Saturday, October 30, 2021

Power Man and The Atom

 

Man, I used to love when The Atom would travel through phone lines.  It didn't make a lot of sense to me, but it seemed so cool!

The Heroes for Hire aspect of the Power Man and Iron Fist team was teased when we saw Luke Cage and Danny Rand on the Netflix shows, but it was never actually explored.  I'd love to see that scenario utilized when the two eventually make their MCU debut.  It gives then a unique street level perspective and is a great springboard for stories.

8 comments:

det_Tobor said...

He took the phone off the hook, dialed a number, shrank down to electron size, jumped in the phone line after a sound was made for him to be propelled by and travelled to the destination. Almost like a primitive transporter. ( What happened if he got a busy signal or a phone recorder instead of a person?)

Nice action on the cover.

Bigby65 said...

The answering machine WAS done in one story dealing with someone who stole Ray's belt: the person got trapped on the recording tape.

emsley wyatt said...

Shaggy Man vs. Shaggy?

Bob Greenwade said...

I, too, would love to see Mike Colter, Finn Jones, and their supporting cast come back for a "Heroes for Hire" show on Disney+. Both Luke Cage and Iron Fist were left dangling, ready to become the comic-book personas we know in their third seasons, the way Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the Punisher left off (even though the latter two only had two seasons), and seeing them fully realized would be excellent. I accept that it probably won't happen, but I'm very open to being pleasantly surprised.

Atom's phone-travel trick would probably not work very reliably these days, with not only cell phones but cordless phones all over the place. I hardly ever see a corded phone these days. Those wireless types use radio frequencies, which is a form of light, so what would happen to the Atom is anyone's guess.

But this cover also features the Shaggy Man, one of the most intriguing yet simple characters DC has ever produced, and a worthy foe for just about any superhero. I could certainly envision him going up against Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Sailor Guardians, anyone from My Hero Academia, the Doctor, or even Hellboy. Some villainous mastermind could even bring together Shaggy Man, Man-Thing, the Tasmanian Devil, and a couple of other similar "hairy mindless rampagers" to let them loose on the world.

Also, I rather like Emsley's implied suggestion of bringing Mystery, Inc. into contact with the Shaggy Man. With or without a "guest star," it would make for quite a story, with fun name confusion as well as lots and lots of running.

Carycomic said...

Is this is the Silver Age Shaggy Man or General Eiling in SM's body?

Bob Buethe said...

It also happened to Ray in Action Comics #438: "The Man Who Tape-Recorded the Atom!"

Anonymous said...

@Carycomic: I think it's the original model. The same one briefly mind-controlled by Hector Hammond.

Carycomic said...

@Aonymous: thanks!

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