Baron Blitzkrieg is a supervillain 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 thei ...

, originally residing on Earth-Two. He first appeared in ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #246 (August–September 1977). His first several appearances marked an antagonistic relationship with

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

and he later faced both the Amazon and Superman towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. A version of the character named Baron Reiter appeared in the fourth season of the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

television series '' Arrow'', portrayed by

Jimmy Akingbola James Olatokunbo Akingbola (born 7 April 1978) is an English television, theatre and film actor. Early life Jimmy Akingbola was born in London to parents of the Yoruba tribe who had emigrated from Nigeria. In 1996, Akingbola started at the ...

Fictional character biography

He is a frequent opponent of the

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its self-titled serie ...

, a band of costumed adventurers who fight domestic and foreign menaces during World War II. Baron Blitzkrieg was originally an especially vicious German army officer who was blinded and disfigured when a concentration camp prisoner threw a bottle in his face. German scientists restored his sight but not his appearance. So they experimented on Blitzkrieg, giving him superhuman strength, invulnerability, optical energy beams and the ability to fly. However, each of these abilities are manifested one at a time and only with training is he able to incorporate them together. Baron Blitzkrieg is the leader of Shadowspire and allied with

Vandal Savage Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, more widely known as Vandal Savage, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encount ...

's organization known as Symbolix. Together, they incorporate experimental research which produces the superhero

Damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...

. The Baron becomes a recurring foe in Damage's series, starting with issue number three. During the '' JSA'' tie-in to ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'', it is revealed that Baron Blitzkrieg has joined the Society. The

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

heroine known as Liberty Belle, who gets her powers from the Liberty Bell, attempts to jumpstart her abilities by ringing the bell. Due to the recent supposed death of

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

(who later returned in '' A Brave New World''), her powers are unfocused, and Blitzkrieg is thought to have been killed by the sonic shockwaves. He appears again in ''Infinite Crisis #7'' where he is killed by Superboy-Prime who destroys the Baron's head with his heat vision. Baron Blitzkrieg has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice. In ''

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. ''Blackest Ni ...

'' #4, he is revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. He also appeared in '' Batman: The Widening Gyre'' by

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

Baroness Blitzkrieg

One Year Later "One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through books published by DC Comics. It involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the ''Infinite Crisis'' storyline, to explore ...

, a new, Nazi-themed speedster supervillain named Baroness Blitzkrieg recently appeared as a member of The Fourth Reich, a team of Nazi-themed supervillains in ''

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 ...

''. Brutal in her killings, she runs through her victims and turns them into pulp. She is presumably a descendant of the original Baron Blitzkrieg; the Baroness joined the Nazi supervillain group Fourth Reich, and sometime before that group was hired by Vandal Savage to help exterminate the families of old Golden Age superheroes. For her part, the Baroness slaughtered several of the descendants of

Commander Steel Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics by the American publisher DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in ''Steel, The ...

, but was later beaten by Jay Garrick during an unsuccessful attempt to kill young Mike Dugan, son of retired hero Stripesy and stepbrother of Stargirl.

Powers and abilities

Baron Blitzkrieg has enhanced strength, agility and endurance. He wore body armor that offered some protection from physical attack. He has heat vision and he can fly. The pre-

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

version of the character could travel between Earth-2 and

Earth-X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

Other versions

Flashpoint

In the alternate '' Flashpoint'' timeline, Baron Blitzkrieg is killed by

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

with a sword driven through his chest.

In other media

* Baron Reiter appears in flashbacks in season four of '' Arrow'', portrayed by

. This version is an African individual who grew up in a small village until bandits destroyed it. Though Reiter survived, the event traumatized him and he vowed to never feel that powerless again. After becoming a mercenary and founding Shadowspire, he led them in occupying

Lian Yu Lian Yu (; born 1886) was a diplomat, politician, judicial officer and lawyer in the Republic of China. He was an important politician during the Reformed Government of the Republic of China and Wang Jingwei regime (Republic of China-Nanjing). ...

to find a magical artifact called the Khushu Idol and enslaved people to harvest drugs called "Slam" as a front. After

A.R.G.U.S. A.R.G.U.S. is a government organization in DC Comics. A.R.G.U.S. first appeared in ''Justice League'' vol. 2 #7 and was created by Geoff Johns and Gene Ha. Headed by Amanda Waller, A.R.G.U.S. is typically depicted as a parent organization for the ...

sent

Oliver Queen Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

to Lian Yu to infiltrate Shadowspire and uncover Reiter's intentions, he join forces with fellow slave Taiana Venediktov to find a map leading to the idol. Despite finding it, hiding it in a cave system, and detonating the entrance, Reiter found the idol regardless and sacrificed two of his men to gain power from it, acquiring superhuman strength and telekinesis. He fought Queen and Taiana until the former killed him. * A character inspired by Baroness Blitzkrieg simply called The Blitzkrieg appears in '' Freedom Fighters: The Ray'', voiced by

Scott Whyte Scott William Whyte (born January 8, 1978) is an American actor best known for his role as Chris Anderson on ''City Guys''. He has also appeared in television series such as ''That '70s Show'' and ''Just Shoot Me!'' and the films '' D2: The Migh ...

. This version is a member of the New Reichsmen and the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

counterpart.

References

External links

* {{Freedom Fighters DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Fictional African people DC Comics male supervillains Blitzkrieg DC Comics Nazis DC Comics metahumans DC Comics characters with superhuman strength Comics characters introduced in 1977 Characters created by Don Heck Characters created by Gerry Conway Wonder Woman characters Fictional Nazi fugitives Arrow (TV series) characters