| Atom | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Cray) Suicide Squad #44 (August 1990) (Atom One Million) DC One Million 80-Page Giant #1,000,000 (August 1999) |
| Created by | (Cray) John Ostrander (Atom One Million) Grant Morrison |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | - Al Pratt - Ray Palmer - Adam Cray - Ryan Choi |
| Team affiliations | (Cray) Suicide Squad Black Lantern Corps (Atom One Million) Justice Legion Alpha |
| Abilities | (All-except Pratt and Atom One Million) Ability to shrink and grow his body to varying degrees (including the subatomic level) while manipulating his weight and mass to his advantage |
The Atom is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe.
There have been five characters who have shared the Atom codename. The original Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor and first appeared in All-American Publications' All-American Comics #19 (Oct. 1940). The second Atom was the Silver Age Atom, Ray Palmer, who first appeared in 1961. The third Atom, Adam Cray, was a minor character present in Suicide Squad stories. The fourth Atom, Ryan Choi, debuted in a new Atom series in August 2006. The fifth Atom from the 853rd Century first appeared as part of Justice Legion Alpha in August 1999.
The Atom has been the star of multiple solo series, and four of the five have appeared as members of various superhero teams, such as the Justice Society of America, the Justice League, the Suicide Squad, and the Justice Legion Alpha.
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The original Atom, Al Pratt, first appeared in All-American Comics #19 (Oct. 1940). He initially had no superpowers; instead, he was a diminutive college student and later a physicist who was depicted as a tough guy, a symbol of all the short kids who could still make a difference. Pratt was a founding member of the Justice Society of America, later gaining limited super-strength, and an energy charged 'atomic punch'. He died in the charge against Extant during the Zero Hour.[1]
The Atom introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase #34 (1961) is physicist and university professor Ray Palmer (named for real-life science fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short). Using a mass of white dwarf star matter, he fashioned a lens which allowed him to shrink down to subatomic size. Originally, his size and molecular density abilities derived from the white dwarf star material of his costume, controlled by mechanisms in his belt, and later by controls in the palms of his gloves. Much later, he gained the innate equivalent powers within his own body. After the events of Identity Crisis, Ray shrunk himself to microscopic size and disappeared. Finding him became a major theme of the Countdown year long series and crossover event.[1]
Prior to Ray Palmer's fateful trip to the Amazon Jungle, he learns his wife Jean Loring had an affair with fellow lawyer Paul Hoben and the two divorce. Later, Palmer would offer his blessing to the couple who marry and offers Hoben his size-changing belt in order to protect Ivy Town (as Ray wished to remain with the Morlaidhans) which he accepts. His belt would later be stolen by Adam Cray. It should be noted, Hoben never takes up the costume or name of the Atom.
Adam Cray, son of the murdered Senator Cray, first appeared as the Atom in the pages of Suicide Squad #44 by John Ostrander (August 1990). At first Cray was widely believed to be Ray Palmer in disguise (by both the fans and the characters). Actually Cray had been recruited by Palmer himself, who faked his death, in order to apprehend the Micro Squad (a group of villains that had been shrunk down) as well as uncover information about a shadowy government cabal, who were interested in Palmer's knowledge of the other heroes' secret identities (his own identity being no longer a secret).
While Palmer would infiltrate the Micro Squad, Cray would gather the attention of the Cabal as the new Atom, so that no one would notice Palmer assuming the identity of a fallen Micro Squad member.
Adam Cray ran with the Suicide Squad only for a short while, serving as a secret weapon most of the time, and his existence was for a while even unknown to others of the Squad. Cray even saves a wounded Amanda Waller from a group of assassins. At one point, Cray approaches Deadshot about the fact that Deadshot had murdered his father. Deadshot tells Cray that he would get one free shot at him. Soon after, on a mission, Cray is impaled through the chest by Blacksnake, a Micro Squad member who believes him to be Palmer.
After the murder of Cray (a move Palmer had not foreseen), Palmer reveals himself and defeats Cray's murderer. The ruse ended, Palmer explains himself to the Justice League, who had been searching for him, after hearing rumors of a new Atom.
During the events of Blackest Night, Adam's corpse is reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps alongside several other fallen Suicide Squad members.[2] Following his reanimation, Adam and the other Black Lanterns travel to Belle Reve and attack Bane and Black Alice.[3] Adam is apparently destroyed by the Manhunter's self destruct mechanism to unleashing an explosion of Green Lantern energy that eradicates the Black Lanterns.[4]
Ryan Choi, as described by DC solicitations, is "a young hotshot professor who's filling the extra spot on Ivy University's teaching staff. .. and who inadvertently ends up filling the old Atom's super-heroic shoes".[5] This new Atom is based on a redesign by Grant Morrison. He debuted in the Brave New World one-shot, a preview of upcoming projects, and then appeared in the series, The All-New Atom, written by Gail Simone. He is later murdered by Deathstroke and his Titans.
An unnamed scientist in the 853rd Century performed experiments in superstring theory that creates a singularity and whose radiation alters his physical make-up. When the singularity threatened to expand and destroy his universe, he enters it in an attempt to save the universe but instead finds himself on an interdimensional bridge to another universe as his own is wiped out, unable to stop it. At the end of the bridge, he finds Superman Prime who came to help but was too late. Stranded, he searches this universe for remnants of the one he lost, in time taking the name the Atom and joining the Justice Legion Alpha when he helped them defeat the Bizarro-Legion. This Atom's powers differ from his predecessors in that he doesn't shrink but breaks up into several smaller duplicates of himself divided amongst his mass. At atomic size, these duplicates can mimic elements such as gold and oxygen.
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 months until his rescue by Catgirl. He was then instrumental in the liberation of Kandor.
In the Tangent Comics print, The Atom is Arthur Harrison Thompson, a subject of radiation testing on human beings. The first hero in the Tangent timeline, he was succeeded by his son, who was killed by the Tangent Comics version of the Fatal Five, and a grandson named Adam, who, in Tangent: Superman's Reign, is being held captive by Superman.
In the final issue of 52, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-2". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-2, including the Atom among other Justice Society of America characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but the Atom is visually similar to the Al Pratt Atom.[7] Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-2.[8]
In Countdown #30, the Challengers from Beyond encountered Earth-15, a world where the sidekicks had taken their mentor's places. On this Earth, the Atom is Jessica Palmer, a genius who graduated from MIT at age eight. The Search for Ray Palmer - Red Son features the Ray Palmer of Earth-30, an American captured by the Superman of a communist Russia. Countdown: Arena also depicts the Ray Palmer of Earth-6, who through unknown circumstances now has the powers and title of the Ray. The Search For Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman briefly features a female version of The Atom.
In the first issue of the 2010 Batman Beyond limited series, a future African-American version of the Atom known as Micron appears as one of the heroes of Earth-12.
| Title | Material collected | Pages | ISBN# |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Atom Archives, Vol. 1 | Showcase #34-36, The Atom #1-5 | 208 | ISBN 1563897172 |
| The Atom Archives, Vol. 2 | The Atom #6-13 | 208 | ISBN 1401200141 |
| Sword of the Atom | Sword of the Atom #1-4 and Sword of the Atom Special #1-3 | 232 | ISBN 140121553X |
| DC Comics Presents: The Atom | Legends of the DC Universe #28-29 and 40-41 | 96 |
| Title | Material collected | Pages | ISBN# |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Life in Miniature | The All-New Atom #1-6 | 160 | ISBN 1401213251 |
| Future/Past | The All-New Atom #7-11 | 128 | ISBN 1401215688 |
| The Hunt for Ray Palmer | The All-New Atom #12-16 | 128 | ISBN 9781401217822 |
| Small Wonder | The All-New Atom #17-18 and 20-25 | 192 | ISBN 9781401219963 |
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