Thursday, October 5, 2017

Supergirl Stats: Bloodsport And More

Supergirl wasn't the first person to face Bloodsport in the comics, it was her slightly more famous cousin, Superman.

Superman even faced a few villains that went by the name of Bloodsport, and another, Demolitia, who also used the same technology to menace the Man of Steel.

Bloodsport I

Robert DuBois was the first man to wear the name of Bloodsport, using an arsenal of weapons he could teleport into his grasp to fight Superman, starting with Superman #4 (April, 1987) by John Byrne and Karl Kesel.

DuBois claimed to have a military background, having gone to war with his brother, Michael, and was manipulated by Lex Luthor to attack Superman with technology (including Kryptonite bullets).  Bloodsport was doing well against Superman, until Jimmy Olsen found out the truth about him (he was a draft dodger who was afraid to die, and fled to Canada), who felt guilty as his brother served in his place, losing some of his limbs in war, with Robert going insane because of that tragedy, ending up being captured by Superman.

Bloodsport disappeared for a time....but it wasn't Robert that returned....

Bloodsport II

Alex Trent was the next man to take up the mantle of Bloodsport, starting with Adventures Of Superman #506 (November, 1993) by Karl Kesel, Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood, but had more of a battle with Superman in Adventures of Superman #507 (December, 1993) by Karl Kesel, Barry Kitson and Ray McCarthy.

This Bloodsport was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, and used the Bloodsport identity (and technological abilities) to wage a race war, which Superman helped to stop.  The war continued into Action Comics #694 (December, 1993), and then in the ruins of Metropolis in Action Comics #702 (August, 1994), where Superman got help from new Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe to stop this Bloodsport...

...with some of Alex's history being revealed in Superman: The Man of Steel #47 (August, 1995).

Both Bloodsports returned in Adventures Of Superman #526 (August, 1995 by Karl Kesel, Rodolfo Damaggio and Klaus Janson) with a "Title Bout!", having the two of them face off, yet it was Robert Dubois who died in a hail of gunfire trying to escape prison, with Alex Trent being burned to death in his prison cell by the Aryan Brotherhood as well...


...theoretically ending the threat of Bloodsport.




Demolitia

Marita Chavez took on the tech which created Bloodsport, but created her own identity as Demolitia in Action Comics #718 (February, 1996) by David Michelinie, Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier, having had her life destroyed in a plot of Luthor's which destroyed Metropolis, and then savaged by looters pretending to be rescuers, miraculously surviving the experience...and she continued her war against Luthor in Superman's Nemesis, Lex Luthor #1 and #2 in 1999, then fought Troia (Donna Troy) in Wonder Woman #175 (December, 2001) as one of the followers of Circe when she led female villains into battle against Earth's heroines..



Bloodsport III

No name was givin for the third Bloodsport, who first showed up in Superman #652 (July, 2006 by Geoff Johns, Kurt Busiek and Pete Woods), working with many Superman villains like Hellgrammite, Silver Banshee, the Puzzler, Riot and Livewire (most of which have faced off with Supergirl on her CW TV show)...

....with Superman being taxed to stop all these villains, especially as Bloodsport shot at Jimmy Olsen, with the lot being defeated in Action Comics #839 (July, 2006)...

This Bloodsport turned up in the crowd of villains transported to another planet on Salvation Run (a seven issue mini-series in 2008), and to be a quickly defeated menace in Guardian focused Superman #692 (November, 2009) with no hints on who could be under that mask, but he's still a well armed menace to the Man of Steel.



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