orders from President Lex Luthor. This storyline will lead to what could have been interpreted as his death, but something else happened…

  • Superman/Batman Vol. 1
    Collects Superman/Batman (2003) #1-13 and a short story from Superman/Batman Secret Files #1.

Captain Atom’s actions at the end of this storyline in the Superman/Batman comic book send him to the WildStorm universe. This story was told in a 9-issue comics miniseries:

This conclusion of this Captain Atom Armageddon comics saw Nathaniel returning to the DC Universe–this coincides with the end of the Infinite Crisis event (in Infinite Crisis issue #7). He reappears in the devastated Blüdhaven and what happened to him after that is told in another comics miniseries, The Battle for Blüdhaven.

The saga continues…

Captain Atom as Monarch

After what happened to him in The Battle for Blüdhaven comics, Captain Atom is “changed” and wears an updated version of the Monarch armor.

The Return of Captain Atom

Captain Atom returns in the backup stories published in Action Comics #879-889. Without any explanation, he is back as himself, wearing his old regular Captain Atom costume, but his memory is failing him. Will he be able to remember the hero he was? (yes)

Once again, Captain Atom is back in a Justice League comics. This time, it’s part of the Brightest Day event. The comic book is titled Justice League: Generation Lost and Captain Atom joined with other superheroes to track down Maxwell Lord.

The Captain Atom Comics: The New 52 Era

When DC Comics rebooted its universe and launched the New 52 initiative, Captain Atom was reintroduced with an altered origin story that made him an energy-based life form, an unstable one. When the story told in this new Captain Atom comics starts, Nathaniel Adam has not been a powered superhero for more than a few months. Elsewhere, his apparitions were limited.

The Captain Atom Comics: Rebirth and Beyond

If Captain Atom’s place in the New 52 universe was small, it was even smaller during the following Rebirth Era and what came after. DC Comics once again relaunched its universe and what Nathaniel Adam got was a new Captain Atom comic book taking the form of a miniseries exploring the past.

Captain Atom died in the story “The Fall of Earth,” published in Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook, but it was not the first time. Unlike others, he didn’t come back with the launch of the Infinite Frontier era. However, he reappeared without an explanation in the background of a panel in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5. But soon, you will have a new series featuring the Captain: Justice League: The Atom Project.

Did we forget an important issue? Did we make a mistake? Let us know in the comments!

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