Atlas/1980s

In the 1980s series, creator Osamu Tezuka chose to develop this character's role to be more involved in the story. In this series, Atlas was built by Count Wulper Guiss using the same blueprint for creating Astro Boy; these blueprints had been stolen by the criminal Skunk, another common antagonist of the more modern Astro Boy stories. Atlas' facial features resemble those of Astro, but his overall appearance varies greatly, with an orange body and gold hair.

Rather than simply being a confused robot who carried out the commands of his human creator with no knowledge of the repercussions of his actions, he was given what was known as the Omega Factor, a device that allowed him the ability to hurt humans. Early in the series, Atlas' body was severely damaged, along with that of his beloved robotic caretaker, Livian. It was after this event that Atlas rebuilt his and Livian's bodies into the adult, warrior-like appearances that they remained in for the rest of the series. In Atlas' last appearance in the series (Atlas Forever), Astro Boy found out that he was Atlas' brother. At the end of the episode, Atlas gave up his evil ways and sacrificed himself to save the world.