Newsarama was able to corner Pfeifer for a quick chat about the series which, according to WildStorm, could very well live up to its namesake for the WSU.

As Pfeifer explained it, the series plays with, and expands the conceit of the character’s origin –that is, Captain Atom can absorb energy, but if the volume of energy is high, said absorption comes with a cost – namely temporal displacement. Or, at least until now, the displacement was only temporal.

That said, the story of Armageddon begins at the end of the “Public Enemies” arc in Superman/Batman, which saw Captain Atom riding the giant Superman/Batman rocket on a collision course with the kryptonite asteroid headed toward Earth. In his final moments, Atom reflected upon his life, and then…the hero’s sacrifice. Captain Atom was gone, scattered, it was assumed, into bits smaller than his namesake.

Oh yes, he’s recently returned…and we’ll get to that in a minute.

“Captain Atom isn't dead - but you knew that, didn't you,” Pfeifer said. “Instead, he's been transported to another universe. One where people live with super-heroes, but fear them more than anything else. After causing some chaos upon landing – well, actually crashing, Captain Atom tries to help out, but finds the local citizenry - and this is New York! - terrified of him. When he sees a figure soaring overhead, he breathes a sigh of relief, but realizes no, it's not a bird, it's not a plane, and it's not Superman. It's Majestic, and seeing that Captain Atom has apparently knocked down a city block, he – logically - assumes he's up to no good, and they fight -- causing quite a bit more property damage. After temporarily subduing Majestic, Captain Atom flies up, up and away and asks himself: ‘Where the hell am I?’”

Of course, the answer to the good Captain’s question is that he’s now in the WildStorm Universe, a place where superheroes and super-powered beings exist, but have a much different relationship with the general population compared to the DCU.

But that’s not Captain Atom’s biggest problem

“What's more -- though no one knows this, yet – Captain Atom was changed when he made the leap to the other universe. Changed by something that stretches back to the earliest days of the heroes who live there. And what changed him spells doom for the Wildstorm Universe. To get home -- if that's even possible -- Captain Atom is going to have to deal with other super-powered beings in the Wildstorm U. Majestic is just the beginning.”

Backing up from the story for a moment to look at the machinations that turned it from pitch to reality, Pfeifer said that his involvement with Armageddon can be traced back to his short Jack Hawksmoor story that was in the Wildstorm Special last year.

“It was a story that involved parallel worlds, nasty violence and a twisted version of Walt Disney,” Pfeifer said. “You know, all the classic elements of a comic book story. Editor Alex Sinclair liked it, so when he and the gang at Wildstorm came up with this Captain Atom idea, he gave me a call. Asked me if I wanted to write a mini-series full of super-heroes, colossal battles, worlds being born, worlds coming to an end. That sort of thing. I’d never done a really epic-scale super-hero series before. I mean, we sunk San Diego in Aquaman and Hero had its moments of grandeur, but I’ve always been the sort of writer who focused on the man on the street watching the street get torn in two rather than the guy in the costume doing the tearing. This time, the focus would be squarely on our boy Captain Atom, the super-hero at the center of all the action. Hell, it sounded like fun to me.”

The storyline of the miniseries isn’t related at all to Majestic’s recent trip to the DCU, though. As Pfeifer explained, it’s all about Captain Atom punching a hole through realities. “That being said, Majestos does realize who Captain Atom is, but not at first, which gives us a chance for one of those classic mistaken identity battles,” Pfeifer said. “We use that battle though – a comic book cliché, to be sure – to point out the different between the friendly confines of the DCU and the, er, wilder, stormier situation in the Wildstorm Universe. When these two heroes battle, it’s not in some condemned neighborhood. It’s in the middle of a heavily populated area, and only Captain Atom seems overly concerned about collateral damage.”

As for what was changed in Captain Atom when he came over…Pfeifer’s staying mum on the specifics, but did offer some teases. “It’s something that has been part of that universe for a long, long time – since the first pages of one of the first books that became a cornerstone of the Wildstorm world - how’s that for a tease? What that little bit of something does is upset the delicate balance holding Captain Atom together, atomically speaking. And, being that he’s in a new universe – one he’s not really a part of, and one that conflicts with him on a subatomic level, this bit of imbalance could spell big trouble. For everything.”

Now, let’s follow this trail of logic…naming a series “Armageddon” is fairly indicative of the tone, if not the actual event of what’s coming up, right?

So, with Captain Atom now affected by the different universe on an atomic level, what would happen if he leaves? “Well, now that would be telling, wouldn’t it?” Pfeifer said. “Let me just say this. It would be bad. Very bad.”

But – Captain Atom did return to the DCU, in the pages of the first part of the latest Superman/Batman arc, right?

Let’s let Pfeifer explain.

“Yes, Cap does come back in Superman/Batman, making a brief appearance in a recent issue. But that scene takes place before Captain Atom: Armageddon. When you’re dealing with a guy like Captain Atom – a guy whose origin involves him leaping decades ahead in time – then you’ve got someone who’s accustomed to some time slips and parallel moments. Makes the continuity both challenging and easily repaired. That means, of course, that his appearance in Superman/Batman in no way guarantees his safe return. Or anyone else’s.”

And to further clarify the other side of the coin, the WildStorm Universe Captain Atom enters is the current version. “It’s the one with the newest versions of the Wildcats and the rest of the gang over there,” Pfeifer said. “It’s going to dovetail with current continuity and, by the end of the series, send that continuity spinning off in new directions.”

Also, as Pfeifer hinted, Atom’s presence in the WSU will offer the chance to compare and contrast universes. “They mistrust him from the word go, which gives us a chance to see everyone in action against each other, knocking skulls, kicking ass and generally destroying a lot of property,” the writer said. “But eventually, Captain Atom – a nice guy who’s just looking to get home – befriends some of the heroes living there. The first one he forms a bond with is, logically enough, Majestic, who’s been to the DCU and is aware of his existence. Then there’s someone else he forms a bond with – a very close, intimate bond – but that’s a few issues into the run. I’d hate to spoil the romantic surprise.”

Finally, as for the “why?” of the project on a personal level? Simple – Pfeifer was looking to play with the big toys on the big stage.

“Like I said, I’ve never had the chance to play on a really cosmic playground before, comic-book-writing wise. You’re talking to a kid who was raised on the Dark Phoenix saga, Crisis on Infinite Earths and all those trippy Jim Starlin comic books. I wanted to take my own crack at that sort of epic tale. My favorite part of writing comic books is finding the little human moments in super-human stories, and now I’ve got a big canvas – I mean a really big canvas – to play against.”

[Check out Newsarama’s continually updated 2005 SDCC News Index for all the con coverage from Newsarama and CBR].

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