Written by Gail Simone
Art by Mike Norton; Trevor Scott; Alex Bleyaert; & John J. Hill
Cover Art by ‘LADRÖNN”
SUMMARY:
Entitled “The Hunt for Ray Palmer, Part Four: Loss Leader,” this Countdown tie-in was published by DC Comics for November 2007. The new Atom, Ryan Choi, is mysteriously removed by a human hand from the extradimensional journey he has been on with Donna Troy; Green Lantern Kyle Rayner; Jason Todd; and a Monitor. Ryan finds out that Ivy University’s Dean Mayland needs his immediate help.
Ryan’s hapless friend, Panda, uses a spare Atom belt to escape two Japanese movie monsters rampaging through Ivy Town. Reeling from the revelation that his predecessor’s powers has evidently warped Ivy Town’s physical reality, Ryan steps in to resolve this monster mash. An odd encounter with Dean Mayland has the new Atom perplexed re: Ray Palmer’s nebulous intentions.
REVIEW:
Though this issue’s artwork is terrific (including the cover image), writer Gail Simone’s story isn’t one of her better ones by any means. In all fairness, the Japanese movie monster angle is creative, as is Ryan’s ingenuity in devising a means of thwarting its immediate threat to Ivytown. The sub-plot re: the Ivytown professors’ efforts to cope with the city’s outbreak of bizarre threats also seems promising.
The flip side is that this tale sports too many wacky elements for its own good (i.e. the alien talking head). The bland personas of Kyle Rayner, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd (at least, in their Countdown storyline) also don’t add much of anything. Though Ryan Choi’s Atom is an intriguing successor to Ray Palmer, this particular issue might be hard to fathom without digesting prior issues. Still, there are some amusing plot twists that could make it a fun single read.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The single-page “DC Nation” column promotes some of DC’s upcoming mini-series (i.e. Countdown: Arena; Tangent: Global Decree). A thumbnail cover reveal promotes All New Atom # 16.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
