Pre-Crisis Primer: Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose

Atom Special 2

'Sword of the Atom'

Ray just can't escape giant-animal fights.

The title of the story is not a typo, it is the same title as the original Sword of Atom tale. Who needs a title I suppose? Regardless, last we left The Atom, he'd shrunk himself permanently to live among the alien Morlaidhans, currently rebuilding their society hidden deep in the Amazon jungle. What I can say right from the start is: yes, this is an original, new story and not a rehash of past events.

Already, we're off to a good start.

The birds are taking our women!

Although the start is the only good thing. The negative to all of this is that while a fun adventure story, 'Sword of the Atom' (part deux) is less interested in the adventure and more interested in purging both parties, Ray Palmer and Jean Loring of any kind of guilt and blame for their recent divorce. This was something dealt with in the previous rehash-full story, so it's all not really necessary. And this is a shame, because I think there's an interesting concept at work here, that an old warhorse science-based superhero would become disillusioned with his comfortable life in civilization, that this lifestyle would cause his civilian wife to seek comfort in the arms of a man who, frankly, is better-suited to her, and that the hero would finally give in to his overbearing sense for adventure and flee the stifling society.

This can't be good.

Beyond the original story, no much is done with this concept other than to change the superficiality of it all: Ray flees one civilization for another, albeit miniature and housed in a jungle, one spouse for another, albeit the new woman wears far less clothing than the other, and one weapon, a sword versus his size-changing apparatus for another. This adventure is still in line with The Atom's many other adventures: he's small, he fights big things. Mirroring the previous issue's tussle with a cat, this story see's Ray and his ally's tackle dive-bombing hawks. Everything changes yet still remains the same.

The only really change is that Ray suddenly knows how to use weapons.

The only change in this story is one the audience has been waiting for since the original story, Ray and Jean make their peace and go their own separate ways and Ray vows never to return to Ivy Town, finally setting down permanent roots as the leader of the Morlaidhans, mostly by right that the previous king's daughter has taken him as suitor.

I really wish these stories didn't spend so much time spinning their wheels. The original tale was a fantastic reinvention of a stale and under-used superhero character and resident scientist for the Justice League. All of the stories since then have been finding ways to tie Ray to the previous settings and previous supporting cast and unwilling (or not knowing how) to move on from those tried-and-true aspects of The Atom.

Will their love last?