MARY JAMES
Real Name: Mary James-Pratt
Class: Human
Occupation: Housewife, former college student
Group Affiliation: None
Known Relatives: Grant Albert Emerson (Damage, son, deceased), Al Pratt (Atom, husband, deceased), Al Rothstein (Atom Smasher, godson)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Calvin College
First Appearance: All-American Comics I #19 (December, 1940)
Powers: None.
History:
(Flash Comics #87) - One of Al Pratt’s professors berated him for being spineless, and told him to write an essay on the problems, troubles and triumphs real people faced. After class Mary James berated him, agreeing with the professor and saying he needed to experience the real world. Al was frustrated that he had all sorts of life experience as the Atom but couldn’t tell anyone. He decided to write an essay on the bravery of the sick, visiting the children’s ward of a hospital and bringing presents. One boy, Billy, had lost the will to get better, and when al asked if anything could help him he admitted he’d always wanted to meet a member of the Justice Society of America. Al changed into Atom, but spotted two crooks who were planning on robbing medical equipment from the hospital. Atom went into action, battering them, but one crook pulled a gun, and Billy, spotting the action, rammed his wheelchair into the crook. Atom made short work of the goons, and Billy had a newfound spark that made him want to get well. Al told Mary the whole story, and she mooned over how heroic Atom was. Al handed his essay to the professor, and fainted when he learned Mary had already submitted an essay about the Atom and his bravery during his visit to the children’s ward.
(Flash Comics #89) - Al Pratt danced with Mary James at the Calvin College prom, and slipped on an apple core. Mary chided him for being clumsy and embarrassing her, demanding he take dance lessons at Studio a la Dance, which had just opened up in town. Al went to the studio, and overhead the director talking to her goons. She was offering private lessons at students homes, and cased her students homes so her henchmen could rob them. Al wanted to expose her, so he signed up for private lessons. After his first lessons the director’s goons tried to rob his home, and he confronted them as Atom, but they escaped. Al then disguised himself as a rich eccentric and asked for a private lesson. The director and her men went to the address, which turned out to be the local police station, and Atom clobbered them. Atom changed back into Al and pressed formal charges against the director. Al was sick of dancing, and was extremely annoyed when Mary told him the Dancing Teachers Association was rewarding him for taking down crooks hurting the dancing profession with one hundred free dancing lessons.
(Flash Comics #90) - Al Pratt and Mary were at the Calvin College Observatory when Al accidentally focused the telescope on an apartment building and witnessed an old woman being killed. Al asked Mary to call the police and he changed into the Atom. When Mary spotted Atom she insisted on going along with him to investigate the murder. They arrived at the apartment to find the old woman seemingly alive. The police arrived and the woman claimed Mary had stolen her ruby ring, which the police found in Mary’s purse. Mary and the Atom fled from the officers, but later returned to the apartment. The old woman had been robbed and killed by her twin brother, who was posing as her and tried to pin the robbery on Atom and Mary. Atom brought the man to justice, and after changing back to Al Mary excitedly told him about all the action he’d missed.
(Flash Comics #91) - A man dressed as Atom ripped a safe out of the Ajax Securities Company and escaped from the police. Al Pratt was shocked to see headlines accusing the Atom of being a criminal, but wondered who else was strong enough to rip a safe from a wall. He found circus performer Hercules, and suspecting him of being the impersonator followed him back to his tent. He found Hercules had been shot to death, and Lucille, the Lion-Tamer accused him of murder and had the police arrest him. Al changed into Atom and bashed his way out of the police wagon. Lucille, carny Snappo and Hercules had pulled off the robbery; Lucille killed Hercules for a bigger cut of the take and was glad their crimes had been pinned on Atom and Al. When Atom confronted them Lucille locked him in the lion cage, but also threw in Snappo, wanting the loot all for herself. Atom bent the lion cage bars to escape after fending off the beasts, and Snappo was so grateful he saved his life he confessed to the police, implicating Lucille and clearing al and Atom. Al related his exciting adventure to Mary James.
(Flash Comics #92) - Al and Mary attended the Winter Carnival at Snowview Lodge and Al gifted Mary with a lapel pin of a bird with a ruby beak, encouraging her to enter the ski contest to crown the Carnival queen. The prize money was $5,000 but the owner of the lodge boosted the money, so manager Garr hired disgraced ski champion Della Wayne as a ringer. She agreed to take $1,000 for the job, and planned to show up in a disguise because she’d be instantly recognized, telling Garr and his men they’d know her by her lapel pin, which by coincidence was identical to the one Al bought Mary. Mary was confused when Garr’s men grabbed her because she was dawdling about entering the contest. They shoved her down the mountain and she miraculously pulled off an amazing trick ski jump. When she met with Garr to receive her prize he realized she wasn’t Wane, who’d missed her train to the lodge. To keep the matter quiet Garr ordered his men to kill Mary, but Atom showed up and saved her. Mary didn’t feel she earned the contest money and gave it away to the other contestants. The owner of Snowview announced her as Queen anyway and she was celebrated at the dance.
(Flash Comics #93) - Al and Mary attended a magic show starring Mandini, The Masked Magician, and Mary encouraged Al to volunteer for the magic cabinet disappearing act. Inside the cabinet al saw a lever and pressed it, finding himself in the building’s cellar. He witnessed crooks robbing the World-Wide Gem Company, and changed into Atom to confront them. They knocked him out and put him back in the magic cabinet in time for Mandini to finish his act. Mary demanded to know what Mandini had done with al, and Mandini took her inside the cabinet to show her how his trick worked. He opened the trapdoor and had the criminals kidnap her. Atom recovered and used the carrier pigeons from Mandini’s act to find his headquarters. He discovered the real Mandini being held captive and defeated the fake Mandini, who was using the real magician’s act to pull off his crimes. After Atom handed them over to the police he changed back into al Pratt and met up with Mary, who told him he’d missed the excitement, as he usually did whenever Atom went into action.
(Flash Comics #94) - Al and Mark took a ride out to the country when they saw a car about to collide with a passing truck, but the car mysteriously vanished. The truck’s driver spotted Al and Mary and ran them off the road, kidnapping Mary. Al had already fled the scene to change into Atom and followed the truck driver and his crew to their hideout, rescuing Mary. It turned out that the car that “disappeared” was a getaway car that escaped police pursuit by rolling up a ramp into the truck. Atom foiled the truck driver and his crew when they tried to escape by tipping their truck over.
(Flash Comics #95) - Al and Mary were in the jewelry district, and Mary showed Al her new diamond necklace, but it vanished before their eyes. They made a police report, but the officers didn’t believe their story so Al changed into Atom and returned to the diamond district to look for clues. He brought a ring, and when it too vanished he noticed that it was stuck to a nearby billboard advertising Lovlee Soap. When he went to retrieve it he was surrounded by gunmen who worked for jeweler John Meecham. Meecham had set up a special magnet behind the billboard that attracted jewelry, but Atom smashed it and took out the crooks with little resistance. Mary James was thrilled to have her necklace back, and when al asked whose picture she was going to put in her locket she said he hadn’t a chance because she wanted a picture of Atom, a real man.
(Flash Comics #97) - Al and Marty participated in an intercollegiate boat race, and were shocked when they were rammed by their competitor’s boat. The boat wasn’t crewed by their fellow college students and competitors Phil and Alice, but by a gang of crooks who’d recently robbed the yacht club. The crooks opened fire on them, and al feigned being hit so he could dive overboard and change into the Atom. Atom bravely fought, but was subdued. The gang had hidden the yacht club loot in the buoy that marked the end of the race, and after retrieving it loaded it with dynamite and sent Atom’s coat on a collision course with the buoy. Atom recovered in time to grab the buoy and hurl it far enough away to be safe from the explosion. Atom got the drop on the gang and pummeled them. He freed Mary from their clutches, and, as always, she was impressed with his heroics.
(Flash Comics #100) - Mary James visited her sorority sister Frances, who was excited that her father Professor Zanger was about to unveil his new plastic-ray at Central Palace. Al Pratt got a part-time job delivering cars to help him pay for books and classes, and delivered a plastic car of Zanger’s own design to the scientist. He was alarmed when he heard a cry for help and the plastic car unexpectedly melted. Zanger’s old lab assistant Borr wanted the plastic-ray, which dissolved the glass that reinforced plastic, for the purpose of committing crimes. The melting car was his first practice with the ray, and when Al changed into Atom and leapt into action Borr shot him with the plastic-ray, which he’d added a stun function to. Borr placed Atom and Zanger inside a metal cabinet with heated walls. When Atom recovered he and Zanger assembled a crude arc torch from supplies Zanger had lying around on the floor. They confronted Borr and his henchman at the Central Palace, where he was using the plastic-ray to rob the attendees. His goons shot at Atom, but fortunately he’d started wearing a chain-mail vest underneath his costume and rounded up the crooks. The next day Al met with Mary and Frances, who were incredibly impressed with Atom’s latest heroic exploit.
(DC Comics Presents #30) - Al Pratt became a professor of nuclear physics at Calvin College. Atom’s wife Mary James did her star-charts, and noticed that some stars were out of place. She saw it as an omen, and asked Al to wear his old Atom costume in case danger struck. He thought her astrology was nonsense, but played along. When they returned home after an evening on the town they discovered their house was being burglarized. The unretired Atom subdued one burglar, but before he could apprehend the other he shrunk down to microscopic size. Mallo, Keeper of the Cosmic Balance, noticed a disturbance caused by the fact that only the Atoms of Earth-1 and Earth-2 did not share similar powers, so he temporarily switched their powers to restore order to the multiverse. Atom adjusted to his new powers, and using a miniature airplane he tracked down the remaining burglar. He was restored to his normal self, and Mary noticed the stars had regained their normal positions. They never knew that Mallo had averted a cosmic crisis.
Comments: Created by Bill O'Conner & Ben Flinton.
In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DCU Mary James lived on Earth-2.
Mary James' appearance in Flash Comics #90 was reprinted in DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #18.
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