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The Atom is a fictional comic book superhero character owned by DC Comics.
The Golden Age Atom
No one got less respect at Calvin College in 1940 than sophmore Al Pratt, being only 5'1" tall. The bullies in the school began to call him "Atom Al", because "an atom is the smallest thing there is". He asks out the wealthy though taller Mary James, but she rejects him when he fails to protect her from a couple of muggers, who beat Al soundly. Dejected and rejected, Al was tired of being bullied and beaten, but was unsure of what to do about it. He wanted to talk to someone about it, and ended up offering a free meal to a starving tramp just to do so. The tramp turned out to be ex-boxer and fight trainer Joe Morgan, who, hearing Al's sad story, offered to train him in return for room and board. Al's uncle had left him a place in the country, so he took Joe up there and the two began training on evenings and weekends. After a year of rigorous training, even Joe is startled by how strong Al has become. Both men are shocked when Al accidently yanks a "stuck" hotel room door off its hinges.
When Al decides to protect Mary James later on, both from a kidnapping and later from a robbery, he doesn't want her to know it was him because he wants her to love him for himself, so he does it masked in the guise of the Atom.
The Atom joins the Justice Society of America. Mary eventually gets to appreciate the true Al, and the two are married. In one of his adventures, he is exposed to "thorium radiation". This exposure gives him true super-strength in 1948, and he becomes the true power-house of the Justice Society.
Al Pratt died at the hands of the supervillain Extant in the limited crossover series Zero Hour (1985).
The Silver Age Atom
Billed as "The World's Smallest Superhero," the Atom was Ray Palmer, physicist and professor at Ivy Town University, who happened upon a piece of a white dwarf star. Ray was able to harness the star's ability to become an ultra-dense miniature version of its former self, and create a costume made from the stuff. The costume enabled Ray to shrink down to 6 inches without diminishing his strength or weight. Using the controls built into his belt, he could control his density and size and shrink down to sub-microscopic size. He could become the size of an electron and ride through telephone wires, visit sub-atomic worlds, and let the wind carry him and then land on a criminal with the full weight of an adult male.
Al Pratt as the Golden Age Atom
Ray Palmer as the Silver Age Atom
Ryan Choi as the New Atom
The Atom had his own comic for a few years, and was then merged with Hawkman, for another year, when it was finally cancelled. There have been various, usually short-lived, Atom series over the decades. He joined the Justice League of America, and, despite of his lack of commercial success since his early days, has been a mainstay of the DC universe. Ray had a girlfriend named Jean Loring whom he eventually married and then divorced.
Recently, with the events of the limited series Identity Crisis (2006), Ray has gone missing. Fans of Ray should stay tuned as the "search for Ray Palmer" is said to be part of DC's latest project entitled Countdown coming out weekly over the course of the next year from 5/07 to 5/08.
Arch nemesis: Chronos the Time-Thief.
The New Atom
Right now, taking Ray Palmer's place is Ryan Choi, a young Asian physicist who is filling in for him at Ivy University. Born in Hong Kong, Ryan had corresponded with Ray for years, and the two developed a mentor/protegee relationship. . When he was invited to Ivy Town to take the place of his former mentor, Ryan discovered the Atom gear clearly left for him by Ray. and has decided to use it to take on Ray's role as the super-hero Atom as well. The All New Atom (2006) comic has been a critical success for DC Comics.
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