THIS WEEK: All Fight Month kicks off with the first DC K.O. tie-in one-shot, Superman vs. Captain Atom #1!
Note: the review below may contain spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.
DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Sean Izaakse
Colorists: Trish Mulvihill (P. 1-16, 20-26) and Hi-Fi (P. 17-19, 27-30)
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artists: Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern
We’re now two months into DC K.O., the publisher’s latest big crossover, and after a lot of table-setting and a mad dash to collect a bunch of artifacts, the main event-within-the-event is upon us. All Fight Month is here, eight issues featuring one-on-one showdowns between the remaining sixteen tournament competitors, and it kicks off this week with DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1, a one-shot that pits the Man of Steel against one of the DCU’s most complicated heroes.
Rather than treating this one-shot as just another issue of Superman, Joshua Williamson shifts the focus to the issue’s other titular hero. In recent years DC has leaned into the fact that Captain Atom was the inspiration for Watchmen’s Doctor Manhattan, with the Black Label Jenny Sparks series and the All In Justice League: The Atom Project series both positioning Nathaniel Adam as a god-like being of immense power. DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1 examines that theme for the character as well, though contrasting him with Superman grounds Captain Atom nicely. Williamson presents the conflict here not as one between Superman and Atom, but as one between the combatants and the influence of the very Omega Energy they’re competing over. This positioning adds a lot of nuance to the Atom-narrated pages as he comes more and more under the thrall of that energy. His susceptibility to that influence, and his belief in his own rightness in embracing it and doing what Superman cannot, humanizes Captain Atom in a way that hasn’t been seen in a while. It’s effective work from Williamson that provides a compelling entry point to what can be a deeply difficult character.
The artwork on the issue, from Sean Izaakse, Trish Mulvihill, and Hi-Fi, brings the action to life nicely. Izaakse’s linework is clean and not overly stylized, presenting the story with largely realistic-looking characters and environs in a straightforward manner. When the fighting kicks in Izaakse cuts loose with highly kinetic figure work and interesting page layouts. Mulvihill and Hi-Fi’s coloring work complements Izaakse’s storytelling well, with a bright color palette that makes the action really pop. But it’s a sequence late in the issue where the visuals level up, as Superman and Captain Atom battle back through the latter’s personal history, represented as the two of them smashing through previous pages of the issue. Panels are used as weapons and shields as a battle rages in the gutter space. It’s a visually striking sequence that’s also perfectly representative of the conflict inside of Captain Atom.
Unfortunately, this is a tie-in to an event series in a shared universe, and as such some questions of continuity have to be asked, mainly around the Man of Steel. Last week’s DC K.O. #2 saw Superman lose a hand and gain the power of Darkseid’s Omega Sanction, a pair of major developments that are strangely nowhere to be seen in this one-shot. Perhaps it’s because the fight would’ve been over too quickly if Superman simply zapped Captain Atom with The Death That Is Life. Perhaps neither Izaakse nor the issue’s editors got the memo about Superman’s hand being cut off by Lex Luthor. Whatever the reasoning, the absence of those two elements from a previous issue is distracting, and feels like a glaring oversight for a one-shot that, like all of the All Fight Month tie-ins, is positioned as an essential piece of the event.
Despite that, DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1 is a very strong comic. To be frank, the overall K.O. event hasn’t done much for me up until this point, so this one-shot was definitely a pleasant surprise with its focus on characterization and interpersonal conflict over simply smashing characters and plot elements together. I was skeptical of All Fight Month coming into it, but if this one-shot is an indicator of how the rest of the month is going to go it should be a pretty entertaining spectacle.
Final Verdict: BUY.
Round-Up
- This week’s other DC K.O. tie-in, Williamson, Dan Mora, and Tríona Farrell’s Knightfight #2, finds Batman in not one but two alternate realities squaring off against Batmen who are Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, respectively. The Grayson-Batman sequence is a nice wrap-up from the previous issue, but the Todd-Batman sequence is great, Mora and Farrell employing a Sin City-esque visual style that instantly establishes a mood for the world and that makes the red of Jason’s suit really stand out.
- Back on the mainland, Matt Fraction, Jorge Jiménez, and Tomeu Morey’s Batman #4 continues building out the creative team’s vision for the city, introducing a new character and a new status quo for the underworld in Gotham. The way this team allows characters and scenes to breathe while still cramming so much information onto each page is honestly astounding. There’s a four-page scene between Bruce Wayne and Dr. Annika Zeller that’s riveting. This book just gets better and better.
- It’s heist time in Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5, the penultimate issue of Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, and Annette Kwok’s caper comic. I’ve gotten very attached to this group of characters over the previous issues, and seeing them bring their plan to fruition and come into direct conflict with the JLU is more than well worth the wait. It’s a bummer there’s only one issue left in this series, but boy am I thankful that we’ve gotten this book to begin with. Can’t wait to see how it wraps up next month.
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