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47-584: Apokolips is a large planet covered entirely by a city (an ecumenopolis ). It is a notoriously dismal place, where the slavish Hunger Dogs (low-class citizens) labor endlessly to feed the Energy Pits which supply light and power to the world. Both Apokolips and New Genesis exist in a different plane of existence from the regular DC Universe, located near the Source that originated the Old and New Gods . Apokolips represents

94-787: A tank driver for the United States Army . According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes , the Atom "fights the Emperor of America, agents of the Black Dragon Society, and the Carnival of Crime, in addition to the Cootie Gang, Mandini the Magician and the scavenger Undersea Raiders". In 1948, the Atom gained super strength as a result of the latent effects of his 1942 battle with

141-513: A deal with Darkseid that the armies of Apokolips could invade Earth-2 and that dimension freely without the intervention of the New Gods of New Genesis, explaining the wild disparity between the fates of Earth-0 and Earth-2. Ultimately, Apokolips itself enters Earth-2's Solar System and consumes Earth-2, transforming the planet into fuel to sustain itself. When Perpetua destroys the Source Wall, one of

188-755: A double date. It is unknown what had happened to Marion Thayer, but in DC Comics Presents #30 (February 1981), Pratt's wife Mary resembles the blonde Thayer more than the brunette James. The Atom's status with the Justice Society of America was as a reserve member up until after the formation of Infinity, Inc. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths , the Last Days of the Justice Society Special (1986) told how Pratt, along with his teammates, prevented

235-400: A dystopian society. As Jack Misselhorn writes: "No one on Apokolips evolves spiritually because there is no love. It is a stagnant society, its inhabitants living in ignorance, the legacy of oppression". Because it exists in another dimension outside of the multiverse, Apokolips is primarily accessed via Boom Tubes. It has been said that the New Gods are normally giants, and that travel through

282-401: A ecumenopolis (a world-city) with burning firepits, extant in between dimensions, occupying a ‘frequency’ somewhere between the physical universe and Hell: Apokolips is on par with New Genesis in terms of technological advancement. With their technology, they are the height of power in most of the universe and are able to devastate galaxies when they choose to use it. Technology from Apokolips

329-525: A member of Infinity, Inc. In 1994, it was revealed that Pratt had a son named Grant Emerson, who became the superhero Damage before being killed during Blackest Night . During the same event, Pratt is temporarily revived as a Black Lantern . In the DC Rebirth initiative, Atom is buried in the Valhalla Cemetery before Batman fully revives him with a Black Lantern ring. Afterwards, he re-joins

376-443: A single new planet with characteristics in common with both the former worlds. In the 30th century, original Legion of Super-Heroes continuity, Apokolips is inactive and Darkseid is incapacitated. In the reboot Legion continuity, Darkseid was aged and dying, with the planet mostly uninhabited, but the center of a large cult. In DC continuity following its 2011 Flashpoint event and the launch of its New 52 line of comics,

423-623: A vast, Gothic -style ecumenopolis sometime during the 30th millennium AD after its establishment as the "Throneworld", or capital, of an interstellar superpower known as the Imperium of Man. In Magic: the Gathering , the plane of Ravnica is an ecumenopolis. DC Comics continuity features Darkseid 's extra-dimensional home planet of Apokolips , often depicted as a hellish world covered entirely in industrial sprawl to feed Darkseid's brutal empire. The manga and film of Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei

470-520: Is "surprisingly pertinent" according to geography researchers Pavle Stamenovic, Dunja Predic and Davor Eres, especially as a consequence of globalization . Doxiadis also created a scenario based on the traditions and trends of urban development of his time, predicting at first a European eperopolis ("continent city") which would be based on the area between London , Paris , Rhine-Ruhr and Amsterdam . In 2008, Time magazine coined Nylonkong to link New York City , London , and Hong Kong as

517-626: Is Nar Shaddaa, was a moon ecumenopolis known for being almost entirely ruled by crime lords, was eventually reduced to rubble, broken down, and forested by the Yuuzhan Vong in a galactic wide conflict known as the Yuuzhan Vong War , but it was quickly resettled as soon as the Vong were defeated. Taris was also a former ecumenopolis, but it was wiped out by the Sith Amada in a devastating galactic war between

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564-493: Is cursed with Grayven and Kalibak's stupidity and Orion's service in the name of good. Orion once usurped the throne of Apokolips from his father temporarily, until coming to his senses and returning to New Genesis. It is prophesied that Orion will overthrow Darkseid. In Kingdom Come , it is revealed that Darkseid's overthrow will not result in major changes on Apokolips, as Apokolips' evil comes from evil itself rather than from Darkseid. There are different locations on Apokolips,

611-440: Is owned by a fictional in-game company of the same name. As of March 2024, its current implementation in the game is a de facto ecumenopolis. However, as development continues, it is expected to feature oceans and small parts of undeveloped land. A central setting in the tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000 is a portrayal of Earth in the far future, where it is known as "Holy Terra" and is described as having been transformed into

658-540: Is set in a far future in which Earth has become the ruins of planet-covering city, which is suggested to be so large that it has consumed most of the Solar System as well, it may also be along the lines of a hollow-world or dyson shell. Some of his other works also take place in this same setting. Atom (Al Pratt)#Earth 2 Al Pratt is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . He

705-486: Is sometimes on par with the technology used by Brainiac . Apokoliptian technology is furthermore the source of unparalleled misery in the universe, as the planet routinely arms evil groups with advanced technology to further its influence (and misery) across the universe. Apokoliptian technology was used by Bruno Mannheim and his organization Intergang in the Superman comics. It was a deal between Darkseid and Metron which

752-410: Is the first character to use the name Atom . He initially had no superpowers and was originally a diminutive college student and later a physicist, usually depicted as a "tough-guy" character. Al Pratt is also the father of Damage and godfather of Atom Smasher . The character made his live-action debut in the television series Smallville , played by Glenn Hoffman. Henry Winkler cameoed as

799-717: The Accountable (Jimmy Olsen) , the New God Mister Miracle , and Earth 0's Mister Terrific . Agents of Darkseid, such as Glorious Godfrey and Kalibak (in Batman & Robin ) and the Apokoliptian Orion (in Wonder Woman ), have encountered the heroes of Earth-0 on several occasions, but no full-scale invasions have taken place. Later, in the series Earth 2: Worlds' End , Mister Miracle discovers that Highfather made

846-578: The Anti-Life Equation through his flute. This destroys much of Brother Eye , causing its central core to make a last-minute escape off the surface of the planet and reverting much of Apokolips to what it was. At the end of the Death of the New Gods miniseries, with all the gods now dead, the combined entity born from the melding of the Source and the Anti-Life Equation merges Apokolips and New Genesis into

893-756: The Atom , Hawkgirl , Doctor Fate , the Red Tornado (an android with Lois Lane's consciousness) and the Flash form an embryonic Justice Society to deal with threats such as Solomon Grundy . Before long, the armies of Apokolips attempt a second invasion of Earth 2, and the Wonders of the World are supported by further heroes including Batman ( Thomas Wayne ), a new Superman (Val-Zod) , the Huntress (Helena Wayne) , Power Girl , Aquawoman (Marella),

940-510: The DC Multiverse remains composed of 52 worlds, but only one set of New Gods. Darkseid and his army from Apokolips have attempted to invade Earth-0, or Prime Earth, but are repelled by the first incarnation of the Justice League . At the same time, his armies invaded the alternate Earth of Earth-2 under the aegis of Steppenwolf , which was much more successful. The invasion of Earth-2 cost

987-646: The Guardian ). Pratt soon became a founding member of the Justice Society of America , appearing in the team's various stories during their original Golden Age appearances. In All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940), the Atom describes himself to his fellow JSAers as "Al Pratt, a quiet sophomore at Calvin College". He later became a founding and active member of the All-Star Squadron . During World War II , Pratt served as

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1034-535: The Atom also began appearing in All Star Comics as a member of the Justice Society of America , beginning with issue #3. He continued with that team until issue #57 (February 1951). Initially a proverbial 98-pound weakling, bullied at school and unable to impress the girl of his dreams, Mary James, the 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) Al Pratt was trained to fighting condition by ex-boxer Joe Morgan (the same man who trained Pratt's fellow mystery men Wildcat and

1081-549: The Boom Tubes rescales them to mortal proportions. Apokolips and its counterpart New Genesis were created after the destruction of Urgrund, the world of the "Old Gods" (implied to be the gods of Norse mythology ). While New Genesis was given strength and nobility from the "living atoms" of the Old God Balduur , Apokolips was saturated with evil from an unnamed sorceress. The two planets are locked in an eternal war, symbolizing

1128-466: The Furies from birth, or are promoted from the ranks of general Apokoliptian troops. The leaders of the Furies are Granny Goodness , who sports the appearance of a matronly old woman while being the most powerful of the guards, and Kanto , who enjoys a unique position as Darkseid's master assassin. The chief guard, Big Barda , had a third position under Granny which has not been filled since her defection from

1175-578: The Harkonnens' home world of Giedi Prime is a heavily polluted ecumenopolis infamous for its gladiator arenas. The concept is depicted in the video game Stellaris , where players are given the option of transforming planets into ecumenopolises, which provides a great deal of housing and space for industrial production through the construction of arcologies , at the cost of making the planet's natural resources inaccessible. The video game Star Citizen currently features an ecumenopolis called ArcCorp which

1222-577: The Jedi and Sith. Sometime after the Jedi Civil War , it became a vast swampland of ruins but was slowly rebuilt over the following four millennia. Both of the latter two city worlds had historically rivaled Coruscant as centers of interstellar trade, but in their later history when the trade lanes shifted, Nar Shaddaa and Taris had suffered from severe deindustrialization . This was long before they were put to rest with brutal orbital bombardments. In Dune ,

1269-484: The Justice Society of America. During his early days of crime fighting , Al Pratt possessed no metahuman qualities. Instead, he is a formidable boxer, expert physicist, and superb athlete. After being bombarded by Cyclotron's energies, Pratt gained immense strength, stamina, durability, and speed, as well as the ability to focus radioactive energy into a punch. In addition, the Atom has resistance to certain types of radiation. He also gained eternal youth after

1316-529: The Justice Society retired. At this point in his life, as depicted in JSA #70, Pratt was engaged to Mary James, leading to their marriage at an undefined point in time (as confirmed by Justice Society of America: The Kingdom Special and others). Pratt was revived with the rest of the team in 1963 in The Flash #137, and continued to make various appearances in the years that followed. The Atom comic book, showcasing

1363-509: The adventures of Ray Palmer , brought the Atom of Earth-2 together with the Atom of Earth-1. Issue #29 (1967) depicts Al Pratt as living in Calvin City and as being a professor at Calvin College; he also possesses a modified automobile that transforms from an ordinary convertible to the Atomobile . In this story it is Ray Palmer who builds a "special dimensional vibrator" that allows travel between

1410-577: The character in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam (2022). The Atom first appeared in All-American Comics #19 (October 1940) and was created by writer Bill O'Connor and artist Ben Flinton. The character continued to appear on and off through issue #72 (April 1946). In 1947, the Atom moved from All-American Comics to Flash Comics with issue #80 (February 1947), and continued until issue #104 (February 1949). In winter 1940,

1457-686: The ecumenopolis has become a frequent topic and was popularized in 1999 by the fictional city planet Coruscant in the Star Wars franchise, which is the capital of the Galactic Republic (later Empire ) and home to the Jedi Order . In addition to Coruscant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens features the planet Hosnian Prime , the capital world of the New Republic. Originating in Star Wars Legends

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1504-462: The eperopolis of the Americas , Euro-Africa and Asia-Pacific respectively. Before the term had been created, the concept had been previously discussed. The American religious leader Thomas Lake Harris (1823–1906) mentioned city-planets in his verses, and science fiction author Isaac Asimov used the city-planet Trantor as the setting of some of his Foundation novels. In science fiction ,

1551-399: The fire pits long ago, in essence leaving the planet with no life force and making it too corrupt for him to feed on. Ecumenopolis Ecumenopolis (from Ancient Greek οἰκουμένη ( oikouménē )  'the inhabited world' and πόλις ( pólis )  'city'; lit.   ' world city ' ; pl.   ecumenopolises or ecumenopoleis ) is

1598-532: The group. Deep below Armagetto, the lifeless forms of the Old Gods live on. They are known as the Dreggs. Apokolips is ruled by Darkseid as its theocratic god/despot, but he delegates most of the actual day-to-day ruling to his counsellor DeSaad . Darkseid has no real contenders for the throne of Apokolips except the bug-like Mantis , although his sons Orion , Grayven and Kalibak are also potential contenders. Darkseid

1645-473: The hypothetical concept of a planetwide city. The word was invented in 1967 by the Greek city planner Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis to represent the idea that, in the future, urban areas and megalopolises would eventually fuse, and there would be a single continuous worldwide city as a progression from the current urbanization , population growth , transport and human networks . According to Doxiadis, it

1692-421: The lives of that universe's original Superman , Batman , Catwoman , Wonder Woman and millions of humans, including Earth-2's Lois Lane , who married Superman on that world. The Apokoliptan forces have assistance from Fury (Earth-2 Wonder Woman's abducted and brainwashed daughter), with all her mother's Amazonian abilities. Five years on, a number of new "wonders" begin to emerge: Green Lantern (Alan Scott) ,

1739-542: The planet. The Lowlies are subject to constant abuse that ends only with death. Next are the Parademons, who serve as the keepers of order on the planet and are created from other races who have been brainwashed or resurrected to serve Darkseid. Higher above the Parademons are the Female Furies , who are Darkseid's personal guard. They are blessed with unnatural strength and longevity and are either trained for their position in

1786-522: The reluctant supervillain Cyclotron (after whose costume Pratt redesigned his own). It was later revealed that he had taken partial custodianship of Cyclotron's daughter, Terri. Pratt's last Golden Age appearance was in All Star Comics #57 in 1951, also the last Golden Age Justice Society story. Later it was revealed that a special Senate investigation panel had moved to obtain the identities of all active superheroes, at which point virtually all members of

1833-605: The side effects is that Apokolips simply vanishes. With Apokolips gone, Darkseid plans to use the Ghost Sector to create a New Apokolips which he will use to invade and conquer the Multiverse. The population is a downtrodden lot, including many kidnapped from other worlds before being "broken". The majority of the population are called Lowlies or Hunger Dogs, a bald and fearful race that has no sense of self-worth or value, and yet, in their own way, are just as much gods as those who rule

1880-520: The story's earlier events were merely visions seen by the hero as part of an elaborate test by the New God Metron . How much of the battle really happened and the current status of the New Gods remains to be seen. Using Boom Tube technology, Brother Eye arrives on Apokolips and seemingly assimilates the entire planet. Before the assimilation is fully complete, the Pied Piper intervenes and channels

1927-435: The struggle of evil and good on a grand mythic scale. Apokolips is ruled by a fell being known as Darkseid , a dark leader who rules over his downtrodden people by force and fear and killed his mother Heggra to obtain the throne. Both Apokolips and New Genesis were seemingly destroyed in a final battle prior to Grant Morrison 's miniseries Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle . However, the final issue of that series implied that

Apokolips - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-446: The tale of the team's reintegration into society. Al was depicted as a short, stocky, balding man with radioactive, super-powered hands and a body aged to about 60 years or so. He was also written as a man more interested in training the next generation of heroes than "running off on crazy super-hero missions" (issue #2), though he still was hotheaded. It was revealed that Mary died while the JSA

2021-536: The two Earths. The villain in this adventure is The Thinker . In issue #36 (1968) Al Pratt is specifically named a professor of nuclear physics at Calvin College. Built into the belt of his Atom uniform is his own "atomic vibrator" which allows travel between the Earths. Al is depicted as a young-looking man who is "so busy as the Atom" that he "sort of let romance pass [him] by". Shown also are his friends Bill and Betty Roberts, as well as his first meeting with Marion Thayer on

2068-449: The unleashing of Ragnarök , a time-displaced and world-shattering event initiated by Adolf Hitler originally on April 12, 1945. To stave off the destruction of the world, Al and the others chose to enter a magical limbo - seemingly for all eternity. The 1992 miniseries Armageddon: Inferno brought Al Pratt and the other members of the JSA back into the post-Crisis world. The short-lived series Justice Society of America (1992–1993) told

2115-473: Was the cause of the invention of the "Boom Tube" using "Element X", which could only be found on Apokolips. The "Entropy Aegis" armor, used by Steel to defeat Imperiex , was Apokoliptian technology, as was Dmitri Pushkin's second suit of Rocket Red armor. During an intercompany crossover , Galactus visited Apokolips, but was unable to feed on the planet, since all of the life force that had dwelled there had either left to New Genesis or had been burned in

2162-516: Was the fifteenth level of ekistic units and the most significant one as the uppermost echelon of the classification. The term "Ecumenopolis" comes from two Greek words, "oikoumenē" which means "inhabited world," and "polis," which means "city." This concept was already current in science fiction in 1942, with Trantor in Isaac Asimov 's Foundation series . When made public, Doxiadis' idea of ecumenopolis seemed "close to science fiction", but today

2209-650: Was trapped in the Ragnarok dimension, and that Al was naturally upset he never got to say goodbye. The series brought Al and the JSA into conflict with the Ultra-Humanite , Pol St. Germain, and Kulak the Sorcerer. In Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! , Atom is killed by Extant . In the 1980s, Al Pratt's godson Al Rothstein was introduced; he was known as the superhero Nuklon (later changing his name to Atom Smasher ), first appearing as

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