Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1

The Atom is a fine example of what one might call, with no disrespect intended, the Silver Medal class of DC heroes. These are characters who are hard-working, successful, and enduring but who never manage to break into the front ranks. The current TV show,Legends of Tomorrow,incorporated this aspect of the character into its storyline when Ray Palmer, the Atom, played by Brandon Routh, observed that he died – naturally a temporary comic-book death – and no one seemed to miss him very much. Now, that is of an over-the-top dismissal, particularly when one considers Al Pratt, the original Atom who first joined the adventures of the Justice Society of America in 1940. Pratt served as a valued and stalwart member of the JSA for decades, although his signature powers never included shrinking, which I suspect most people associate with the Atom. Ray Palmer, who made his debut in 1961, introduced that aspect of the character. Read Full Review

The issue smoothly ties in to DC Rebirth and definitely accomplishes its mission of stoking interest in seeing more of the new Atom in the Justice League of America. Read Full Review

Long time fans will be left with a lot of questions about Palmer and Choi's history. New and casual fans will find an engaging and personal super hero tale. Orlando, MacDonald, and Rauch create a small, subtle world that is a good thing for any comic fan. Read Full Review

In conclusion this is definetly a book I would recommend for anyone who is a fan of the Atom, or someone looking for something new. This is really a great start for any new readers, who may be put off by the idea of having to know a lot to get into the character. Read Full Review

Atom - Rebirth #1 has enough quirky humor and solid character work to accomplish its goal of getting the reader eager to follow Ryan over to the new JLA series. But more than that, it also cleans up a tangled continuity and establishes a new status quo that manages to serve two sets of fandom while laying the foundation for new directions for the Atom. If the issue is perhaps a bit low-key and more solid than spectacular, that still doesn't affect how pleasantly enjoyable it is. Read Full Review

The only problem with The Atom Rebirth #1 is that it feels incredibly rushed. As if they didn't want to spend enough time letting the reader get to know Choi a little better. It skipped over months and months of time of the two working together just to get to the conclusion of Choi taking on the mantle of The Atom. We can forgive it a little, since this is a Rebirth issue – but it would've been great to see the pair working together a little more instead of rushing ahead to the finish line. Overall, this issue manages to set up an interesting and very real character for the audience to connect with whilst proving to be a good read, if a little rushed in places. Read Full Review

Since this is a solid introduction to Ryan Choi, to me it's a buy, especially if you don't know the character and plan on checking out the Justice League of America series. You'll leave wondering not just how he'll be with all of the other superheroes, but what Ray Palmer's disappearance might have to do with Rebirth. Read Full Review

I'm not an Atom fan, but after reading this issue I'm compelled to come back for more. A fun relationship is introduced that is rife for storytelling possibilities due to the strong characterization. Read Full Review

To be frank, I don't know if Orlando's Justice League of America will be any good. However, I liked this book, and I fully intend to check out Justice League of America: Vixen Rebirth #1 next week, and probably at least The Ray after that. If you're into DC and/or what they're doing with Rebirth, I think this'll be up you're alley. If not, I still think it's worth picking up. And if you dig it, there's more to look forward to. Read Full Review

Overall, Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth is a better-than-average Rebirth special that accomplishes its main goal of laying the ground work for the Atom's future adventures in the pages of Justice League of America. Read Full Review

What I like about this comic is that Steve Orlando updated the material from Gail Simone's series and made it better, giving Ryan Choi who was murdered before the New 52 reboot to shine again. It's a captivating story that reintroduces the old Atom Ray Palmer, and many elements of his past, like Adam Cray. We know that many of his stories did happen but instead of focusing on that, we get to know more about Ryan Choi. Read Full Review

In the end, this is still a good book and a fitting start to what might be a good series, maybe I'll just temper my expectations and hope for some microverse action to come. Read Full Review

Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 is a classic origin story, but nevertheless feels fresh and accessible for both new and old audiences. It’s also a massive tease as well, directing us to next month’s Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 to “follow the adventures of The Atom.” Yet Orlando, who will also pen that one-shot, ensures that no matter what size the diminutive hero plays int the narrative, he will be noticed. Read Full Review

Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 sets up the story well, with solid artwork, nice pacing and great character work throughout. Read Full Review

This is not to suggest the issue is skippable as it does explain who Ryan Choi is, but readers shouldnt rush to buy it. The art is fun, cartoonish and the story is a quick read, albeit with some dialogue that tries to be serious but falls flat due to the quick pacing of the book. Readers should probably wait for the next issue to buy this one to build up steam. As of right now, the story arc is starting at a very subatomic pace. Read Full Review

Overall, The Atom: Rebirth is a great one-shot. It effectively introduces us to Ryan Choi's character, showing us how far he's come over the course of three years and how far he still has to go as Justice League of America begins. Steve Orlando, Andy MacDonald, and John Rauch work together in harmony to enhance one another's work, ultimately creating a book that's greater than the sum of its parts. Read Full Review

My biggest concern was getting more of the same from Steve Orlando in this Justice League of America book: dialogue that doesn't quite fit the story. Yet this story leaves me full of hope for what is to come. The art on this issue is not favorite, but fits this story well so it leaves me with nothing to complain about. Read Full Review

Atom Rebirth is a strong reintroduction to the Ryan Choi of Rebirth, and a very promising beginning for Orlando's Justice League of America. Read Full Review

Sadly, this was aspoiled story with good visuals which made for a lackluster book. Nothing in Choi's background increased his likability. The visuals are good, but there's not enough in the story to make them showy. A little better than an average comic, but nothing spectacular. Read Full Review

While the story and art in this book are well done, the overall feeling of this issue that I came away with is that it didn't feel necessary.  Yeah, people might not know who Ryan Choi is, but the information we got about him in the DC Rebirth Special seems to be enough to get you going for when this character appears in the JLA book in February.  With that though, it's not a bad issue, it just didn't do much for me personally. Read Full Review

I was really hoping for much more - this issue just offers some backstory for those who came in late. For those of us who've been here a while, there's nothing new here. Darn it. Read Full Review

A great introduction to Choi; a flawed introduction to the Atom. Read Full Review

I'll continue to follow with hope that I'm proven wrong, but I will not hold my breath. At the very least, I think this will do a good job of introducing The Atom into the JLA for its next run. Read Full Review

I thought this was a decent issue for what it was. Which was kind of your typical origin story. But I am glad it only lasted one issue. Which makes sense since this is the Rebirth issue anyways so they can get away with it... I guess" I am looking forward to the next issue when we see the micro verse and all it has to offer. Hopefully. But other than that the art was really well done. I enjoyed the panels when The Atom is fighting all the microscopic monsters the most. The bright colors and shading are perfect. Read Full Review

But they dont, and here we are with yet another painful to read Rebirth issue that will more than likely lead into another generic and awful superhero story. Fucking yay. Cant wait to never read another issue of this book. Read Full Review

I've been enjoying a lot of Steve Orlando's work the last couple of years so I wasn't surprised that I had some fun with this book. The Ryan Choi character is one I know but came about when I wasn't reading comics that much but it's easy enough to figure out and this book cements and grounds him in a good way that you want to see his journey as well as the bigger threads being teased. Orlando definitely makes out well with Andy MacDonald doing the artwork here as it's a very smooth read with lots of fun details in the background and some great layouts. I'm loving the various microscopic world creatures that he gets to play with as that's just one of those open areas of creativity that you want to see artists embrace. Good stuff all around and has me hopeful for the eventual book it's leading into. Read Full Review

Kitaru

Jan 05, 2017

Great character introduction that sets up the future of the JLA team, while also providing a great one-shot story that will inevitably lead into a good arc about the Atom. Overall, I am excited to read the other upcoming JLA one-shots.

El Chapulin Colorado

Feb 11, 2017

The issue takes place before the events of the DC Rebirth one-shot and ends with what we saw on said issue; it tells us the story of misfit college student Ryan Choi and how he became the Atom's sidekick. Orlando did an extraordinary job with both characters and cant wait to see them on JLA

ArkhamJamie

Jan 07, 2017

[ART: 8.9 | STORY: 7.5 | WRITING: 8.2 | TOTAL: 8.2 (~8)] This was good. The art was solid and it blended nicely into what we saw back in the Rebirth one-shot in May. Nothing major really happened, but the characters were well written and I enjoyed reading this. I'm really excited to see the Atom's story explored in JLA.