[Discussion] Why does Captain Atom have a different design on Earth 4? It seems like they’re going for the classic designs but the list at the end states that it’s still Pax Americana. [Dark Crisis: Big Bang]
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My meta-assumption is that Mark Waid decided that if DC is willing to use the Watchmen characters now, that having a "Like Watchmen, only using the original characters" universe no longer made as much sense, and reverted the Charlton characters back to their default forms.
Could just be a mistake. Or it’s the same Earth but (anti-)rebooted/altered to its classic self, just like Earth 0.
Alternatively, the Manhattan-esque Allen Adam disappeared/died in Pax Americana. This could be a new Captain Atom.
Let's face it, like the Watchmen story it so heavily riffs on before it, Pax Americana is really self-contained. I feel like not much cam be meaningfully added to it.
So to me, it makes sense that Pax would get a throwaway reference in a list, while remaining a firmly tertiary influence on most writers' approach to the Charlton Action Heroes.
Er, especially as the actual Watchmen characters are running around DC now, to my chagrin.