Top 5 Costumes: The Atom



Could the Atom’s stock be any higher right now? Ray Palmer has played a large part in the current season of Arrow and in the last episode finally suited up to take flight. In his biggest live-action appearance to date, Ray developed a drastically different suit than anything we have seen him sport in the comics before. Whether we like the suit or not (which we do by the way) is not what we’re currently investigating. Instead we decided to take a look at the various costumes he has worn over the years in the comics. Starting with a more traditional approach in the beginning, the evolution of the Atom’s costumes has been extreme at points, even more so of a shift than his current suit in the Arrow. We pulled his five most prominent costumes over the years and ranked them from bottom to top. While digging we even found we would easily consider his worst costume (one that Felicity surely would not have slept with him if he ever wore.) Check out below our top five picks for the Atom below, and as always feel free to leave your picks in the comments below!

5. Teen Titans: When Ray Palmer found the clock turned back after Zero Hero, he joined the Teen Titans and became their new group leader. The basic design is very similar to his original design. The black portion of his chest instead points down and of course it features the red triangle right in the middle. What makes this costume shoot to the bottom of our list is that horrible vest jacket. Was it actually ever cool? Did it make him hip with the rest of the Teen Titans? No, this is the case of an adult trying to be cool and fit in with the younger crowd only to fail miserably at it.

4. Sword of the Atom: Conan has come to save the day! Oh wait, that’s just Ray Palmer during his time away from civilization. Many people might have made the jump from a hero who can shrink in size to one who wields a sword and protects an alien tribe, but hey, why not? Everyone looks cooler with a sword! He mostly kept his traditional costume during this period, but added a few pieces to give it that tribal look. There doesn’t really seem to be a reason for his skirt, unless he’s just going commando underneath. Yet, we’re actually fine with it and appreciate working in his belt with his bold necklace.

3. Indigo: Once again Ray went tribal, but this time he went all the way. He almost completely leaves his old costume out in favor of a tattered cowl and full body tattoos. The tattoos are actually one of the most striking parts with their elaborate design. His belt is a little Heavy Weight Championish, but we like that it does incorporate his Atom symbol into the costume. The previous Sword of Atom costume was a tad more time than this, where here he looks much more like a badass.

2. Original: Ray’s original costume is completely old school, golden age goodness. It is a very basic design; red, blue, what else do you need? The atom logo on his mask is a nice touch since most heroes just plaster in on the middle of their chest. This would have most likely made the top of our list a few short years ago, but his latest rendition below quickly rose as our favorite.

1. New 52: Many of the New 52 redesigns typically fall towards the bottom of our lists, but in the case here it actually falls as the best Ray has worn. Yes, it looks like the love child between Ant-Man and the Atom, but that is not such a bad thing. Ray kept his traditional red and blue design and color scheme. The first bold step is the helmet which is really striking and draws your eye. His improved gloves/gauntlets also serve to give his look a bit more definition. The only thing we could have used toned down is his massive utility belt which could have used some shrinking itself. With that minor complaint aside, this is a memorable costume that sets Ray apart from his fellow heroes in the DC Universe.

Dishonorable Mention

Atomus Palmer: Wow, where to start. His actual regular costume is pretty close to his original, but the hood is where things go terribly wrong. He’s supposed to be a wizard, but what is the point of the magical markings? It looks like he drew them on with crayons before leaping onto his ride. It splitting off into seven points makes him look more like a joker than anything; at least they didn’t attach bells to the tips, even though that might make it easier for the other heroes to find him when he shrinks in size. Thank god that they didn’t make the mask white, that would have brought up a whole host of other bad similarities. This is definitely one of those costumes we’re glad was only featured in an alternate realities that was hopefully destroyed in Crisis.