BLOCKBUSTER

Real Name: Roland Desmond

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Criminal

Group Affiliation: formerly Suicide Squad, Black Lantern Corps

Known Relatives: Mark Desmond (Blockbuster, brother, deceased), Joyce Elizabeth Desmond (mother)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Bludhaven

First Appearance: (Roland Desmond) Detective Comics I #345 (November, 1965), (Blockbuster) Starman I #9 (April, 1989)

Powers: Blockbuster possessed superhuman strength and was a killed strategist and crimeboss.

History: Illness forced Roland to try an experimental steroid treatment, the same treatment that made his late brother Mark into the superhuman Blockbuster. Like his brother Roland gained superhuman strength while becoming a near-mindless brute, and was also dubbed Blockbuster. He made a deal with the demon Neron, who gave him superior intelligence in return for his soul, and she set himself up as Bludhaven's crimelord.

(Impulse #8) - Blockbuster promised a recent acquaintance named Simon he'd kill Impulse, and had his goons lock the gates of the Alabama Warrior Stadium and set a fire to attract Impulse. Impulse made sure there were no casualties, so Blockbuster decided to personally intervene. He killed random people in the town of Manchester and fought Impulse. He thought he killed Impulse by flattening him with a bus, and returned home, but Impulse actually dodged his attack at superspeed. Impulse followed him home and destroyed his mansion, specifically built for Blockbuster's enormous size. Impulse taunted him, and he admitted he made a bad deal with Neron, he would have been better off asking to be normal instead of super-intelligent and grotesque, but when he had sub-level intelligence he wasn't capable of making a well thought out wish. Impulse made him mad enough to collapse the entire mansion down on himself. Impulse escaped the wreckage, but so did Blockbuster.

(Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-Page Giant #1) - Blockbuster was intrigued by La Encantadora, a new arrival in Bludhaven who avoided meeting him. He finally contacted her and after making some lewd overtures offered her a job. He had her destroy a steel foundry owned by his rival Boom-Boom Moretti, but he didn't tell her that he d had his men kidnap Moretti s family and had them tied up in the foundry. She found Moretti s family and saved them before the foundry exploded. Encantadora pushed Blockbuster off a rooftop and told him she d never work for him again.

(Robin II #132, 133, Batgirl I #58) - Penguin moved into Bludhaven and took over Blockbuster’s criminal empire. At no small expense Penguin had Blockbuster’s corpse stuffed, mounted and put on display at Blockbuster’s former estate, which Penguin now owned.

Comments: Created by Gardner Fox & Carmine Infantino.

Blockbuster II received a profile in Who s Who in the DC Universe #7 and Nightwing Secret Files #1.

Blockbuster had a cameo in Impulse #46.