I had set myself up a bit with this one. I've been having more and more discussions lately as to why Ray Palmer was never A-listed, and why he won't be included in any kind of JLA movie (I've still got that pilot!). Aside of course from maybe Plas and himself fixing a microwave in the back or something...
Anyway, it's pretty obvious: He doesn't bludgeon baddies with his fists or lift vans and motor homes. And he's not all dark and brooding and such.
It made me think of this JLA issue, with that great cover. All of the JLA's finest (and then some) strewn about, and Amazo standing there with supes's torn cape in hand, pointing at someone and demanding how they are going to stop him.
I knew who they was. And so do you. Why it's The Atom of course! Ray Palmer, back in action after he semi-retired.
The issue starts off with The Flash and the resident GL paying Dr. Palmer a visit and asking him to drop the academia and re-join the JLA. He declines, of course. Wants nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, an upgraded Amazo tears through a not-so-prepared Justice League. This guy has got all the powers of the current JLA incarnation, and he's mightily wielding them! Unable to stop him, the reserves are called in to hit this s.o.b. with everything they've got.
Problem is, Amazo is such a sweet piece of technology, he can upgrade to include the powers of each new JLAer!
With every single member beaten and down for the count, enter The Atom. Here's what I had been waiting for. Palmer is going to show up, brains at the ready... but using brawn! He'll launch himself at Amazo and the two will duke it out for the remainder until Ray pounds his brains in! Literally!
Wrong. The Atom figures out that with Amazo taking on every power the JLA can throw at him, if chairman of the board Superman disbands the whole operation, then our bad guy will be left powerless.
The Atom tells Superman this.
Supermans shouts "The JLA is officially disbanded!"
Amazo is defeated.
That's it.
I just wanted Ray to work off some steam (or maybe it was me), but I got this instead. He ends the issue as the Justice League's part-time science consultant. Ugh.
Come on Ray, dishing out advice and hot tips never got anyone on school supplies!
3 comments:
Yeah! We should have seen Atom go inside Amazo, fight some nifty self repairing devices or something, and tear the android apart from the inside!
It would have been nice to see Ray drub him there.
Ah well.
You know, that's something most writers overlook. Ray is, perhaps, the most powerful member of the League. Yeah, he may not be able to juggle planets, but he can go inside just about any foe and start playing pinball with their atoms.
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