Anna Atom vs Max Atom (short story)
Anna Atom vs Max Atom was short illustratedstory, released as part of Paul Hoppe's webcomic The Cosmic Beholder. A short interlude, it introduced the open-source characters of Anna Atom and Max Atom to the cast.
Contents
Plot
Max Atom was hailed for years as the greatest superhero of Earth-K. However, over time, he got tougher and more authoritarian in how he wielded his power, while his daughter Anna Atom, who inherited his powers and calling, has been advocating for a more open, transparent era of superheroics, in service to the public instead of her father's patronising dealing out of justice. Eventually, they come to blow, but when their final, equal strikes cause a massive explosion, the dust clears with both superpowered beings having vanished into thin air. While many assume that they simply annihilated each other, they actually ripped a hole into the very fabric of the universe, throwing them through a transdimensional maelstrom “into some different, far away dimension” — which turns out to be none other than Reality Z-25 31-H.
As they rematerialise in a New York City quite like their own, Anna resumes fighting Max, who soon pretends to falter under her furious blows, until the local authorities — with no context for the fight — swoop in and arrest Anna as a possible supervillains, while Max gets to be treated as a blameless victim, especially as Mayor Wilson recalls seeing him among the gathered multiversal superheroes during the “Indefinite Crisis of the Universe event” some years ago. Thus, Anna is arrested — too angry for words when Amanda Allen tries to interview her for Channel 6 — and taken into custody by people in opaque masques who don't look like police at all, while Max basks in glory, with the Protectors' very own Kate Kerrigan is already trying to recruit him.
Worldbuilding
Universes
- This story opens in “the reality that is inhabited by Earth-K” (often referred to as simply Earth-K for short as per the superhero convention). The characters then travel to Reality Z-25 31-H through a transdimensional maelstrom.
Other
Continuity
- Mayor Wilson, the mayor of New York City in Reality Z-25 31-H, was previously seen in COMIC: Meanwhile, On Earth and referenced in COMIC: Meanwhile, In Queens.
- Amanda Allen was previously seen in COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery and COMIC: Chasing Shadows.
- Kate Kerrigan, spokeswoman of the Protectors, previously appeared in COMIC: Meanwhile, In Queens and COMIC: Epilogue to Destruction.
- The masked troopers who take Anna Atom in custody, wrapping her in “power-dampening chains”, are recognisable as Ohmega troops as previously seen in COMIC: Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 6 and COMIC: The Search For Kate Five.
Behind the scenes
Read online
Anna Atom vs Max Atom is available online on the Cosmic Beholder blog, starting here.
