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Al Pratt was probably born around 1920; nothing is known of his family or
early life. Pratt was a sophomore at Calvin College in 1940 and suffered the
indignity of stunted growth, being a mere 5'1" tall. Ever the target of
harassment, Pratt was often referred to as "Atom Al" by his tormentors. During
those college days, he had a crush on a local debutante, Mary James. In early
1940, Pratt happened upon Mary James on a street corner in Calvin City and
struck up a casual conversation. While trying to negotiate a date for the prom,
the couple was accosted by a mugger who trampled the diminutive Pratt and
absconded with James's purse and jewelry. James belittled Pratt's weakness in
the fray, humiliating him. Dejected, Pratt made his way home and was approached
by a panhandler. Feeling sympathetic, Pratt bought dinner for the old beggar. In
the course of conversation, it was revealed that the beggar was Joe Morgan, a
former heavyweight boxer and trainer. Pratt shared the events of earlier in the
evening with Morgan and told of how he craved greater strength and fighting
ability. Morgan seized on the youth's obsession by offering his services as a
trainer. Pratt had inherited some property from a deceased uncle, so he provided
Morgan with housing in exchange for his services as trainer. Using weekends and
study breaks, Pratt trained intensively with Morgan.
In a few months' time, Morgan decided the training was complete, and the two
moved back to Calvin City. Morgan even provided Pratt with a calling card that
said "The Atom," in reference to the word's former meaning of "small" and its
new meaning of "powerful." Upon his and Morgan's return to Calvin City, Pratt
determined to pay a call on Mary James. When he arrived near her home, he
witnessed her abduction by a group of criminals and leapt onto the rear of their
departing automobile. Mary James had been kidnapped for ransom, and upon hearing
the terms, Pratt leapt through a nearby window and thrashed the criminals. As
James was blindfolded, she had no clue as to the identity of her savior. Before
departing, Pratt dropped one his calling cards as "The Atom" (All-American
Comics #19). Later, Mary James was attending a debutante ball and Pratt made
sure to attend. When the party was crashed by some would-be jewel thieves, Pratt
slipped out and donned a new costume he had made for himself. After thwarting
the thieves, he announced himself to James and departed (All-American Comics
#20). For several months thereafter, Pratt lived with Morgan. The two later
parted ways and Morgan moved to a rural area outside of Calvin City to start a
health camp, a popular recreational retreat in the 1940s (revealed in
All-American Comics #30). The camp apparently fell on hard times, as Pratt
lost track of Morgan shortly thereafter.
Within a few weeks of donning a costume, the Atom was selected by
Doctor Fate to aid in
the struggle against Valkyries summoned by Adolph Hitler's use of the Spear of
Destiny. This case led to the formation of the Justice Society of America, and
the Atom was a charter member (DC Special #29). The Atom went on to
become a member in good standing for the World War II duration of the JSA and
was a charter member of the All-Star Squadron (All-Star Squadron #3).
For roughly a year after meeting Mary James at Calvin College, Pratt wooed
the wealthy debutante. The vain girl cared little for Pratt with his smallish
frame and homespun upbringing, latching on to more glamorous men such as star
football player "Truck" Tarbell. The popular Tarbell, the son of a freight
magnate once aided by the Atom (All-American Comics #22), was a popular
figure around campus as well as ring leader of a gang of guys who routinely
harassed Pratt. The appearance of the Atom was a source of great thrill to
James, who considered the masked hero an unattainable treasure. As time passed
however, James softened toward Pratt, and eventually consented to a date. To
Pratt's chagrin, their first date was disrupted by a run-in with some fur
hijackers, further infatuating James with the Atom rather than Pratt (All-American
Comics #28).
In the summer of 1941, the Justice Society was involved in a plot to disturb
the fabric of American history by executing eight individuals destined to occupy
the White House over the next five decades. Ian Karkull, an enemy of Doctor
Fate, was behind the plot and was ultimately defeated. As Karkull was destroyed,
chronal energy accumulated in Karkull's body was passed onto the JSA, imbuing
them with increased longevity and vitality. The Atom was among those to receive
this boon. While many of the JSA's loved ones were also there, Mary James was
not (All-Star Squadron Annual #3).
Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, most of the JSA members enlisted
in the armed forces in their civilian identities (All-Star Comics vol. 1
#11). Al Pratt joined the Army and was trained as a tank corpsman in Virginia (All-Star
Squadron vol. 1 #13). In time, however, the government decided against
having the heroes abandon their costumed identities and the Atom returned to
active service as a "mystery-man."
In the early months of 1942, The Atom again encountered Joe Morgan. Evil
magic concentrated and expelled by the Guardians of the Universe had encountered
a embittered Joe Morgan and seized upon him as a vessel for its will. Morgan had
trained Ted Grant (Wildcat)
and Jim Harper (The Guardian), as well as Pratt, only to see the three abandon
any hopes he had for greatness in the boxing ring. The magic empowered Joe to
act out a subconscious vengeance against the three, but ultimately he was
defeated by the three heroes and their All-Star Squadron colleagues. As the
magic fled his body, Morgan died, asking forgiveness for the selfishness he
exhibited from the heroes he had trained (All-Star Squadron Annual #1).
Later that same year, the Ultra-Humanite began a campaign to extort the U.S.
government and take revenge on
Superman, his original
adversary, using three sources of power: the alien Powerstone, the hammer of
Thor, and the body of Robotman. To assist him, the Ultra-Humanite kidnapped
physicist Terrence "Terry" Curtis (nee Kurtzburger), a conscientious man who
cooperated out of fear for the safety of his infant daughter, Terri. Both
Curtises suffered from intense radiation exposure due to experiments with
radioactive thorium. As the Ultra-Humanite's scheme began to crumble under the
onslaught of the All-Star Squadron, Curtis (now the costumed Cyclotron, due to
the powers he had acquired upon thorium exposure) rebelled and pursued his
former captor. The Atom's attempt to stop the perceived flight of Cyclotron
resulted in a fist fight with the former scientist. During the fight, Cyclotron
exposed the Atom to the thorium radiation building in his body, disabling the
hero and returned to the pursuit. In an attempt to slay the Ultra-Humanite,
Curtis's body was destroyed and Terri Curtis was left an orphan. Danette Reilly
(Firebrand), Curtis's former lover, adopted the infant, and Pratt declared
himself willing to help (All-Star Squadron Annual #2).
The Atom again returned to Calvin College and spent the remainder of the war
years as an active member of the Justice Society. What his courses of study were
is unknown. It is known that, as an adult, he lectured in physical sciences at
Calvin College (The Atom #36), but he also had aspirations to journalism
and tried in multiple years to get a job as a summer reporter at various
newspapers (All-American Comics #46, 71). It most likely that Pratt ended
up with a very general education that accounts for his lack of a very clear
career in later life.
In 1948, the Atom had an encounter with the Huntress, an adversary of
Wildcat's, as part of a JSA case. During this case, he exhibited remarkable
strength, which was later shown to be due to the thorium exposure years earlier
(All-Star Comics vol. 1 #41). Pratt later redesigned his costume to
reflect these new powers, deriving it from Terry Curtis's original cyclotron
uniform (Flash Comics #98). The Atom was an active member of the JSA
during its final Golden Age case in 1951. Along with the six other active
members, he was summoned before the HUAC and instructed to reveal his identity
to the panel. They declined and the Atom retired from active duty (Adventure
Comics #466).
The Atom's activities during the intervening years are unknown. Presumably he
finished graduate school and had become a lecturer in physical sciences at
Calvin College (The Atom #29). Most likely his research activities, if
any, were minor. It is known that he ultimately wed Mary James, but is also
known that he was a bachelor in 1965 (The Atom #36), implying that he had
not yet married or that the marriage had in some way ended. It can probably be
safely assumed however that his wife of later years (DC Comics Presents
#30) was in fact, the former Mary James.
When the JSA was captured by Vandal Savage, the Atom again returned to active
service (The Flash vol. 1 #137). When the JSA had its first encounter
with the Justice League of America, the Atom made the acquaintance of Ray
Palmer, the Atom of Earth-1 (Justice League of America #21-22). The two
made contact on a number of occasions, including the apprehension of the
Thinker, an Earth-2 criminal working on Earth-1 (The Atom #29).
During the 1970s and 80s, the Atom entered a phase of semi-retirement, making
few public appearances. He invested heavily in his godson, Albert Rothstein,
spending a summer physically training him (Infinity Inc. #48). He
answered the call to defeat the Master Summoner in 1978 (All-Star Comics
vol. 1 #74) and responded to a summons from
Superman that led to
the riverbed of Koehaha, the Stream of Ruthlessness, wherein he and his fellow
JSA members were "drowned." After a battle with Infinity Incorporated, including
his godson Nuklon, the Atom was restored to normal (Infinity Inc. #1-10).
The Atom stood with the rest of the Justice Society during the congressional
hearings on the "Batman Diaries" (America vs. the Justice Society #1-4)
and fought the minions of the Anti-Monitor during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
When the JSA was sent to Limbo to forestall the coming of Ragnarok, the Atom
went as well (Last Days of the Justice Society #1). During the years in
Limbo, Mary Pratt died, and the Atom emerged a widower. When the JSA returned to
Earth in 1992 (Armageddon: Inferno #3-4), the Atom rejoined the Justice
Society full-time (Justice Society of America #1-10, Justice League
Europe #47-50). He also redesigned his costume to be more similar in
appearance to the one he wore in the early days of his career (Justice
Society of America #1). When Extant threatened the timeline during the
crisis known as Zero Hour, the JSA led the battle against them. The Atom was the
first of the original super-team slain in the battle, felled by a blast of
chronal energy (Zero Hour #3). His body was later returned to Earth and
laid to rest alongside fellow JSA members
Hourman and
Doctor Mid-Nite.
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![[The Atom]](../../images/AtomI.jpg)
