Agents of Atlas took a bunch of pre-Marvel World War 2 heroes, retconned for them a past of having been on a team together, and then told a modern-day story of them getting back together. They’re the agents of “Atlas” because Atlas Comics occupied the space between the bankruptcy of Timely Comics and the creation of Marvel.
Obviously, this is a series treasured by nerds. And if you’re NOT a comic nerd, WTF are you doing on this site?
It starts with a flashback where we get to see the team on a mission during World War Two, where Venus got the troops of Yellow Claw to stand down by showing them her ta-tas.
Apparently, this is actually Venus–the Greek Goddess. She spends quite a bit of time topless. She’s making her debut in this book, alongside all these nostalgic characters.
The team was assembed by future SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo.
The other members are the original Marvel Boy, born on Earth but raised by aliens who live on Uranus, and who had the quantum bands before Quasar.
He’s much weirder in this story than in prior 616 versions.
There’s also a robot named M-11, who has a human mind and soul.
And Gorilla Man. He’s already appeared in the 616.
Woo goes “rogue” during a mission as a SHIELD agent investigating the Atlas Foundation. Everyone on his team was killed, and he was locked up by his employers. This prompted his former team-mates bust him out and then dip him in a youngifying serum…
He has no memory of his rich character history, which includes being a part of the SHIELD detachment that attempted to contain Godzilla back when Marvel had rights to the character.
They’re discovered by Derek Khanata, a Wakandan SHIELD agent who ends up supporting them–off grid–for this story. He’s actually been around before this story.
The team then goes on to investigate the Atlas Foundation–a story that matter a lot less than the great fun of watching these folks in action. Over the course of this mini they have to take on their classic enemy Yellow Claw and investigate the apparent death of Namora (cousin to Namor and their team-mate from the 1950s).
Yellow Claw has an army of shadow warriors. In their first big battle, Woo starts to learn that there is a lot more to Y.C. than he’d previously believed.
Namora’s not dead, of course.
So you might be wondering why it’s called Agents of Atlas if Jimmy Woo’s team is investigating the Atlas Foundation? It’s because, in the end, they figure out that the reason SHIELD was trying to stop them is because the Atlas Foundation are actually a centuries old force for justice and kind of a competitor of SHIELD. They protect the “mantle of Kahn” and lots of resources. Turns out, Yellow Claw used to lead it. Mr. Lao, the keeper of the Foundation, picks Jimmy Woo as the next leader.
Thus, the entire team fake their own deaths in the end so that they can operate in secret and off of SHIELD’s radar.
Each issue had supplements–reprints of the characters’ original “Golden Age” appearances that feature early work by no less than Stan Lee, Al Feldstein, John Romita, and others.
English (US) · 