An Unwelcome Figure

President Ronald Reagan initiated strategic nuclear arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union several times during his administration. During one such negotiation between the superpowers, Herblock inserts his signature character, Mr. Atom, possibly as “a warning he wasn’t going to be permanently on our side alone and that if he weren’t controlled he could cut loose the whole world.” Although wanting the U.S. to develop more nuclear weapons than the U.S.S.R., the president also came to realize how vital it was that both reduce arms.