Quakemaster is a fictional
supervillain in the
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 ...
universe. He first appeared in ''
DC Special'' #28 (June-July 1977) and was co-created by writer
Bob Rozakis
Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man".
Career
Bob Rozakis go ...
and artist
John Calnan.
Fictional character biography
Robert Coleman is an architect of some note in
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
. His reputation is irreparably damaged when an apartment complex he designed and built does not withstand a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
. Feeling that he has been wrongly branded, Coleman creates the alias of the Quakemaster and uses his super-charged
jackhammer
A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William Mcreavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady King ...
to create earthquakes in
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
. His scheme backfires and only his buildings are damaged in the quakes. Quakemaster is defeated and captured by
Batman.
Quakemaster is later released and recruited by the
Secret Society of Super Villains to be part of the team working with the
Silver Ghost to kill the
Freedom Fighters. This story was scheduled to appear in ''The Secret Society of Super-Villains'' #16-17, but the title was canceled before it could be published. It eventually appeared in issue #2 of ''
Cancelled Comic Cavalcade
The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cut it back. The DC Explo ...
'', the extremely limited series produced by DC Comics.
Quakemaster is part of a team of supervillains recruited by
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...
and
Brainiac during the so-called ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...
''.
Quakemaster later takes to hanging out with other villains who have apparently fallen on hard times. This group includes
Black Mass,
Sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
, the original
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...
and the
Cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
. The villains gather at a New York bar to play games of
poker. In one such game, the villains lose most of their weapons and devices to Wally Tortelloni, an everyday civilian. When the villains gang up to track Tortelloni down and retake their devices, they are apprehended by members of the
Justice League International
Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...
.
In ''The Adventures of Superman'' #608 (November 2002), Quakemaster is one of the numerous villains hired by
Manchester Black
Manchester Black is a fictional character in American comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those featuring Superman. He was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke in ''Action Comics'' #775 (March 2001). Introduced as an antihero, the c ...
to attack friends and family members of Clark Kent, secretly
Superman. He is once again defeated.
In ''
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, ...
'', Quakemaster became a member of the
Secret Society of Super Villains.
Powers and abilities
Quakemaster has no inherent powers or abilities. He uses a power charged jackhammer of his own design. It projects pulse waves of energy capable of destroying concrete or smashing bone.
Other versions
For a brief time, the name Quakemaster is used by fellow villain
the Ventriloquist during the
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
disaster known as
the Cataclysm.
[''Robin'' (vol. 2) #53 (May 1998)]
Still later, another supervillain called
Geomancer
Geomancy (Greek: γεωμαντεία, "earth divination") is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory geomancy inv ...
takes up Quakemaster's
m.o., although seemingly without the aid of technical equipment.
In the first issue of the ''
Hero Hotline
Hero Hotline is a fictional DC Comics corporate superteam introduced in ''Action Comics Weekly'' #637 (cover-dated January 1989). It was created by Bob Rozakis and Stephen DeStefano.
History
Hero Hotline is a corporate 24/7 hero for hire company ...
'' miniseries, the titular team battled an exo-skeleton-wearing criminal who was using a super-powered jackhammer to tunnel under a building which had been erected over the hiding place for his loot while he was in prison. Although the character was identified as potentially being Quakemaster, his identity was never verified.
References
{{reflist
External links
Quakemasterat the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
Comics characters introduced in 1977
DC Comics supervillains
Fictional architects