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So. I think I've figured out what the hell is going on in the Superman books right now.
Rather, I figured it out quite a while ago and now I'm going to share it with you in case anybody out there is still confused.
Here's the deal: as we all know General Lane (wasn't he of considerably lower rank before) faked his death. He did this to get involved with the ridiculously named "Project 7734." Now maybe he started it and maybe he didn't. That doesn't matter.
What does matter is that somebody in the United States government (and specifically the military) managed to gain access to the Multiverse. In the process they undoubtedly came upon the drifting, comatose Captain Atom in the Bleed which separates the universes (as you may recall, we last saw Captain Atom a Monarch during Countdown).
Project 7734 accessed multiple worlds, mostly magical in nature. Remember the satellite "doors" that blasted Superman and Krypto during Robinson's initial Atlas arc? Those were obviously gateways to various magical worlds. Why else would they be called doors?
Speaking of Atlas, Lane and the rest got him from one of the other Multiversal worlds. He's working with them now for his own purposes, possibly to get home or find a new world to conquer.
Where do the mysterious tattoo-faced sorceress and the thuggish green monsters come in? Simple: Project 7734 eventually came upon a world where the established government and military were having troubles with uprisings. Problem was, their world was magic-based and they needed something with raw power. Convenient, considering in our world General Lane and Project 7734 were up against raw power (Kryptonians) and needed some magic to fight them.
And so, as nations have many times done a swap was agreed to. Mirabi (the above mentioned sorceress and apparently a princess of her world) was loaned out to the U. S. Military to deal with the Kryptonians. And Project 7734 was more than happy to loan a brainwashed Captain Atom (how much more powerful can you get?) to Mirabi's people.
That, of course, leads up to where we are now. We've got dangerous military organizations on both sides of the Bleed. On our side, Superman is going to have to clean things up. And it looks like Captain Atom is going to take point (having divested himself of mental control) on the other side.
Should be fun all around.
Can we talk about Captain Atom today?
I'm no longtime Captain Atom fan. I mean, really; are there any? Captain Atom, like the most of his Charlton Comics brethren, is a one of the DCU's red-headed stepchildren. For writers as well as readers, it's been hard to figure out what he's like, let alone where belongs in the DCU.
If you want a sense of how far DC was from knowing who these characters were and who they wanted them to be, (re-)read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Could Ted Kord have been a less pleasant hero? "Can the telethon, pal; you got our donation. I'll join your gabfest." Could this person be less like the Ted Kord of the Blue Beetle series, let alone of the one of the JLI?
Captain Atom, on the other hand, was simply damned by faint attention. I read his own series for a while, but still never got a sense of his personality. As far as I could tell he was a Air Force officer but dumber than a grunt and the only sparkle he had was from his skin. He was Hal Jordan without the charm. Or the ceiling tiles.
But I learned to adore him when they sent him on his Grand Tour of the Wildstorm Universe. Out of the shadow of the DCU's mainstay icons, he truly shone (and not just because of his skin) like a beacon in the dark world of Wildstorm. He became more than a superhero for me; he became a hero. He was powerful, righteous, intelligent, resourceful, passionate, and reasonable. Most important, he was a tower of morality.
Until...
Someone remembered that he was supposed to be the bad guy in Zero Hour, before that surprise was spoiled by leaks and then abandoned (for a replacement patsy too ridiculous to be named). And so it was decided that he was to become Monarch (as he was supposed to have been the first time).
I was disappointed by the decision, but resigned to it. Because it they went to the trouble of shining up Captain Atom to new heights of herodom, the tale of his fall into universe-threatening villainy would surely be Shakespearean in its pathos.
Or, it could be COMPLETELY FRIGGIN' IGNORED.
Captain Atom goes from being the shining example of heroism in the Wildstorm Universe to a masticator of scenery and master organizer of a multiversal army of worldkillers? Because of....what exactly? Some trouble in Bludhaven? No; no I don't think so.
I want a better explanation, DC.
I demand one.
