Cyclotron is the name of two different characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. Though a minor character, he holds an important place in the history of the

Justice Society Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

as a source of power and inspiration for both the

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

and

Atom Smasher A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Large accelerators are used for fun ...

Publication history

Terry Curtis was originally an obscure one-shot

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

character in ''Action Comics'' #21 (1940) who was a scientist who was kidnapped by

Ultra-Humanite Ultra-Humanite is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared as a recurring adversary of Superman. The Ultra-Humanite is the first supervillain faced by Superman and he is among the first supervillai ...

and forced to build an "atomic disintegrator".

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

reinvented the character as Cyclotron, a reluctant

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

, in ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its se ...

'' #21 (1983) from

. He was one of the few original villains retroactively added to DC's

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

era in the series.

Fictional character biography

Terry Curtis

Cyclotron was an

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

ic scientist in the 1930s and 1940s named Terry Curtis (born Terrence Kurtzenberg, he had later Anglicized his name). In the past, he had had a brief romantic relationship with Dannette Reilly, the second Firebrand. Curtis was eventually kidnapped by the villainous

(whose brain was in Delores Winters' body at the time) who sought to make use of the scientist's expertise with atomic energy. He was subjected to the Ultra-Humanite's experiments and exposed to radiation which granted him superhuman abilities. Used as a pawn by the villain, Curtis was forced to go up against the heroic

. In the process, he waged battle with the original

, exposing the hero to powerful radiation. This later became the source of the Atom's own superhuman abilities. Cyclotron died trying to be a hero by taking the Ultra-Humanite into the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

and allowing himself to blow up. Inspired by this selfless sacrifice (and the super-power left in its wake), the Atom would later adopt a costume patterned after Cyclotron's own. Curtis' daughter, similarly named Terri, entered the custody of Firebrand and the Atom. The two served as godparents to Terri's baby, with Curtis' ex-lover Firebrand raising the child herself. Though cured of any potential radiation poisoning, Terri had evidently absorbed a large dose of her father's energy and passed the side-effects to her son Albert who became the hero Nuklon (later

Cyclotron II

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...

", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

". An unnamed Cyclotron appears in the crossover series ''Justice League vs Suicide Squad'' where it's revealed he was a member of the initial

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

. On a mission, to Jagsun, he organized a double cross to take the island's God-Engine for themselves. For that,

Amanda Waller Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...

first hired Lobo to kill him and then activated the bomb in his body, detonating him.''Suicide Squad'' #9. DC Comics.

Powers and abilities

The first Cyclotron has immense strength, the ability to fly, project blasts of atomic energy, and manipulate matter on a molecular level. He can even sap his opponent's physique by touching him or her. As Terry, he possesses expertise in science. The second Cyclotron has energy-generation capabilities.

In other media

* A different Cyclotron was created exclusively for the line of

Super Powers Collection The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s. History In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner ...

action figures, and appeared in the third series of the comic book adaptation of the same name, in 1986. According to the back of his toy package, Cyclotron was an android built by

. He was then programmed with all the powers and weaknesses of every superhero and supervillain in order to be the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

tactician A tactic is a conceptual action or short series of actions with the aim of achieving a short-term goal. This action can be implemented as one or more specific tasks. The term is commonly used in business, protest and military contexts, as well a ...

. The package also notes that Cyclotron was capable of little independent thought, and that he uses the secret identity Alex LeWitt. * A new figure reminiscent of the look presented by the Super Powers figure was released in the

DC Universe Classics DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe (toyline), DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on the fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was scul ...

line in April 2010.

References

External links

Cyclotron's Profile at ToyOtter
{{All-Star Squadron DC Comics metahumans DC Comics supervillains Earth-Two Characters created by Jerry Siegel Characters created by Joe Shuster Characters created by Roy Thomas Fictional characters from parallel universes Comics characters introduced in 1940 Comics characters introduced in 1983 Golden Age supervillains