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Max Atom was a superhero native to Earth-K and the father of Anna Atom, who inherited her father's “nuclear-fueled” superpowers, but grew to dislike his increasingly patronising, authoritarian idea of superheroics until they came to blow and found themselves transported to Reality Z-25 31-H through a transdimensional maelstrom.
Description
Physical appearance
Anna Atom appeared as an extreely tall, muscular, pale-skinned man with short gray hair and dark blue eyes. Her superhero outfit consisted of a blue leotard with yellow shorts and boots, a red belt, and a golden atom symbol on his chest, as well as a purely aesthetic domino mask. (PROSE: Anna Atom vs Max Atom)
Personality
In contrast to his daughter, Max believed that his superpowers entitled him to deal out justice as he saw fit, and he had no qualms about manipulating and lying to civilians in pursuit of what he saw as the greater good, which naturally often aligned with his own self-interest. Though he cared about Anna to some degree, he was entirely willing to hurt her if it became necessary. (PROSE: Anna Atom vs Max Atom)
Powers & abilities
Like his daughter, Max Atom had great “nuclear-fueled” powers. When they tried to hit one another at full power, the collision created a hole in the space-time continuum. (PROSE: Anna Atom vs Max Atom)
Biography
Early life
Max Atom was a veteran superhero. “Years” prior to 2015, he participated in the multiversal Indefinite Crisis of the Universe event, during which he was briefly glimpsed by a civilian form Reality Z-25 31-H.
Over time, he became increasingly violent and authoritarian, leading to a rift between him and his daughter, Anna Atom, who had inherited his superpowers and had begun her own superheroic career. (PROSE: Anna Atom vs Max Atom) When she visited Earth-K, Jenny Everywhere tried to reconcile the increasingly-estranged Atoms, without success. (COMIC: Whatever Happened to Jenny Everywhere?!)
Blown to Reality Z-25 31-H
Eventually, things came to blow between Max and his daughter due to his increasingly harsh ways. When they hit each other at full force with their powers at the climax of the battle, they appeared to outside observers to have annihilated each other, but in fact, the clash had created a rip in space-time. Falling through a transdimensional maelstrom, they emerged in the middle of Reality Z-25 31-H's New York City. They resumed fighting as soon as they'd gotten their bearings, but Max quickly pretended to lose to Anna, who kept pummeling him in her anger — making himself look like the victim as the local authorities intervened and assumed that Anna must be some supervillain from Max's universe.
While Max got to be personally greeted by Mayor Wilson, Anna was taken into custody by special troops — actually loyal to Ohmega rather than any government power - who used power-dampening chains to keep her contained. Reporter Amanda Allen tried to interview her before she was taken away, but she was wordless with sheer rage, and Max's side of the story thus stood unchallenged. (PROSE: Anna Atom vs Max Atom)
Behind the scenes
Max Atom was created on June 7th, 2010 by Michael P. as an open-source character, alongside Anna Atom and Earth-K itself, being part of a wider mythos of open-source characters also including several other open-source characters. They all had a variant of the Paragraph that also included creator credit:
| Earth-K, Anna Atom, and Max Atom were created by Michael P. and are available for use by anyone, with only one condition: This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Earth-K, Anna Atom, and Max Atom in order that others may use these properties as they wish. |
| —The Paragraph |
Max Atom's original open-source bio read:
| Before gaining superpowers, Mikhail Romanov was a young scientist who had been working on the Manhattan Project, conducting tests at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory. One day in 1942, a mishap occurred. Mikhail was bathed in radiation, though later tests indicated that it was a heretofore unidentified form of radiation. Mikhail suddenly found himself gifted with superhuman strength and many other talents. Inspired by the efforts of the Power Society, Mikhail decided to put his powers to good use defending the U.S. of A. He introduced himself to the superhero community as Max Atom, fearful that his real name might cause others to suspect him of communist ties. In 1943, Max was recruited into the Power Society. In the course of a year he had gone from an obscure student to the being amongst the prestigious mystery men in America. As the Power Society began to see more frontline action, Max quickly realized that things where different in the world. One of his comrades had never kept her identity secret; her husband, mother, and children were killed by Nazi spies. A small-time superteam had publicized that their base was a stately manor in the middle of town; Nazi saboteurs planted bombs underneath and killed the whole team. His years at war impacted him in ways that would last a lifetime. During the Siege of Berlin, Max fought through a wave of undead T-Truppen, eventually capturing Heinrich Himmler. Max finally returned home after 6 years in of war. Of the sixty-nine members of the Power Society who had joined the Allied offensive, only seven returned home. Max eventually returned to his family. In 1958, his daughter Anna Katerina manifested powers similar to his own. Worried about her safety, he conferred with his close friends, the Astronomer and Captain Freeze, both of whom had been training their children to take up their mantles. They decided that there was strength in numbers and thus organized the Power Kids. Worn down by the rough battles they had endured, both of Max’s friends passed away. There were two people who had rights to his friends’ seats; their children. But Max refused to invite them into the Society. They were breaking almost every rule he had taught them; going maskless, appearing at photo-ops, parading around the city… Max wanted to make clear that wasn’t how the Society worked. He appointed two complete strangers to continue the legacy of his close friends, a move which alienated his daughter and Red Lightning, who had been a member of the Power Society since before Max’s debut. He is currently considering what, if any, action the Society should take against the International Justice and Liberty Association. Max possess super-strength, invulnerability, super-leaping, and the ability to run at approximately 100 miles per hour. |
| —Michael P. |