Wednesday, February 21, 2024

HOTW- The Golden Age Atom

From Wiki-  Initially a proverbial 98-pound weakling, bullied at school and unable to impress the girl of his dreams, Mary James, the 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) Al Pratt was trained to fighting condition by ex-boxer Joe Morgan (the same man who trained Pratt's fellow mystery men Wildcat and the Guardian). 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 All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940), the Atom describes himself to his fellow JSAers as "Al Pratt, a quiet sophomore at Calvin College". He later became a founding and active member of the All-Star Squadron. During World War II, Pratt served as a tank driver for the United States Army.[1]  Al also gained some super powers in 1948.  He, like most of the other JSA, retired in 1951 due to governmental pressure.  He unretired a decade or so later.

We haven't seen the original Atom much in other media, though a version showed up in the great JLA cartoon.  Sometime in the Smallville show he was on, and then Henry Winkler cameoed as the character in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam (2022). That was perfect, since Henry is about as tall as Al in the comic books.  That might have been the best part of the movie, though I did enjoy it.
 

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