* ExecutiveMeddling: Monarch. Period.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Of the DependingOnTheArtist variety. The original Charlton Comics Captain Atom, Allen Adam, was originally supposed to wear a blue-purple suit with his hair turning red in superhero mode, as can be seen at the end of his origin issue. By his second appearance, he had switched over to the yellow-orange-red suit with silver-white hair in superhero mode (while retaining brown hair in his civilian mode, which intentionally or not made him look like the Silver Age ComicBook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan), which in turn would be replaced by another red/blue/silver armed costume while retaining the white/silver hair.
** Per ExecutiveMeddling, Atom was intended to be one of DC's eminent [[FallenHero fallen heroes]], BigBad Monarch. Unfortunately, the original storyline where this was intended got rewritten at the last minute. Subsequent attempts in the aftermath of ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis and ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis were similarly muddled.
** After realizing he didn't have the rights to the [[Creator/ArchieComics MLJ Comics]] Superheroes[[note]]DC later bought the rights to said superheroes, which are part of DC's Impact Comics brand; however, said purchase was not made until 1991, ''after'' ''Watchmen'' had been published[[/note]], Alan Moore intended to use the Charlton Comics characters in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', and Captain Atom would've taken the role Doctor Manhattan has in said comic. However, because DC planned on integrating the Charlton Comics characters into the main DC Universe following ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', his proposal was rejected.