Review: Captain Atom Vol. 1- Evolution
Quick Summary
Pros: Captain Atom’s personal story is interesting and centers around a unique topic.
Cons: None of the book’s threats feel significant. The narrative often feels haphazard. The artwork is lackluster on some pages.
Overall: This is a book that does one thing right but also gets a lot wrong. The volume succeeds in making Captain Atom a compelling lead character with a unique personal dilemma. However, the book’s action isn’t that entertaining and the story surrounding Captain Atom’s journey ends up weak. This book is for fans exclusively interested in a look into Captain Atom’s struggle with humanity, not for people looking for an all-around good book.
Story
Captain Atom Vol. 1: Evolution, by J.T. Krul and Freddie E. Williams II, is about a near-god struggling with his connection to humanity. Captain Atom’s attempt to find his place in the world while dealing with the implications of his massive power level leads to a decently intriguing personal narrative. However, outside of this, the book offers very little. Captain Atom bounces from one situation to the next, never encountering any difficult problems and never generating real excitement. It all feels like pointless window dressing that distracts from the volume’s finer points. In the end, the allure of Captain Atom’s personal journey is going to be what decides if this book will be worthwhile or not for fans.
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As mentioned earlier, the majority of Evolution focuses on Captain Atom’s struggle with humanity. The book does a solid job in how Captain Atom’s unreal levels of power make it hard for him to relate to the world around him. He constantly feels like a danger to others and, thus, is forced to isolate himself before he causes any problems. He also simply has trouble realizing to humanity now, as his powers allow him to do so much more than anyone else around him. All of this makes for an interesting look into this unique character.
Unfortunately, outside of this personal struggle, there isn’t a lot driving Evolution forward. Captain Atom jumps from one threat to the next with relative ease, never encountering more than a slight hiccup along the way. At no point does it feel like he is ever in trouble or that he won’t be able to do exactly what he needs to do. Even his power fluctuations, which are presented as his Achilles heel, never become significant enough to feel like a real threat to what is taking place.
It also doesn’t help that the structure of the narrative seems pretty haphazard. The threats Captain Atom bounces between are almost entirely unconnected. The only significantly developed plot thread involves a rat that accidentally gained the same power as Captain Atom. However, despite a ton of set-up, this rat is dealt with relatively easily and fails to create the significant conflict he appeared to be setting up.
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Art
The artwork in Evolution fluctuates a bit but generally ends up being slightly below average. Freddie E. Williams II creates some really spectacular scenes on a few pages. When paired with colors from José Villarrubia, this allows for some great depictions of Captain Atom’s powers. However, there are a number of places where characters look strange and their facial expressions appear distorted. This takes away from the emotional component of the story, since, in some places, it is hard to tell exactly what the characters are feeling. Plus, there are pages where panels don’t flow well and the reading process is hampered. In general, these negatives are enough to noticeably damage this volume’s visuals and take away from the reading experience.
Continuity
Captain Atom Vol. 1: Evolution starts the Captain Atom New 52 series. This means that this is the first volume in a brand new continuity, so there are not many references to previous books or specific character histories.
The story started here is continued in Captain Atom Vol. 2: Genesis.