Superman is playing with his Superdog, Krypto, in outer space, having Krypto chase a frisbee. Along with him for the ride is Hal Jordan. Lois, meanwhile, is down in Metropolis. She wants Clark to get rid of Krypto, because she thinks he's too dangerous to have around. But then, something arrives, a cloaked figure wearing some kind of metal helmet who shouts that he wants the Titan who protects the city. He demands that the man come out and fight him.
The man doing the demanding is Atlas, and he's not here on his own. He was ripped away from his own planet/dimension and thrust into ours, pulled here by some kind of experimental machine run by men who want to rid the world of Superman. Atlas doesn't trust them, even after they have taught him to speak English, but he has his own reasons for wanting to fight Superman: Atlas is the strongest man on his own planet, and he rules it, but lately he has felt that there is no challenge left for him. And that's why he's happy to fight Superman.
Luckily, Superman hears him, even out in space, but the two of them are pretty evenly matched. Or are they? Soon Atlas is beating Superman, but who comes to his rescue but Krypto, who flies at Atlas and bites and scratches him, after all the other people who have tried to come to Superman's aid have failed.
As Krypto continually springs back on Atlas after Atlas hits him or manages to toss him away, scratching, biting and going for his throat. Superman leaves Krypto behind to seek a permanent solution to the problem of Atlas, and we find out that It wasn't just the machine that stole Atlas away, even his closest companions wanted him gone, because while he may once have been the champion of his planet, in later years, he was prone to rages when his wishes were thwarted, and he had become a worse tyrant than any he once overthrew.
But now that he is Earth's problem, can Superman find a way to deal with him and keep him from hurting, and ruling, the people of Earth? And what of the people behind Atlas, the people who stole him from his planet/Dimension and tried to make him fight Superman? Will they get their comeuppance as well?
I found this particular story... kinda boring. In the end, while Atlas is a strongman character with a rage problem, he's kind of like the Hulk. He's big, he's strong, and he gets angry easily. But the differences are that Atlas is more intelligent and literate than the Hulk, and his rage doesn't add to his strength. And he's not green or gray.
The major problem I had is that the entire book and storyline read as though Atlas was introduced (or re-introduced) as a "Solution" to the problem of Krypto. Though he may be more intelligent (or as intelligent, it can be hard to tell because we can see his thoughts) than Earth Dogs, he's also more powerful, yet still just as interested in doing doggy stuff. And by the end of the story, no one would dare demand Superman get rid of him, not even Lois. And as the point of an entire story, I found myself unthrilled by that.
Okay, he's a hero, we get that. But I mean, really... he's stronger and able to Bounce back more than Superman? Is that really where the writers and people at DC want to go? Not recommended- read elsewhere.
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