Charlton Comics

Cover of Atomic Rabbit 9 (Charlton Comics, 1957). Atomic Rabbit was one of a cadre of atomic animals in the 1950s and 1960s that helped recast "the atom" from a source of fear to one of strength and justice. 

In October 1960, veteran artist Steve Ditko created a new character for Charlton Comics Space Adventures, Captain Atom. An air force pilot. Captain Adam, drops a screwdriver while working on a nuclear test missile, and the missile takes off while he is searching for it. The subsequent explosion turns Adam into "Captain Atom, the Indestructible Man," who carries "an atomic punch in each fist." Forced to devise a body shield to protect others from his radiation. Captain Atom receives a special commission from the president to defend law and order. He does so immediately by capturing a stray hydrogen-tipped missile, which causes the president to remark, "With your help, perhaps all of us can live in a world of peace. " Later, DC Comics acquired the character and in the 1980s gave him both a new costume and new "quantum" powers. 

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