Sportsmaster

Fictional supervillain in the DC comics universe

Comics character

Sportsmaster

The Lawrence Crock incarnation of Sportsmaster as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #21 (November 1986).

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
Victor Gover
Species| Human
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)

The Sportsmaster is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the character; Lawrence "Crusher" Crock, is usually depicted as a criminal who uses sports-themed weapons and gadgets to commit crimes. He is also the husband of Paula Brooks and the father of Artemis Crock.

Crusher / Sportsmaster appeared in Young Justice, voiced by Nick Chinlund, and Stargirl, portrayed by Neil Hopkins.

## Publication history

[edit]

The Lawrence Crock incarnation 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 incarnation of Sportsmaster first appeared in Manhunter #17 and was created by John Ostrander, Doug Rice, and Kim Yale.

## Fictional character biography

[edit]

### Lawrence "Crusher" Crock

[edit]

#### Earth-Two version

[edit]

He was the foe of the original Green Lantern and 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]

In Final Crisis, Sportsmaster appears as one of General Immortus' followers.[6]

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Sportsmaster appears as a member of Leviathan.[7][8]

### Victor Gover

[edit]

The second Sportsmaster is Victor Gover, an African-American former football player who possessed "photographic reflexes". Blacklisted from the world of professional sports after his metahuman abilities are exposed, Gover becomes a criminal and enemy of Manhunter. He later joins the Suicide Squad for one mission during War of the Gods.[9]

Following Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Gover is reimagined as a powerless white athlete and gambling addict. Wildcat later beats Gover, forcing him to retire and attend Gamblers Anonymous.

### Sportsmen

[edit]

Sportsman is the name of two characters modeled after the original Sportsmaster.

The Earth-2 version is a telekinetic metahuman whose abilities are derived from an anti-proton globe. However, the globe affects his brain, forcing him into crime.

The Earth-1 version is Martin Mantle, an athlete whose father forced him to undergo unsafe enhancement treatments that will eventually kill him. As the Sportsman, he possesses Olympian-level physical attributes and specialized equipment of his own design.

## Powers and abilities

[edit]

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

[edit]

An alternate timeline variant of Sportsmaster appears in Flashpoint. This version was incarcerated in Doom prison. He attempts to escape during a prison break, only to be killed by Eel O'Brian.[10][11]

## In other media

[edit]

### Television

[edit]

* A character based on Sportsmaster named Sportsman appears in the Justice League two-part episode "Legends", voiced by Michael McKean.[12] He is a supervillain from an alternate universe and member of the Injustice Guild.
* An unidentified Sportsmaster makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Justice League Unlimited.[13] This version is a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.
* An unidentified Sportsmaster appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Thomas F. Wilson.[13]
* The Lawrence "Crusher" Crock incarnation of Sportsmaster appears in Young Justice, voiced by Nick Chinlund.[13] This version is the ex-husband of the Huntress, with whom he has two daughters, Artemis Crock and Cheshire. Additionally, he is a former member of Ra's al Ghul's League of Shadows who became the top assassin and enforcer of Project Cadmus' Board of Directors, 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 sometime before the second season, during which he was replaced by Deathstroke, he vows vengeance on Black Manta for Artemis' apparent murder at the hands of Manta's son, Kaldur'ahm, but lays his vendetta to rest when he discovers that Artemis faked her death to infiltrate the Light.
* The Lawrence "Crusher" Crock incarnation of Sportsmaster appears in Stargirl, portrayed by Neil Hopkins.[14] This version is a member of the Injustice Society of America (ISA). In the pilot episode, Sportsmaster partook in the ISA's attack on the Justice Society of America (JSA)'s headquarters. In the two-part episode "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.", Sportsmaster assists the ISA in enacting Project: New America, only to be foiled and defeated by Stargirl's JSA. In the episode "Summer School: Chapter Thirteen", Artemis Crock breaks Sportsmaster and Tigress out of prison so that they can help Cindy Burman and the JSA fight Eclipso. Following this, the Crock family move in next door to the Whitmore-Dugan family. In the third season, Sportsmaster and Tigress work with the JSA to investigate Gambler's death and find the person responsible for spying on Blue Valley's citizens until they are killed by Icicle.

### Film

[edit]

* The Batman: The Brave and the Bold incarnation of Sportsmaster makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold.[13]
* Sportsmaster was considered to appear in The Suicide Squad as a member of the eponymous team.[15]

### Video games

[edit]

* The Lawrence "Crusher" Crock incarnation of Sportsmaster appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[16]
* The Young Justice incarnation of Lawrence "Crusher" Crock / Sportsmaster appears as a boss in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced again by Nick Chinlund.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Broome, John (w), Hasen, Jack (p), Belfi, John (i). "The Rise and Fall of Crusher Crock" All-American Comics, vol. 1, no. 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. ^ a b Wallace, Dan (2008), "Crazy Creations", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 92, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1, 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., vol. 1, no. 35 (February 1987). DC Comics.
6. ^ Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #1-4 (2009)
7. ^ Batman Incorporated (vol. 2) #4. DC Comics.
8. ^ Harley Quinn (vol. 2) #11. DC Comics.
9. ^ Suicide Squad #58 (1991)
10. ^ Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #2 (July 2011)
11. ^ Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #3 (August 2011)
12. ^ "Sportsman Voice - Justice League (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 18, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
13. ^ a b c d e "Sportsmaster Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 18, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
14. ^ Boucher, Geoff (December 20, 2018). "'Stargirl' Casting: Meet Three Members Of Injustice Society". Deadline. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
15. ^ Anderson, Jenna (September 9, 2020). "The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Says He Considered Using Sportsmaster". Comicbook.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
16. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved May 18, 2024.

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Other members|

* Amazing-Man (Markus Clay)
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| Golden Age|

* Black Dragon Society
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* Sportsmaster
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* Baron Blitzkrieg
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* Anti-Monitor
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* All Star Comics
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Related articles|

* Earth-Two
* List of Justice Society titles

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* Justice League: The New Frontier
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Infinity, Inc.

Creators|

* Roy Thomas
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Initial members|

* Brainwave
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Later members|

* Everyman
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* Steel

Supporting characters|

* Jonni Thunder
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* Solomon Grundy

Enemies|

* Blockbuster II
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* Cheetah
* Darkseid
* Deathbolt
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* Harlequin
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* Artemis
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* Psycho-Pirate
* Star Sapphire
* Thorn
* Tony Zucco
* Ultra-Humanite

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Earth-Two

Gardner Fox

Associated characters|

* Accountable (Jimmy Olsen)
* Atom (Al Pratt)
* Batman (Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne)
* Big Barda
* Black Canary
* Brain Wave
* Brutaal
* Crimson Avenger
* Darkseid
* DeSaad
* Doctor Fate
* Doctor Mid-Nite
* Flash (Jay Garrick)
* Furies of Apokolips
* Fury
* Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
* Hawkgirl
* Jade
* Sandy Hawkins
* Hawkman
* Hourman
* Huntress (Helena Wayne)
* Icicle
* Johnny Quick (Johnny Chambers)
* Liberty Belle
* Mister Miracle
* Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)
* Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane)
* Power Girl
* Psycho-Pirate
* Red Tornado (Lois Lane)
* Robin
* Robotman (Robert Crane)
* Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
* Sonia Sato
* Solomon Grundy
* The Spectre
* Sportsmaster
* Starman (Ted Knight)
* Star-Spangled Kid
* Steel
* Steppenwolf
* Stripesy
* Superman (Kal-L / Clark Kent)
* Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt
* Ultra-Humanite
* Wildcat
* The Wizard
* Wonder Woman
* Wotan

Associated teams|

* All-Star Squadron
* Infinity Inc.
* Injustice Society
* Justice Society of America
* Seven Soldiers of Victory
* World's Finest Team

Publications and storylines|

* America vs. the Justice Society
* Earth 2: World's End
* "Flash of Two Worlds"
* World's Finest

Related topics|

* Multiverse (DC Comics)

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