Atom (Ray Palmer)
| Atom | |
|---|---|
| File:AtomPalmer.jpg Art by Steve Dillon | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Showcase #34 (1961) |
| Created by | Gardner Fox Gil Kane |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Raymond "Ray" Palmer |
| Team affiliations | Justice League of America |
| Abilities | Ability to shrink his body to varying degrees (including the subatomic level) while manipulating his weight to his advantage. |
History
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). 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 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 costume from what was initially depicted as white dwarf star matter, which allows him to shrink down to subatomic size. 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 Ivytown. Much later, he gained the innate equivalent powers with his own body. He has been a member of several incarnations of the Justice League - where he met Hawkman (Carter Hall), one of his closest friends in the superhero community.
Neither character appears regularly in comics, and even in their heyday were mostly supporting characters, although Palmer has had several short-lived series (including the 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). He was later rejuvenated to a teenage state, and became a mentor of the Titans; he subsequently regained his original age and memories.
The most recent appearance of the Atom was in the 2004 seven-issue limited series Identity Crisis, which had trascendental effects for him and especially for his ex-wife Jean Loring, as well as for many mainstream DC characters. At the end, Atom, having committed Jean to Arkham Asylum, despairs, and shrinks continuously until he vanishes completely into the microscopic or subatomic.
Other versions
- Frank Miller portrayed Ray Palmer as a major player in 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.
- Some other re-imaginings of the Atom include an appearance in League Of Justice, an Elseworlds story portraying the Justice League in a 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.
Other media
- Ray Palmer appeared in his own episodes in the The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
- Besides making an appearance on one of the Super Friends shows, the Atom (Ray Palmer) appeared in Justice League Unlimited to help Lex Luthor defend himself against Amazo and disable an 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 allows the Atom to ride in her bustier, one of the most well-remembered scenes from JLU.
- The Atom also appeared in the 1997 live action made-for-TV movie pilot, Justice League of America. He was played by John Kassir