Blockbuster Vol 2 Superheroes Pack

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Evelyn Normington

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Aug 3, 2024, 2:17:03 PM8/3/24

to fakliponro

I'm not a major superhero kinda guy. I came to comics fairly late, and never managed to dive that much into the superhero realm. I think I always thought it was too big, with too much to catch up on, and a lot of the superhero books I read when I was younger always seemed like they knew something I didn't. That whole lore and world existed way before I was even born.

I began with The Valiant, which is a kind of similar in approach to The Avengers, where the publisher brings all the main heroes from its world together to stop the big bad. It's the kind of summer blockbuster you'd expect from Marvel or DC, re-shaping a bunch of characters and changing the status-quo.

I'd never read a single Valiant comic before jumping into The Valiant, and yet, within the pages of the first issue, I got to grips with all the characters, the world, what the stakes were, and why I'd want to dive into the second issue.

Since then, I've been all over Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, and more. It's taken the formula of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and adapted it to comic form, with enclosed series, all told in various "phases," leading up to a particular event.

The Valiant is the publisher's Age of Ultron, and it's a fast-paced and epic way to kick off a new set of stories. The Valiant universe feels like it's adapting and molding as each major event happens, and it really does feel like these stories have consequences for the characters.

More importantly, it offers blockbuster fun through all the series I've read. The creators at Valiant know what they're doing, and have doubled down on that accessible Hollywood style of storytelling.

The genius of Marvel's approach to the summer blockbuster is that it lets you opt in as much as you want. Depending on your knowledge of the Marvel cinematic universe, Age of Ultron is either a pivotal chapter in a grand, universe-spanning story of good vs. evil, or a popcorn blockbuster about a bunch of superheroes fighting a crazy robot.

Colin Yeo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

In the late 2000s, film studios, particularly Marvel Studios, realised that they could tap into the potential for creating stories that laid out a trail of breadcrumbs. Rather than just a single film, viewers would be tempted to consume many in a series.

Coupled with the merchandising successes that the Star Wars franchise had enjoyed since the 1980s, Marvel realised it had stumbled on a goldmine. Marvel was quickly bought up by Disney in 2009, resulting in the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a hyper-commercialised endeavour that, spanning decades and involving billions of dollars, represents the apex of big budget filmmaking. The studio has produced 15 films film to date, including Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers, with at least nine more planned.

In the past, films were considered risky businesses. Film production, at least from the perspective of the blockbuster, has traditionally been a very expensive enterprise. A shared universe approach to film-making enmeshes viewers to such an extent that repeated successes, at least from a financial perspective, are almost assured. This contributes to a presumptuous and repetitive form of filmic storytelling.

Instead of vehicles for telling audiences compelling stories, shared universe franchises represent an ultimate form of commercialisation that begins with the hook of purchasing a movie ticket, expanding into merchandising, DVD sales and repeat trips to the movies.

Blockbuster is the name of four supervillains and a criminal organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.[1] The first iteration was an adversary of Batman and Robin, while the second served as one of Nightwing's greatest enemies. The latest version first appeared in the pages of the series 52 wherein he is directed into battle against Lex Luthor's team of superheroes.

The first Blockbuster was Mark Desmond, a chemist who desired to increase his physical strength. Experimenting on himself, he succeeded in making himself stronger and taller, but as a side-effect of the process he also became almost mindlessly aggressive.[3] The mentally debilitated Desmond was cared for by his brother Roland, a local criminal, who kept their mother from discovering what Mark had done to himself.[4]

Roland manipulated his brother into committing crimes on his behalf until they came into conflict with Batman and Robin. Bruce Wayne had once rescued a young Desmond from drowning, and he discovered that he could calm the enraged adult Desmond by removing his cowl and showing his face.[5] Desmond later found himself clashing with Batman on various occasions.

Blockbuster absorbed energies from the Alfred Memorial which gave him some powers and was once substituted for the super-strong undead villain Solomon Grundy from Earth-Two due to a machine that was substituting people from both Earths. Green Lantern caused him to fight Solomon Grundy, leading to them both briefly getting the fight knocked out of each other. While Solomon Grundy was taken back to Earth-Two by the Justice Society of America, Blockbuster was handed over to the police by the Justice League.[6]

King Kull enlisted Blockbuster, Penguin, Queen Clea of Earth-Two, and Ibac of Earth-S to wreck Atlantis and use a cloud to sink islands. They are thwarted by Superman, Wonder Woman of Earth-Two, Green Arrow, and Spy Smasher of Earth-S.[8]

In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Mark Desmond is a patient of Dr. Phayne's. He lives on the estate and at night he undergoes procedures to enhance his intelligence. He is exposed to small amounts of a green compound intravenously. An accident is caused by a new patient believing he is in pain and the cascade of green liquid overdoses Desmond and creates an explosion. The overdose exposes a super-strong man calling himself Blockbuster. He rampages from the building in pain and knocks an attacking Hawkman unconscious.[10] Blockbuster was later mind-controlled by Necromancer to help her steal an artifact from a Washington D.C. museum, which brought the attention of Hawk and Dove. They teamed up with Batman and Robin to stop Blockbuster and Necromancer.[11] Mark Desmond later appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains upon having been recruited by Outsider. When Catwoman breaks out of Arkham Asylum, Mark Desmond and Signalman confronted Catwoman on a rooftop, which ended with Catwoman being knocked out.[12]

Roland Desmond became the second Blockbuster after a severe illness forced him to be treated with experimental steroids. Like his brother Mark, Roland became a child-minded super-strong monster. He ran wild in the Southwest, but Batman and Starman (Will Payton) brought his rampage to an end.[13][14]

Desmond became obsessed with elevating himself greatly above his debilitated brain. A pact with the demon Neron granted him a full intellectual mind and Desmond embarked once more on a career of crime and destruction even after his soul is restored. He began his revived criminal career by causing chaos in the town of Manchester, although his schemes were foiled by the speedster, Impulse.

Desmond then moved to his mother's hometown of Bldhaven. He forced the crime lord Angel Marin out of power and took over the city's criminal rackets. Roland's plan was to build a criminal empire in Bldhaven 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 Police Chief Redhorn and Inspector Dudley "Deadly" Soames.

Despite his swift and vicious consolidation of power, Blockbuster's hold on Bldhaven's organized crime was nevertheless weakened by the intervention of the city's new protector, Nightwing (Dick Grayson, the former Robin), who, with Oracle's help, foiled Desmond's plans at every turn. Oracle often removes money from Blockbuster's accounts and he has a man working to stop and find Oracle, named Vogel.[15]