Heinrich Melch (Earth-Two)

Atoman
Mainstream Universe‎, 1930s-1950s
Gallery
Real Name	Heinrich Melch
Main Alias	Atoman
Other Aliases	Atom Man · Henry Miller
Relatives	Dr. Melch (father)
Affiliation	Nazi Party · Dr. Teufel, Dr. Melch
Status
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	German
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Army solider and spy
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Blond
Origin
Universe	Earth-Two
Creators	George Putnam Ludlam · Roy Thomas · Rich Buckler
First Appearance	World's Finest #271 (September, 1981)
Last Appearance	World's Finest #271 (September, 1981)

Atoman was a Nazi super-soldier who sought to kill the Earth-One Superman.

History

Heinrich Melch was a soldier in Nazi Germany whose father was charged with developing a plan to stop Superman. Melch was dosed with a special chemical developed by his father using Green Kryptonite in order to transform his son into a super soldier. The experiment succeeded and Melch started his plan to kill Superman.

Melch's first attempt failed and he was presumed dead. Many years later, he was transported to Earth-One, where he gained more superpowers and, under the alias of Atoman, he attempted to eliminate the Earth-One Superman. Melch was stopped by the combined work of Earth-One's Superman and Batman, who transported him back to Earth-Two, where he lost his powers and he was captured by the Superman and Robin of Earth-Two.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Energy Projection: Kryptonite-based energy blasts.
• Radiation Production: Kryptonite-based.
• Superhuman Strength
• Superhuman Durability
• Flight
• He can temporarily halt his autonomic functions, as the beating of his heart, and simulate death.

Weaknesses

• Atoman was considerably more powerful on Earth-One than on Earth-Two; while on Earth-Two, he could not fly, his strength and durability were lesser, and he needed a pair of special gloves to channel his energy bursts. Besides, without his control device, he had to concentrate in order not emanate k-radiation unintentionally. It's unknown if Atoman would have his previous power increase if he could travel to the Earth-One again, or if it was a temporary side-effect of dimensional travel.

Notes

• Atoman is based on a character from the Superman radio show from the 40s, who appeared in the same storyline where Superman and Batman first met.
• This version of Atoman, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
• When Superman of Earth-One created the Powerman robot, he based its costume on Atoman, whom he had subconsciously seen thanks to extra-dimensional interference as Melch recovered from his near death battle with the Earth-Two Superman during World War II.

Related

• 1 Appearances of Heinrich Melch (Earth-Two)
• 1 Images featuring Heinrich Melch (Earth-Two)
• Quotations by or about Heinrich Melch (Earth-Two)
• Character Gallery: Heinrich Melch (Earth-Two)

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."