Character Profiles - Villains - Block Buster II
Real Name: Roland Desmond
Occupation: Villain
Marital Status: Single
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Height: 8ft
Weight: 527 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
First Appearance: Starman (1st series) #9 (April 1989)
Created By: Roger Stern
Roland Desmond became the second Blockbuster after a debilitating malady forced him to be treated with experimental steroids. Like his brother Mark, Roland found he was now a child-minded super-strong behemoth. He went on a rampage in the Southwest, strong enough to give Starman V trouble, but Batman and Starman together ensured that he wound up behind bars.
Acquiring a genius-level intellect became Desmond's obsession, and the demon Neron made it a reality. Selling his soul to the demon, he obtained awesome acumen that matched his phenomenal physical power. There was an irony to this bargain that he would later reveal to the young hero Impulse. As an unintelligent brute he had only the dimmest understanding of what he wanted, and had wished for intelligence. Once that had been granted, however, he realized that what he had truly desired was simply to be normal.
Still the same ambitious criminal of before, Desmond set up shop in his mother's home of Blüdhaven (a city bereft of heroes). He forced out crimelord Angel Marin and took over the criminal organizations there. Roland's plan was to build a criminal empire in the 'Haven, that would eventually enable him to extend his dominion over Gotham, Star City, Metropolis and New York's underworlds. For that purpose, he bought the corrupt elements of the city's Police Department, most notably the 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, who, with Oracle's help, fouled Desmond's plans at every turn.
Thus, the kingpin's primary goal became the elimination of the young vigilante in order to insure the longevity of his criminal cartel. Not only placing a sizable contract on Nightwing's head, Blockbuster also employed the services of several assassins, including Lady Vic, Stallion, Brutale, the Trigger Twins and Shrike. However, Desmond's attempts and resources failed to stop the hero.
Desmond later developed albinism and heart defect: side-effects of his transformation. He received a heart transplant from one of Gorilla City's talking apes, and was tightening his grip over Blüdhaven and contemplating a takeover of Gotham City.
But this changed with the death of his beloved mother. Blockbuster wrongfully blamed Nightwing, and started a vengeance campaign against the vigilante. Now knowing his secret identity, the criminal kingpin bombed Dick Grayson's apartment complex, killing most of its residents. Still shocked, Nightwing enlisted the help of Blüdhaven's newest vigilante: the amoral female Tarantula, Catalina Flores.
Blockbuster had beaten down Grayson both physically and emotionally. When an exhausted Nightwing confronted Blockbuster, he was at his lowest ebb. He threatened Dick with killing all the people that he cared about, even the strangers who approached him in the street. The timely arrival of Tarantula turned the tide; she shot Blockbuster dead at point blank range as Nightwing didn't want to stop her when he could. Suffering a panic attack, Dick fled to the rooftop, where he broke down, begging for Bruce's forgiveness. Nightwing's inaction has became a source of tremendous guilt for the young hero. But Blockbuster's demise ended his stranglehold over Blüdhaven once and for all.
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