JSA #17 - "The Search For The Spectre" (2026)

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365 DC Comics Heroes & Villains Paper Cut-Outs

Atom Smasher

Albert Rothstein is the godson of the Golden Age Atom and grandson of the former super villain known as Cyclotron.  The experiment that bestowed Cyclotron his powers altered his genome, resulting in the passing down of the metagene to his grandson.  As such, young Albert discovered he possessed super human powers in his adolescence.  

These powers include greatly enhanced strength and durability as well as the ability to increase his height and mass.  He can augment his size of seven feet tall with little effort and can extend to as high as one hundred feet with great strain and concentration.  His increased size is paired with greater strength and resistance to injury.       

Initially taking on the alias of ‘Nuklon’ Albert helped to form the hero team Infinity Inc.  This was a team composed of young heroes connected to the original Justice Society.  He stayed with Infinity Inc. until its eventual disbandment whereupon Albert was recruited into The Justice League.  He dated the fellow Leaguer Fire for a brief while although broke things off because she is not Jewish and he could not see a long term future with her.  

Despite his many accomplishments and having proven himself a worthy hero, Albert has suffered from longstanding anxiety, often feeling like some type of an imposter who did not truly deserve to be called a superhero.  Albert was significantly injured when the League satellite station was destroyed and he was out of action for a period of time.  

He ultimately returned now going by the name ‘Atom Smasher’ and sporting a costume reminiscent of that worn by his godfather, Al Pratt.  His return to action was concurrent with his joining the newer iteration of The Justice Society.  While with the Society, Albert and his teammate Stargirl both developed a crush on one another, yet something was always getting in the way of the two becoming involved romantically.  

Albert endured a great tragedy when his mother was killed in a terrorist attack orchestrated by Kobra.   His mother’s death unleashed a rage in Albert that he could barely contend with and he would have murdered the villain responsible had he not been talked down by his colleges in the Justice Society.  Some time later, during an adventure involving time travel, Albert had the opportunity to save his mother.  He succeeded in saving his mother, but it came at the cost of his having to take a life and he ended up killing the villain known as Extant.  

Extant needed to be stoped and Albert was happy to have his mother back, yet the fact that he was now essentially a murderer haunted him.  It eventually led to Albert falling in with Black Adam’s more proactive and lethal version of The Justice Society.  Albert later came to his senses and was involved in the effort to take Black Adam down following the World War III event.  

Albert served a brief prison sentence for his role in Black Adam’s crimes and was discharged from the Justice Society.  Since the Doomsday Clock event, however, Albert has been shown as once more a member of The Society and has also been seen as a member of the extended Justice League.