Get to Know a Hero: The Atom

The Atom is a “legacy hero” (several different gents have worn similar tights). Since Legends of Tomorrow is going with the Ray Palmer incarnation, I shall do the same, though I do, being a Batman: Brave and the Bold aficionado, I have a certain affinity for Ryan Choi.

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Name: Raymond Palmer

Aliases: Ray Palmer

Born: Ivy Town (?)

Died: a couple of times

Affiliations: JLA, Suicide Squad, Teen Titans, Indigo Tribe

Abilities: able to change shape of self and other objects at a molecular level. Retains his strength even when smaller.

First Appearance: Showcase #34 (1961)

The Story:

Palmer is a physicist and professor at a small New England University.  His area of study is compression of matter as applied to fight overpopulation, famine, and other world problems. Using a chunk of whit dwarf star matter he just happens to find laying around, Palmer fashions a lens that allows him to shrink anything to any degree he wants. Sadly, those things then explode (Ray Palmer was, apparently, the Gallagher of physicists. Bet he was fun at the department Christmas party).

During a spelunking trip (see, fun!) Palmer and his party become trapped and Ray secretly uses the lens to shrink himself, despite knowing that he’s probably going to blow himself to bits. He finds an escape route and alerts the others, entering the beam from the lens in the process and growing back to his normal size. No explod-y, lucky dude. Initially, Ray’s continuing intactness is explained away as some sort of “mysterious force” in his body. The compression matrix, a fabric that distributes the beam evenly across the body and keeps the subject intact was retconned into The Atoms origin during the Brightest Day storyline.

Palmer designs a belt with which he is able to control his miniaturization and a suit that is only visible when he is small. He also invents a method for decreasing his weight proportional to size, allowing him to glide on air currents; he can use the same tech on a different setting to retain the strength of his normal human form when miniaturized.

The Atom carries out most of his early missions in Ivy Town, fighting alien and supernatural threats. He even has his own Rogues Gallery (though I’m pretty sure The Flash’s is superior). He eventually branches out and joins the Justice League, where he meets his best friend, Hawkman (bromance, kids, bromance).

Ray Palmer gets to be king consort of a tribe of six inch tall, yellow folks; avenges their destruction by The Cabal; fights Humbug, a sentient robot; shrinks some CIA operatives and creates the Micro/Squad; and survives their assassination attempt.

Dun dun dun.

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During the Zero Hour storyline, Ray is rejuvenated to a teenage state and also develops the ability to grow larger. He becomes a field leader for one of the Teen Titans squads, which, after being a member of the JLA, he views as a demotion (legit). Big battles, Ray loses his youth and his newer powers, and he returns to teaching, though he does remain a JLA alternate (sort of like a volunteer fireman, I guess? Does he carry a pager? Get a signal of some kind…).

One of Palmer’s students during this period was Ronnie Raymond. Otherwise known as half of Firestorm.

After his ex-wife commits murder and steals his tech in a misguided attempt to win him back, Palmer disappears.

He remains missing for a year, after which Jason Todd and associates are told Palmer may be the key to averting some sort of epic catastrophe or another (it’s always catastrophe with these people) and the Multiverse is scoured. Palmer is located on a utopia whereupon super crime has been eliminated. Because this Bataman murdered them all after the this Joker killed their Jason Todd. It is that Ray Palmer, who was prophesied to avert the catastrophe but that Ray Palmer is dead and this Ray Palmer has been attempting to carry on his work (don’t look at me like that).

He returns to Ivy Town for one last save and then jumps to the Multiverse to bum around.

Undead Hawkman, Blackest Night, reanimated ex, undead tiny people, resurrection of Hawkman and Hawkgirl but in a good way.

Fights Deathstroke during Convergence. Loses his hand. Has it reattached.

In the New 52, Palmer is science advisor to SHADE. He retains his powers.

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Sources: DC Comics Database, DC Comics Wikia, Wikipedia