Atomic Knight
Encyclopedia
Atomic Knight is a DC Comics
superhero
and was briefly a member of the Outsiders
team. He is sometimes depicted as one of a group of Atomic Knights, which first appeared in Strange Adventures
#117 (June 1960).
The Atomic Knights appeared in every third issue of Strange Adventures
in the early 1960s, beginning with #117 (June 1960). Created by John Broome
and Murphy Anderson
, they were a band of heroes living in the post-apocalyptic future of 1992.
Following the catastrophic Hydrogen War of 1986, a petty tyrant named the Black Baron ruled a small section of the Midwest with an iron fist. He was opposed by Sgt. Gardner Grayle and the Atomic Knights, who wore medieval suits of armor that were impervious to the Baron's energy weapons, having been irradiated in the war. The other Knights were twins Wayne and Hollis Hobard, Bryndon Smith, the last scientist left on Earth, and brother and sister Douglas and Marene Herald.
The fifteen Atomic Knights stories in Strange Adventures
took place in 'real time' (three months usually passed between the events of each story as well as in the real world) and generally dealt with post-holocaust recovery, as the Knights would fend off menaces and attempt to rebuild the area around their homebase of Durvale, though they also managed to travel to Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, D.C. In all, there were fifteen early-1960s Atomic Knights stories; their last appearance in Strange Adventures came in issue #160 (January 1964).
The Atomic Knights concept then lay dormant for several years, until Cary Bates
used the Knights as guest-stars in the mid-70s series Hercules Unbound
, beginning with #10 (April–May 1977). Hercules, Kamandi
and the Atomic Knights all inhabited the same universe, one in which the Great Disaster had taken place (references to 1986 became less and less frequent as that date actually approached). The entire Great Disaster concept has since been declared to be out of continuity in the current DC Universe, although one of the Post-52 alternate Earths (Earth-17) does feature the world of the Great Disaster. DC Comics Presents
#57 attempted to retcon the Atomic Knights by 'revealing' them to be the dream of Gardner Grayle in a state of suspended animation (during which dream Superman attempts to prevent Grayle from causing a nuclear war). This story is not held to be canon in terms of the Earth of the Great Disaster, and little reference has been made to it after publication.
The original Atomic Knights stories were reprinted in Strange Adventures #217-231 and in 2010 were reprinted in a hardback collection. Their appearances in Hercules Unbound and DC Comics Presents have not been reprinted.
in the army. His platoon was the infamous Platoon 13 and its symbol was a knight. Feverishly opposed to nuclear war, Grayle volunteered for a virtual reality experiment to see how people would react to a post atomic war world. Within this experiment, Grayle believed that the adventures of the Atomic Knights were only a dream. After emerging from the experiment, Grayle donned a S.T.A.R. Labs
battle suit and declared himself a modern knight in shining armor, briefly becoming the second Shining Knight
and serving with the Seven Soldiers of Victory
.
After a mildly successful career as a superhero, Grayle took a job at S.T.A.R. When he received a premonition from the goddess Cassandra, Grayle proceeded to use his new technical know-how to build his atomic armor. He then participated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths
as one of the Forgotten Heroes
who contacted Darkseid
to enlist his help against the Anti-Monitor
.
Afterward, he appeared in the Outsiders
(vol. 1), a team he joined up until its disbanding. The Outsiders would later reform (in vol. 2), but were considered fugitives after being framed for the slaughter of a Markovian village (home country to Outsider Geo-Force
). At first he hunted the team down but was ultimately convinced of their innocence and was able to clear their name to the rest of the world. He also helps the Outsiders battle a vampiric infestation of the underground nation of Abyssia. With the Outsiders, he also fell in love with fellow Outsider Windfall
and they were seen together at Geo-Force's wedding.
Beyond just his Atomic Knight armor, Gardner also had the power to see the future.
In the post-Infinite Crisis
mini-series The Battle for Blüdhaven, Gardner Grayle is the leader of an underground band of new Atomic Knights operating within the destroyed city of Blüdhaven
, working with an organization named the Roundtable towards helping citizens harassed by the organization known as S.H.A.D.E.
and the new Black Baron (a former pimp and drug dealer who gains metahuman powers after the Blüdhaven destruction and is later defeated by the golem
known as Monolith
). There are roughly 125 Atomic Knights, with the main Knights being Grayle, Marene and Doug Herald, Bryndon, and Wayne and Hollis Hobard (based on the original group from the 1960s), who are shown posing as refugees with the help of advanced cloaking technology, and using armor with numerous powers including the ability to record and analyze complex data and fire powerful ballistic and nuclear blasts. At the end of the series, Captain Atom
obliterates the remains of Blüdhaven, making way for the departure of S.H.A.D.E. operatives. After this, the Knights are seen entering an underground lush environment through a bunker named Command-D, reminiscent of their access to the post-nuclear world of their original incarnation. Command-D is the bunker that Kamandi and his grandfather, the original OMAC
, lived in.
, Dan Turpin travels to Blüdhaven, and briefly sees the Atomic Knights, riding atop giant dogs in the ruined city. Afterwards, he visits the Command-D bunker.
In the third issue, the Knights accompany Wonder Woman
into the city, where they go up against an evil Mary Marvel
who has had her body augmented by their technology, who chops Marene Herald in half.
In the forth issue, the Atomic Knights among those in the Blüdhaven Strike Force are eventually killed in battle, when Darkseid's forces showed their hand at Blüdhaven.
, the Atom wears a suit of armor that resembles the Earth-One Atomic Knight.
In 52
, the existence of a new Multiverse is revealed. These Earths are originally carbon copies of the New Earth created at the end of Infinite Crisis.
Based on comments by Grant Morrison
, this alternate universe is not the original setting of the 1960s stories.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
and was briefly a member of the Outsiders
Outsiders (comics)
The Outsiders are a fictional DC Comics superhero team. As its name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who allegedly do not fit the norms of the mainstream superhero community, namely the Justice League....
team. He is sometimes depicted as one of a group of Atomic Knights, which first appeared in Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
#117 (June 1960).
Original Atomic Knights
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
in the early 1960s, beginning with #117 (June 1960). Created by John Broome
John Broome (writer)
John Broome , who additionally used the pseudonyms John Osgood and Edgar Ray Meritt, was an American comic book writer for DC Comics.-Early life and career:...
and Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson is an American comic book artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
, they were a band of heroes living in the post-apocalyptic future of 1992.
Following the catastrophic Hydrogen War of 1986, a petty tyrant named the Black Baron ruled a small section of the Midwest with an iron fist. He was opposed by Sgt. Gardner Grayle and the Atomic Knights, who wore medieval suits of armor that were impervious to the Baron's energy weapons, having been irradiated in the war. The other Knights were twins Wayne and Hollis Hobard, Bryndon Smith, the last scientist left on Earth, and brother and sister Douglas and Marene Herald.
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
took place in 'real time' (three months usually passed between the events of each story as well as in the real world) and generally dealt with post-holocaust recovery, as the Knights would fend off menaces and attempt to rebuild the area around their homebase of Durvale, though they also managed to travel to Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, D.C. In all, there were fifteen early-1960s Atomic Knights stories; their last appearance in Strange Adventures came in issue #160 (January 1964).
The Atomic Knights concept then lay dormant for several years, until Cary Bates
Cary Bates
Cary Bates is an American comic book, animation television and film writer.-Biography:Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167...
used the Knights as guest-stars in the mid-70s series Hercules Unbound
Hercules (DC Comics)
Hercules is a fictional Olympian god in the DC Universe based on the Greek demigod and hero of the same name....
, beginning with #10 (April–May 1977). Hercules, Kamandi
Kamandi
Kamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972 to 1978....
and the Atomic Knights all inhabited the same universe, one in which the Great Disaster had taken place (references to 1986 became less and less frequent as that date actually approached). The entire Great Disaster concept has since been declared to be out of continuity in the current DC Universe, although one of the Post-52 alternate Earths (Earth-17) does feature the world of the Great Disaster. DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
#57 attempted to retcon the Atomic Knights by 'revealing' them to be the dream of Gardner Grayle in a state of suspended animation (during which dream Superman attempts to prevent Grayle from causing a nuclear war). This story is not held to be canon in terms of the Earth of the Great Disaster, and little reference has been made to it after publication.
The original Atomic Knights stories were reprinted in Strange Adventures #217-231 and in 2010 were reprinted in a hardback collection. Their appearances in Hercules Unbound and DC Comics Presents have not been reprinted.
Gardner Grayle
Early character history
On Earth-One, Gardner Grayle was a sergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in the army. His platoon was the infamous Platoon 13 and its symbol was a knight. Feverishly opposed to nuclear war, Grayle volunteered for a virtual reality experiment to see how people would react to a post atomic war world. Within this experiment, Grayle believed that the adventures of the Atomic Knights were only a dream. After emerging from the experiment, Grayle donned a S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
battle suit and declared himself a modern knight in shining armor, briefly becoming the second Shining Knight
Shining Knight
Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...
and serving with the Seven Soldiers of Victory
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
.
After a mildly successful career as a superhero, Grayle took a job at S.T.A.R. When he received a premonition from the goddess Cassandra, Grayle proceeded to use his new technical know-how to build his atomic armor. He then participated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
as one of the Forgotten Heroes
Forgotten Heroes
The Forgotten Heroes are fictional superhero team in the DC Comics universe. The group is composed of superheroes that had faded from the limelight...
who contacted Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
to enlist his help against the Anti-Monitor
Anti-Monitor
The Anti-Monitor is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain and the antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. He first appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 , and was destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, only to return after a long absence in Green...
.
Afterward, he appeared in the Outsiders
Outsiders (comics)
The Outsiders are a fictional DC Comics superhero team. As its name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who allegedly do not fit the norms of the mainstream superhero community, namely the Justice League....
(vol. 1), a team he joined up until its disbanding. The Outsiders would later reform (in vol. 2), but were considered fugitives after being framed for the slaughter of a Markovian village (home country to Outsider Geo-Force
Geo-Force
Geo-Force is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Markov is Prince of Markovia and the half-brother of Terra. Geo-Force is one of the founding members of the superhero group the Outsiders. He first appeared in a special insert in The Brave and the...
). At first he hunted the team down but was ultimately convinced of their innocence and was able to clear their name to the rest of the world. He also helps the Outsiders battle a vampiric infestation of the underground nation of Abyssia. With the Outsiders, he also fell in love with fellow Outsider Windfall
Windfall (comics)
Windfall is a fictional character and reformed supervillain in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders #9, written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Jim Aparo.-Fictional character biography:...
and they were seen together at Geo-Force's wedding.
Beyond just his Atomic Knight armor, Gardner also had the power to see the future.
"One Year Later"
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
mini-series The Battle for Blüdhaven, Gardner Grayle is the leader of an underground band of new Atomic Knights operating within the destroyed city of Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven is a fictional city in the . Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel in 1996, it was originally intended to serve as a backdrop for the Nightwing comics series.-Fictional geography:...
, working with an organization named the Roundtable towards helping citizens harassed by the organization known as S.H.A.D.E.
Father Time (DC Comics)
Father Time is a fictional character, a supervillain in publications from DC Comics. The character first appeared in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #3 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke.-Fictional character biography:...
and the new Black Baron (a former pimp and drug dealer who gains metahuman powers after the Blüdhaven destruction and is later defeated by the golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
known as Monolith
Monolith (comics)
The Monolith is a DC Comics comic book series whose title character is a superheroic golem. The Monolith is guided in his actions by Alice Cohen, a recovering drug addict whose grandmother was one of those responsible for the Monolith's creation in the 1930s.-Publication history:The Monolith was...
). There are roughly 125 Atomic Knights, with the main Knights being Grayle, Marene and Doug Herald, Bryndon, and Wayne and Hollis Hobard (based on the original group from the 1960s), who are shown posing as refugees with the help of advanced cloaking technology, and using armor with numerous powers including the ability to record and analyze complex data and fire powerful ballistic and nuclear blasts. At the end of the series, Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
obliterates the remains of Blüdhaven, making way for the departure of S.H.A.D.E. operatives. After this, the Knights are seen entering an underground lush environment through a bunker named Command-D, reminiscent of their access to the post-nuclear world of their original incarnation. Command-D is the bunker that Kamandi and his grandfather, the original OMAC
OMAC
OMAC can refer to:*OMAC , a DC Comics superhero*OMAC : an organization of powerful cyborgs that exist in the DC Universe*The OMAC Project, a limited series dealing with the OMACs...
, lived in.
Final Crisis
In the second issue of Final CrisisFinal Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
, Dan Turpin travels to Blüdhaven, and briefly sees the Atomic Knights, riding atop giant dogs in the ruined city. Afterwards, he visits the Command-D bunker.
In the third issue, the Knights accompany Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
into the city, where they go up against an evil Mary Marvel
Mary Marvel
Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine, originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 in...
who has had her body augmented by their technology, who chops Marene Herald in half.
In the forth issue, the Atomic Knights among those in the Blüdhaven Strike Force are eventually killed in battle, when Darkseid's forces showed their hand at Blüdhaven.
Other versions
In the out-of-continuity maxi-series JusticeJustice (DC Comics)
Justice was a twelve-issue American comic book limited series published bimonthly by DC Comics from August 2005 through June 2007, written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art also by Ross and Doug Braithwaite...
, the Atom wears a suit of armor that resembles the Earth-One Atomic Knight.
52 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, the existence of a new Multiverse is revealed. These Earths are originally carbon copies of the New Earth created at the end of Infinite Crisis.
Earth-17
One of the Earths, designated Earth-17 by Rip Hunter, is heavily altered by Mister Mind in his Hyperfly form, and his effects on the Earth have turned it into a copy of the home of the original version of the Atomic Knights, the version from their original stories.Based on comments by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
, this alternate universe is not the original setting of the 1960s stories.
Earth-38
In Countdown: Arena #2 (2007) an alternate version of Captain Atom appears who is the leader of that world's Atomic Knights.Collected Editions
- The Atomic Knights (Collects Strange Adventures #117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 136, 138, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153 156 and 160)