Blockbuster (Michael Baer) is a fictional

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character was created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

and Michael Golden and his first appearance was in ''The

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X ...

'' #210.

Publication history

Blockbuster first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #210 (Oct. 1986), and was created by

and Michael Golden. The character subsequently appears in ''X-Factor'' #10 (Nov. 1986), ''Thor'' #373-374 (Nov.–Dec. 1986), ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #240 (Jan. 1989), #243 (April 1989), ''X-Man'' #13 (March 1996), ''X-Men'' #200-203 (Aug.–Nov. 2007), and ''X-Men: Messiah Complex'' #1 (Dec. 2007). Blockbuster appeared as part of the "Marauders" entry in the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #18.

Fictional character biography

Blockbuster is a member of the Marauders, a team of superhuman assassins brought together by the mutant thief

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

when he was in the employ of the enigmatic

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Maraud ...

. On Sinister's orders, the Marauders

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

the underground community of mutants known as the

Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televisio ...

. In the course of the massacre, the Marauders, including Blockbuster, clash with various superhuman champions, including the mutant adventurers known as the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

. The Norse god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

, summoned to the Morlock tunnels by his ally, the frog Puddleglup, happens upon Blockbuster following his torture of the mutant

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

. After a brief battle, in which Blockbuster is able to break Thor's left arm, Thor kills Blockbuster to avenge the innocent Morlocks he has slain. Thor then burns his remains, along with the other slaughtered Morlocks. Sinister uses his technology to clone the Marauders. Blockbuster and other previously-slain Marauders return during the demonic invasion of Manhattan referred to as the

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

. Blockbuster is among the Marauders set by Sinister to defend his orphanage/laboratory headquarters. Blockbuster is slain by the mutant Havok, who had, along with most of the X-Men, been tainted by the demonic invasion, becoming more bestial and aggressive. Though the X-Men discovered and deactivated many of Sinister's Clone Vaults after the events of the crossover saga

X-Cutioner's Song "X-Cutioner's Song" is a crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics' in twelve parts from November 1992 to early 1993. It ran in ''Uncanny X-Men'', ''X-Men'' (vol. 2), ''X-Factor'', and '' X-Force'', and featured Stryfe as the central villai ...

, Blockbuster returned with the other original Marauders, when they attacked the X-Mansion.

Messiah Complex and Death

Blockbuster's body is seen later being "eaten" by

Predator X ''Pliosaurus'' (meaning 'more lizard') is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages (Late Jurassic) of Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine re ...

after he and the rest of the Marauders arrive at an Alaskan town. The Marauder's goal had been to find a mutant baby, a current rarity; they had also encountered the Purifiers, another group searching for the child.

Powers and abilities

Michael Baer has an immense physical size, which grants him tremendous strength, stamina, and resistance to injury. He is shown to be powerful enough withstanding direct blows from Thor, at least for a while. Then, the first Blockbuster was eventually killed by him. His

clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

shared the same powers as him, but further augmented by

In other media

Television

* Blockbuster makes minor non-speaking appearances in the ''

'' animated series episodes "Sanctuary" and "Graduation Day". * Blockbuster appears in the '' Wolverine and the X-Men'' animated series. Like his comics counterpart, he is a member of the Marauders.

Video games

Blockbuster appears in the ''

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...

'' video game as a member of the Marauders.

References

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