Tiny Titans. Mighty Mites. The Atoms were, on the surface, background characters amidst their more prominent teammates within their World's Greatest Heroes. However, both were critical members on several cases of these twin teams, as they packed quite a bunch and also contributed with their tremendous scholastic and scientific knowledge. While on Earth-Two, Al Pratt was a charter member of the Justice Society of America as the Atom, the Atom of Earth-One was the third recruit following the founding of the Justice League of America. Regardless, they both were present for the vast majority of their teams' earliest adventures.
In fact, Ray-Atom was active for the majority of the League's history, while still having a steady amount of solo adventures, only tapering off for a few years in the early 1970s. As for Al-Atom, during the 1940s until 1951 he was continuously active with the Society, contributing to the second most number of adventures in that team's golden age history, second only to best pal Hawkman. And when the Society was revived in 1963, he was present during six of their first nine case, until 1971. Then, Al disappeared until seven years later in 1978! Where was he during this time?
A couple hints can be found both in his last adventure with the Society, and the last of his solo teamups with counterpart Ray-Atom which preceded that tale. During that teamup of the Tiny Titans, Al was match-made in a blind date with Marion Thayer. Years later, he was shown to be married to a "Mary". It seems the pairing of Al and Marion proved ultimately unsuccessful, although it would apparently reawaken the love he had for Mary, as they married in the 1970s.
Shortly after this romantic meeting, Ray-Atom and Al-Atom along with their League and Society allies battled the maddened alien A-Rym and his symbiotic pet Teppy. Both separated, the boy on Earth-Two and his pet on Earth-One, each attacked the two teams of heroes who were trying to restrain them. In fact Teppy, who it was noted had Kryptonian-level strength like his master, gave Al-Atom a devastating blow. Although he got up to mount a counter-attack, that was it for Al's contribution to this adventure, as the two groups soon reunited the two aliens as they were summoned to their home.
It seems that Al-Atom perhaps needed time to recover, and thus could not assist the Society during any subsequent adventures during his recuperation. And perhaps, now having settled down with a wife after years as a bachelor, he may have been hesitant at placing his life at risk.
In fact, it was only due to the fact that his old foe the Wizard mentally lured him into a battle with Blockbuster and the Secret Society of Super-Villains that Al came out of retirement (at the same time Ray-Atom battled the Villians). Although present with the Justice Society during a confrontation involving the Master Summoner, this was it as to his participation with the Justice Society. Al would battle a house thief, join occasional Society/League crossovers, and participate in adventures involving Ultra-Humanite and Per Degaton.
Bottom line: This was a man who grew out of his years as a vigorous and excitable youth, now a seasoned man in his middle age now teaching as a nuclear physics instructor rather than student, who cherished settling down with his wife instead of the next thrilling tale. A lesson that, sadly, his counterpart Ray Palmer learned the hard way, as his own marriage ended due to superheroics.
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