Believing he could find a way to reduce the size and weight of people and goods for transportation, Ivy University physicist Ray Palmer sought a safe and practical way to shrink matter. Ray’s work was at a standstill until he found a fragment of a white dwarf star, small but incredibly dense matter from outer space that he was able to use to fashion a lens which did indeed reduce matter - but the process was explosively unstable. He eventually discovered the correct combination of elements that allowed him to shrink safely and, with a costume fashioned to shrink and enlarge with him, he became the Atom! With size and weight controls in his gloves, the Atom is capable of shrinking down to six inches, or even to microscopic size, retaining all the mass of his 180-pound, six foot tall alter ego to pack a powerful punch at any size. Both on his own and as a member of the Justice League of America, the mighty mite has fought crime of all size and is an honoured hero. But life has not always been easy for Ray Palmer, or the Atom, and his current whereabouts are unknown. He is believed to be living in a sub-atomic universe.