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". 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.

[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 amazing 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

1. Up and Atom
2. Crankenshafts Monster
3. Gem a Go, Go
4. Ferocious Flea
5. Rambling Robot
6. Nobody's Fool
7. Atom Ant Meets Karate Ant
8. Fastest Ant in the West
9. Mistaken Identity
10. How Now Bow Wow
11. Dragon Master
12. The Big Gimmick
13. Super Blooper
14. Wild, Wild Ants
15. Dina Sore
16. Amusement Park Amazement
17. Bully for Atom Ant
18. Termighty Mean
19. Nine Strikes Your Out
20. Go West Young Ant
21. Knight Fight
22. Pteraducktyl Soup
23. Up in the Air Squares
24. Mouse Rouser
25. Killer Diller Gorilla
26. Rock a Bye Boo, Boo

[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).

[edit] External links

• The Atom Ant Show at the Internet Movie Database
• Toonpedia: Atom Ant
• The Cartoon Scrapbook – Informational profile on Atom Ant.