Albert Rothstein (known by the aliases Nuklon and Atom Smasher) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Atom Smasher is known for his power of growth and super strength. The character made its live-action debut in The Flash, played by Adam Copeland. The character appears in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam (2022), played by Noah Centineo. Publication history Created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, he first appeared in The 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 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 forces the weakened villain Extant into a position where he takes the place of Albert's mother on