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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
History
Ray Palmer is the Atom, a superhero with the powers of shrinking and growing to different sizes. As one of the world's most renowned physicists, he was formerly an advisor of S.H.A.D.E.'s science division.
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Teaming up with Hawkman
Quantum Disturbance
Sometime after the attack by Chronos, Ray built a base of operations in the middle of the Microverse he called the Nucleus. One day Ray's scanners picked up a disturbance in the Quantum Barrier of the Microverse, when he travelled to the location of the disturbance he discovered his longtime ally and friend Carter Hall A.K.A. Hawkman. Hawkman was once prince Khufu of ancient Egypt, however when he and his beloved were effected by a strange metal known as Nth Metal they gained the ability to reincarnate across history with all their previous memories in tact. Hawkman had found an artefact on one of his expeditions that had transported him to the Microverse. Recently Hawkman had been experiencing visions of a race of benevolent destroyers known as the Deathbringers who Carter was destined to defeat.[1]
Atom brought Hawkman to the Nucleus as he deemed it unsafe to talk out in the open. Hawkman explained that he had recently discovered that he had not only reincarnated through time, but through space as well. He had been a Thanagarian, a Kryptonian and many other exotic races. Hawkman had been forgetting his previous lives due to the restrictions of the mortal brain, therefore he had been leaving himself clues about his past lives before he forgot about them. With this knowledge Atom was able to discern that Hawkman had once been reincarnated in the Microverse, as the artifact he carried was of Microverse design and had been outlawed decades ago. The patterns on the device looked like the atomic symbol of Nth Metal, leading Carter and Ray to believe that Hawkman must have left a supply of Nth Metal in the Microverse to defeat the Deathbringers. Atom quickly scanned the Microverse for Nth Metal and learnt that Hawkman had hidden the Nth Metal on Moz-Ga the Thinking Planet.[1]
Obtaining the Ship
Since there last meeting Moz-Ga had become so fed up with the requests of pilgrims that he had made his surface barren and had began destroying anyone who trespassed on him. Moz-Ga immediately attacked the pair upon their arrival, using golems made out of stone and wood.[1] Atom grew himself to tower over the golems while Hawkman went for the Nth Metal within Moz-Ga.
Hawkman and Atom battle the golems of Moz-Ga
Eventually Moz-Ga was able to overwhelm Atom, however Hawkman was able to find the Nth Metal. As it turned out the Nth Metal was a ship Hawkman had built in his previous lives. Hawkman was soon able to activate the ship and get it airborne, where Atom shifted through the molecules of the ship to get inside. However Moz-Ga increased his gravitational pull, stopping the ship from escaping. Carter soon discovered that the ship had a Zeta-Beam projector, this would allow them to teleport the ship wherever they wanted instantly. With this knowledge Carter teleported the ship back to the Nucleus, away from the clutches of Moz-Ga.[2]
Atom then did some research into the Microverse incarnation of Hawkman from the analogues of Microverse history. He discovered that centuries ago there was a hero called Avion who used gravity boots instead of wings. The name Avion stemmed from the Latin word "avis", meaning bird. This told Carter and Ray that Avion had knowledge of Latin, meaning he couldn't be older then the roman empire. With this knowledge Hawkman bid farewell to his old friend and continued on his quest of self-discovery, using his new ship as a base of operations.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Genius Level Intellect
- Science: Ray Palmer has a Ph.D in physics.
- Pedagogy: He has a teaching position at Ivy University.[3]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Bio-Belt
- Size Alteration: The Atom is able to shrink down to varying degrees. He is able to go microscopic and even subatomic. When in the Microverse he more often grows instead of shrinks, as he is already at subatomic size.[1]
- Mass Alteration: The Atom can changed his molecular density to whatever degree he wants. He can also assume any mass at any height.
- Superhuman Strength: Atom can punch with incredible force by shifting all of his density to his hands.
- Superhuman Durability
- Flight: Atom is able to glide on air currents.[citation needed]
Notes
- Ray Palmer was created by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Gil Kane, first appearing in Showcase #34. However, in the rebooted Prime Earth continuity his first appearance as part of the New 52 DC Universe is in Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli
Related
- 80 Appearances of Raymond Palmer (Prime Earth)
- 19 Images featuring Raymond Palmer (Prime Earth)
- 7 Quotations by or about Raymond Palmer (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Raymond Palmer (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hawkman (Volume 5) #5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hawkman (Volume 5) #6
- ↑ DC Universe: Rebirth #1
  This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. |