Batman and Robin have had an unrivaled amount of foes throughout their history. But, surprise, they are not the only superheroes that have an adversary. Even Nightwing, it turns out, has his share of foes to contend with.
How are things going for everyone? Welcome back to another action-packed video from Marvelous Videos. For all DC lovers, this is the genesis story of a villain who is famed for achieving incredible physical strength through the use of a serum.
You guessed correctly, and the answer is none other than Blockbuster. Blockbuster is the name of a villain who first appeared as Batman’s principal foe and whose identity was eventually passed down to four villains appearing in DC comics. Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino invented the first Blockbuster, Mark Desmond, who is essentially a chemist. Tom Lyle and Roger Stern eventually retconned him, and he made his debut appearance in Detective Comics #345.
Blockbuster Dark Origin from Young Justice
The story begins with a nice summer day in Gotham City. Well, it’s not too pleasant for long because it looks like Mister Freeze has some plans to create chaos. A projectile stops his attack, and the obvious assumption would be that Batman has arrived. But guess again, it is our enthusiastic Boy Wonder, more commonly known as Robin. And just when Mister Freeze thinks he can take Robin down, Batman enters to give him a good punch.
Now, on the other side, on the Star City suspension bridge, Icicle Junior seems to be making a mess with his cryokinetic powers. And all for what? Just some good old attention from the superheroes of the city. So, he manages to attract the interest of Green Arrow and Speedy. But one good blow to the jaw, and the heroes have Icicle Junior just where they needed him.
We are now taken to Pearl Harbour, where a rather chilly Killer Frost appears to be fighting Aquaman and Aqualad on a battleship. Something is definitely quite special about this day because our heroes are pretty excited. After knocking Killer Frost out, we meet Flash and Kid Flash at Central City, who have caught Captain Cold red-handed as he attempts to rob a Gem Depository.
Quite an icy fight that was. It now looks like all the heroes we just met have arrived at the Hall of Justice, the headquarters of the Justice League in Washington, D.C. They are met by Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado. So apparently, the heroes’ sidekicks have been waiting for this day because it seems to be an initiation for them to officially become part of the League headquarters. In a heated argument about not being given access to the actual headquarters of the Justice League, which is the Watchtower, Speedy storms out.
Just then, they receive some information from Superman that there is a fire at Project Cadmus. Zatara comes with another pressing matter that involves Wotan using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. So, since it is a league mission, the mentors leave Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad behind to face Wotan. Well, it is not a surprise that these young heroes are now pursuing their own mission to find out about Cadmus.
After reaching Cadmus, obviously, they discovered things that do not seem normal. A group of G-Trolls is stomping down the corridor. On the other side, Dr. Desmond is occupied with what looks like a hideous chemical experiment. There are massive tubes that are labeled Project Blockbuster in his hidden facility underneath the fake Cadmus front. Coincidence? I don’t think so. He is up to something evil because he seems to be running an army of G-Gnomes.
Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad have found other hidden creatures that are apparently being born in this facility. They are called Genomorphs, and from Robin’s data, it looks like they have some super deadly powers. They are soon attacked by Guardian and his G-Gnome soldiers. After escaping them, the three are heading their way to uncover the secret about Project K-R.
It appears to be a solar suit clone made from DNA stolen from Superman that allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7. He is also being force-fed education through the Genomorph Gnomes. Well, in an attempt to save him, our heroes have set him free. So, it looks like these Gnomes were not the most significant trouble that is heading towards the Justice League.
Well, it seems that the three sidekicks have gotten themselves in quite a predicament since they are being held as hostages at Cadmus. Dr. Desmond has contacted Cadmus’ board of directors, and they have given the orders. The sidekicks are to be cloned, and the originals are supposed to die, without any trace, of course.
Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin are trying to convince Superboy that Cadmus is not actually his home and that he deserves a life. It was a very heartfelt conversation indeed, but it is soon interrupted by Dr. Desmond. He controls both Guardian and Superboy with the help of his G-Gnomes and makes sure every step of the way to remind Superboy that he is not a real boy and is a weapon.
The sidekicks are now in great danger because the cloning process has begun. But it looks like Aqualad was somehow able to speak to Superboy telepathically, and he has had a change of heart. He rescues the heroes, but the fight is just getting started because Dr. Desmond just ordered the activation of all Genomorphs in Cadmus. It is like a red alert zone with G-Gnomes and G-Trolls crawling everywhere. All four of them fight their way to the elevators only to discover that Superboy cannot fly.
Hopefully, that is not the end for them because Robin, with his hacking skills, and Kid Flash, with his speed, are trying to figure out a route to escape. Just then, the facility goes on lockdown, and all the Genomorphs surround the heroes. The scene appears to be of a rebellion because the head of the Genomorphs revealed to Superboy that he was the one who lured his friends to the facility and has been helping them so far. They think that Superboy is their hope for freedom and the genomorph hero.
As soon as Superboy chooses freedom, Guardian becomes free from his mind control. But their little rebellion is soon disrupted by Dr. Desmond, who holds the tube from Project Blockbuster. After drinking the Blockbuster formula, Desmond transformed into a giant devilish creature. And despite how strong our heroes are, Blockbuster is beating them to a pulp. Robin manages to get a brilliant idea that involves collapsing the building on Blockbuster. Each of them tricks him into destroying the pillars.
And before you know it, Blockbuster is buried under a pile of rocks. As promised, the three sidekicks succeed in showing Superboy the moon. At that moment, Superman arrives, accompanied by the entire Justice League. Superboy finally introduces himself as Superman’s clone. Now, of course, Blockbuster will be dealt with. But the sidekicks have now strongly voiced their actual opinions about being involved in the League. Go big or go home, right!
The young heroes are taken to Mount Justice, where the Secret Sanctuary, the old headquarters of the Justice League, is. Red Tornado is going to be their supervisor, along with Black Canary as their trainer.
Well, now that we have seen this story of Blockbuster, there is another quite exciting story.
Blockbuster’s First Appearance In Comic
The story begins with Bruce Wayne, out in the sea, being forced to take refuge on an island due to the heavy downpour. He saves Mark Desmond from being engulfed in a bog of quicksand. And along with his brother Roland Desmond, Bruce catches a ride back to the mainland the following day.
Months have gone by since this incident. Suddenly one day in Gotham City, Batman and Robin come across a rather odd event. The police tell them that apparently, a single man-made a giant hole in the wall of a bank with nothing but brute strength as if the wall were made of tissue paper. And when the police opened fire on him, their bullets flattened out after hitting his body and bounced off.
And giving the name credit to Robin, the press calls this man the Blockbuster Bandit. Now, after patiently waiting for him to make another appearance, Batman and Robin finally receive word one night that he has been spotted at the Tolliver Art Gallery. The heroes seem to be ready to fight him with their special weapons. As said by Robin, it would seem that Blockbuster is bigger and stronger than even Frankenstein’s monster.
However, Robin manages to cuff with the links that are made of the strongest steel possible. But his muscles start to bulge, and he is able to break free from it. The next attempt was tear gas, but even that failed to work on him. Even Batman’s punches did not manage to do a lot of harm. Just then, Blockbuster smashes through the wall with wounded Batman and Robin in his arms. Throwing them on the swarm of policemen standing outside the building, Blockbuster races off into a sewer way and disappears.
Well, after this incident, our dynamic duo discusses their next strategy with the Gotham City Police Commissioner Gordon. They are going to let him steal what he wants while watching over him from above in the BatCopter to follow him and find his hideout. And finally, it happens again, and Blockbuster makes his next appearance at the city museum, where Batman and Robin follow him in the BatCopter. He appears to be heading towards the harbors and into the sea.
Batman realizes that he is heading towards that same island where he had rescued the boy, Mark Desmond. After a few minutes, the BatCopter seems to have gone out of control due to some sort of high-frequency interference. With the radio signals jammed as well, it looks like the heroes are on their own. A blade from the BatCopter snaps and Batman and Robin are stranded on top of a tree when Blockbuster recognizes them.
Trying their best to dodge Blockbuster’s attacks, they finally arrive at a house where Batman had stayed with Roland and Mark Desmond. Using much of his brain, Batman finally comes to the conclusion that Blockbuster is, in fact, Mark Desmond, the scrawny kid he saved from the quicksand bed. And using the strategy he has in mind, Batman removes his uniform at the right moment as if to remind Mark Desmond of Bruce Wayne, his savior.
Blockbuster shows some hesitation, but after a brief pause, he continues to attack Bruce Wayne while Robin goes to look for the brains behind this masterpiece, that is Roland Desmond. But still in his pursuit to recall Blockbuster’s memories, Batman heads towards the quicksand and re-enacts precisely what had happened to Mark the night Bruce saved him. Just then, as he had predicted, the unimaginable happens.
Blockbuster tries to save Bruce Wayne with a branch, the same way he had saved Mark Desmond. But it looks like Batman is in a bind. If he goes back to being Batman, Blockbuster will attack him. However, if he stays as Bruce Wayne, Roland Desmond will come to know of his secret of double identity. In the meantime, Robin has knocked out Roland, and Batman tells him to take him to the boat, leaving Blockbuster on the island alone for a while.
Well, it turns out that it was Mark himself who was behind the creation of the blockbuster. He developed a serum that made him the way he is. An over-active anterior lobe of the pituitary gland made him shoot up like a giant while also giving him tremendous strength. But since he never bothered to test his invention first, a faulty endocrine gland retarded his mental development.
So, in order to retrieve Blockbuster, Bruce Wayne disguised himself as Roland Desmond because the bandit only obeys his brother. But Batman and Robin are stunned when they find out his footprints leading into the sea. It appears that Blockbuster has cut himself off from the world and doomed himself to live apart from his fellow human beings. Quite ironic because he seems to have chosen to serve a sentence of solitary confinement for his crimes
A Blockbuster Interesting Story Arc
After some marvelous fighting sessions with Batman and Robin, it looks like it is time for Blockbuster to encounter some other members of the Justice League.
In Batman issue number #194, Fox, Moldoff, and Giella introduce Blockbuster for the first time after his encounter with the Justice League and Justice Society in the previous issues.
The Justice League story ended with Blockbuster’s defeat at the hands of Solomon Grundy. Blockbuster is now in therapy and also a fully functional employee of the Wayne Foundation, receiving a stable salary. One day Blockbuster comes upon a picture of Batman when he is outspending his money on toys. He immediately goes on a rampage when he remembers his previous encounters with Batman.
He destroys the picture, soon appears calm, and returns to his friendly attitude. The cops take Blockbuster back to the Wayne Foundation so that scientists can understand just what prompted him to go out on a rage fit. Once again, at the slightest mention of Batman’s name, Blockbuster has another extreme reaction, destroys the wall, and goes on another rampage.
Commissioner Gordon then contacts Batman and Robin for assistance, sending the Dynamic Duo after the confused beast. When Batman catches him wrecking Batman merchandise once again in a department shop, he uses his standard method of exposing his actual identity as Bruce Wayne, which always calms the monster down since Blockbuster considers Wayne, a friend.
This, on the other hand, goes horribly wrong when Blockbuster realizes that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person and continues his assault. A second effort to mimic Blockbuster’s brother’s voice equally fails. Blockbuster then knocks Batman down, and Robin falls into line soon after.
The perplexed Blockbuster then returns to his home island, where he tries to re-enact the accident that resulted in his human alter-ego being saved by Bruce Wayne many years ago: plunging into quicksand. On the other hand, Batman has recovered and heads straight to Blockbuster’s location. Batman arrives on the island shortly after “failing” to save Blockbuster, who is now on the loose once more, and he lets himself be attacked in the dark. He is then thrown into the quicksand, but of course, with an excellent purpose in mind. Batman plans to trick Blockbuster, so; he arrives wearing a mask that makes him look like Solomon Grundy.
Blockbuster saves “Grundy” from the bog of quicksand since he considers him a friend. After coming out of the quicksand, “Grundy” then drags Blockbuster back into it. When the monster cries for help, Batman unmasks his Solomon Grundy disguise and rushes to help Blockbuster appearing as Batman.
With Blockbuster rescued from the mud, the beast now believes that Batman and Solomon Grundy are the same person and view the Caped Crusader as his friend. This successfully puts a stop to any other Blockbuster rampages in the future.
What Makes Blockbuster Deadly?
Well, as we know, Mark Desmond was a chemical genius. So, it goes without saying that the first Blockbuster definitely had a mind of his own with considerable great intellect. Even while fighting the four heroes in Young Justice, Blockbuster showed some kind of strategy.
Although in his comic appearance, he is just a mindless brute who is controlled by his devious brother Roland Desmond. His height is taller than even the Frankenstein monster, so one can assume he would not be easy to tackle. He can also be easily spotted due to his brown hair and eyes.
Some of his prominent powers are his invulnerability which allows him to withstand any amount of physical damage that his opponent might cause. Along with that, he also has superhuman speed, strength, and stamina, which is quite evident through his many encounters with the heroes.
Mark Desmond, aka Blockbuster, is one of those DC villains who need to have a “Beware” sign outside his place of residence. Because it is clear from his story that if he can knock out even the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, then indeed, no one else stands a chance against him. He can be considered an excellent example of a chemistry experiment gone entirely wrong because what good is a body with superhuman strength but without a mind of its own.
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