Highlights
- Atom Eve possesses the ability to transmute any material on a molecular level, manipulate energy, and create objects from nothing, making her virtually invincible and capable of rewriting reality.
- However, Atom Eve's mental blocks, installed by the US government, prevent her from fully utilizing her powers and keep her under control, ensuring the safety of others.
- Though Atom Eve has demonstrated the ability to override her mental blocks in life-threatening situations, she remains fragile and her immortality, triggered by trauma, may be her biggest weakness. Nonetheless, her unique superhuman gifts make her a powerful character in the Invincible universe, showcasing the strength of the brain over brawn.
There is a whale of a reveal at the end of the first season of Robert Kirkman's Invincible. The idea of heroism is turned on its head as one of the most important relationships in the story explodes and falls apart. However, the trouble with Viltrumites is only part of the franchise's tapestry. Atom Eve is easily the second-billed superhero in the series and deserves her place.
Superhero universes tend to operate on multiple levels of scale. Street-level heroes solve traditional crime while demonstrating their ability to beat up dozens of adversaries. Cosmic heroes battle for the fate of the universe and change the laws of physics with their thoughts. Atom Eve represents an interesting middle ground, allowing her to play multiple roles.
What are Atom Eve’s powers?
Samantha Eve Wilkins can transmute any material on a molecular level. She can reconfigure the atomic construction of any physical matter into anything else. She can lower the density of the surrounding air to fly. She can weaken or strengthen objects to change terrain. She can replace a barren wasteland with a lush field of crops. No weapon can be effectively wielded against her. Everything is subject to her imagination. She creates, destroys, and releases no energy through this process, flagrantly violating the laws of physics. She can also make objects from nothing. Atom Eve bends energy into hard light constructs that can take any shape. Her bright pink psionic-manipulative energy fields have no notable range or limitations beyond her imagination. Her powers are dependent entirely on her mental acuity. Without restraint, she'd be a god, capable of rewriting reality to suit her will. However, Atom Eve remains human, and humans have more effective weaknesses than Kryptonite.
What is Atom Eve’s mental block?
According to the comics, Atom Eve is unable to use her powers to manipulate living things. That limitation is questionable in the series, as she once willed a field of crops to grow, but the source material includes this barrier. Atom Eve has mental blocks installed by the United States government to keep her under control. Eve would be immortal, invulnerable, and all-consuming without her mental blocks. She would be able to unmake her enemies before they could pose a threat. She'd be able to change her body's atomic chemistry to take on any form. All matter in the universe would be under her control with no defined limit. The mental blocks keep her restrained but also keep everyone else safe.
Samantha Eve Wilkins was born as part of a government experiment to create a perfect living weapon. She was conceived under the supervision of Dr. Elias Brandyworth and birthed by a woman named Polly. Polly died during the birthing process, as Samantha's powers activated in utero. Dr. Brandyworth and Polly hid Samantha to save her from a life as a military asset. When the villainous Lizard League attacked their lab, the scientist brought Polly to a normal hospital to continue her natural birth. Though Polly died, Dr. Brandyworth switched Samantha with the newborn daughter of Betsy and Adam Wilkins, effectively adopting her out to the new parents. Eve won't meet Brandyworth for some time. He'll be the one to explain the mental block to her. Aware of her limitations, Eve gains a greater understanding of her powers.
Does Eve ever get past her mental block?
In the comics, Eve demonstrates the ability to override her mental blocks when her life is on the line. The first time her mental blocks are explained to her, she suffers a brutal loss and pushes past her limitations. She erases the memory of her foes, a degree of psychic control she wouldn't normally have. In a later conflict, she suffers a fatal wound that allows her to exceed her mental blocks. The resulting blast burns off most of a powerful Viltrumite's skin, leaving him weak enough to die at Mark's hand. A near-death experience seems to be enough to knock out her mental blocks, but she never disposes of them. This implies that Atom Eve may never die, as any sufficient wound would trigger her trauma response, allowing her to awaken and instantly heal. Atom Eve's biggest weakness is her fragility, demonstrating only as much resilience as a regular person. Her immortality might resolve that issue.
Atom Eve has the potential to be one of the most powerful characters in the Invincible universe. She's a breath of fresh air. Most characters in the franchise are impossibly strong, blindingly fast, physically invulnerable, and ruthlessly violent. Atom Eve is none of those things, but her unique superhuman gifts allow her to stand alongside aliens and robots. Atom Eve demonstrates how the brain can beat brawn. Though most of the comic is about alien warriors beating each other to a pulp, one hero comes to battle with a mastery of chemistry and beautiful pink energy.