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The Atom

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DC Character Lore for Middle School Readers

The Atom is a legacy super-hero name, primarily associated with the ability to shrink in size. The original was Al Pratt during the Golden Age, a diminutive man with superhuman strength; he was a founding member of the Justice Society.
Ray Palmer took the name during the Silver Age, a physics professor at Ivy University who developed equipment to shrink himself down to subatomic levels while maintaining regular mass. Palmer has been a member of the Justice League, Teen Titans, Suicide Squad and Indigo Tribe.
Adam Cray also briefly took the mantle using stolen equipment, and it was later used by scientist Ryan Choi until his death.
Al Pratt was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor, first appearing in All-American Comics #19. Ray Palmer was created re-envisioning the concept by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Gil Kane, first appearing in Showcase #34.