Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

CHOP-CHOP- 1940s Version
Created By: Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell & Will Eisner
First Appearance: Military Comics #3 (Oct. 1941)
Role: Ace Pilot, Racist Stereotype
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks
PL 5 (61)
STRENGTH -1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+3)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Cooking) 6 (+6)
Perception 4 (+4)
Persuasion 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4)
Technology 6 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+6)
Vehicles 6 (+12) -- Flaws: Limited to Aerial Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 16 (Grumann XF5F Skyrocket- Use the DCA version, Gun, Cleaver +2)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Cleaver +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Gun +4 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +0, Fortitude +2, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting the Nazis)

Total: Abilities: 20 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (61)

---



CHOP-CHOP (Wu Cheng)- 1970s Version
Created By: Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell & Will Eisner
First Appearance: Military Comics #3 (Oct. 1941)
Role: Ace Pilot, Racist Stereotype
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks
PL 6 (92)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Military) 6 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 3 (+4)
Vehicles 2 (+6)
Vehicles 8 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Aerial Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 16 (Grumann XF5F Skyrocket- Use the DCA version, Gun), Improved Aim, Ranged Attack 2, Ultimate Vehicles

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gun +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting the Nazis)

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (92)

---



CHOP-CHOP (Weng Chan)- 1980s Version
Created By: Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell & Will Eisner
First Appearance: Military Comics #3 (Oct. 1941)
Role: Ace Pilot
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks
PL 6 (94)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Military) 6 (+7)
Expertise (Cooking) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 3 (+4)
Vehicles 2 (+6)
Vehicles 8 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Aerial Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 16 (Grumann XF5F Skyrocket- Use the DCA version, Gun), Improved Aim, Ranged Attack 2, Ultimate Vehicles

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gun +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting the Nazis)

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (94)

---

DR. HANDS (Li Huang, aka Chop-Chop)
Created By: Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell & Will Eisner
First Appearance: Military Comics #3 (Oct. 1941)
Role: Ace Pilot, Racist Stereotype
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks
PL 7 (92)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Military) 6 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 3 (+4)
Vehicles 2 (+6)
Vehicles 8 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Aerial Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 16 ("Beryllium-Encased Gloves" +3, Grumann XF5F Skyrocket- Use the DCA version, Gun), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Ranged Attack 2, Ultimate Vehicles

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Beryllium-Encased Hands +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Gun +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting the Nazis)

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (96)

-A lot of Golden Age books have characters like this (friendly, yet horribly racist stereotypes), but Chop-Chop may be the most notorious because he was just so PROMINENT- he was one of seven members of the team! Chop-Chop was the team's Chinese cook, having been chased from China by the invading Japanese army. Short size, buck-teeth, a "coolie" braid and more define this SUPER-RACIST charicature (though pretty much par for the course with depictions of Asians in the 1940s)- he was even popular from 1946-55 in a back-up feature. Despite the racism, he was depicted as a brave ally and a competent pilot- he even flew to Blackhawk Island in a plane he constructed himself! However, during most battles he rode in Blackhawk's own plane and not his own. He became a lot less-racist after about 1955, being drawn increasingly-more human-looking, turning into a respected pilot and member. Nearly every revision of the team not only reduces all the racist aspects, but showcases with a different real name. In the '70s version, he was now the youngest and newest member of the team, and a martial artist named Wu Cheng. In the '80s revision, he's now Weng-Chan- he's still a skilled pilot, but is now a mechanic and a cook (a reference to the '40s version).

-As "Dr. Hands", he encased his hands in beryllium and started chopping through all kinds of stuff. By this point, he'd now become a great fighter. I included four variations of him, though three are all pretty similar.

[Jabroniville]

Zeg's only picture on ComicVine.

OTHER BLACKHAWK PILOTS
Created By: Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell & Will Eisner
First Appearance: Military Comics #1 (Aug. 1941)
Role: Ace Pilot
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks

-Initially, Blackhawk's team is just a bunch of shadowy, "nondescript" pilots, with only one named and that guy never appears again. The next issue expands the role of the team and introduces Stanislaus, André, Olaf, Hendrick (Hendrickson within a few issues), and Zeg. Next issue, Chop-Chop- a racist Chinese comedic character and cook shows up, establishing the Blackhawk Squadron as seven men. The book contained members from various Allied nations, usually depicted in VERY stereotypical ways- there was a Southern guy who said cowboy stuff like "I reckon!" or "Dagnabbit!", a Dutch/German guy with a big moustache, a suave Frenchman, a giant Swede, and Chop-Chop, one of the most-racist depictions of a heroic character of the Golden Age.

Other, Short-Lived Blackhawks:
Kazimierc "Zeg" Zegota-Januszajtis: Zeg is shown in some early books- he lasts only eight appearances and then disappears quietly. The 1980s version re-uses him as an early ally of the main hero.
Boris: Early in the run, Boris- "the eighth Blackhawk", as he refers to himself- reemerges as the super-powered villain Anti-Man, hellbent on destroying the team as revenge for leaving him for dead on a long ago mission.
Baker & Boris: Baker (an Englishman) and Boris (Russian) make single-panel appearances in the early days.
Blackie the Hawk: An exceptionally-intelligent hawk used in the 1950s- he could write notes in plain English, and wore a belt radio.



Lt. Theodore Gaynor: A U.S. Marine who joined the team in a later run.
Grover Baines: A big bald black guy. Post-Crisis.
Paco Herrera: Latino. Post-Crisis.
Natalie Reed: A new "Lady Blackhawk" who joins the team. She's a Russian-American flight engineer, and later gives birth to Hendrickson's son in 1945.
Quan Chee Keng: Malaysian. Post-Crisis.
Ian Holcomb-Baker: Possibly a replacement for the original Baker. Post-Crisis.

[Arcae]

The thing about Chop-Chop is that I can almost literally register nobody else on the group pictures. It's such a concentrated amount of horrible racism that your brain can't help but concentrate on it while everyone else just register as 'some soldier guy'.

[Jabroniville]

LADY BLACKHAWK (Zinda Blake, aka Queen Killer Shark)
Created By: Jack Schiff & Dick Dillin
First Appearance: Blackhawks #133 (Feb. 1959)
Role: Ace Pilot, Hedonistic Hard-Drinker
Group Affiliations: The Blackhawks, The Birds of Prey
PL 6 (98)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Military) 6 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 3 (+4)
Vehicles 2 (+6)
Vehicles 8 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Aerial Vehicles

Advantages:
Equipment 16 (Grumann XF5F Skyrocket- Use the DCA version, Gun), Improved Aim, Ranged Attack 4, Ultimate Vehicles

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gun +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting the Nazis)
Addiction (Hedonism)- Zinda is a hard-drinker.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (98)

-The only female member until recent history, Lady Blackhawk was a lady fighter pilot, debuting in 1959. She was initially barred due to a "No Women" policy, but was made an honorary member due to her heroism in her debut. As the book wound down, Zinda was captured by Killer Shark and transformed into "Queen Killer Shark" in 1965, being hypnotized into falling in love with him and forgetting her past. This lasted for a fair bit before she was returned, but the book died in 1968. Due to the DC event Zero Hour, she was sent to modern times. She allies with a few heroes like Guy Gardner & Batgirl, but is largely ignored.

-Zinda later got used as a supporting character in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey series, doing a "tough chick" act with an old-school speaking style and a hedonistic, hard-drinking personality whiiiiiiiiiiiiiich I realized upon statting Gail Simone's "Outlaw" for Marvel was basically the exact same kind of character. So Simone essentially translated a Pet Character from one company to another, via a pre-extisting one. Kind of a fun character, but never really got up to much- all I recall was her distinctive vocal patterns, which Gail seemed to enjoy writing. At one point she is kidnapped by the grandson of the original Killer Shark and the same story arc happens- she is turned into Queen Killer Shark and meant to obey the villain, but in this version she snaps out of it and punches him in the teeth when he tries to kiss her- he prepares to kill her but is defeated by The Huntress.

-Lady Blackhawk is an elite pilot and a fairly decent fighter, upgrading in modern times as... well, not a martial artist, but somewhat capable. She's not even "Sidekick-Worthy" for the most part (with no wins over any major characters) but is good enough.

[Goldar]

Roy and his first wife Jeannie, got divorced. (He later married Dann) Perhaps this is what you were thinking?

Hm, maybe that is it. Did he base any characters' names on her?

Hmmn. I don't know....I know Jeannie had long blonde hair and her and Roy went to a costume party dressed in FF costumes.....

[Sidney369]

Zinda Blake wasn't the first woman affiliated with the Blackhawks. The was also the mechanic "Sugar" (because she was hard to get) from Military #20, Eve Rice, a talented aviatrix/photographer from Military #s 34-36, and Shiela Hawke aka. She-Hawke from Blackhawk #40.

[Jabroniville]

THE ATOM I (Albert "Al" Pratt)
Created By: Ben Flinton & Bill O'Conner
First Appearance: All-American Comics #19 (Oct. 1940)
Role: Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The All-Star Squadron
PL 8 (117)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 8 (+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+6)
Insight 3 (+5)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Diehard, Daze (Deception), Equipment 3 (Atomobile- Car With Morph- Regular Convertible & Atomobile Forms), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Fast Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Inspire, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Set-Up, Teamwork

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Mary James)- Al felt unworthy of the tall, beautiful Mary at first, but soon gained confidence thanks to his newfound physical fitness. The two were married for a number of years.
Reputation (Short Guy)- Pratt often has trouble being taken seriously due to his 5'1" stature.
Relationship (Terri Rothstein)- Al decided to take care of young Terri after her father Cyclotron was killed.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (117)

-The Golden Age truly was a different time. Where else can a five-foot tall, non-powered guy in a cape show up and be one of the longest-running superheroes of the Golden Age? In spite of his goofy appearance, silly concept, etc., was one of the longest-lasting JSA members, sticking around until their last appearances in 1951. He moved from All-American Comics to Flash Comics until all his solo features were cancelled by 1949, and lasted two more year as a JSA member.

-Al Pratt's story was apparently influenced by that of boxer Joe "The Mighty Atom" Greenstein, a 5'4" 140 lb. pint-sized Polish Powerhouse who trained as a youth to counteract his ill health. Pratt has a similar story- at 5'1", he was easily-bullied, but was trained by ex-boxer Joe Morgan (the trainer of Wildcat & Guardian) into a fitness fanatic who could hold his own in a brawl. He quickly joined the JSA as an inaugural member. For eight years, he's a basic non-powered hero, but actually gains super-powers in a 1948 story! This would later be explained by Roy Thomas as the after-effects of a 1942 battle with Cyclotron- after the villain sacrifices his life and reforms, Al redesigns his costume to be similar to his.

-It would later be explained that Al married Mary James, but she was strangled by the villain Vandal Savage after giving birth- their child was said to have died, but was actually abducted by Savage and turned into the super-human Damage, who would have his ups & downs at DC.

-Though he was apparently popular and well-liked in his own era, history has declared The Atom to be kinda goofy; a short guy in a silly blue and yellow costume running alongside the JSA. Fair or unfair, it made him an easy target in later years: he was the first guy killed by Extant in Zero Hour. And unlike Hourman, he didn't get a comeback. However, he does have to his name FOUR successors, which is pretty unusual for a fairly strange Golden Ager. Ray "The Atom" Palmer is DC's resident physicist supreme (taking after Pratt's own physics teaching), Damage is his son by blood, and Atom-Smasher is his Godson. Then there's the short-lived third Atom.

-Al was a reasonably-capable character, fitting a pretty solid Two-Fisted Adventurer build at PL 7.5/8. He's tougher than he looks, but lacks the Intimidation factor of most brawlers, owing to his puny height (5'1" isn't gonna scare anybody). He's a much smarter guy than you'd think, moving on to be a tank driver, soldier and PHYSICIST at Calvin College, but the last bit of that was retroactively-added years later to give him some extra personality.

THE ATOM I (Albert "Al" Pratt)- Powered-Up Version
Created By: Ben Flinton & Bill O'Conner
First Appearance: All-American Comics #19 (Oct. 1940)
Role: Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The All-Star Squadron
PL 9 (135)
STRENGTH 3/8 STAMINA 4/8 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 2 (+5, +12 Atomic Power)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Insight 3 (+5)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Diehard, Daze (Deception), Equipment 3 (Atomobile- Car With Morph- Regular Convertible & Atomobile Forms), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Fast Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Inspire, Ranged Attack 3, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Atomic Physiology"
Enhanced Strength 5 [10]
Enhanced Stamina 4 [8]
Impervious Toughness 3 [3]
Immunity 10 (Radiation Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Speed 1 (4 mph) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude +9, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Mary James)- Al felt unworthy of the tall, beautiful Mary at first, but soon gained confidence thanks to his newfound physical fitness. The two were married for a number of years, but she was suffocated by the villain Vandal Savage and their child Grant kidnapped and turned into Damage.
Reputation (Short Guy)- Pratt often has trouble being taken seriously due to his 5'1" stature.
Relationship (Terri & Al Rothstein)- Al decided to take care of young Terri after her father Cyclotron was killed. He also cares for her son Albert (named after him), who eventually becomes the superhero Nuklon (then Atom-Smasher).

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 13 (135)

-Al's super-powers only got added in 1948, but were only explained retroactively (by- who else?- Roy Thomas) to make him a better fighter, got linked to his godson Nuklon (later Atom-Smasher), as Al's Grandfather was Cyclotron, a villain with a good side who attempted to reform- Cyclotron's radioactive powers imbued The Atom with great strength. Funny, as he got those powers in a story set in 1942, yet never showed up till '48 (but as far as DC continuity errors go, that's a minor snafu). His accuracy & Defenses go down a bit (I don't see him as a PL 10 hero in any incarnation), but his power takes a boost.

[Ken]

But as superheroes they don't work. They have the "This is a job for Aquaman" problem (that he actually doesn't have, I'm well aware) really bad. If the problem can't be solved with a fighter plane and the skills required to operate or repair one, they're basically useless in a superpowered world. A modernization wouldn't work, either.

The thing is, for their first 25+ years they weren't really a part of a super powered world. Sure, eventually there foes became for fantastic, and costumed, and high tech, but James Bond has super villainy enemies without being in a super powered world.

It wasn't until the G.E.O.R.G.E. era and they tried to become The Big Eye, Dr. Hands, Golden Ceturion, et al. did they start trying to say they lived in a world with the Justice League. And it's been that way, almost ever since (except for a few years in the early 1980s when they revived Blackhawk as a WW2 era war comic.

[Ken]

THE ATOM I (Albert "Al" Pratt)

-The Golden Age truly was a different time. Where else can a five-foot tall, non-powered guy in a cape show up and be one of the longest-running superheroes of the Golden Age? In spite of his goofy appearance, silly concept, etc., was one of the longest-lasting JSA members, sticking around until their last appearances in 1951. He moved from All-American Comics to Flash Comics until all his solo features were cancelled by 1949, and lasted two more year as a JSA member.

-Al Pratt's story was apparently influenced by that of boxer Joe "The Mighty Atom" Greenstein, a 5'4" 140 lb. pint-sized Polish Powerhouse who trained as a youth to counteract his ill health. Pratt has a similar story- at 5'1", he was easily-bullied, but was trained by ex-boxer Joe Morgan (the trainer of Wildcat & Guardian) into a fitness fanatic who could hold his own in a brawl. He quickly joined the JSA as an inaugural member. For eight years, he's a basic non-powered hero, but actually gains super-powers in a 1948 story! This would later be explained by Roy Thomas as the after-effects of a 1942 battle with Cyclotron- after the villain sacrifices his life and reforms, Al redesigns his costume to be similar to his.
. However, he does have to his name FOUR successors, which is pretty unusual for a fairly strange Golden Ager. Ray "The Atom" Palmer is DC's resident physicist supreme (taking after Pratt's own physics teaching), Damage is his son by blood, and Atom-Smasher is his Godson. Then there's the short-lived third Atom.

-Al was a reasonably-capable character, fitting a pretty solid Two-Fisted Adventurer build at PL 7.5/8. He's tougher than he looks, but lacks the Intimidation factor of most brawlers, owing to his puny height (5'1" isn't gonna scare anybody). He's a much smarter guy than you'd think, moving on to be a tank driver, soldier and PHYSICIST at Calvin College, but the last bit of that was retroactively-added years later to give him some extra personality.

THE ATOM I (Albert "Al" Pratt)- Powered-Up Version
Created By: Ben Flinton & Bill O'Conner
First Appearance: All-American Comics #19 (Oct. 1940)
Role: Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The All-Star Squadron
PL 9 (135)
STRENGTH 3/8 STAMINA 4/8

-The Golden Age truly was a different time. Where else can a five-foot tall, non-powered guy in a cape show up and be one of the longest-running superheroes of the Golden Age? In spite of his goofy appearance, silly concept, etc., was one of the longest-lasting JSA members, sticking around until their last appearances in 1951. He moved from All-American Comics to Flash Comics until all his solo features were cancelled by 1949, and lasted two more year as a JSA member.

-Al's super-powers only got added in 1948, but were only explained retroactively (by- who else?- Roy Thomas) to make him a better fighter, got linked to his godson Nuklon (later Atom-Smasher), as Al's Grandfather was Cyclotron, a villain with a good side who attempted to reform- Cyclotron's radioactive powers imbued The Atom with great strength. Funny, as he got those powers in a story set in 1942, yet never showed up till '48 (but as far as DC continuity errors go, that's a minor snafu). His accuracy & Defenses go down a bit (I don't see him as a PL 10 hero in any incarnation), but his power takes a boost.

The further people get from the 1940s, the harder it becomes to draw Al's first costume correctly. Throughout the 1980s, Roy Thomas kept instructing the artists to draw it incorrectly!!! You see, the leather trunks were real 1940s sports equipment used by weight-lifters and gymnasts. Basically it was gave the athlete lower torso support, like a weight-lifters belt. I've seen a few vintage photos of athletes wearing them, and when I did, it was when I understood. Al's costume had some seriously home-made elements to it. As such, the version with trunks coming to a point at his solar plexus is wrong. The version where the top of the trunks are flat is correct.

Al was a college student from his debut in 1940 all the way through until 1949. This made the decision to make him a physicist at Calvin College (done primarily to parallel Ray Palmer being a physicist at Ivy Town University) make a fair amount of sense. I mean if he became a physicist, he would need extra schooling.

It also gives Al an odd counterpart over at Marvel: full face mask; perpetual college student, often with money problems; interested in science; girlfriend with the initials MJ.

....

I think it was Infinity Incorporated being green lit that led to Roy setting the explanation for Al's powers as early as he did. Particularly the whole Cyclotron/Nuklon thing. If Albert was going to be able to know his own background and talk about it, the story would have to be told to the readers first. So, BOOM, a supporting character from the Ultra-Humanite story in 1940's Action Comics #21 is a reluctant supervilain now, wearing the Atom's second costume (more or less).

I swear, Roy Thomas's tendency to make new characters by recycling old characters is legendary. If Roy Thomas had been working with Marv Wolfman and George Perez on the New Teen Titans, I think Mal Duncan would have been recycled into Cyborg, and Lilith would have discovered that her father was Trigon and she would have become Raven.

Al's super strength was all over the board. He'd stop trains with his bare hands, on one side, but never seemed to be hitting his enemies much harder than he used to.

...

Al's jump from All-American Comics to [Flash Comics[/i] had a bit of a time delay. His feature was dropped out of All-American after the 10/1944 issue, #61. He then appears to remain in All-Star Comics #24-#26 basically because the stories were already bought and paid for, ready to be used. But in #27, Al is missing - no explanation given. But Wildcat is suddenly there for his second golden-age JSA appearance. But in #28, Al has returned.

Also in All-American #70, the Atom's strip has been revived. It's there for 3 or 4 issues, and then the Atom is moved to Flash Comics after that.

Basically, the Atom was cancelled... but then the US bombed Japan. Suddenly, with other publishers were rushing characters like Atoman and the Atomic Thunderbolt into print, All-American Publications realized they already had a character who's name was THE science buzzword of 1945. So, that's really how the Atom survived as long as he did. He was the Atom when the Atom Bomb was the big news.

[Jabroniville]

My build of The Atom II (Ray Palmer), from my Teen Titans set- no need to retread that one.

[Jabroniville]

THE ATOM IV (Ryan Choi)
Created By: Gail Simone & Grant Morrison
First Appearance: DCU: Brave New World #1 (2006)
Role: Minority Legacy
PL 10 (132)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+3)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 9 (+15)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 0 (+3, +20 Size)
Technology 6 (+12)

Advantages:
Equipment (Scientist Stuff), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Size-Changing Belt" (Flaws: Removable) [50]
"Tiny Size"
Shrinking 20 (+10 Dodge/Parry, +20 Stealth, -10 Intimidation) (Feats: Atomic) (Extras: Normal Strength) (61)
"Tiny Sized Fighting" Enhanced Advantages 2: Close Attack 2 (Flaws: Limited to Smaller Sizes) (1)

Teleport 20 (Flaws: Limited to While Shrunk, Medium- Electronic Lines) (10) -- (13)

• AE: "Ride Air Currents" Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Gliding, Limited to While Shrunk) (2)
• AE: "White Dwarf Punch" Strength-Damage +8 (Extras: Move Action) (Flaws: Must Go From Shrunken to Full Size) (8)
• AE: "Inner-Ear Jump-Around" Affliction 9 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Flaws: Must Make Hit With Unarmed Attack First, Full Round Action) (9)

-- (75 points)

Features 1: Puts on Costume as a Free Action During Shrinking [1]

"Bangstick" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [3]
Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Limited to While Shrunk) (5 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
White Swarf Punch +9 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (+17 Size, DC 27), Parry +7 (+17 Size, DC 27), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Science Professor)- Ryan works at Ivy University.
Responsibility (The War Between Science & Magic)- Ray Palmer's size-changing antics have messed up the world around Ivy, and Ryan is stuck being a central figure in the upcoming war.
Enemy (Dwarfstar)

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 54 / Defenses: 9 (132)

-DC just has the WORST LUCK with some of their replacement characters, y'know? I mean, it's a SOLID IDEA to add more minorities to the Caucasian-heavy DC Universe, particularly with guys who should be important. Marv Wolfman actually wanted the Rebooted DC Universe to be comprised of MANY major heroes who were minorities (ie. The Flash and others would be black, or asian or something). But... Ryan Choi? Oh GOD did they screw that one up.

-Ryan Choi, born in Hong Kong, became the new Atom in a series written by Gail Simone, having taken over for the vanished Ray Palmer (who had gone on a leave of absense, post-Identity Crisis, after his ex went insane and killed their friend Sue Dibny). He was seduced and manipulated by Giganta (who turned out to actually have a thing for him), and fought enemies like shrinking foe Dwarfstar, and finally found out where Ray had been hiding. The book lasted all of 25 issues, since... well, it's an ATOM COMIC, and it's about a Science Adventurer. I mean, that's basically a maxi-series by 2022 standards, but back in 2006 that was pretty shite. Ryan turned out to have been manipulated into becoming the Atom by Chronos, an enemy of Palmer's, and ultimately Ryan & Ray team up to stop Chronos and finally meet for real.

-DC of course responded to the series' cancellation with the most mature, even-handed response possible: they unceremoniously murdered their brand-new, highly-touted visible minority character in another comic, as Deathstroke's agents come in and slaughter him after being hired by Dwarfstar. And OH GOD THE WORLD EXPLODED. Okay, not really, but let's just say that people tend to get pissed off when you make a big public display of your new High-Profile Minority Legacy Hero, only to brush him under the rug and violently kill him off, leaving the world one short of a race that'd already been REALLY under-represented in comics. I mean, you think black people don't get enough visibility in the comics? Asians outnumber white people by a HUGE number in the real world, and are a highly-visible group even in North America!).

-The lesson here should be obvious: if you're gonna go the PC/Make nice with minorities route, don't piss around with it. Make the hero an interesting character in a good book, and don't make him a do-nothing Legacy to a guy who's not even really that important. And for God's sake: DON'T CASUALLY MURDER HIM A COUPLE YEARS LATER! That not only undoes your "good will" beforehand, but pisses off the very people you were trying to appeal to! Ryan would never reappear in that continuity, though Ray Palmer would continuously search for the reason why he died- A measure of revenge was enacted by Giganta, who tied up Dwarfstar and tortured him enough to leave him hospital-bound. Ray later defeated Deathstroke, but the villain escaped. DC stated that Ryan would be on the all-new Nu52 Justice League, but instead some chick took the role, and Ryan was just some dude who worked on Cyborg's attachments. Ryan reappeeared in the "Rebirth"-era DC books, and has shown up in the Snyder Cut of Justice League, as well as the CW-verse shows.

-Ryan has... Atom-like powers (I guess- Wikipedia has little, and I'm cribbing a bit from the DCA build), only used via a Belt instead of having them be innate. He's basically a less-experienced, less-capable Ray Palmer.

[Ken]

What about Adam Cray?

[EternalPhoenix]

But as superheroes they don't work. They have the "This is a job for Aquaman" problem (that he actually doesn't have, I'm well aware) really bad. If the problem can't be solved with a fighter plane and the skills required to operate or repair one, they're basically useless in a superpowered world. A modernization wouldn't work, either.

The thing is, for their first 25+ years they weren't really a part of a super powered world. Sure, eventually there foes became for fantastic, and costumed, and high tech, but James Bond has super villainy enemies without being in a super powered world.

It wasn't until the G.E.O.R.G.E. era and they tried to become The Big Eye, Dr. Hands, Golden Centurion, et al. did they start trying to say they lived in a world with the Justice League. And it's been that way, almost ever since (except for a few years in the early 1980s when they revived Blackhawk as a WW2 era war comic.

I could have said that better, maybe. If you're going to matter (in the sense of getting ongoing appearances) in mainstream comic books as a character or a team in 2022, for better or worse you're stuck being in a superheroic world. War comics may have died out earlier, but the horrors of the Vietnam War buried them forever.

[Ken]

If you're going to matter (in the sense of getting ongoing appearances) in mainstream comic books as a character or a team in 2022, for better or worse you're stuck being in a superheroic world.

BWAHAHAHA.

In 2022, "mattering" and "main stream comic books" aren't even in the same Venn diagram, super heroic world or not.

Now if someone were to do a Blackhawks manga....

[Jabroniville]

THE ATOM V (Rhonda Piñeda, aka Atomica)
Created By: Geoff Johns & Jesus Saiz
First Appearance: DCU: The New 52 #1 (June 2012)
Role: Minority Legacy

-ANOTHER Minority Legacy to the "Atom" name, Rhonda is Latina, and debuted in the "New 52" era. I include her here mostly for completion's sake. She was put on the Justice League by Amanda Waller & Steve Trevor in order to spy on them on behalf of the U.S. government. However, she reveals at the end of the Trinity War storyline that she was actually from Earth-3, and TOTALLY evil, betraying both sides! Calling herself "Atomica", she is a member of the Crime Syndicate and the lover of the evil Johnny Quick. However, during a fight between the JLA & CSA, Atomica shrinks down to tiny size and Lex Luthor squashes her like a bug (lol, WHAT? All that backstory and she dies by being less durable than any person?). She reappeared in the "Rebirth" continuity, against as Atomica, Johnny Quick's lover.