Yeah, I had a feeling that there was something fishy going on from how you described them.
To be fair, it is a difficult ability to understand. But Reversal just means you can start with the Atlas Throw instead of finishing with it if you get all 5 successes. If you only get 3 successes, you can start at the end of your 3 successes, but your 3 successes will all be pushes, so it doesn't matter what order you do them in.
Hmm... reading the throw ability, it says "place the model within D3 inches of its current position". "Place" is neither a push or a shift, which are the two kinds of placement that the rules cover. Are you supposed to be able to throw a model straight into a hazard I wonder?
Opinion: If the throw is neither a push nor a shift, then I guess getting thrown into a non-lethal hazard will do nothing (since their rules specify that you have to be pushed into them), but getting thrown into a pit will still work (since their rules just talk about being in contact with them). Which actually does feel like it makes sense to me...