Uhmmm, hmmmm. You realize that one guy does not equate to the other. Superman really isn't the benchmark for every character out there under the sun. Majestic is a match for Helspont, so I think Atrocitus would be able to do as good or better against Helspont.
Superman and Atrocitus have different power sets. What worked on Superman won't necessarily work on Atrocitus. We don't even know what type of attack it was that Helspont hit Superman with, and as far as we know it could have been a concentrated TP assault that Superman was hit with. This type of attack may not be as effective on Atrocitus.
How does this equate to him doing the same to Atrocitus? Once again, these are two different characters, and this also happened before Superman's biggest feat, or before he fully settled into his powers.
The better question is why wouldn't it work on Atrocitus?
I've probably read every comic Atrocitus has ever appeared in, and I don't see any reason why he'd fare better against Helspont's casual backhand than Superman. Even if he did, how would he do against an actual punch?
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A weakened Atrocitus was beating the hell out of Apollo and J'onn. He physically tore a hole through a hyperspace tunnel. What proof do you have that a fully powered Atrocitus wouldn't defeat Helspont? It seems to me that Atrocitus has more feats than Helspont, and the one time that he KO'd Superman is not enough proof to say or define him as being a true Herald stomper. First we need to find out what type of attack it was that he hit Superman with, because it appeared to be more than just a physical assault, and more of a TP one, which will not affect Atrocitus on the same level. There are those that are more resilieint to certain attacks, so perhaps you shouldn't use Superman's defeat as some kind of indicator that he'd do the same to a character that is more resistant to these types of attacks.
That's my point. Superman and Atrocitus are two different characters with totally different powers. Attrocitus is a very powerful hard light character with specific defenses against spiritual, and psychic assaults. Superman is a very powerful character, but he's a physical one. A powerful physical one but a physical one all the same.Do you see what I'm aiming at?
Never read that, but Helspont isn't hard light, and may not be able to replicate that feat against Atrocitus. Gardner imo wouldn't be able to run the bag off of J'onn and Apollo.