Atom (Ray Palmer)
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The Atom introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 (Sep-Oct 1961) is physicist and university professor Ray Palmer (named for real-life science fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short).
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[edit] History
Using a mass of white dwarf star matter, he fashioned a lens that enabled him to shrink any object to any degree he wished. However, any object so treated soon exploded as a side effect, which obviously precluded any practical use of the lens.
During a spelunking expedition, Palmer and his friends found themselves trapped in the cave when the entrance collapsed. In desperation, Palmer secretly used the lens he carried with him to shrink himself down in order to be able to climb to a small hole high in the wall that led to the outside, knowing full well he would likely explode himself being so treated. Using a diamond engagement ring, he enlarged the hole sufficiently and descended to the floor to try to alert the others of the escape route before dying. However, upon entering the lens' beam, he found himself returned to normal size. As the lens was covered with cave moisture, Palmer thought it altered the beam to allow this strange effect. When subsequent experiments showed no change with the explosions, Palmer concluded that there must be some mysterious force in his own body that allowed him to be shrunk safely and later returned to normal. He decided to use this effect to become a superhero.
Ray Palmer created a belt tool, from what was initially depicted as white dwarf star matter, which allows him to shrink down to subatomic size. Furthermore, he developed a special costume that he can wear at most times that only became visible when he shrunk significantly. In addition, he developed new equipment that allowed him to instantly alter his molecular density to whatever degree he desired. This allowed him to glide on air currents on a low setting, while a high setting allowed him to handle or strike objects with the equivalent strength of his normal size and build. However, a favorite travel method he had was to call some location on the telephone and when the intended phone was answered, Palmer could shrink down enough to literally travel through the phone lines in seconds to emerge out of the answering phone.
Originally, his size and molecular density abilities derived from mechanisms in his belt with a back up device in his gloves. He carried out the bulk of his early superheroic adventures in his home of Ivy Town, New York where he often helped his girlfriend, lawyer Jean Loring, win her cases. Much later, he gained the innate equivalent powers with his own body.
He has been a member of several incarnations of the Justice League, and the team was gracious enough to supply a special chair scaled to his default size which could elevate to whatever height needed so he could easily partake in team meetings without having to go out of costume. There, he met Hawkman (Katar Hol pre-Hawkworld, Carter Hall post-Hawkworld), one of his closest friends in the superhero community. Neither character appears regularly in comics, and even in their heyday were mostly supporting characters, often with Palmer as a specialist who was needed to access extremely confined areas only he could access although he has had several short-lived series.
One of them was a four-issue limited series and three subsequent specials all entitled Sword of the Atom, in which he abandoned civilization and became a Conan-like figure, hero of a tribe of six-inch tall yellow-skinned humanoid aliens in the jungles of Central America).
Eventually the colony was destroyed by loggers despite Palmer's attempts to stop it, and he was forced to escape via the telephone to North America. In the attempt, he failed to anticipate that the connection would involve satellite relay and the unexpectedly arduous trip caused him to remain at approximately three feet high and without his costume's size changing equipment. With the help of a friend, Ray created a new costume from the material of the white dwarf star. This time, instead of a belt, Ray used an encephalotronic grid in the costume's headpiece to control the costume. The grid is keyed to his unique brainwaves. This enabled him to transfer his mass into an unknown dimension which allows him to alter his size and weight just by thinking about it. He could even make the new costume appear or disappear with a thought by shifting most of its atoms to or from the other dimension. This allows him to be in costume while at full height or to shrink without having to have his costume appear. He could even increase his weight while remaining six inches tall or reduce his weight while remaining at full size. Ray would often do this and would then be light enough to ride wind currents, where he would appear as if he was actually flying to a limited degree. Ray also developed a mental link with the white dwarf matter to which he has been regularly exposed. Most of the mass lies within another dimension. Ray can draw upon that mass and hit with a super-concussive force. He has been shown to punch through concrete walls, crush an exam table and break an axel of a car that was moving at high speed.
Later, during the events of Zero Hour, Palmer was rejuvenated to a teenage state, and became a mentor of the Titans. He subsequently regained his original age and memories.
[edit] Identity Crisis
In the 2004-05 mini-series, Identity Crisis, Jean Loring kills the wife of the Elongated Man (Sue Dibny). After stealing some of the Atom's shrinking technology and his costume, she accidentally killed Sue in a misguided attempt to win Ray back. After committing her to Arkham, Ray shrunk himself to microscopic size and disappeared.
Palmer eventually meets upwith his old friend Carter Hall after microscopically traveling through phone lines. He warns Hall of the consequences of mindwiping Batman and of harassing criminals over a crime that was perpetrated by Jean, one of their own. Palmer explains he needs time away, and shrinks himself again after Hall agrees to keep the meeting secret [1].
His legacy lives on, however, with Ryan Choi finding a copy of his costume and shrinking device to become the current Atom.
During the missing year, Palmer's technology is employed by Supernova to move up and down in size to enter and exit the bottle city of Kandor.
DC Comics has refused to reveal Ray Palmer's whereabouts since his disappearance at the end of Identity Crisis. [2] However, Palmer will return and play a very important role in the upcoming story, Countdown.
[edit] Other versions
- Frank Miller portrayed Ray Palmer as a major player in Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. He was taken prisoner by Lex Luthor and made to live in one of his own petri dishes for a period of years until his rescue by Catgirl. He was then instrumental in the liberation of Kandor.
- Some other re-imaginings of the Atom include an appearance in League of Justice, an Elseworlds story portraying the Justice League in a The Lord of the Rings-type story where the Atom was recast as a wizard/fortune teller called "Atomus The Palmer".
- Another was an appearance in JLA: Age of Wonder where Ray Palmer worked with a science consortium whose numbers at one point included Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.
[edit] Other media
- In the The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Ray Palmer appeared in his own episodes and in the Justice League of America segmets along with Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman. He was voiced by Pat Harrington, Jr., who would be better known a decade later for his role as Schneider on the sitcom One Day at a Time. Ray also made occasional appearances on The All-New Super Friends Hour in the 1970s, probably voiced by another actor.
- He was mentioned in the Justice League episode "Hereafter," by Vandal Savage. A future version of Savage mentions that a younger version of himself stole a piece of dwarf star matter from a scientist called Ray Palmer. The mention of dwarf star matter fits in with the Atom's original comic book origin. Ray Palmer appeared in Justice League Unlimited to help Lex Luthor defend himself against Amazo and disable a grey goo like alien weapon known as the Dark Heart (in an episode written by Warren Ellis). Both of the devices utilized nanotechnology, a field in which he is an expert. He is voiced by John C. McGinley. In the second episode, Wonder Woman remarks that she will need both hands to fight and stuffs the Atom into her bustier, one of the most well-remembered scenes from JLU.
- The Atom also appeared in the 1997 live action TV series pilot, Justice League of America. He was played by John Kassir.
[edit] External links
- Index to the Atom's Earth-1 adventures
- Article on the history/legacy of The Atom from the Comics 101 article series by Scott Tipton.
