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"Black Vengeance, Part III of III": While the Spectre continues his rampage across Shiruta, Eclipso animates stone statues of Alex Montez and Nemesis to have them attack Stargirl and Atom-Smasher. Stargirl manages to wrestle free of t

Quote1 Your soul is stained with murder. They scream from the pits of Hell -- and demand vengeance! Quote2
The Spectre

JSA #75 is an issue of the series JSA (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 2005. It was published on July 7, 2005.

Synopsis for "Black Vengeance, Part III of III"

While the Spectre continues his rampage across Shiruta, Eclipso animates stone statues of Alex Montez and Nemesis to have them attack Stargirl and Atom-Smasher. Stargirl manages to wrestle free of their grasp and recovers her cosmic staff. Atom-Smasher then makes short work of both statues. He gets the drop on Eclipso and steps on her, threatening to apply lethal pressure unless she tells him how to call of the Spectre. Eclipso taunts him then releases a blast of energy that drives Atom-Smasher back.

Meanwhile, a panicking Power Girl is still stumbling around blind in a crowd of angry Kahndaqi citizens. Hawkgirl swoops down and pulls Kara to safety, but Eclipso leaps on top of her and begins raking her back with her sharp talons. Hawkgirl uses her spear and rams into Eclipso's eye. Black Adam approaches them and grabs Eclipso. Enraged and with no remorse in his heart, he snaps Eclipso's neck and lets her fall to the ground. Jean survives however and after snapping her neck back into place decides to flee the battle scene.

Atom-Smasher meanwhile decides to confront the Spectre directly. He increases his size and mass well beyond safe limits and tackles him head-on. Al bargains with the Spectre and tells him that he will offer himself up to the Spectre's judgment and subsequent vengeance if the Spectre leaves Kahndaq. The Spectre agrees and plunges his wraithly fist into Atom-Smasher's chest. He judges him for his deliberate actions that led to the death of Extant. His fist crushes Al's heart and the former JSA member falls to the ground. The Spectre, honoring his promise, disappears from Kahndaq. For an instant, Per Degaton appears before Al's broken and dying body and says, "I told you I'd watch your heart burst with sin". Stargirl spots him and begins hurling her starburts, but Per Degaton disappears back into the timestream. The other JSA members quickly crowd around Al's body, but there is nothing they can do. Atom-Smasher is dead. Black Adam, refusing to see his ally die, calls down the power of the magic lightning. Twin bolts strike down upon Atom-Smasher's chest where Black Bolt is standing and the shock is strong enough to restart his over-sized heart. Green Lantern creates an energy craft to carry Al away and Hawkman tells Black Adam that they are taking him home.

Appearing in "Black Vengeance, Part III of III"

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Notes

  • This issue is reprinted in the JSA: Black Vengeance trade paperback and JSA Omnibus Vol. 2
  • Earliest chronological appearance of Atom Smasher. Appears in multiple flashbacks throughout this issue. The earliest flashback takes place when Al is a young child. The second flashback takes place a few years prior his first costumed appearance as Nuklon. Another flashback references the death of Extant from JSA #16.

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