The Atom Project was first mentioned in Justice League Unlimited #1. Overseen by Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer, both scientist superheroes who used the Atom name, they have been tasked with a special mission. They are to find those people who gained the superpowers lost during Absolute Power and restore them to their owners. Unfortunately, that has little to do with the story of Justice League: The Atom Project #1.
Justice League: The Atom Project #1 opens with a manhunt, as a man on a train evades the soldiers that are searching for him. This man is revealed to be Captain Nathaniel Adam, aka Captain Atom. He is also revealed to be on the run from the Justice League, with Ray Palmer chasing after him.
This is eventually explained through a flashback, which explains the mission of The Atom Project. We see Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer working to pacify a young boy who somehow gained electrical powers. We also see them trying to work with Captain Atom, to restore the powers he had stolen. This sets up his apparent escape from the Watchtower and the manhunt that opens the comic.
Justice League: The Atom Project fails to justify itself
The chief problem with Justice League: The Atom Project is that it seems uninterested in its own concept. Most of the comic is devoted to the Captain Atom manhunt and subsequent battle when he is cornered. As thrilling as this is, it is rendered nonsensical by the flashback scenes. Come to that, the very existence of The Atom Project itself seems nonsensical given its depiction in this issue.
For instance, the new Black Lightning series centers around Jefferson Pierce establishing a training program for newly discovered metahumans. Granting that Justice League: The Atom Project seems chiefly concerned with those who can’t control their powers, that still seems redundant. So does Doctor Light being employed as the detainee’s warden, when The Question already has a team overseeing all security on the Watchtower. Beyond that, there are logic problems, such as why does Ray Palmer confronts Captain Atom without the power neutralizer he used earlier in the issue.
The artwork is similarly muddled. Mike Perkins and Adriano Lucas are both talented artists. Unfortunately, their respective styles do not gel well together. Perkins is a gritty artist, who favors heavy, detailed linework. However, those details are largely lost in the small panels of Justice League: The Atom Project #1, and often painted over by Lucas.
All in all, there seems to be no clear audience for The Atom Project. The book largely ignores the hard science that Atom fans enjoy, in favor of a military manhunt. There are some inventive ideas, but these are few, far between, and confusingly rendered.
Grade: 4/10
Justice League: The Atom Project #1 Review arrives in comic shops everywhere on January 1, 2025.
