Brew’s Crew: Captain Atlas

(Editor’s note: This is another in a series of irregularly-scheduled columns by Managing Editor Byron Brewer, mainly dealing with cosmic comics and their many denizens. Mr. Brewer’s opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CosmicBookNews.com. He welcomes both raves and opposing views.)

 

By Byron Brewer

 

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:845:]]The unofficial Bullpen tale is that the name started out as a joke: Captain Atlas. The character’s name is a play on the Kree warrior Captain Marvel, as similarly Atlas is named for the earlier incarnation of the same company, Atlas Comics. Get it?

But in the MarvelU., Att-Lass is a native of the planet Kree-Lar, throne-world of the Kree Empire. He graduates from the KreeMilitaryAcademyto become a captain in the Kree space fleet. He is given command of the Kree light cruiser Ramatam. He also becomes a warrior and special operative for the Supreme Intelligence.

Taking the alias of Mr. Atlas, he accompanies Dr. Minerva to an AIM weapons exhibition and helps the doc capture Quasar to obtain his Quantum Bands. He is later rescued from outer space by Quasar, but the hero forces him to leave Earth.

Atlas and Minerva then explore Captain Marvel’s tomb, looking for his Nega-Bands. Atlas is captured by Quasar again, and attacked by Shi’ar Imperial Guard members. Atlas still manages to obtain Mar-Vell’s Nega-Bands. Atlas then battles Wonder Man on Earth, and is captured by him. However, he is freed by Shape-Shifter (posing as Dr. Minerva), then captured by the rest of the Imperial Guard. The Shi’ar then strip him of the bands. The telepathic Oracle drains Atlas of strategic information, and he is then freed from Shi’ar captivity by Shatterax.

Atlas later joins the Kree Starforce. Alongside the Starforce, he fights against the Avengers on Kree-Lar. He survives the genocidal Nega-Bomb, which nearly wipes out Kree society. To all appearances, he then commits suicide through the activation of his battlesuit’s self-destruct program.

But in actuality, Att-Lass actually survives, and goes into hiding with Dr. Minerva.

Can’t find a good captain these days in the Kree Empire! lol