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The Atom (Dr. Ryan Choi) is a
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. Created by
Gail Simone Gail Simone (born July 29, 1974) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC Comics, DC's ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female write ...
and
Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
, the character first appeared in ''DCU: Brave New World'' #1 (August 2006) as the fourth superhero character to use the
Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...
name in the
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
. He emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
following the death of his mother, to take up his idol
Ray Palmer Raymond or Ray Palmer may refer to: * Raymond A. Palmer, science-fiction writer and editor * Raymond F. Palmer, medical professor * Raymond Palmer, 3rd Baron Palmer (1916–1990), British peer and businessman * Ray Palmer (pastor), American pastor ...
's former position at Ivy University. He went on to become a member of the
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
. In the
DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...
film ''
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
'' (2017), Ryan Choi was portrayed by Zheng Kai, but his scenes were cut from the theatrical version. His appearance was restored for the 2021 director's cut of the film, ''
Zack Snyder's Justice League ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (colloquially referred to as the ''Snyder Cut'') is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film ''Justice League'', the fifth film set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is based ...
''. Osric Chau portrayed Ryan Choi in the
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...
crossover "
Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
" and ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
s eighth season.


Publication history

Ryan Choi first appeared in ''DCU: Brave New World'' and was created by
Gail Simone Gail Simone (born July 29, 1974) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC Comics, DC's ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female write ...
. Choi, as described by DC solicitations, is "a young hotshot professor who's filling the extra spot on Ivy University's teaching staff... and who inadvertently ends up filling the old Atom's super-heroic shoes". In a
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
post from 2017, Simone claimed that Ryan Choi was entirely her creation: "Grant Morrison did NOT create Ryan Choi. I envisioned him, developed him and named him. I was given some rough story ideas by Grant, I am sure they were brilliant, but I didn’t read them. My entire Atom pitch was lifted from a pitch I wrote for
Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per unit ...
that did not get used". Choi makes his first appearance in the new Rebirth continuity in the ''Justice League of America: The Atom'' one-shot, by Steve Orlando and Andrew MacDonald. His suit is redesigned to resemble Ray Palmer's in the Arrowverse TV shows.


Fictional character biography

Born in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, Ryan Choi was a longtime protégé of
Ray Palmer Raymond or Ray Palmer may refer to: * Raymond A. Palmer, science-fiction writer and editor * Raymond F. Palmer, medical professor * Raymond Palmer, 3rd Baron Palmer (1916–1990), British peer and businessman * Ray Palmer (pastor), American pastor ...
who had been corresponding with him through letters. After Palmer's disappearance, Ryan moved to Ivy Town in America to assume his mentor's place on the staff of Ivy University. Following clues left by Palmer, Ryan discovered a "bio-belt", allegedly the size and density-manipulating device used by his predecessor, and became the new Atom with Palmer's apparent blessing. Though taken with the superhero lifestyle, Ryan is a scientist first and foremost and approaches many of his adventures from the perspective of scientific discovery and investigation. Since taking his mentor's place, Ryan has found himself at the center of a conflict between the forces of science and magic. It has been claimed that the impossible feats performed by Ray Palmer during his superheroic career caused the very fabric of reality to warp in Ivy Town's vicinity, making it a nexus of paranormal activity. Many parties, including the ancient "Cancer God" M'Nagalah and the microscopic aliens known as "the Waiting", consider Ryan a key player in the war and have made attempts to recruit, capture, or kill him. He is advised by, among others, Ivy Town Police Chief Liza Warner (a.k.a. Lady Cop). As the Atom, Ryan has faced numerous challenges, including the shrinking serial killer
Dwarfstar Dwarfstar is a fictional DC Comics supervillain introduced by Gail Simone in ''The All-New Atom'' # 2. He was the archenemy of Atom (Ryan Choi), Ryan Choi. Dwarfstar made his live-action debut in the The Flash season 4, fourth season of ''The Fla ...
, his strict and disapproving father, and being seduced, kidnapped, and even swallowed alive by the size-changing villainess,
Giganta Giganta is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman, and an occasional foil of the superhero the Atom (Ray Palmer), Atom. She debuted as a brutish ...
. Through it all, his ingenuity and keen deductive mind have served him in good stead. Ryan Choi was involved in the search for the missing Ray Palmer, traveling into the restored Multiverse along with
Donna Troy Donna Troy is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl, and later temporarily adopts another alias, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in ''The Brave an ...
,
Jason Todd Jason Peter Todd is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #357 in March 1983, he was created to succeed Dick Grayson as Robin (character), Robin, Batman's partner ...
and a
Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...
nicknamed "Bob". Literally plucked back to New Earth, he leaves his role of dimension-hopper to
Kyle Rayner Kyle Rayner (), one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is depicted as being associated with the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of ...
, returning to defend Ivy Town from a monster invasion. Later he is led to a mistaken belief that Ray Palmer has become an egocentric madman, and Ryan himself may be only a pawn of his mad fantasies. This is later revealed to be a ploy by Ray's old nemesis,
Chronos Chronos (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...
. ''The All New Atom'' series ended with issue #25, when Ryan, with some help from the returned Ray Palmer, is able to discern between the truth and the lies fed by Chronos and his new assistant, Lady Chronos, a former sweetheart of Ryan turned to crime. Ryan eventually discovers that Ray Palmer never knew of Choi: instead the bio-belt was a tainted gift from Jia, and the Ray Palmer letters a clever forging by Chronos, meant to force Ryan into accepting the Atom mantle, and taking the blame for the staging menaces sent against the city. However, due to Ryan's ability into sorting out the mess, besting the Chronos couple and restoring Ivy to normalcy, Ray finally gives him his blessing.''The All-New Atom'' #25 Ryan expresses his desire to find a new identity for himself, since Ray, despite giving him his blessing earlier, had resumed using regularly his Atom identity. In '' Justice League: Cry for Justice'' #1, Ray and Ryan are seen fighting
Killer Moth Killer Moth (Drury Walker) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary and dedicated original foil personality of Batman (prior to the creations of Wrath, Prometheus, and Hush). Like Batman, he ha ...
together, and at the end of the battle both of them show respect towards each other, with Ray asking Ryan to continue using the Atom name.


''Brightest Day''

In ''
Brightest Day ''Brightest Day'' is a 2010–2011 Crossover (comics), crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of a year-long comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries that began in April 2010, and a number of tie-in books. The story is a dir ...
'',
Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...
kills Ryan and uses his bio-belt to resurrect
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
. In ''
Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...
'', Ryan is revealed to have survived by entering the microscopic universe and is resurrected after transferring into a clone body.


''DC Rebirth''

Ryan makes his official debut in the new ''
DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...
'' continuity as a teenage genius Ivy League college student tutored by Ray Palmer. Palmer reveals his identity as the Atom and enlists Ryan's help in fighting crime, talking to Ray from his lab in a tech support role. One day, after many adventures together, Ray goes missing. A week later, Ryan finds a message from Palmer along with one of his size-changing belts, asking the youth to come find him in the Microverse because he got stuck there when exploring a change in time and space. After receiving another scolding from Dean Plumm, Ryan heads back to the lab, using the bio-belt that Ray gave him to travel there through the Wi-Fi. When he arrives, he is met by Batman and Lobo who are there to recruit Ray Palmer into the new Justice League of America. Discovering that Ray is missing, Batman decides to leave until Lobo asks Ryan if he wrote down various equations to update the bio-belt on a blackboard. Impressed, Lobo decides that Batman should recruit Ryan, despite Batman not wanting to put him in danger. Lobo says it is Ryan's choice, and Ryan joins the JLA and sometime later, heads to Vanity, Oregon, to recruit the Ray into the team. In the 2025 series ''Justice League: The Atom Project'', Ryan and Ray work to reverse the aftermath of '' Absolute Power'', when several heroes had their powers swapped and some had them transferred to civilians.


Powers and abilities

Ryan Choi's abilities stand identical to that of his mentor and friend Ray Palmer, the original Atom. Having the capability to change size, mass, and weight at will through a
dwarf star A dwarf star is a star of relatively small size and low luminosity. Most main sequence stars are dwarf stars. The meaning of the word "dwarf" was later extended to some star-sized objects that are not stars, and compact stellar remnants that are ...
powered device known as the Quantum Bio-Belt, he can shrink down beyond the particle scale. This enables Ryan, in his own words, to miniaturize himself while retaining full physique at this level. Initially, he could only do so due to the belt his predecessor's enemy, Lady Chronos had made for him. Ryan later gains small microorganisms inside his body that give him innate size-changing abilities.


Collected editions


In other media


Television

* Ryan Choi / Atom appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by James Sie. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Additionally, an alternate universe variant of Choi named Dyna-Mite (also voiced by Sie) appears in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!" as a member of the Injustice Syndicate. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. * Ryan Choi appears in media set in the
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...
, portrayed by Osric Chau. ** Choi first appears in the crossover event "
Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
", where he is recruited to combat the
Anti-Monitor The Anti-Monitor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He served as the main antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and later appears as an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps ...
due to his status as the Paragon of Humanity. ** An alternate timeline variant of Choi who became the Atom appears in the eighth season of ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
''.


Film

* An alternate universe variant of Ryan Choi appears in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'', voiced by
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several ''Looney Tunes'' characters, for which he won three Emmy Awards for his performances in '' Looney Tunes Cartoons'' (20 ...
. * Ryan Choi was intended to appear in ''
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
'', portrayed by Zheng Kai, before his scenes were cut. He is included in the director's cut, ''
Zack Snyder's Justice League ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (colloquially referred to as the ''Snyder Cut'') is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film ''Justice League'', the fifth film set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is based ...
''. * Ryan Choi / Atom appears in '' Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash'', voiced again by Eric Bauza.


Video games

* Ryan Choi / Atom appears in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Ryan Choi / Atom appears as a downloadable playable character in '' Injustice 2'', voiced by Matthew Yang King. He appears as part of the "Fighter Pack 3" DLC. * Ryan Choi / Atom appears as a playable character in '' Lego DC Super-Villains'', voiced by
Jason Marsden Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the ...
.


References

{{Grant Morrison Characters created by Gail Simone Characters created by Grant Morrison Chinese superheroes Comics characters introduced in 2006 DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics shapeshifters DC Comics scientists Fictional academics Fictional characters who can change size Fictional Hong Kong people Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional physicists