'Black Adam': Who is Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher?
Dwayne Johnson’s first-ever superhero movie ‘Black Adam’ is just around the corner and fans are really excited to see the origin story of an anti-hero on the biggest screen possible. The character was originally slated to make an appearance in the movie ‘Shazam!’ but DC and Warner Bros thought that it would be wise to give the character his own movie and explore it with a lot of depth. Apart from Black Adam, the movie also sees several new heroes and villains making an appearance.
However, if there’s one character that has managed to create a lot of buzz before the release, it’s undoubtedly Atom Smasher. ‘The Fosters’ star Noah Centineo will be seen playing the intriguing character in the movie and will be making his DCEU debut with ‘Black Adam’. Atom Smasher is one of the most interesting characters in the DC universe and shared a good relationship with the titular character in different phases of life.
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So, let’s take a look at who Atom Smasher is and why he came face-to-face against Black Adam in San Francisco.
Who is Atom Smasher?
Albert Rothstein, aka Atom Smasher, is the grandson of the reluctant super-villain known as Cyclotron, from whom Albert inherited his meta-human powers. As he grew older, he started to control his powers with the help of his godfather AI Pratt. He helped Albert in becoming a superhero and named him Nuklon. The character went on to become a member of Infinity Inc and subsequently joined the Justice Society of America (JSA). Albert was enjoying the responsibility of carrying forward Pratt’s legacy and did everything to prove himself worthy to all the other Golden Age idols.
However, things changed when his mother was murdered in a plane crash engineered by Kobra. Albert, consumed by vengeance, forgot everything and killed the supervillain in the most gruesome manner.
He met Black Adam for the first time when the anti-hero joined the Justice Society of America. Adam had no rules and used any method or technique to provide justice. Adam shared a great bond with Rothstein and often considered him as the brother he never had. Adam played a significant role in letting Atom Smasher know that he didn’t have to adhere to the moral boundaries of the JSA. Both characters left the JSA and went on to settle each other’s personal scores.
Smasher was killed in a fight with Spectre, but the lighting of Black Adam revived him, and was taken back to the headquarters of JSA.
Smasher was put into prison for killing the president of Black Adam’s country and there, he met Amanda Waller, the founder of Suicide Squad. He became a part of the group and was sent to San Francisco to fight Black Adam.
Despite being really powerful, Rothstein lost the fight to Adam and rejoined JSA. He helped the team in tracking Adam after he went on a killing spree following the death of his loved ones. Rothstein didn’t waste time and confronted Adam, but didn’t fight him. He tried to talk to him politely and said that he doesn’t believe he (Adam) is responsible for the killings of people. To his horror, Adam admitted to the killing of those people and told Rothstein that he won’t stop.
Despite being beaten by Black Adam in a fight, Smasher continues to be a force to be reckoned with and possesses a lot of powers. Atomic Dispersal, Mass Increase, Superhuman strength, Enhanced Stamina, Enhanced Speed, Superhuman durability, and Intangibility are some of the superhuman abilities he has shown in recent years.
His first appearance in DC took during the Earth-Two era of publication.
The official synopsis of the movie reads, “The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the DC Super Hero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra ('Jungle Cruise'). Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.”
‘Black Adam’ is scheduled to hit theatres on Friday, October 21, 2022.