Blockbuster is the name of four supervillains and a criminal organization appearing in American comic books 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 their f ...

. The first one was primarily a foe of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

and Robin, while the second was the archenemy to Nightwing. The latest version first appeared in the pages of the series '' 52'' wherein he is directed into battle against

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in '' Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: ...

's team of superheroes.

Publication history

The Mark Desmond version of Blockbuster first appeared in '' Detective Comics'' #345 and was created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for ...

and

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

. The Roland Desmond version of Blockbuster first appeared in '' Starman'' #9 and was created by

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' ('' Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfo ...

and

Tom Lyle Thomas Stanford Lyle (November 2, 1953 – November 19, 2019) was an American comics artist, best known for his work on '' Starman'' and ''Robin'' for DC Comics, and '' Spider-Man'' for Marvel Comics. Career Tom Lyle's comics career began in ...

Fictional character biography

Mark Desmond

The first Blockbuster was Mark Desmond, a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

who desired to increase his physical strength. Experimenting on himself, he succeeded in making himself stronger and taller, but as a side-effect of the process he also became almost mindlessly aggressive. The mentally debilitated Desmond was cared for by his brother Roland, a local criminal, who kept their mother from discovering what Mark had done to himself. Roland manipulated his brother into committing crimes on his behalf until they came into conflict with

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

. Bruce Wayne had once rescued a young Desmond from drowning, and he discovered that he could calm the enraged adult Desmond by removing his cowl and showing his face. Desmond later found himself clashing with Batman on various occasions. Blockbuster absorbed energies from the Alfred Memorial which gave him some powers and was once substituted for the super-strong

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by ...

villain Solomon Grundy from Earth-Two due to a machine that was substituting people from both Earths.

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness ...

caused him to fight Solomon Grundy, leading to them both briefly getting the fight knocked out of each other. While Solomon Grundy was taken back to Earth-Two by the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

, Blockbuster was handed over to the police by 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 ...

. Blockbuster joined the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978 ...

briefly for a battle with the Justice League. King Kull enlisted Blockbuster, Penguin, Queen Clea of Earth-Two, and

Ibac Ibac is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics. He is often depicted as a foe of Captain Marvel. Publication history Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, he first appea ...

of Earth-S to wreck Atlantis and use a cloud to sink islands. They are thwarted by Superman, Wonder Woman of Earth-Two, Green Arrow, and Spy Smasher of Earth-S. Later,

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 ...

recruited Desmond for her revived

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 ...

. He was killed fighting

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

's creation, Brimstone. In 2011, "

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

" rebooted the DC universe. Mark Desmond is a patient of Dr. Phayne's. He lives on the estate and at night he undergoes procedures to enhance his intelligence. He is exposed to small amounts of a green compound intravenously. An accident is caused by a new patient believing he is in pain and the cascade of green liquid overdoses Desmond and creates an explosion. The overdose exposes a super-strong man calling himself Blockbuster. He rampages from the building in pain and knocks an attacking Hawkman unconscious. Blockbuster was later mind-controlled by Necromancer to help her steal an artifact from a Washington D.C. museum, which brought the attention of

Hawk and Dove Hawk and Dove are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, they appeared in '' Showcase'' #75 (June 1968) during the Silver Age of Comic Books. The duo has existed in ...

. They teamed up with Batman and

to stop Blockbuster and Necromancer. Mark Desmond later appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains upon having been recruited by Outsider. When

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

breaks out of Arkham Asylum, Mark Desmond and

Signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...

confronted Catwoman on a rooftop, which ended with Catwoman being knocked out.

Roland Desmond

Roland Desmond became the second Blockbuster after a severe illness forced him to be treated with experimental steroids. Like his brother Mark, Roland became a child-minded super-strong monster. He ran wild in the Southwest, but

and Starman (Will Payton) brought his rampage to an end. Desmond became obsessed with elevating himself greatly above his debilitated brain. A pact with the demon Neron granted him a full

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

mind and Desmond embarked once more on a career of crime and destruction. He began his revived criminal career by causing chaos in the town of Manchester, although his schemes were foiled by the speedster, Impulse. Desmond then moved to his mother's hometown of Blüdhaven. He forced the crime lord Angel Marin out of power and took over the city's criminal rackets. Roland's plan was to build a criminal empire in Blüdhaven that would eventually enable him to extend his dominion over Gotham, Star City,

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's underworlds. For that purpose, he bought the corrupt elements of the city's police department, most notably Police Chief Redhorn and Inspector Dudley "Deadly" Soames. Despite his swift and vicious consolidation of power, Blockbuster's hold on Blüdhaven's organized crime was nevertheless weakened by the intervention of the city's new protector, Nightwing (

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Com ...

, the former

), who, with

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The wor ...

's help, foiled Desmond's plans at every turn. Oracle often removes money from Blockbuster's accounts and he has a man working to stop and find Oracle, named Vogel. Desmond's primary goal became the elimination of the young vigilante. He placed a contract on Nightwing's life, employing the services of several assassins, including Lady Vic, Stallion, Brutale, the

Trigger Twins The Trigger Twins are the names of two sets of fictional Western themed comic book characters published by DC Comics. Fictional character biography Walter and Wayne Trigger The Trigger Twins first appear in '' All-Star Western'' #58 (May 1951), t ...

, and

Shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also kno ...

. As a further result of his initial transformation, Desmond later developed

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

and a heart defect. He was restored to (comparative) health by a heart transplant from one of the talking apes of

Gorilla City This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City fo ...

, and was consolidating his control over Blüdhaven and contemplating a takeover of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, t ...

, when he was killed by the new Tarantula, Catalina Flores. As part of the ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackes ...

'' event, Roland's corpse is reanimated by a black power ring and recruited to the Black Lantern Corps. 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 (comics), 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 r ...

", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Blockbuster appears asking Nightwing to help with a job.

Blockbuster III

created a new Blockbuster in the pages of the miniseries event '' 52'' to serve as an opponent of his manufactured hero team Infinity, Inc. Little is revealed about this Blockbuster, save for the fact that Luthor possesses some measure of control over his actions and level of strength. Luthor also comments that he is stronger than either of the previous two Blockbusters. This brute's cognitive abilities and appearance are very similar to the original. With controlled interference from Lex Luthor, Blockbuster kills the superhero Trajectory.

Martian Manhunter's disguise

A Blockbuster appears among the villains exiled to an alien world in '' Salvation Run''. In issue #3, it is revealed to be a disguised

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

Female Blockbuster

A newer, female Blockbuster appears in the swamps of Louisiana and fights Mon-El.

Powers and abilities

All Blockbusters have immense strength, stamina, and a high resistance to physical and energy attacks. Once transformed, most of them loses their intellect. In a straight battle, typically the greatest weakness is their comparatively slower speed, making it relatively easy to evade opposing fights, although this is of limited use if confronting Blockbuster inside buildings. After selling his

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

to Neron, Roland Desmond gained supergenius intelligence.

Other versions

''Batman/Aliens''

The Roland Desmond version of Blockbuster is mentioned as using a construction company as a Trojan horse. The owner and multiple workers are killed by an Alien they unearth from a bioweapons lab at a construction site.

DC Animated Universe comics

The Roland Desmond version of Blockbuster appears in '' Adventures in the DC Universe'' #1 and ''DC Comics Presents: Wonder Woman Adventures'' #1.

''Batman: Arkham''

In ''Batman: Arkham Knight-Genesis'', a prequel comic to '' Batman: Arkham Knight'', the Mark Desmond version of Blockbuster and Catman brutally beat Jason Todd, the second

, while dressed in Batman costumes as part of the Joker's brainwashing of Todd. Todd fought back, but was reluctant to kill them.

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in it ...

encouraged him, shooting Blockbuster in the chest to prove her point.

''Just Imagine...''

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which w ...

's '' Just Imagine...'' series, Blockbuster is reimagined as Brock Smith, a death row inmate notorious for a series of mass murders committed with his bare hands, who is rescued by the series' mysterious villain Dominic Darrk and re-empowered with extra super-strength (and a purple carapace) as part of a villainous

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has ...

. He is defeated and de-powered by Batman and Wonder Woman (who crack his purple facade with Wonder Woman's staff), and dies after running over a live electrical cable.

In other media

Television

* The Mark Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 United States, American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. ...

'', voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Following a minor appearance in the episode "Kid Stuff", Blockbuster joins

Gorilla Grodd Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in ''T ...

Secret Society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...

in the episode "I Am Legion". Prior to and during the episode "Alive!",

takes command of the Society, but Grodd mounts a mutiny. Blockbuster sides with the latter, but is frozen by Killer Frost and killed off-screen by

. * A variation of Mark Desmond appears in '' The Batman'' episode "Meltdown", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version is an African-American scientist working for

Wayne Enterprises Wayne Enterprises, Inc., also known as WayneCorp and Wayne Industries, is a wealthy fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Wayne Enterprises is a large, g ...

who is in charge of enforcing Ethan Bennett's parole. * The Mark Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in ''Final ...

and Kevin Michael Richardson respectively. This version is an evil prodigy who stole chemicals from S.T.A.R. Labs and created a serum to increase his strength. * The Mark Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'', voiced by

René Auberjonois René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony A ...

in season one and Dee Bradley Baker in season four. This version of Blockbuster was purposefully redesigned as the series creators felt the original version was too similar to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

character the Hulk. As such, Desmond's transformation involves his Blockbuster form ripping through his human skin. Additionally, Desmond is a senior member of

Project Cadmus Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. Its notable creations included the Golden Guardian (a clone of the original Guardian), Auron, Superboy (Kon-El) (a clone from Superman's DNA), and Dubbilex (a ...

who answers directly to their board of directors, the

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

. * Mark Desmond appears in ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover dat ...

'' episode "Funeral for a Friend", portrayed by an uncredited actor. This version is a criminal who stole an exo-suit from Ivo Laboratories, only to be apprehended by Team Flash.

Film

* Blockbuster was reportedly featured in

David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...

's unproduced screenplay for a Green Arrow film project entitled '' Escape from Super Max'' as an inmate of the titular Super Max Penitentiary for Metahumans. * An alternate universe version of Blockbuster appears in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'', voiced by Marcelo Tubert. He and a group of terrorists fight their universe's

before

kills him. * The Roland Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster makes a minor appearance in '' Batman: Bad Blood'', voiced by

John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio (; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on '' Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the '' Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible' ...

. * The Mark Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in '' Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC m ...

. * The Roland Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in '' Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay'', voiced by

Dave Fennoy Dave Fennoy is an American voice actor. His video game roles have included Lee Everett in '' The Walking Dead'', Bluebeard in '' The Wolf Among Us'', Finch in '' Tales from the Borderlands'', Gabriel the Warrior in '' Minecraft: Story Mode'', a ...

. This version is one of

Professor Zoom Eobard Thawne, otherwise known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in ''The Flash ...

's henchmen, having joined him in exchange for "having his own island", before Blockbuster is killed by Killer Frost.

Video games

* The Mark Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears as a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a p ...

in '' Young Justice: Legacy'', voiced by

Mark Rolston Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American character actor, known for his supporting roles in popular films such as ''Aliens'', ''Lethal Weapon 2'', ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ''The Departed'' and the ''Saw'' film series, as well as G ...

. * The Roland Desmond incarnation of Blockbuster appears in '' Batman: The Telltale Series'', voiced by

Steve Blum Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series ''S ...

. This version has blue skin and is a member of the Children of Arkham, a group of terrorists who seek to purge

of its corruption. Blockbuster serves as second-in-command to the

Penguin Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

, who in turn answers to the group's leader Lady Arkham.