Real
Name: Erik Josten
Occupation: Former soldier
of fortune and smuggler, then professional criminal, now adventurer
Identity:
Known to the authorities
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States
with a criminal record
Other Aliases: Formerly Power Man, Smuggler,
and Goliath III
Place of Birth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Marital
Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation:
Former partner of the Swordsman, ally of the Enchantress, henchman of the Black
Widow, the Red Skull, the Mandarin, Count Nefaria, and the Grim Reaper, member
of the Lethal Legion and new Masters of Evil, currently member of the Thunderbolts
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: (as Power
Man I) AVENGERS #21, (as Smuggler) SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #49, (as Goliath III)
IRON MAN ANNUAL #7, (as Atlas) THUNDERBOLTS #1
History: Erik Josten was a mercenary
hired by Nazi scientist Baron
Heinrich Zemo to smuggle stolen technology into Zemo's
secret South American stronghold. With this equipment,
Zemo built a machine that could project an unknown form
of mutagenic radiation ("ionic rays") capable
of bestowing superhuman physical powers to a subject.
Zemo's first subject was industrialist Simon Williams,
who became known as Wonder
Man. When Zemo fled his South American base shortly
thereafter, he left his "ionic ray" machine
functional. Josten, who had been wounded by South American
authorities in his latest smuggling venture, sought refuge
in Zemo's now abandoned fortress and learned of Zemo's
machine. There, Josten came to the mystical attention
of the Enchantress, the Asgardian
goddess who had been a former ally of Zemo. The Enchantress
offered Josten the chance to submit to "ionic ray"
treatment and he readily accepted. When the radiation
treatment was through, Josten emerged with physical powers
roughly equivalent to those of Wonder Man. The Enchantress
produced a costume for him and dubbed him Power Man. Traveling
to the United States, Power Man assisted the Enchantress
in her scheme to discredit and defeat the Avengers.
When that plot failed and the Enchantress disappeared,
the love-smitten Power Man surrendered to the Avengers.
The Avengers refused to press charges, however, and Power
Man was released.
Power
Man soon met and allied himself with the criminal Swordsman
and the Russian spy, the Black
Widow, who at the time had been brainwashed by the
Red Chinese. In battle with the Avengers, Power Man and
the Swordsman were defeated but not taken into custody.
Shortly thereafter, there were pitted unsuccessfully against
Captain America
by the Red Skull. The
Skull returned the two to where he found them and shortly
afterwards the two partners were summoned by the Mandarin
to aid him in his scheme of world conquest. Defeated by
the Avengers in South America, Power Man and the Swordsman
managed to escape while extradited back to the United
States. Later the two were contacted by the criminal Grim
Reaper and invited to join his Lethal Legion for the express
purpose of exacting revenge upon the Avenger. Although
the Legion managed to capture all active Avengers, the
Avengers escaped and subdued their captors. This time
the Avengers pressed charges and Power Man and most of
his teammates were tried and imprisoned. When Josten was
released, he learned that the name "Power Man"
had been assumed by the hero-for-hire Luke Cage. Battling
Cage for the right to the name, Josten lost. In explicably,
the strength conferred upon him by Zemo's machine was
on the wane. Disheartened by the defeat, Josten shelved
his costume and took a job as a dockworker in order to
renew contract in the smuggling profession. Count
Nefaria, who offered him a chance to regain his former
strength in exchange for special services, then sought
him out. Josten performed Nefaria's errands and was subjected
to a strength enhancing treatment. However, the bargain
was all a scheme by Nefaria to steal the power of Josten
and his other henchmen for himself. Josten managed to
escape while the Avengers battled Nefaria. He returned
to the docks where under the name the Smuggler he set
up a successful smuggling operation for black market goods.
Spider-Man stumbled upon
Josten's business, however, and with Josten's strength
now a fraction of what it had once been, Spider-Man managed
to defeat him in combat. Turned over to the authorities,
Josten was sentenced and incarcerated for the second time.
When he was finally set free, Josten left
the East Coast and headed toward California. While in
prison, Josten had heard of a criminal scientist in Los
Angeles who specialized in the study of superhuman powers,
Dr. Karl Malus. Arranging a meeting with Malus, Josten
again made a bargain to renew his lost strength. Unlike
Nefaria, how ever, Malus did not renege on the deal and
not only enhanced Josten's strength to its original level
but also subjected him to an extract of extract of the
growth formula created by Dr.
Henry Pym, the original Giant-Man (as well as the
original Ant-Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket). Malus acquired
it from a patient of his who had stolen it from Pym's
one-time partner Dr. Bill Foster (also known as Black
Goliath and the second Giant-Man). The Pym Formula reacted
with the strength-enhancing treatment to give Josten far
more physical power than he had ever known. Josten decided
to take the Goliath, deriving satisfaction from stealing
a hero's name even as a hero once stole his. Exhilarated
by his newfound power. Goliath rampaged throughout Los
Angeles in a bid to make his might known to the world.
He was challenged by a contingent of West Coast Avengers
(including Wonder Man,
whose power he once imitated, and Hawkeye,
who had also used Pym's growth formula under the name
of Goliath), who barely managed to subdue him by making
him overextend his powers. Goliath was held in a special
laboratory beneath the Avengers
Compound in Los Angeles.
Allies of the Grim Reaper later freed Goliath.
Goliath joined the Reaper in his battle against the West
Coast Avengers, the Vision,
and the Scarlet Witch.
But after the Reaper and his allies were defeated, Goliath
was returned to captivity.
When the Avengers and Fantastic
Four seemingly died, Josten joined forces with Zemo
and changed his alias to Atlas. To gain the general public's
trust, Zemo and his Masters of Evil posed as a new group
of heroes: the Thunderbolts.
Zemo's plan failed but Josten and other members decided
they preferred fighting for justice, and the T-Bolts set
out to make their way as a legitimate super-team.
While attempting to defeat the criminal
mastermind Count Nefaria, Atlas was forced to absorb into
his body the discharge from Nefaria's ionic bomb. This
destabilized Atlas' own ionic energies, causing him to
grow uncontrollably and eventually discorporate. It remains
to be seen whether this signals the end of Josten's career
or the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
Later, however, he was kidnapped and controlled
by Count Nefaria, who had found that he could mentally
dominate people such as Josten who were powered by ionic
energy. Wholly transformed into a being of ionic energy
by Nefaria, Josten fought the Avengers and the Thunderbolts
before the two teams united to defeat Nefaria. Josten's
body was unaccustomed to the stresses that were unleashed
by Nefaria's manipulation and was forced to be hospitalized.
Josten then became the target of the latest Scourge (a.k.a.
Nomad) who was hunting down and killing various members
of the Thunderbolts. Josten was forced to fight Scourge,
but his powers over-extended, threatening to destroy the
immediate area. Scourge helped confine Josten with the
help of size-altering Pym Particles, but Josten had perished
in the explosion.
However, since Josten was by this time a being comprised of ionic energy,
he in fact did not die. His ionic essence was able to seek out Dallas Riordan,
contacting her through their mutual love. With Riordan's help, Josten could suffuse
her being with his energy, allowing Josten to share her body. When Josten is in
control of her body, Riordan appears as a fully-charged ionic being.
Josten was thus apt to return to the Thunderbolts
in their latest attempt to stop the villain Graviton,
a battle which sparked an alien invasion. Ultimately,
Josten/Riordan and the rest of the Thunderbolts were shunted
by Graviton to the world of Counter-Earth after he closed
the aliens' dimensional portal, and the team embarked
on a plan to return to their native Earth.
Height: 6 ft.
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eyes: Replaced by containment spheres
for unknown energy
Hair: Formerly brown, now red
Strength Level: At his normal six
foot size, Goliath can lift (press) between 20 and 30
tons, depending upon level of fatigue and other factors.
At his maximum 60-foot stature, Atlas possesses Class
100 strength (able to lift in excess of 100 tons).
Known Superhuman Powers: Atlas possesses
the ability to increase in size and mass anywhere from
his normal height of 6 feet to his maximum limit of 60
feet. Controlling his size changes by an act of concentration,
Atlas remains at a given stature until willfully change
it. (Thus, he will not resume his normal size when rendered
unconscious.) The growth process requires the rapid acquisition
of body mass to maintain his proportionate shape. Since
the source for this mass is not evident, it presumably
derives from an extra-dimensional source. This extra-dimensional
mass fortifies all of his cellular tissue, including bone
and muscle, thus enabling him to support his increased
weight. As he grows, his weight increases as a cube (a
factor multiplied by itself by three times) to his height.
Thus at his normal height of 6 feet, he weighs 220 pounds,
while at his maximum height of 60 feet (10 time his normal
height), his weight increases to 220,000 pounds (10 X
10 X 10 X 220 pounds). At his maximum height, he is at
his maximum level of strength.
Limitations: The maximum duration
that Atlas can remain at his peak height and strength
is not yet known. He has been observed to remain at his
60-foot form for several hours. Still subject to physical
and mental fatigue, he presumably tires after long periods
of great exertion. When rested and in good health, his
transformation from 6 feet to 60 feet takes about 30 seconds.
When mentally tired, his size changes may take significantly
longer or even be impossible to perform.