So, I’ve been reading the 1987 Captain Atom comics. Looking into the encyclopedia I found there is no information on the character.
So over to Wikipedia…I notice two distinct 1st appearances. One is from Charlton Comics (Allen) version. Another is the DC (Nathaniel) version.
A friend has a CGC copy of DC’s issue 1 from 87. It doesn’t claim to be a first appearance. Just says “new origin” and “first DC appearance”. The same as when The Question and Blue Beetle came over.
Except Captain Atom isn’t the same character this time. He was altered while BB and Question ported over to DC mostly unchanged.
So, my question is shouldn’t Captain Atom 1 (1987) at least be considered 1st appearance of Nathaniel Adam?
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Hm, perhaps they’re counting it as a different name for the same character, similar to Two-Face’s earliest appearances calling him “Harvey Kent” instead of “Harvey Dent.”
The origin and personality are different, but both series are (sadly) rather obscure, so that could be what they had in mind.
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I guess so. It is a completely different character. Even the power set isn’t the same. It’s a new guy, new name, new powers, new look.
I think my position is 1987 Captain Atom is an entirely different character. It’s not important, just strange he doesn’t show up on here in the encyclopedia. He was pretty relevant for 10 years or so.
If they had that info here in the character encyclopedia there wouldn’t be a silly fanboy like myself wasting his time wondering about something that’s pretty much meaningless. 
Fandom.com says Captain Atom 1 is his first appearance. So does Wikipedia (which makes it clear they’re not the same character, but also it’s Wikipedia). Comic Vine specifically states that Nathaniel is the 2nd Captain Atom. Dcuwiki.net list both Captain Atoms separately. Superhero Database also says Captain Atom 1.
I’m telling ya, @JeepersItsTheJamags, I’m gonna have geek insomnia tonight. 
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I say he’s a different product entirely. My favorite version was vol 1 Cap in DC. The New 52 God-Mode version lacked any humanity (discount Doc Manhattan) and the Fall and Rise, though written by the same 1980s Captain writer, was pretty blah.
1980s Captain as well as his role in Justice League Europe were great.
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