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The Flash: Edge’s Character Atom-Smasher Not Usually A Villain In The Comics

By Nick Tylwalk

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Thanks to ComicBook.com, we now know the identity of the masked man being played by Adam Copeland, better known as Edge during his time as a WWE superstar, in the Season 2 premiere of The Flash. He’s going to be Atom-Smasher, and it sounds as if his powers are going to be roughly the same as they have been in the comics according to the official description from The CW.

"One of the most powerful enemies we encounter this season, Atom Smasher has come to Central City to kill The Flash.  His incredible strength and ability to grow to enormous size makes him more than a match for Flash and the entire S.T.A.R. Labs team will have to come together to find a way to defeat him."

In the pages of DC Comics, Atom-Smasher was Albert Rothstein, a legacy super hero from the pre-Crisis Earth-Two. While his grandfather Terry Curtis fought the All-Star Squadron as the radioactive villain Cyclotron, he did so unwillingly, and eventually gave his life in an attempt to defeat the Ultra-Humanite. Rothstein’s godfather was Al Pratt, the original Atom.

Rothstein began his heroic career as Nuklon, probably known best for his impressive mohawk. He was a founding member of Inifnity Inc. alongside other Earth-Two legacy heroes, and eventually became a member of the Justice League as well. Even later, he joined the Justice Society of America as Atom-Smasher, with his costume a tribute to both Curtis and Pratt.

As ComicBook.com also points out, Atom-Smasher has done some not so heroic things in his career, not the least of which was traveling back in time to replace his mother — who died in a plane crash thanks to the villain Kobra — with another villain named Extant, who died in her place. That’s a temptation to which the TV Barry Allen can certainly relate.

Perhaps topping that, Rothstein sided with Black Adam against his own team for a while, killing the ruler of Khandaq to help Adam return to power. The JSA eventually forgave him when he repented, but the point here is that there’s precedent for Atom-Smasher on either side of the law even though he was more often a hero than not.

We don’t even know for sure that Edge’s Atom-Smasher is Albert Rothstein, though since that name was dropped in Season 1, it seems likely. We won’t have to wait long to find out, as Edge will bring the big guy to life in “The Man Who Saved Central City,” which airs Tuesday, October 7 on The CW.

Next: All the Confirmed Heroes and Villains for Season 2 of The Flash

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