The Atom

The Atom is a superhero created in 1941 for All-American Comics, and recreated in 1962 in a self-named title, a part of DC Comics's Silver Age of comics.

In his first incarnation, The Atom had no super powers; instead, Al Pratt, initially a college student and later a physicist, is depicted as a tough guy, a symbol of all the short kids who could still make a difference. He would become a member of the Justice Society of America, and, after the atomic age began, would get a new costume.

The new version is physicist and university professor Raymond "Ray" Palmer (named for science-fiction writer Ray Palmer, who was quite short), who created a costume from what was initially depicted as white dwarf star matter, which allows him to shrink down to subatomic size. He has been a member of several incarnations of the Justice League.

Neither character appears regularly in comics, and even in their heyday were mostly supporting characters, although Palmer has had several short-lived series (including Sword of the Atom, in which he abandoned civilization and became a Conan-like figure, hero of a tribe of microscopic yellow-skinned humanoid aliens in the jungles of Central America). He later became a mentor of the Titans.

A third Atom appeared in the pages of Suicide Squad; this character was short-lived, and soon died.