Atom Smasher (DC Comics)

Atom Smasher
Albert Rothstein as Atom Smasher Art by Alan Davis
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Nuklon: All-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983) As Atom Smasher: Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996)
Created by	Roy Thomas Jerry Ordway Mike Machlan
In-story information
Alter ego	Albert Julian Rothstein
Team affiliations	Suicide Squad Justice Society of America Justice League America The Conglomerate Infinity, Inc.
Partnerships	Atom
Notable aliases	Nuklon, Atom Smasher
Abilities	Growth, increased strength, stamina, speed and durability. Formerly density control.

Albert Rothstein (known by the aliases Nuklon and Atom Smasher) is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe. Atom Smasher is known for his power of growth and super strength.

Atom Smasher made his first live action appearance on the second season of The Flash played by Adam Copeland. The character will make his cinematic debut in 2022's Black Adam portrayed by Noah Centineo set in the DC Extended Universe.

Publication history

Created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, he first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983). Thomas chose his name as a tribute to his friend and fellow comic book fan Allan Rothstein.

Fictional character biography

Origin

The godson of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom, Albert Rothstein acquired his metahuman powers of super strength and control over his molecular structure, allowing him to alter the size and density of his body, from his grandfather, a reluctant supervillain known as Cyclotron. This allowed him to fight crime first as Nuklon, and then, later, as Atom Smasher. As Nuklon, Albert was a charter member of Infinity, Inc. and subsequently served in the Justice League. He was considered a dependable, but rather insecure and indecisive superhero while in Infinity, Inc. During this time he had a mohawk haircut. While in the JLA, he forged a strong friendship with fellow former Infinity Inc. teammate Obsidian.

The Justice Society

Atom Smasher about to crush Kobra.

Albert finally gets his dream and is invited to join the reunited JSA under his new name and identity, Atom Smasher (he mocks his old mohawk and costume in the meantime). For years, Atom Smasher cherishes his role in upholding Pratt's legacy and constantly seeks to prove himself worthy to his Golden Age idols – especially when many of them became his teammates in the JSA. He looks up to the elder JSA members, but is himself looked up to by young rookie member Stargirl. When Albert's mother is murdered in a plane crash engineered by the terrorist Kobra, he becomes consumed by vengeance, nearly crushing Kobra in his hands before he is talked down by his teammate Jack Knight, who convinces him that he should not taint the memory of his mother by associating it with Kobra's murder. Not long after the fatal crash, Albert – with the aid of Metron of the New Gods – goes back in time and replaces his mother with the weakened villain Extant. This ends up saving her life but makes Albert a murderer, even if there was no other way to contain Extant and to stop him from causing further harm.

Black Adam

When Captain Marvel's longtime adversary Black Adam reforms and joins the JSA, he and Rothstein develop a rivalry at first as Al refuses to believe Adam has reformed. This soon turns to kinship after Adam justifies Al's murderous actions towards Extant. Indeed, Black Adam comments that he thinks of Atom Smasher as the brother he never had. Encouraged by Adam, Atom Smasher grows frustrated with the JSA's moral boundaries, especially when Kobra blackmails authorities into granting his release. Albert and Adam promptly quit the JSA after Kobra's escape.

Shortly thereafter, the unlikely duo settle each other's personal scores. Adam kills Kobra, while Rothstein kills the dictatorial president of Khandaq, Adam's home country. Atom Smasher helps lead a team of rogue metahumans (including former Infinity Inc. teammates Brainwave and Northwind) in an invasion of Khandaq and overthrow its oppressive regime. Atom Smasher initially fights against his JSA teammates in Khandaq before deciding instead to help forge an uneasy truce—Black Adam and his compatriots can remain in power so long as they never leave the country.

Atom Smasher remains in the Middle Eastern nation for a time, although he eventually begins to question Adam's motives. Rothstein perishes in JSA #75 while fighting against the Spectre, but is revived by Black Adam's lightning, and carried back to JSA headquarters.

He is later put on trial for his actions in Khandaq and pleads guilty to all charges. Teammate Stargirl promises to "be there for him" when he gets out. Whilst in jail, he is approached by the founder of the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller. In 52, he is seen assembling a new Suicide Squad under Waller's orders, instructed to fight Black Adam, and, unbeknownst to Atom Smasher himself, push his family to overreact. They succeed, and Osiris is disgraced and exposed for having killed a Squad member, as Amanda Waller was filming the events, leading to the downfall of the whole Black Marvel Family, and a murderous rampage of Black Adam, dubbed World War III.

He then sides with the Justice Society, trying to apprehend Black Adam, but refuses to condemn him in any way, not even believing him guilty of the genocide in Bialya ("Tell me it wasn't you..."). When Adam is robbed of his powers by Captain Marvel, and is about to plunge to his death, it is Atom Smasher who saves him, though no character ever sees this, and Al keeps it hidden.

In the Black Adam: The Dark Age series, Albert is shown searching for his former friend, who is intent upon resurrecting his dead wife Isis. In Black Adam #5, Albert brings Adam a bone from Isis' remains (unbeknownst to the JSA, with whom he was searching for Adam), and tries unsuccessfully to persuade his friend to go into hiding.

Modern-day JSA issues

In the Justice Society of America: The Kingdom special, Stargirl recruits Atom Smasher to knock some sense into Damage, who has become an evangelist of sorts for the Third World god Gog after the cosmic being (temporarily) healed his scarred face. He views Pratt's son as a brother figure, since he was brought up by Pratt in the first place.

Atom Smasher finally returns to the JSA during the "Black Adam and Isis" arc printed in Justice Society of America #23–25. Asking the team for a second chance at honoring the memory of Al Pratt, Atom Smasher joins the Justice Society in battling Black Adam and Isis, who have robbed Captain Marvel of his powers and his throne at the Rock of Eternity. At the conclusion of the story, despite Wildcat's distrust, Atom Smasher is readmitted into the JSA as a full member, along with all the other members of the team who had acted poorly in recent issues. He vanishes for several issues, but he reappears in the JSA: All-Stars book as a victim of kidnapping.

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Atom Smasher returns to the DC Universe alongside the rest of the Justice Society of America when Doctor Manhattan, inspired by Superman, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erased the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Powers and abilities

Already super strong at his normal size — 7 ft 6 in, or 2.3 m (though recently he has been depicted as being of a more normal height when not using his powers), Atom Smasher's strength and density increase proportionately to whatever size he chooses (it was explained in JSA #75 that his muscles and bones actually break and reform as they grow in order to achieve these great heights).

In the DC Encyclopedia, it is stated that he could grow up to 60 feet without problems. Whether there is a limit to the heights he can grow to is unknown. At 60 feet, he was strong enough to knock out Power Girl with one stomp, and easily decimated most of the JSA during "Black Reign", but he is vulnerable to super-strong punches from the likes of Black Adam, being knocked unconscious with one blow several times. During his time as Nuklon, Albert was able to phase through walls; he has not been shown using this power in recent years, but it is unclear whether it has been retconned away. Rothstein is also a skilled pilot and mechanic. In the first few years of JSA, he could be seen piloting the JSA's jet, the Steel Eagle, as well as the Star Rocket Racer in JSA: Our Worlds at War, and earlier being Infinity, Inc.'s primary pilot.

Relationships with women

Albert has had complicated relationships with women during his tenure on various super-hero teams. While on Infinity, Inc., he was shown to be clearly in love with teammate Fury, despite her engagement to his friend Silver Scarab. Many other characters make note of this, though none of them begrudge Al, and actually feel sorry for him because he will inevitably have his heart broken. Looking up to her even as children, he eventually proposes when Hector is killed and she is left pregnant, so that she will not be alone. She turns him down, saying that she prefers them to be friends. He also has a brief flirtation with the second Wildcat Yolanda Montez, but things never developed between them. During his time with the League, he dates Fire, but he discontinues the relationship because she is not Jewish — even though this did not stop his earlier or later crushes.

His relationship with Stargirl is even more complex. While Stargirl has shown some romantic feelings for Atom Smasher in the past, there is never any reciprocation on his part. Later issues clearly establish Stargirl's true feelings, as various friends (such as Billy Batson (Captain Marvel) or her friend Mary) accuse her of liking Al, and she promises to wait for him upon his return from prison. When Al is killed temporarily by The Spectre, she reveals the depths of her feelings for him, weeping over his dead body. Albert finally acknowledges his own feelings when he rejoins the JSA to fight Black Adam, admitting that Billy Batson deserves her far more than Al himself does, in a regretful tone. Al's teammates realize the couple's mutual attraction once they start openly fawning over each other in public, and while Power Girl is supportive ("Go rescue your fair maiden"), the elder members force Al to turn Courtney down due to the age difference. This leaves Al melancholy, and Courtney runs off crying. Later issues of JSA: All-Stars reveal the two still love each other, but after Johnny Sorrow mimics Al to force a kiss from the young girl, they both recognize the need for "space". In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Year 5 Annual, (Injustice is outside of the regular DC universe continuity) he's revealed to be in a relationship with Giganta, but they both frequently argue and bicker, leading to them getting into huge fights. According to Gren Lantern, they argue and bicker a lot, but they always end up making up. While cleaning up Metropolis, the 2 of them argue over a metal girder and start fighting, trashing half of the city.

Other versions

Kingdom Come

Al was part of Superman's Justice League in Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come under the code-name "Atom Smasher". This was the debut of his new name, which was later used in mainstream DC continuity.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Atom Smasher makes a cameo appearance as an Easter egg outside the Hall of Justice stage where he is fighting the villain Giganta in the background while the player is fighting.

In other media

Television

• A character partially based on Albert Rothstein / Atom Smasher named Tom Turbine appears in the Justice League animated series two-part episode "Legends", voiced by Ted McGinley. Turbine is a superhero from an alternate universe and member of the Justice Guild of America. During his time as a superhero, he battled the Injustice Guild and died alongside the rest of the JGA during a war that destroyed most of their world. Years later, psionic metahuman Ray Thompson recreated the JGA as part of an illusion before the heroes "died" a second time to defeat him. According to series producer Bruce Timm, Tom Turbine was based primarily on the Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, though characteristics of early Superman and Atom Smasher were incorporated into the character as well.

Atom Smasher in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X".

• Atom Smasher makes minor non-speaking appearances in the Justice League Unlimited animated series as a member of an expanded Justice League. In the episode "Dark Heart", he helps the Justice League fight aliens spawned from the titular Dark Heart. In the episode "Task Force X", Atom Smasher fights the Annihilator automaton, though he is quickly defeated. As Martian Manhunter battles the eponymous group, Plastique forces him to stop when she threatens to place a bomb in Atom Smasher's mouth, but Captain Atom arrives and stops her. In the episode "Panic In The Sky", Atom Smasher fights and defeats a Long Shadow clone.
• A villainous Earth-2 version of Albert Rothstein / Atom Smasher appears in The Flash live-action series episode "The Man Who Saved Central City", portrayed Adam Copeland. While Eobard Thawne listed the Earth-1 version of Rothstein as a casualty of his particle accelerator accident in a previous episode, the latter was retroactively stated to have been in Hawaii at the time and as such, never acquired powers. The Earth-2 Rothstein killed his Earth-1 counterpart before attempting to do the same to the Flash on Zoom's behalf, only to be defeated and killed by the speedster while doing so.

Film

Main article: DC Extended Universe

Albert Rothstein / Atom Smasher is scheduled to appear in the live-action DC Extended Universe film Black Adam, portrayed by Noah Centineo.

Video games

Atom Smasher makes a cameo appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us. He appears in the background of the Hall of Justice stage while fighting Giganta.

Toys

• Atom Smasher was rendered as an action figure for Mattel's Justice League Unlimited toyline in the summer of 2005.
• In February 2009, Atom Smasher was featured as the Collect-and-Connect figure of the DC Universe Classics line's seventh wave.

External links

• Atom Smasher on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
• Cosmic Teams: Atom Smasher
• Atom-Smasher at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine