Atom (comics)

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Golden Age Atom

The original Atom, Al Pratt, was introduced in All-American Comics #19 (October 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.

Related Topics:
All-American Comics - October - 1940

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Pratt soon became a founding member of the Justice Society of America, appearing in the team's various stories during their original Golden Age appearances. In 1948, the Atom received a redesigned costume and the revelation that he had gained limited superstrength (from, as later comics revealed, a battle with a villain several years earlier).

Related Topics:
Justice Society of America - Golden Age - 1948

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Pratt's last Golden Age appearance was in All-Star Comics #57 in 1951, also the last Golden Age Justice Society story. Pratt was revived with the rest of the team in 1963's Flash (vol. 1) #137, and continued to make various appearances in the years that followed.

Related Topics:
All-Star Comics - 1951 - 1963 - Flash

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In the 1980s, Al Pratt's godson Al Rothstein was introduced; Rothstein was known as the superhero Nuklon (later changing his name to Atom Smasher), first appearing in the pages of Infinity, Inc.

Related Topics:
1980s - Atom Smasher - Infinity, Inc.

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In the 1990s, it was revealed that Pratt had a son named Grant Emerson, who was kidnapped and genetically altered into being given superpowers by the villain Vandal Savage; he soon became the superhero Damage. Damage later appeared in two incarnations of the Teen Titans.

Related Topics:
1990 - Vandal Savage - Damage - Teen Titans

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Al Pratt was murdered by the villain Extant in 1994's Zero Hour miniseries.

Related Topics:
Extant - 1994 - Zero Hour

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