BLOCKBUSTER

Real Name: Mark Desmond

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Mindless brute

Group Affiliation: formerly Secret Society of Super-Villains, Suicide Squad

Known Relatives: Roland Desmond (Blockbuster, brother, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Bleak Rock, West Virginia, formerly Gotham City

First Appearance: Detective Comics #345 (November, 1965)

Powers: Blockbuster possessed superhuman strength, speed and invulnerability. His powers were equaled only by his overwhelming lack of intelligence. Over the years, Blockbuster's ability to speak has come and gone at random.

History: (Detective Comics #345)-Mark Desmond was a frail youth, but also a genius-level chemist. He invented a serum that would affect his endocrine and pituitary glands, making him big and strong, but he never bothered to test it before using it on himself. He did grow into a superhumanly powerful giant, but his mental development regressed to that of a small child. The brute's criminal brother Roland sent him off to commit robberies and the press dubbed him Blockbuster. He encountered Batman II, and was ordered to destroy him by Roland. Somehow Blockbuster recognized Batman as Bruce Wayne, the man who had rescued him from drowning in quicksand years ago. This calmed down Blockbuster and he simply walked away from the fight.

(Detective Comics I #349) - As Blockbuster walked into the waves to meet his demise, he was spotted by the Outsider, a mysterious villain who had control over matter, and wanted to destroy Batman. Intending to use Blockbuster as a pawn he saved him from drowning, parting waves and leading him to an underground cave to recover from his battle with Batman. He eventually sicced Blockbuster on Batman, who removed his mask, knowing Blockbuster would never hurt Bruce Wayne. Outsider used his matter manipulation powers to return the mask to Batman's face, and keep it there. Batman was battered by his foe, but saved himself from death by impersonating the voice of Roland Desmond, Blockbuster's brother, and the only human whose commands he responded to. After Blockbuster wandered off Batman painted his mask with a calcium compound that would give him Roland's image when exposed to calcium light. Batman and Blockbuster had another confrontation at the Gotham Museum, and Robin used a flashlight to shine calcium light on Batman's cowl. Outsider was watching the fight, hidden in shadows, and used his powers to fling artifacts at Robin, knocking the flashlight from his hand, and rendering him unconscious. Blockbuster attacked Batman, knocking him cold, and left. The Outsider placed Batman in a coffin lined with radioactive material, and prepared for his foe's death. Blockbuster was dazed, and returned to the museum to ensure he'd defeated Batman, and not Roland. Seeing the Outsider he attacked, and his crazed mind could not be controlled by the villain. Batman broke free from the coffin, allowing Outsider to escape, and using the calcium compound that melted onto his hand, making it extremely hard, he took down Blockbuster with one chop to his neck, his one weak point. Batman handed Blockbuster over to the Alfred Memorial Foundation in hopes of curing him, and advised Blockbuster's caregivers to wear Bruce Wayne masks to soothe the savage.

 (Batman I #194) - Blockbuster’s personality altered drastically after he and Solomon Grundy knocked the hate out of each other. He was peaceful and friendly, calm enough to start relearning how to speak, and the staff of the Wayne Foundation allowed him to work as a handyman and return to his childhood home on weekends. Blockbuster went to a local department store to buy a gift for the doctors that took care of him but had a relapse when he saw a Batman standee advertising toys and went berserk, tearing it up. Security arrived and he reverted to his friendly self, allowing them to take him down to the police station. Wayne Foundation doctors Margot Rankin and Sloane evaluated him, but when they spoke Batman’s name he crashed through his jail cell, screaming that he’d find and kill Batman. Batman and Robin confronted him in the department store where he was ripping apart Batman merchandise, and Batman unmasked to reveal himself as Bruce Wayne to Blockbuster once again. The trick failed to work this time, as Blockbuster said that if Bruce and batman were the same man then he hated them both. He gave Batman and Robin a beating before fleeing to his childhood home. Batman realized that on his weekend visits he was reliving his childhood by throwing himself into the quicksand bog Bruce had once rescued him from. Because Bruce didn’t save him and Batman didn’t save him he had misplaced anger against them, his confused mind reasoning that they left him to die. Batman confronted him and unmasked again, having disguised himself as Solomon Grundy. He pulled Blockbuster from the quicksand and blockbuster was overjoyed that Batman saved him, pleased to believe the Caped Crusader was his brand new friend Grundy.

(Batgirl: Year One #8) - Blockbuster went wild on a Gotham subway car; threatening the passengers. Batgirl showed up, and after a brief fight on the top of the speeding subway car, Blockbuster knocked himself out on a lowered ceiling. He was taken into custody by the GCPD.