Baron Blitzkrieg
| Baron Blitzkrieg | |
|---|---|
|
Young All-Stars #9 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | World's Finest Comics #246 |
| Created by |
Gerry Conway Don Heck |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Reiter |
| Team affiliations |
Shadowspire Secret Society of Super Villains Black Lantern Corps |
| Abilities |
Superhuman strength Heat vision Flight |
Baron Blitzkrieg is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe, originally residing on Earth-Two. He first appeared in World's Finest Comics #246 (August–September 1977). His first several appearances marked an antagonistic relationship with Wonder Woman and he later faced both the Amazon and Superman towards the end of World War II.[1]
Fictional character biography
He is a frequent opponent of the heroic All-Star Squadron, a band of costumed adventurers who fight domestic and foreign menaces during World War II. Baron Blitzkrieg was originally an especially vicious German army officer who was blinded and disfigured when a concentration camp prisoner threw a bottle in his face. German scientists restored his sight but not his appearance. So they experimented on Blitzkrieg, giving him superhuman strength, invulnerability, optical energy beams and the ability to fly. However, each of these abilities are manifested one at a time and only with training is he able to incorporate them together.
Baron Blitzkrieg is the leader of Shadowspire and allied with Vandal Savage's organization known as Symbolix. Together, they incorporate experimental research which produces the superhero Damage. The Baron becomes a recurring foe in Damage's series, starting with issue number three.
During the JSA tie-in to Infinite Crisis, it is revealed that Baron Blitzkrieg has joined the Society. The Philadelphia heroine known as Liberty Belle, who gets her powers from the Liberty Bell, attempts to jumpstart her abilities by ringing the bell. However, due to the recent supposed death of Uncle Sam (who later returned in A Brave New World), her powers are unfocused, and Blitzkrieg is thought to have been killed by the sonic shockwaves. He appears again in Infinite Crisis #7 where he is killed by Superboy-Prime who destroys the Baron's head with his heat vision.
Baron Blitzkrieg has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice. In Blackest Night #4, he is revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.
He also appeared in Batman: The Widening Gyre by Kevin Smith.
One Year Later
A new, Nazi-themed speedster supervillain named Baroness Blitzkrieg recently appeared as a member of The Fourth Reich, a team of Nazi-themed supervillains in Justice Society of America. Brutal in her killings, she runs through her victims and turns them into pulp. She's presumably a descendent of the original Baron Blitzkrieg; the Baroness joined the Nazi supervillain group Fourth Reich, and sometime before that group was hired by Vandal Savage to help exterminate the families of old Golden Age superheroes. For her part, the Baroness slaughtered several of the descendents of Commander Steel, but was later beaten by Jay Garrick during an unsuccessful attempt to kill young Mike Dugan, son of retired hero Stripesy and stepbrother of Stargirl.
Powers and abilities
Baron Blitzkrieg has enhanced strength, agility and endurance. He wore body armor that offered some protection from physical attack. He has heat vision and he can fly.
The pre-Crisis version of the character could travel between Earth-2 and Earth-X.
Other Versions / Other Media
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Baron Blitzkrieg is killed by Frankenstein with a sword driven through his chest.[2]
Arrow
Baron Reiter appears in the fourth season of Arrow, portrayed by Jimmy Akingbola.[3] He's occupying Lian Yu in flashbacks, enslaving people to harvest drugs. Oliver Queen is sent there to infiltrate them and learn what they're doing there by A.R.G.U.S. The harvesting is later revealed to be a front for Reiter while his men look for a magical artifact. Once Oliver finds the map, they begin digging to find it. Eventually, they find it, but Oliver steals it and hides it in some caves then blows the entrance, but Reiter finds the idol and sacrifices two of his men to gain power from it to free himself. This version of the character is not German nor will he become Baron Blitzkrieg.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Baron Blitzkrieg", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 37, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5
- ↑ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 (June 2011)
- ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (July 22, 2015). "'Arrow' Cast DC Villain Baron Blitzkrieg for Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Abrams, Natalie. "Arrow boss explains Baron Reiter casting". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 12, 2015.