The Sportsmaster is the name used by two DC Comics villains who used their sports skills for criminal purposes.
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Publication history
The Lawrence Crock version of Sportsmaster first appeared in All-American Comics #85 (May 1947) and was created by writer John Broome and artist Irwin Hasen.
The Victor Gover version of Sportsmaster first appeared in Manhunter #17 and was created by John Ostrander, Doug Rice, and Kim Yale.
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Fictional character biography
Lawrence "Crusher" Crock
He was the foe of the original Green Lantern as well as Wildcat. He was first known as Crusher Crock, a frustrated athlete who turns to a life of crime. He was a member of different incarnations of the Injustice Society. He helped capture the JSA using an exploding ball, after which they were hypnotized and then during the Patriotic Crimes he steals Old Ironside. He teams up with (and later marries) the Golden Age villainess Huntress. Later they have a child named Artemis Crock who became the third Tigress. In his later years he spent time behind bars but at least on one occasion was broken out of prison by his daughter - then a member of Injustice Unlimited. Following his death, his body was cloned by a secret organization called The Council for their enforcers (they had previously used Manhunter).
In the Elseworlds miniseries The Golden Age, set outside regular DC Comics continuity, Sportsmaster's real name was revealed to be Lawrence Crock. he first appears in issue #2, robbing a jewelry store in the same building as the GBS radio station. He battles Alan Scott in a physical fight. According to the mini-series, he had a daughter he could not see and was hoping to earn enough money committing robberies to win her back. Later he joins the forces of Tex Thompson (secretly Ultra-Humanite in Thompson's body). He dies trying to save a little girl from being killed by Dynaman. His death convinces Alan Scott to join the fight.
The Earth-One version of the character (see DC Comics Multiverse) had the same name and origin, but was the foe of Robin and Batgirl. He also married his universe's version of the Huntress. After losing a villains versus heroes baseball game, they reformed and have not been seen since. Since the Crisis on Infinite Earths, this version was apparently wiped from existence or merged with his Earth-2 counterpart.
Victor Gover
Pre-Zero Hour
There was also another Sportsmaster whose identity was Victor Gover, a former African-American football player who possessed "photographic reflexes." Blacklisted from the world of professional sports after his meta-human abilities were revealed, he turned to crime with a special armor suit that he wore. He fought against Manhunter and later became a member of the Suicide Squad for one mission during War of the Gods. They are sent on an intelligence-gathering mission against the magic-user Circe. The Sportsmaster's allies included Black Adam, Javelin, and the author avatar of Grant Morrison. Sportsmaster was one of the few members to survive this mission.
Post-Zero Hour
Following the events of Zero Hour, the character of Victor Gover was radically altered. Victor Gover was now a white male with blonde hair, who no longer had photographic reflex powers, but was a disgraced all-American athlete who turned to crime due to an addiction to gambling. Furthermore, he also wore an exact replica of the original Sportsmaster's costume. Fighting Wildcat, Victor was betting on himself as part of a betting parlor based on metahuman fights. Gover then fought against a handicapped JSA, who were taking a dive to ensure the kidnapped Ma Hunkel's safety. After Wildcat freed Ma Hunkel, the JSA quickly routed him. Wildcat then took Gover to the alley where the whole incident began, beat Gover savagely, and forced Gover to retire as a supervillain and attend Gamblers Anonymous.
Sportsmen
There were two individuals who modeled their modus operandi after the Sportsmaster, the Sportsman of Earth-2 and the Sportsman of Earth-1.
The Earth-2 version gained his powers from absorption of an anti-proton globe which enhanced his physical attributes and allowed him to wield seemingly telekinetic control of various sports related implements. This version embarked on a life of crime as a result of the globe's effect on the rational functions of his cerebral cortex. He battled several heroes including the Golden Age Robin and Wildcat.
The Earth-1 version was Martin Mantle, Jr. and appeared only in Batman #338 (1981). During Mantle's youth, his father, disgusted by his son's poor athletic performance, forcibly subjected him to unsafe enhancement treatment in a twisted attempt to make him more "manly." Although emotionally scarred by the incident, Mantle indeed grew up to become a champion athlete, only to learn his father's procedure was altering his body in a way that would eventually kill him. As the Sportsman, he embarked on a brief life of crime with Olympian-level physical attributes and specialized equipment of his own design. His adversary was the Silver Age Batman who allowed him to "win" once he became aware that Mantle's life was nearing its end.
Final Crisis Aftermath
A Sportsmaster appears as one of General Immortus' followers in Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!. His real name, origin, and any connection to Crock have yet to be revealed. He is killed in an explosion. His look is modeled on the Earth-One Sportsman.
The New 52
In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), a character named 'Mad Dog' appears in Suicide Squad #3. His appearance is based on the Lawrence Crock version of Sportsmaster that appeared in Young Justice.
The Lawrence Crock version of Sportsmaster appears as a member of Leviathan.
Powers and abilities
Crock uses sporting-themed weapons such as exploding baseballs, flying bases, rocket baseball bats, knockout basketballs, lacrosse snare nets, exploding hockey pucks. Their outfits generally included a baseball cap, catcher's mask, padded jersey, catcher's chestguard, football-style pants, and cleats.
Each of the Sportsmasters and Sportsmen had superb physical attributes on par with Olympic athletes in their prime. As noted above, Victor Gover also had "photographic reflexes".
Other versions
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Sportsmaster is imprisoned in Doom prison. During the prison break, Sportsmaster was forced by Heat Wave and Eel O'Brian attempt to breakout from cells. Sportsmaster's heart is torn out by Eel O'Brian.
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, a charactor based on Sportsmaster named "Sportsman" apears in the episode "Legends" voiced by Michael McKean.
- In Justice League Unlimited, Sportsmaster made a brief appearance as the first opponent seen being defeated by Wildcat in the secret metahuman tournament Meta-Brawl held by Roulette. He later appears as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.
- The Lawrence Crock version of Sportmaster appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Invasion of the Secret Santas" voiced by Thomas F. Wilson. He interrupts a holiday bowling tournament by creating human bowling pins out of the participants, only to be defeated by Batman and Blue Beetle. Sportsmaster returns in "Night of the Huntress" as an inmate at Blackgate prison. In "Hail the Tornado Tyrant", he and his gang rob a bank before being defeated by Red Tornado and his son Tornado Champion. He has a small cameo in "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure" where Aquaman notices Sportsmaster driving near him and then notices that he is also on a road trip with his wife Tigress (AKA: Huntress) and daughter Artemis.
- Lawrence Crock's version frequently appears in Young Justice, voiced by Nick Chinlund. He is shown as a senior operative and enforcer of the Light (Project Cadmus' Board of Directors). His duties are diverse, ranging from acquisition of advanced technology, leading squads from the League of Shadows, to serving as handler for a cloned Roy Harper. In the first season, he uses his relationship to Artemis to try to blackmail her into joining the Light, though she double-crosses him and he is captured. Having escaped custody in the 5 years preceding the second season, he vows vengeance on Black Manta for Artemis' murder at the hands of Kaldur'ahm. He formally requests that the Light's board let him kill Kaldur in exchange, but immediately sets out to kill Black Manta when this is denied, and Deathstroke replaces him. Crock calls off the hit after discovering Artemis faked her death to infiltrate the Light, even assisting his daughter in covering her tracks. His costume and physical design for the series have been drastically altered, with a simple featureless Hockey mask covering his face, paramilitary armor, and an arm plate. He is portrayed as more of a mercenary, and utilizes Olympic sport-themed weapons such as javelins, a high-tech hammer throw, a vaulting pole, and various types of explosive discuses. He has a longstanding rivalry with Deathstroke, and is very concerned with his reputation, targeting Kaldur'ahm and later Black Manta because he cannot be seen as weak for not seeking revenge for the murder of his daughter Artemis.
Video Games
Sportsmaster appears as a boss in the video game Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Nick Chinlund. During the game's first mission, Sportsmaster is tasked with securing a piece of an ancient statue for The Light in a Greek museum. He encounters Artemis and the Team, teasing her to leave the heroes before a fight. Sportsmaster manages to escape, leaving to Verhoyansk to assist Icicle Jr. in securing another piece. He and Icicle are defeated by Superboy and a squad of heroes after a tag-team battle.
Miscellaneous
In The Batman Adventures comic (set in the DC Animated Universe), Sportsmaster appeared as one of Black Mask's lieutenants.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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