I have a special affection for DC’s Atom stories. The Atom’s singular powers put him in a position that had its own special appeal.
He could travel in time, into subatomic worlds or instantaneously through telephone lines, but he could also slug it out with the kind of masked criminal gangs who kept the Dynamic Duo busy. Because of his small stature, even cat-costumed thugs could pose a credible threat against him.
“When the Atom discovered that he could retain his full 180 pounds even at peewee size, he also became an impressive action hero, bouncing off rubber erasers and wafting on breezes, then increasing his weight and driving his tiny fist into a crook’s jaw,” noted Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones in The Comic Book Heroes. “That was a godsend to Gil Kane; after years of DC pussyfooting with physical combat, editors were finally getting bold enough to let him strut his gift for action. Murphy Anderson’s inking, though, gave the violence a tidy, everyday flavor that accented the charm of the Tiny Titan.”
“Another aspect of the character which I think makes him unique is that his abilities simultaneously make him powerful and vulnerable,” Matthew Grossman observed. “He can ride through telephone wires, but water-filled sinks are a potentially deadly menace! The nature of Atom’s abilities requires intellectual planning by the hero to overcome challenges, which I’d say more than most firmly puts him in the Silver Age ‘scientific adventurer’ mold.”
Beauty and the Beast Gang (The Atom 27, Nov. 1966) was a human interest story with superheroes. Ray Palmer’s shy friend, photographer Willie Farr, is hoping to take shots that will help his secret love, lonely Ivy Town secretary Dawn Hudson, win a beauty contest. But one of his infrared photos accidentally reveals the identity of a member of the masked Panther Gang, putting Willie in danger and getting the Atom involved. The Tiny Titan catches the criminals while managing to play Cupid.
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