Atom #36

Atom #36 (On Sale: February 1, 1968) features a really cool Gil Kane cover, as the action comes spilling out from inside the book. This will not be DC's only strange cover this month.

"Duel Between the Dual Atoms" is by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Sid Greene. Al Pratt, the Atom of Earth-2, is set up on a blind date only to discover that his date has turned into a old woman. Other women on Earth-2 have also mysteriously aged. Unable to find a cause or a solution to the problem on his Earth, Al visits Earth-1 to see if a similar situation exists there.

Al tracks down the Atom of Earth-1, Ray Palmer, and discovers that Ray is ten years younger and has no memory of his Atom identity. Al brings Atom to Earth-2 in hopes that Ray will be cured. Ray's proper age is restored, but he becomes violent and begins fighting Al.

As the fight between the two Atoms continues, Al decides to take Ray back to Earth-1. Unfortunately, the trip takes a detour into an world between dimensions. Al finally takes the upper hand and returns to Earth-1 with Ray, who once again becomes young.

The young Ray Palmer has no memory of his Earth-2 counterpart and runs away. Reprinted in Crisis on Multiple Earths:Team-Ups Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.