Written by: Ryan Parrot, John Ridley
Art by: Mike Perkins
Colors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Mike Perkins (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: February 5, 2025
Justice League: The Atom Project #2, by DC Comics on 2/5/25, finds the Atoms developing a method to restore Captain Atom in the past while Captain Atom plays a dangerous game in the present.
Is Justice League: The Atom Project #2 Good?
Recap
When we last left the Atoms (Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi) in Justice League: The Atom Project #1, the diminutive duo engaged security forces to hunt down Captain Atom. Why? Because the good Captain volunteered to become a guinea pig in experiments designed to return swapped or missing powers after the Absolute Power event. Captain Atom got powers, but not the way anyone expected.
Plot Synopsis
In Justice League: The Atom Project #2, the past and present continue on their paths to convergence.
In the past, the Atoms believed their device that swaps powers would work better than ever. They figured out how to track where Captain Atom's powers went, so they teleport to a location in the woods to discover his powers were transferred to a grizzly bear (???). After a brief fight and a solid haymaker that temporarily stuns the bear, Nathaniel grabs the device and endures the painful transference. The gambit worked and Captain Atom was restored.
In the present, the Atoms investigate the train where Captain Atom was spotted in the last issue. They find a speck of Speed Force energy and call Wally West for help. The military is none too pleased that Captain Atom got away in the last issue, so the military leadership secretly puts plans in place to use extreme force as soon as Captain Atom is found.
Meanwhile, Captain Atom contacts a research assistant involved in his origin and asks for help to destroy his powers.
First Impressions
Boring, confusing, and jumbled. That's as good a description as any. Ryan Parrot and John Ridley attempt to make the story interesting using time jumps that flip-flop between the past and present, presumably with the goal of ending where the timelines meet in the middle. If the point was to make Captain Atom's present condition mysterious and intriguing, it's not working.
How’s the Art?
Mike Perkins does his level best to make the sci-fi aspects of the story look trippy and interesting, and in large part, it works. Perkins's style works better in B&W, but Adriano Lucas puts on a decent coat of paint in the brighter energy scenes.
What’s great about Justice League: The Atom Project #2?
As a whole, this series has the potential of importance if what the Atoms are doing leads to the restoration of all the heroes (and villains). There's plenty of conflict to spread around, and the action is well done.
What’s not great about Justice League: The Atom Project #2?
Parrot and Ridley's political thriller motif appears to be aiming for a plot along the lines of a Jack Ryan adventure or The Fugitive, but it just doesn't work. The flip-flopping timeline is headache-inducing, and the mystery surrounding Captain Atom's downfall isn't particularly interesting.
It's as if Parrot and Ridley got together and said, "How can we make a serious, adult political thriller starring two superheroes who can shrink based on a super-basic conflict?" The result is a superhero comic that tries to take itself too seriously.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Justice League: The Atom Project #2 is a jumbled, boring, uninteresting mystery wrapped in the fallout of Absolute Power. Ryan Parrot and John Ridley try to turn a straightforward superhero story into a high-brow political thriller and fall well short. The central concept could be important in the grand scheme of the DC Universe, but the execution isn't interesting enough to hold your attention.
5/10
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...so by your metric this issue is just like Batman 157????? Look, I respect different opinions but I didn't hear any reasons why you think this issue is a 5 other than 'it's boring' which is very subjective and nothing to do with quality of writing. A reader can say well I don't find it boring and it's interesting and there's that.( as opposed to more objective reasons like not getting something right or writing someone out of character or a plot that doesn't make sense at all etc etc) Also the fact that you find the timeline of events confusing which is fine but again subjective. A reader can say it's not that complicated or confusing to take away from reading it and I appreciate writers trying different approaches like this.
ReplyDeleteFact is, this series is one of the few in a long time that has attempted any world building and tie in with the events and has a different feel to it by having it be science themed as opposed to the atoms just fighting bad guys and supervillains all the time. I appreciate writers trying to write a plot that is special to said characters (cough Aquaman is a king and should be treated such cough). Also the tension between the three atoms is genuinely interesting, it has been a long time since they attempted any genuine conflict of ideas between different characters that make sense.
Of course these can go downhill like for example how Detective comics has but I talk about issues and series as they are rather than what they might become to be fair about it. So in conclusion if you think this is a 5 it's fine and fair as long as other issues from other series are rated accordingly to that lol. This is not on any metric close to wonder woman or Batman 157.
Justice League: The Atom Project #2" delivers an action-packed storyline with stunning visuals, diving deeper into the world of The Atom. The dynamic between characters keeps readers hooked as the plot unfolds. For comic book shops, virtual payment terminals offer a secure and convenient way to handle transactions for fans purchasing the latest issues.
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