Known predominantly as a space pirate, Amalak was on the run from an adversary whom he had defrauded during his past capers, and sought to obtain ill-gotten gain from Earth-One. However, he perceived as a threat to his schemes the presence of Superman, and so with his technology Amalak kidnapped four humans whom he mutated into four elemental beings to use against the Kryptonian. And indeed these new minions of his proved more than a match for Kal-El, until Amalak egotistically prevented them from defeating the Man of Steel. Seeking to provide the killing stroke, instead the problematic pirate was vanquished by Superman when Amalak commanded the fearsome foursome to not finish his foe. This led to a long running enmity between Amalak and Superman… as well as Supergirl in subsequent clashes.
On Earth-Two towards the end of World War II, the Nazi scientist known as Doctor Der Teufel journeyed to America in order to obtain a substance to kill Superman. The femme fatale Scarlet Widow* had attempted selling portions of Kryptonite in her possession to four evil entities, and during her demonstration Teufel stole one of these portions. Using this radioactive element on Superman, Teufel ultimately failed to eliminate his foe.
However, the sinister scientist retreated back to Germany, and injected a concoction of this dangerous element into soldier Heinrich Melch. Melch would carry on Teufel’s amoral agenda, disguised as reporter Henry Miller, and as Atoman. After a series of battles, Atoman like Teufel was defeated by Superman.
Interestingly, Amalak’s genius may have been the genesis of his fellow foe Parasite’s greatest creation, the Power Prism. Both villains worked together against Superman under the behind-the-scenes direction of the alien Mister Xavier, and Parasite would have had amble opportunity to step some of Amalak’s intellect while they were briefly together.
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