Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. His name may have been derived from adamant, which gives indication towards his great strength, exceeding "250 times his own weight".[citation needed] The name and character might also be a gentle parody of the Charlton Comics character, Captain Atom.[citation needed] Atom costarred in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show (sharing top billing with Secret Squirrel). In syndication, Atom Ant aired alongside Precious Pupp and The Hillbilly Bears.
Contents[][hide]*1 Biography |
[edit] Biography[]
Atom Ant (voiced by the late Howard Morris then by Don Messick in later episodes) operated out of an anthill in the countryside, where he possessed such things as a mainframe computer and exercise equipment. His powers mostly consisted of the ability to fly, superspeed, and incredible strength.
He was often contacted by the police, who sent him out on assignment. Some of these missions parodied those of Batman. The police force was constantly shown to be underfunded and inept, as they relied on Atom Ant to do all their police work. The only two police officers were the chief and deputy chief. The department only possessed one rusted patrol car. Atom Ant fights various villains including recurring ones like Ferocious Flea (voiced by Don Messick) and mad scientist Professor Von Gimmick.
[edit] Episode listing[]
| [hide]Episode | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Up and Atom | A criminal called Big Fatts Dynamo makes a prison break. Atom Ant sent to recapture him outsmarts him to the point of a knock out. |
| 2 | Crankenshafts Monster | Mad Doctor Crankenshaft creates a little glob that increases in size with every bite to eat. Atom Ant reduces the glob's size with a spin. |
| 3 | Gem a Go, Go | The Tura Lura Topaz gets stolen by Fancy Finger Finnegan. Atom Ant has get through Finnegan's traps to catch him and recover the jewel. |
| 4 | Ferocious Flea | A Show Director and his Ferocious Flea rob a lot of banks without leaving a trace. Atom Ant follows their trail and blows their cover. |
| 5 | Rambling Robot | A robot built by Junior goes out of control and smashes things in his path. Atom Ant has a hard time smashing the robot then rebuilding it. |
| 6 | Nobody's Fool | Two thugs operate in a robbery while their accomplice Anastasia Antnic weighlays Atom Ant, but she turns against the thugs. |
| 7 | Atom Ant Meets Karate Ant | A criminal and his partner Muscles send an ant called Mr. Muto to take care of Atom Ant, but they get into a friendly chat instead. |
| 8 | Fastest Ant in the West | Atom Ant is summoned by a town Sheriff to take care of the outlaw Rowdy Dowdy, who isn't giving up easily. |
| 9 | Mistaken Identity | Ferocious Flea takes Atom Ant's identity and sets him up for robberies. Atom Ant unmasks Ferocious in his latest heist. |
| 10 | How Now Bow Wow | Ferocious Flea and Bone Brains steal a first prize dog from a dog show. Atom gets the two out of the way and returns the dog. |
| 11 | Dragon Master | Dr. Strange puts Atom Ant in a time machine taking him to the Arthurian Times. Atom Ant saves the kingdom from a dragon before returning to his time. |
| 12 | The Big Gimmick | Atom Ant battles Dr. Von Gimmick in his gigantic robot. Dr. Von Gimmick attempts to get the ant out of the way with his one weakness: A picnic. |
| 13 | Super Blooper | Atom Ant assists the actor playing Super Guy to make him look genuine in front of the public, especially dealing with a bank robbery. |
| 14 | Wild, Wild Ants | Atom Ant battles the Anthill Mob on a picnic raid, until they're resigned to join Atom in his fitness club. |
| 15 | Dina Sore | Atom Ant takes on a museum dinosaur, which has become animated by a bolt of lightning until the beast is driven out to sea. |
| 16 | Amusement Park Amazement | Atom Ant holds off Dr. Von Gimmick's dangerous weaponry and finally gets him to build the amusement park he intended to construct. |
| 17 | Bully for Atom Ant | On a vacation in Mexico, Atom Ant helps a man named Chilada to fight in a buffalo tournament in order to win the hand in marriage of his beloved Concita. |
| 18 | Termighty Mean | Dr. Von Gimmick assigns Atom Ant to capture his escaped super eating termite Godzilla. Atom Ant manages to tame the termite with a stick of bubble gum. |
| 19 | Nine Strikes Your Out | A mad scientists J. Dastardly Deeds clones himself eight times with the aid of a cat's mythical nine lives and Atom Ant takes them out. |
| 20 | Go West Young Ant | Atom Ant assists soldier ants in a battle against a red ant tribe. Atom Ant challenges the chieftain's son to a settle a peace between the ant divisions. |
| 21 | Knight Fight | With the world at peace, Atom Ant goes to the Middle Ages to assist a kingdom to fight an evil black knight. |
| 22 | Pteraducktyl Soup | A Pteraducktyl brought to life by a scientist, rampages through the city. Atom Ant has trouble getting it to stop. |
| 23 | Up in the Air Squares | Buildings are being taken away by a magnet chopper driven by Toadstool. Atom Ant saves the city hall then proceeds to recover the police building. |
| 24 | Mouse Rouser | A mouse sends for Atom Ant's help to protect him from a cat. Atom Ant stops the cat from further bothering the mouse, but the cat has a dog chasing him. |
| 25 | Killer Diller Gorilla | Atom Ant battles a giant gorilla, who treats the city like a toy. Atom eventually drives the gorilla away. |
| 26 | Rock a Bye Boo, Boo | Atom Ant keeps a village safe from a Roc and her egg. The Roc ceases her attacks when her egg hatches. |
[edit] Other appearances[]
- Atom Ant later appeared in Yogi's Ark Lark and its spin-off series Yogi's Gang voiced by Don Messick.
- In the early 1990s series, Yo Yogi! with Don Messick reprising Atom Ant. In the episode "Super Duper Snag," it was revealed that his Atomic Helmet is his source of power.
- Hi-Tech Software released a budget labeled computer game for the Commodore 64 in 1990 called Atom Ant: Up and Atom. The idea of the game is to fly and collect a certain amount of bombs scattered around high rise buildings and 'atomize' them in a special bubble-like device at the top of each area (a game design influenced by Tehkan's Bomb Jack).
- Cartoon Network produced a short cartoon in their "Groovies" series featuring Atom Ant which contained bits of audio tracks from the Atom Ant cartoon, as well as audio from the classic Cold War civil defense film, Duck and Cover. The short can still sometimes be seen on Boomerang.
[edit] External links[]
- The Atom Ant Show at the Internet Movie Database
- Toonpedia: Atom Ant
- The Cartoon Scrapbook – Informational profile on Atom Ant