Albert Rothstein (New Earth)

Philip Rothstein (father, deceased), Terri Kurtzberger Rothstein (mother), Terence Curtis (Cyclotron, grandfather, deceased), Atom (Al Pratt) (god father, deceased), Damage (Grant Emerson, god brother)

Universe

New Earth

Base Of Operations

New York City

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Height

7'6" up to 40ft

Weight

299 lbs (134 kg) up to 4,000 lbs

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Red

Status

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Crime-fighter

Origin

The godson of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom, Albert Rothstein acquired his mutant 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, allowing him to fight crime first as Nuklon, and then, later, as Atom-Smasher.

Place of Birth

Unknown

First appearance

All-Star Squadron #25 (Nuklon), JSA Secret Files and Origins #1 (Atom-Smasher)

History

As Nuklon, Albert was a charter member of Infinity, Inc. and subsequently served in the Justice League. He took the Atom Smasher identity shortly before the founding of the current Justice Society of America, of which he was a charter member. He views Pratt's son, Damage, as a brother, and acted as an older brother figure to Stargirl. While Stargirl has (or at least had) some romantic feelings for Atom Smasher, he has not yet openly reciprocated.

The Justice Society

For years, Atom Smasher cherished his role in upholding Pratt's legacy and constantly sought to prove himself worthy to his Golden Age idols -- especially when many of them became his teammates in the JSA. But when Albert's mother was murdered in a plane crash engineered by Kobra, he became consumed by vengeance. Not long after the fatal crash, Albert -- with the aid of Metron of the New Gods -- went back in time and replaced his mother with a weakened Extant, saving her life but murdering the supervillain.

Black Adam

When Captain Marvel's longtime adversary Black Adam reformed and joined the JSA, he and Rothstein developed a kinship; indeed, Black Adam once commented that he thought of Atom Smasher as the brother he never had. Encouraged by Adam, Atom Smasher grew frustrated with the JSA's moral boundaries, especially when Kobra blackmailed authorities into granting his release. Albert and Adam promptly quit the JSA after Kobra's escape.

Shortly thereafter, the unlikely duo settled each other's personal scores. Adam killed Kobra; Rothstein killed the dictatorial president of Kahndaq, Adam's home country. Atom Smasher helped lead a team of rogue metahumans (including former Infinity Inc. teammates Brain Wave and Northwind) that invaded the country and overthrew its oppressive regime. Atom Smasher initially fought against his JSA teammates in Kahndaq before deciding instead to help forge an uneasy truce -- Black Adam and his compatriots could remain in power so long as they never left the country.

Atom Smasher remained in the Middle Eastern nation for a time, although he eventually began to question Adam's motives. Rothstein perished while fighting against the Spectre, but was revived by Black Adam's lightning, and carried back to JSA headquarters.

He was later put on trial for his actions in Kahndaq and pleaded guilty to all charges. Whilst in jail, he was approached by the founder of the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller (also White Queen of Checkmate). Waller recruited Al as part of a new group of covert operatives using the name, the Suicide Squad. Aware of Al's history with Black Adam, she sent the squad to San Francisco to sanction him. There, the Squad fought not only Black Adam, but Black Marvel Family members, Isis, Osiris and Sobek as well. Despite his prodigious strength, Al lost the fight against his old colleague. ^[1]

Recently, Al worked with the JSA to track the recently repowered Black Adam, eventually encountering him in a diner. The two notably did not fight, showing that their relationship is a bit more amicable.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Atomic Dispersal: As a result of exposure to uncontrolled Thorium radiation, the Atom Smasher's mass has become unstable. Al can grow, allowing him to grow up to 28 feet tall. At this height, Al is resistant to hits by all attacks from normal sized characters. With Atomic Dispersal, Al increases the distance between his own atoms, thus increasing his overall size. Under normal circumstances his mass would remain the same no matter how large he becomes. However, his mass increase power counteracts these effects, to a point.

Mass Increase: Al can increase his body's mass. His weight is multiplied by the his height. Of course, as he weighs more, he has a greater effect on the environment. The power gives Al up to Amazing resistance to physical attacks. He can also use the mass instead of his strength to inflict charging damage. This power is tied to his growth power.

Increased Strength: as he grows his strength increases, both compensating for his increased mass and allowing him to grow to greater and greater heights.

Increased Stamina
Increased Speed
Increased Durability

Density Control (formerly): During his time as Nuklon, Albert was able to phase through walls

Abilities

Aviation: Rothstein is also a skilled pilot and mechanic. In the first few years with the JSA, he could be seen piloting the JSA's jet, the Steel Eagle, as well as the Star Rocket Racer and earlier being Infinity, Inc.'s primary pilot. ^[2]

Multilingualism: In addition to his native language, Al Rothstein is also fluent in Kahndaqi. ^[3]

Strength level

At 7'6" tall he can lift (press) 800 lbs, At 9" tall he can lift (press) 1 ton, At 12" tall he can lift (press) 10 tons, At 18" tall he can lift (press) 30 tons, At 28" tall he can lift (press) 50 tons.

Weaknesses

Increasing his size beyond his optimal limitations causes Al great physical discomfort.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.

Notes

Aside from Ragman, Seraph and the members of Hayoth, Al is one of the very few openly Jewish superheroes in the DC universe.

Trivia

In the Black Adam mini-series, Al was incorrectly drawn as being no taller than Wildcat or Mr. Terrific. He also had darker hair, though this may have been artistic license.

Links and References

Footnotes

↑ 52 - Week Thirty-Four
↑ JSA: Our World's at War #1
↑ JSA #74

[[Category:{{{Creators}}}/Creator]]

[0] 52 - Week Thirty-Four

[1] JSA: Our World's at War #1

[2] JSA #74

[1]

[2]

[3]

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