Real Name: Erik Josten
Height: 6'
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: Red
Legal status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal record
Place Of Birth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Known Relatives: Father-unnamed, deceased. Mother-unnamed, deceased. Brother-Carl Josten, deceased. Brother-Conrad Josten, deceased. Sister-Lindy Josten, deceased.
Former aliases: Power Man, Smuggler, and Goliath III
Group Affiliation:T hunderbolts, former member of the Lethal Legion, Masters of Evil IV, former agent of Enchantress, Black Widow, Red Skull, Mandarin, Grim Reaper, Count Nefaria.
First Appearance(as Power Man): Avengers #21
First Appearance(as Smuggler): Spectacular Spider-man #49
First Appearance(as Goliath): Iron Man Annual #7
First Appearance(as Atlas): Incredible Hulk #449
Erik's daughter Lindy was run over by a car while on her bike as she tried to follow Erik and his friends because she looked up to him causing Erik to run away from home and join the army because he blamed himself. In the army Erik got caught smuggling so he was out on his own again and became a mercenary.
He was offered a place working for Baron Heinrich Zemo where he didn't have to think for himself and became a loyal solider. Once Baron Heinrich Zemo had died, Erik was on his own again until he ran into the Enchantress while trying not to escape capture. The Enchantress used a machine on Erik that Zemo had used previously to create Wonder Man, and Erik gained super strength and started calling himself Power Man. Having someone else to think for him he tried to create a reputation for himself.
After the Enchantress left, Erik found new bosses to work for such as the Grim Reaper, the Mandarin, and Count Nefaria. Nefaria used Erik as well as others and drained their powers away. Virtually powerless he became the Smuggler and became more obsessed with getting the power he used to have back. Eventually he would find someone to do this and he then became Goliath. As Goliath he became a little crazy possibly because of the various transformations and side effects of his ionic nature. With the Masters of Evil he was one of many that attacked Hercules as part of the assault on Avengers Mansion and helped beat Hercules into a coma.
Erik became involved with the Kosmonians and became captured in their dimension. Baron Helmut Zemo rescued him with the help of his new recruits for his new Masters of Evil. Erik was grateful and would join the others, as they would begin their ruse as the Thunderbolts. He even inspired Baron Zemo for the Thunderbolts scheme by jokingly making a remark about taking the job of heroes since the world needed some, after it lost many heroes in the Onslaught crisis.
In the Thunderbolts, Erik would use the name Atlas. He would be more mentally stable than he was as Goliath and would be the strong man for the team. When he would increase his size his strength and durability would increase as well. He would even start up a relationship with Dallas Riordan their government liaison, which would turn out horribly once the Thunderbolts secret of being really villains and not heroes was revealed.
The scheme of villains pretending to be heroes would come to an end and Atlas would initially side with Techno and Zemo against the rest of the Thunderbolts. Atlas just wanted someone to tell him what to do again and was being loyal to Zemo. This ended when Zemo was going to kill Jolt. Atlas switched sides and helped the other thunderbolts defeat Techno and Zemo. Even though he helped the Thunderbolts, Erik still felt he owed something to Zemo so when he asked for help; Erik put Zemo in an escape pod but didn't leave with him.
When the Thunderbolts were outlaws on the run, Erik left the Thunderbolts thinking he would just bring them down. When he goes back home he finds out from his brother Carl Josten that he has had a devastating effect on his family. Back when Erik used to go under the name Power Man, news got back to his hometown and the Josten family was disgraced. No one would do business with the Josten's and their farm went bankrupt. After that Erik's parents died, and his other brother Conrad ran away and supposedly changed his name. Carl was now a drunk that just does odd jobs he could find.
Erik tries to help Carl out with the troubles he has with Loan Sharks and in the end Carl ends up dying. Atlas felt like he had betrayed someone he owed once again in his life and that was the last time it was going to happen. He was going to stop running away so he returned to the Thunderbolts to help them in their fight against Graviton.
The Thunderbolts later would come into conflict with the Crimson Cowl and her new Master of Evil and the Crimson Cowl would be revealed as Dallas Riordan. Erik would be shocked by this revelation. He would discover this was only a ruse by the Crimson Cowl and the Dallas was really Citizen V. Dallas would lay much blame upon Erik for ruining her life.
Then the Thunderbolts would team up with the Avengers against the threat of Nefaria. It was both Wonder-man and Atlas that helped stop a final gambit by Nefaria, but the effects to both of them were serious. Atlas' ionic state was in flux because his body was unable to control all the energy he had absorbed. He was restricted to a containment area until Techno in disguise as Ogre would be able to help him. Techno never got around to it before he was defeated by Scourge. The containment chamber wouldn't hold Erik forever as his body expanded beyond it unable to control his form. It came to the point where he exploded and would have destroyed Burton Canyon if not for the efforts of Jolt and Scourge.
Since Erik was an Ionic being he would be back, but he needed an anchor. He would haunt Dallas Riordan until finally emerging within her body when Graviton was well into his greatest scheme yet. Erik took control of Dallas' body in a new ionic form and went to go help the Thunderbolts. In the conclusion of the battle with Graviton, he disappeared along with most of the other Thunderbolts who discovered they were on Counter Earth.
Erik and Dallas now share the same body, think together, and do everything together. Now when powered up In Ionic form Erik is in control of the body, when powered down Dallas controls the body in her own form. Erik finds the his new arrangements weird but is happy for Dallas' thoughts helping to steer him do the right thing all the time. Dallas hasn't really expressed her feeling much on the situation yet.
In order to save two worlds, (Earth and Counter-Earth) and return home Erik/Dallas follow Jolt's plan. It succeeds but in the process a huge amount of energy is swallowed up by the void from a spaceship. This separates Erik and Dallas.
When they are back on Earth, Erik no longer has his powers but he says they don't make him who he is while Dallas damaged nervous system has been repaired and she has enhanced strength and reflexes. Fixer later shows up unexpected and shoots Erik with Pym particles giving back Erik his ability to grow to a large size again so he can be Atlas. Finally Erik decides to stay with Dallas in the Thunderbolts led by Baron Zemo.
Thunderbolts and all associated characters are the property of MARVEL COMICS TM&©2003.