Captain Atom and Superman would probably disagree a lot. I'd be interested to read more instances of it.
I think the opposite they would be at each others throught professionally.But,personally they would be fine with each other.But,then again my superman ain't really superman...so
Anything from 50s and 60s onwards is very much a toss up.Clark has consistently been the moderate middle man(geoff johnes from what i gather goes for this guy.Espiecially in things like doomsday clock) building bridges.70s and 80s onwards is definetly pro-government control.dcau superman,donner superman..etc aren't that off either.DCAU superman hates vigilantes and donner's superman thinks this
"A friend. That's what people really need most, they don't need a strong arm or a vigilante force."
"We're living basically in an age where people are afraid of contact with each other, where they live in big cities and don't even know their neighbors, they're afraid to go out in the street, something might happen to them."
while,i love the sentiment.This icon got torn down for me.I don't think it works for me...I don't think it ever did...
"People’s Dreams... Have No Ends"
The reason why Superman is unpopular is because interesting ideas are punished(Jon’s age up, new krypton) while shitty ideas are allowed to continue on for too long(Byrne Superman, bendis’s Superman ideas)
Superman is unpopular because he has no place in the DC universe, they treat him as if he were the father of the rest of the heroes but also as their friend, that is why neither of them ends up developing, he is left halfway with an uncomfortable personality that not like most of the readers. Another reason is that all the fun of the superverse has been eliminated, all superman comics have a message, they have forgotten that comics are COMICS, they can have a message but above all they are for fun. but above all it is unpopular, because DC has been displacing Superman to give entry to other characters, but he has done it so badly that for many, it is Superman who tries to displace others.
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I feel like Clark would respect Atom's integrity, and vice versa, and keeping politics out of a conversation they'd probably get along alright. They're both stoic, duty-bound men who believe in service before self and I think there's a fair amount of common ground there.
But I don't see them being especially close. In fact I see them as being rather weary of each other, especially when Atom is still in the military. To Atom, Superman is a illegal vigilante outside any chain of command, accountable to nobody but himself. Various governments have given Superman a free pass, sometimes even worked with him, but we know that's in part due to the fact that the government can't stop him anyway, and there's countless secret bunkers and labs that exist solely to find a counter against Clark. In the back of Atom's mind is the fact that he may be called on to stop Superman, and that's something that should scare him for a whole list of reasons. Not only is he likely to lose, but if his bosses send him after Superman then Atom has to wonder if he's still on the right side. And if he is and Superman's in the wrong? Gods help us all.
And I think Clark looks at Atom and sees a guy who follows orders, but Clark knows that "right" and "legal" aren't the same thing. Clark trusts Atom I think, but not the people Atom answers to. I think Clark knows that if the government decided Superman had stepped over a line, Atom would be among the first called to stop him. And even the most anti-establishment versions of Superman knew that such escalation is never a good thing. Fighting Atom means fighting the government, and if Clark has to fight Atom then the government has (in Clark's mind) truly stepped out of line, and that's scary.
Back before partisan politics made everyone in America insane, I feel like these two would've gotten along like democrats and republicans used to; different viewpoints but there's still the comfort of knowing everyone wants the same thing and only differ on how to achieve it. There might be friction and the occasional battle but at the end of the day it's all the same team. But I doubt either Clark or Atom would be totally, 100% comfortable around the other simply because for them, that battle could someday be literal.
During the times when Atom's not in the military, I feel like they'd get along much better; Atom being dedicated to hero work rather than the military removes the biggest obstacle to their working relationship and I can totally see them catching a ball game or grabbing a beer on occasion. I can see them being "work friends" who, once in a great while, see each other outside of the office.
Last edited by Ascended; 06-19-2021 at 03:12 PM.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
I personally don’t like Superman having a kid, and I do t think it adds much to the character- it feels like just a big attempt to replace him or reduce how much time his supporting cast gets.
I don’t like how often Action Comics has other characters appearing- just let it be a Superman and Family book.
I think DCAU handled that well. Atom usually had no disagreements with other heroes at all. His job was (in general terms) to make the world(more the USA than the rest of it, but the whole world by extension) a safer place after all. It's like how in some stories Metropolis has cops in power armor. They're not going to fight superheroes without a good reason. In DCAU the time Atom fought Superman was because Superman was directly opposing CADMUS and CADMUS is officially sanctioned by the govt. The REST of the time he had no issues helping Superman. Even AFTER that fight.