- "These people have stolen my neighborhood, and you're spinning it like I'm the bad guy? I'm the damn hero!"
- —Henry Miller to Lois Lane[src]
Henry Miller (April 12, 1968 - 2022)[1], also known as Atom-Man, was an arsonist and neo-Nazi who fought Superman during his early years. After being transformed into a meta-human, assassinated and resurrected by Bruno Mannheim, Miller was finally killed for good by John Henry Irons after a confrontation in Smallville.
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Biography[]
Early life[]
Henry Miller was born in April 12, 1968.[1] Sometime in his life, Miller came to work at USA First Hardware in Lower Metropolis as a sales associate.[2]
Becoming Atom-Man[]
Excerpt of an article written by Lois in the 4th season recounting the events.
Shortly after Superman's debut to the world, Miller began attacking minority-owned businesses and defacing them with Nazi SS symbols, bringing him to the attention of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. He engaged in a confrontation with Lois, to which he attacked her with his flamethrower. However, Superman arrived in time to block the flames, protecting her. Angered by this, Miller reached for his back and tossed two grenades opposite ways, forcing the hero to protect them too, using his heat vision on one grenade and throwing himself in front of another, causing him to be blown back by the blast. Lois then tazed Miller as his guard was down, defeating him.[2]
Becoming a meta-human[]
Superman confronts Henry Miller.
Years later, Miller was released from prison due to apparently having a brain tumor. At some point after his release, he received powers from an unknown benefactor using Superman's blood. Failing to kill Superman before nightfall, his benefactors killed him and brought him back to an underground lab, where he was resurrected by injection from a mysterious drug.[3] However, the drug only temporarily worked, as shortly afterwards, it started to make Henry unstable. This forced the people who brought him back to inject him with a chemical that flatlined him. Later on, they used the same drug from before to bring Miller back to life again, and placed him in a water tank to keep him stable.[4]
Confronting John Henry Irons and death[]
Miller spent weeks in the water tank before being released by Bruno Mannheim, who sent him to eliminate John Henry Irons. Miller arrived at Gajdecki Auto & Tractor and attacked Irons, tearing up the place in the process. Irons attacked Miller with an Electric stunner; however, his enhanced durability resulted in him not sustaining any damage. Miller was then distracted by Irons' A.I., which allowed John to escape, but Miller quickly caught up with him. He threw around Irons with the intent of making him suffer before killing him. However, Superman intervened and confronted him. Miller and Superman traded blows with one another until Miller successfully threw him out of Smallville. He returned to attacking Irons, but Irons successfully reconnected his kinetic hammer and to hit Miller with it, leaving Miller incapacitated for a second. Miller tried to attack Irons again but Irons hit him with the hammer a second time, killing Miller once more for good.[5]
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
- X-K empowerment/Meta-human physiology: Through various means including exposure to X-Kryptonite, Miller became a meta-human armed with a set of powers capable of combating Superman. When Miller returned after several weeks of being trapped in a water tank and repeatedly being pumped with X-K in the process, his powers have gotten much stronger as he was able to swiftly overpower Superman.[3]
- Superhuman strength: Miller was able to effortlessly tear off a car door, and partially drag Superman through a building rooftop.[3] During Henry’s second fight with Superman, he was able to throw the Kryptonian several hundred meters away, as well as throw John Henry around with one hand.
- Superhuman durability: Miller received powerful blows from Superman, though was seemingly unharmed.[3] During his second fight with Superman, Henry got punched into a car with enough pressure to cause the car to explode, and Miller got up completely unscathed.
- Superhuman endurance: Miller boasted he could fight Superman all day.[3]
- Flight: Miller can fly fast enough to keep up with the likes of Superman.[3]
- Superhuman speed: Miller is able to move at incredible speeds faster than an ordinary person. His newfound speed is on similar levels as Superman's.[3]
- Superhuman reflexes: Miller possessed astounding reflexes. He was able to catch several of Superman’s punches in mid air, and dodge his heat vision.
Abilities[]
- Master hand-to-hand combatant: Miller is a very skilled fighter. With the aid of his powers to be able to contend with Superman, Miller was able to fight on par with the Kryptonian himself, who is one of the best fighters in the multiverse.
Weakesses[]
- Limited durability: Even though Miller is unbelievably powerful, he is not invincible. He took two hits from John Henry Irons' war hammer, and that was sufficient enough to kill him.
- However, it should be noted that John's war hammer is equivalent to and possibly even greater than Superman's, as Irons himself noted "from 60 feet and beyond, it rivals a blow from Superman", and this was before any upgrades John made to his suit and hammer.
- Water: While Henry possesses levels of strength equivalent to Superman, he does not have any leverage if he is submerged in water. This allowed Bruno Mannheim to keep him contained in a water tank; as shown by how Miller wasn’t able to punch through it.
Equipment[]
- Atom-Man armor: When operating as the arsonist Atom-Man, Miller dons a suit of armor.
- Flamethrower: Miller utilized a flamethrower as Atom-Man. He has not used it since receiving his powers.
Appearances[]
Superman & Lois[]
Season 1Season 3
Season 4
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Behind the scenes[]
- In the DC comics, Heinrich Melch, also known as Atom Man, is an enemy of Superman, originally debuting in The Adventures of Superman radio show.
- This version is also based on the Atom Man from the Superman Smashes the Klan comic books.