ATOM SMASHER

BLACK ADAM (SPIN MASTER)

This weekend sees the release of the latest DC live action film, the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-led Black Adam.  Warner Brothers is really banking on this one to net them some success, and they’ve certainly got the hype-machine running for it.  As I mentioned in my review of Doctor Fate, the film’s filling in Black Adam’s supporting cast with some of the Justice Society of America.  Noah Centineo plays Al Rothstein, aka Atom Smasher, who’s perhaps the JSA member with the closest ties to Black Adam himself, given their interwoven story during their shared time on the team during Jeff Johns’ run.  So, uh, let’s look at an Atom Smasher figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Atom Smasher is part of the first assortment of basic figures from Spin Master’s Black Adam line. He and the rest of the non-Adam characters look to be lighter packed, so they’re a bit on the rarer side at the moment.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  Atom Smasher’s articulation scheme matches the slightly modified one we saw on Fate.  The new hip set-up’s not quite as strong as the prior set-up they’d been using on their DC figures, but beyond that, it still works pretty respectably, especially given the price point.  Atom Smasher is another all-new sculpt, based on his film appearance.  Since Dr. Fate’s design was largely CGI for the movie, his figure wound up being rather loose on the specific details, but Atom Smasher sticks a little bit closer.  Really, the only difference here is the fingerless gloves, which are a carry over from an earlier design.  Atom Smasher’s movie design is honestly pretty great.  He’s got sleeves now, but it’s not that crazy a shift (Al had sleeves during his Nuklon days, so it’s not entirely out of place for the character).  Otherwise, it’s a pretty sleek adaptation of his comics look.  The details on the sculpt are a little bit on the softer side, but he’s pretty clean, and everything important is there.  The color work on Atom Smasher is bright and colorful, which is pretty fun.  The paint application is overall quite clean, and his symbol in particular is quite sharp in its detailing.  Atom Smasher is packed with two bulked up fist pieces, which aren’t quite the most accurate rendition of his size-changing ability, but it’s still a really fun gimmick.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked the Doctor Fate figure, and I’m down for a good Atom Smasher, so I was on the hunt for this one.  Fortunately, it was a pretty quick hunt, as Max was able to snag me one about a week or two after I found the Doctor Fate figure.  Like Fate, this guy’s just a ton of fun.  And, in doing a little bit of digging, I discovered that there’s also an Atom Smasher in Spin Master’s 12 inch line for the movie, so I guess now I’m gonna have to track that one down.