Agents of Atlas

In Marvel Comics continuity the team was presented retroactively as having been formed in spring 1958 by FBI agent Jimmy Woo to rescue President Dwight D. Eisenhower from the villain Yellow Claw. The team was assembled from characters originally appearing in the 1940s–1950s (Atlas-era characters) and first appeared as a group in the alternate-universe story What If #9 (June 1978); they were later reintroduced into mainstream continuity in appearances including a 2006 limited series set in the present day and a 2019 revamp (The New Agents of Atlas).

There is no single physical appearance for Agents of Atlas because the name denotes a team whose membership and visual presentation have varied across publications. The classic retro team includes characters visually distinctive in comics art such as Gorilla-Man (a man in gorilla form), M-11/the Human Robot (an android figure), Marvel Boy/the Uranian (who appears with Uranian technology and a flying saucer), Venus (a mythic humanoid figure), Namora (an Atlantean/mer-descended heroine), and Jimmy Woo (portrayed as a human federal agent). Modern incarnations (the 2019 New Agents of Atlas) present a visually diverse, primarily Asian and Asian American roster including Aero, Brawn, Crescent and Io, Luna Snow, Shang-Chi, Silk, Sword Master, Wave, White Fox and Ms. Marvel, each depicted with distinct superhero costumes and design elements in the comics art cited by the sources.

Powers and abilities are character-specific rather than team-generic. Examples from sources include Marvel Boy/the Uranian using Uranian technology (including a flying saucer and restorative devices), M-11/the Human Robot possessing android strength and functionality, Gorilla-Man exhibiting enhanced strength and agility in gorilla form, and Jimmy Woo exercising investigative, leadership, and federal-agent skills. The New Agents (2019 roster) include heroes with wind manipulation (Aero), Hulk-like strength and genius-level intellect (Brawn), ice-based powers (Luna Snow), water manipulation (Wave), polymorphic/elastic abilities (Ms. Marvel), martial-arts mastery (Shang‑Chi), mystical swordsmanship (Sword Master), fox-derived espionage and shapeshifting traditions (White Fox), and spider-derived powers (Silk). The team as a collective conducts rescues, clandestine operations, and organizational leadership (for example taking over the Atlas Foundation) as narrated in the comics.