So "today" (I know it's after midnight) was #NationalSuperheroDay and really it's time I get out of this funk and get back to posting #SupermanAnalogue posts! So let's go back to my favorite city, @KurtBusiek's #AstroCity, and talk about a silver age love letter, Atomicus! 
Atomicus was a newly born radioactive being taken human form. The text explains not to dwell on the nature of the beings origin, just that he was a new being in the body of an adult. While he was knowledgeable and social, he lacked the experience of an adult to feel comfortable.
Enter Irene Merryweather. This was Astro City's take on the classic Lois Lane/Superman/Clark Kent love triangle. She was there when he was "born" and became his guide at first to this world only for them to both fall for each other.
Irene was a strong lady of the 60s, a part of the mayor's staff when most women were secretaries. However, the story is told in retrospect, recalling a failed romance from years past for an older lady. We know from the outset that this wasn't going to go well.
After confessing that he didn't feel ready to engage in a relationship as such a novitiate to this world, Atomicus took a mortal identity as Adam Petersen. Irene saw through the disguise and took it as a challenge. This began the cat and mouse game of revealing his identity.
We got everything! Classic duplicates putting them at the same place and same time! Zany contrived situations to justify everyone being vulnerable to a Kryptonite analogue. You name it! However this is a deconstruction of that format and eventually we saw both parties break.
The stress got to both parties. Atomicus was driven off from humanity (and I don't think he ever popped up again) and Irene was forced to live with having once courted a god. It's a sad story, of the type that Busiek can really nail. The humanity under the super humans.
As for powers, Atomicus is labelled as VERY powerful, though we don't see the full array. We know he can create duplicates, plus the usual fare of flight, strength, etc. His specific powers aren't really the point, after all. He's meant to dig deeper into the George Reeves type
I love the design, btw! It's this chrome style, 50s atomic age design. Astro City trades always included sketches as the artists workshopped the designs. Always a fascinating behind the scenes aspect. This one comes from the "Local Heroes" collection. You should check it out!
Atomicus was a straight forward one shot, lamenting the dark side of the super hero status quo, though ultimately was still hopeful. It was a tight little packet of goodness that was informed by how much we knew about the pop culture Superman!
