The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #6 of 6

 

If you notice on this cover, the final one of this mini-series, it depicts Captain Atom. The same Captain Atom who will one day become Monarch. The same Captain Atom who was a member of the Justice League. And do you know what Captain Atom has done in the past 5 issues? Absolutely nothing!

   In issue 1, he is summoned to fight the demon hordes of Avatar and gets captured pretty quick. In issues 2-4, you see Captain Atom stuck in a mystical glass cage, unable to break free. In the last issue, his body has been so drained of his atomic powers, he’s morphed into a giant gray slug by the time he’s finally rescued. What was the point of having him as a member of the L.A.W. if he’s not going to do anything?

  I would’ve rather another Charlton character have been used if all Captain Atom was going to do but be the centerpiece of a giant snow globe. Where was Peter Cannon- Thunderbolt for goodness sake? Use him!

   In my last review, I mentioned that I didn’t understand why this was a 6 issue mini-series if the villain was going to be eliminated in issue 5. Well, I discovered just what DC had in store and I liked it. The issue takes place with The Question writing an article about the after math. Shades of Rorschach in Watchmen, perhaps? Since they took so long to build up the L.A.W. team, it was good of DC to take extra time showing the readers what happened next. I was quite happy with the outcome and thought that this was a decent ending to the series. I am disappointed that this new team didn’t really catch on. I would like to have seen more of their adventures. But, it didn’t catch on and some much has changed in the past 25 years since this book was published with the DC Universe, I’m sure that opportunity has past.

   However, that doesn’t mean I can’t go on a search for the old Charlton books and maybe find a few in a bargain bin. That’s a testament to how well a job DC Comics did, despite the Captain Atom fiasco, in crafting a whole ‘universe’ of characters that I grew to know more about.

   Worth Consuming.

 

Issue Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Overall Rating of the Series: 8.5