Sportsmaster

The Sportsmaster (Lawrence "Crusher" Crock) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is usually depicted as a criminal who uses sports-themed weapons and gadgets to commit crimes.

Sportsmaster
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	All-American Comics #85 (May 1947)
Created by	John Broome Irwin Hasen
In-story information
Alter ego	Lawrence "Crusher" Crock
Team affiliations	Injustice Society Legion of Doom
Abilities	Master athlete and hand-to-hand combatant Utilizes sports-themed weapons such as exploding baseballs, flying bases, rocket baseball bats, knockout basketballs, lacrosse snare nets, exploding hockey pucks
Altered in-story information for adaptations to other media
Team affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains (Justice League Unlimited), League of Shadows (Young Justice)

Crock is played by Neil Hopkins in the television series Stargirl for DC Universe and The CW network.

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.[1][2]

The Victor Gover version of Sportsmaster first appeared in Manhunter #17 and was created by John Ostrander, Doug Rice, and Kim Yale.

Fictional character biography

Earth-Two version

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.[3] He was a member of different incarnations of the Injustice Society.[4] 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.[5] 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.

Earth-One version

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.

The New 52

In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. The Lawrence Crock version of Sportsmaster appears as a member of Leviathan.[6] He is also mentioned to be the roommate of Clock King, and the two fight Harley Quinn.[7]

Pre-Zero Hour

There was also another Sportsmaster whose identity was Victor Gover, an African-American former 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 armored 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.[8]

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 original 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 is not revealed. He is killed in an explosion. His look is modeled on the Earth-One Sportsman.[9]

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.[3]

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.[10] Sportsmaster's heart is torn out by Eel O'Brian.[11]

In other media

Television

• Sportsmaster makes brief appearances in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. He first makes a minor appearance in the episode "Grudge Match" before appearing as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society in later episodes.
• Sportsmaster appears in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Thomas F. Wilson. He appears in the episodes "Invasion of the Secret Santas", "Night of the Huntress", "Hail the Tornado Tyrant", and "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure".
• Sportsmaster appears in the animated series Young Justice, voiced by Nick Chinlund. This version is the ex-husband of the Huntress, with whom he has two daughters, Artemis and Cheshire. A former member of Ra's al Ghul's League of Shadows, he becomes the top assassin and enforcer of Project Cadmus' Board of Directors, otherwise known as "The Light". In the first season, Sportsmaster uses his relationship to Artemis to blackmail her into joining the Light, only for her to betray and capture him. Having escaped from custody sometime before the second season, he vows vengeance on Black Manta for Artemis' perceived murder at the hands of Manta's son, Kaldur'ahm. Sportsmaster later lays his vendetta to rest when he discovers that Artemis faked her death to infiltrate the Light.
• Sportsmaster appears in the live-action DC Universe series Stargirl, portrayed by Neil Hopkins.[12] This version is a member of the Injustice Society and the husband of Paula Brooks. In the pilot episode, Sportsmaster partook in the Injustice Society's attack on the Justice Society of America's headquarters. In "The Justice Society", he and Tigress attack and overpower Stargirl and her friends when they attempt to intercept an Injustice Society operation, only to be driven off by S.T.R.I.P.E. In the two-part episode "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.", Sportsmaster assists the Injustice Society in enacting Project: New America, only to be foiled and defeated by Stargirl's JSA.

Film

During pre-production, James Gunn originally considered adding Sportsmaster to the titular team of his 2021 DCEU film The Suicide Squad. However, he eventually decided not to use the character.[13]

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 before managing to escape to Verhoyansk to assist Icicle Jr. in securing another piece. However, he and Icicle are defeated by Superboy and a squad of heroes.

References

1. Broome, John (w), Hasen, Jack (p), Belfi, John (i). "The Rise and Fall of Crusher Crock" All-American Comics 85 (May 1947), DC Comics
2. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
3. Wallace, Dan (2008), "Crazy Creations", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 92, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
4. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 327. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
5. Thomas, Roy (w), McFarlane, Todd (p), DeZuniga, Tony (i). "Beat the Clock" Infinity, Inc. 35 (February 1987), DC Comics
6. Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #4. DC Comics.
7. Harley Quinn Vol. 2 #11. DC Comics.
8. "Suicide Squad #58 (1991)
9. "Final Crisis Aftermath: Run" #1-4 (2009)
10. Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #2 (July 2011)
11. Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #3 (August 2011)
12. Boucher, Geoff (December 20, 2018). "'Stargirl' Casting: Meet Three Members Of Injustice Society". Deadline. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
13. Anderson, Jenna (September 9, 2020). "The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Says He Considered Using Sportsmaster". Comicbook.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.