BLOCKBUSTER II (Fredric Woolrich, aka Heat-Ray)
Created By: Chris Claremont, David Michelinie & Mike Zeck
First Appearance: Captain America #258 (June 1981)
Role: One-Off Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (87)
STRENGTH 3/8
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 7
DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2
AWARENESS 1
PRESENCE 0
Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Arsonist) 6 (+8)
Technology 2 (+4)
Advantages:
Ranged Attack 5
Powers:
"Blockbuster Powersuit" (Flaws: Removable) [33]
Enhanced Strength 5 (10)
Protection 5 (5)
Immunity 7 (Heat, Fire Damage, Suffocation) (7)
Senses 1 (Infravision) (1)
"Flame Spout" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (16) -- (18)
- AE: "Force Beam" Blast 7 (14)
- AE: "Ground Shockwave" Affliction 8 (Strength; Dazed/Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Grounded Targets) (8)
-- (41 points)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Suit Strength +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Force Beam +7 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Flame Spout +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shockwave +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +0
Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3 (+8 Costume), Fortitude +3, Will +2
Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Blockbuster burns down buildings for money- he doesn't even care if people get injured, figuring that just makes his job (to clear out areas for big developers to take over) easier.
Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 8 (87)
-Blockbuster appears in a pretty good issue of
Captain America I picked up on a lark- it's a 1981 issue written by Chris Claremont & David Michelinie- I was actually stunned by how good the early part was compared to what I was expecting... and checked the bylines and discovered that of course it was CLAREMONT (working on a fill-in after Roger Stern & John Byrne had left the book) on the first half. It was during the "Bernie Rosenthal" era, when Steve was living in an old brownstone populated by an all-new supporting case of normal people, as Sharon Carter had just died (a fan even wrote in saying she never felt like "a real character", as opposed to Bernie).
-In the issue, the building across from Steve & Bernie is attacked by an arsonist, and Cap nearly dies trying to save people inside- a co-worker of his fellow tenant, a firefighter named Mike, dies saving Cap's life. It's a very grim, serious issue, dealing with the then-major crisis of landlords & big developers bribing arsonists to destroy buildings so that they can re-sell the land at higher value. This was a HUGE problem in New York at the time, in particular the Bronx (
"The Bronx is burning" was a catchphrase of the times thanks to Howard Cosell's comments from a helicopter, and there were often a dozen arsons PER DAY in that borough!), and news about it led pretty much directly to this issue, a few years after the peak of the arsons. It's also a nice reminder of the neat thing about "human-level heroes"- even someone as super-powered as CAP is brought low by "common" threats like fire, smoke and ash. As an ordinary man with merely "peak human" physiology, any of that can and will kill him.
-And of course it has a "Comic Book" element, as the arsonist (who appears like a regular guy at first) puts on a massive Powersuit that turns him into a classic super-villain, and he nearly gets the drop on Cap. Cap leads him to a wharf, where a warehouse is torched, and Cap has to use careful tactics, guile and precision to defeat a guy who can set fires anywhere he pleases- he gets a sneak attack to knock Blockbuster into the burning warehouse, then lures him into grabbing Cap in a bearhug- this allows him to smash his suit's power with the Shield, and Blockbuster almost immediately passes out from the smoke and heat.
-Also, the issue has some REALLY good art. Given that it was drawn by MIKE ZECK, who is known for oddly half-assed art featuring barrel-chested cartoon characters, that's a bit surprising. In fact, it looks very much like Zeck is aping- successfully, mind you- the last
Cap artist, John Byrne. The wide faces, broad chins and huge eyes are dead-giveaways.
-Blockbuster later changes his name to "Heat-Ray", and joins a bunch of Jobbers (Slasher, Slither) as part of The Fangs.
-Blockbuster is pretty tough, and can take a punch, but in a fair fight he's pretty screwed. He hampers Cap by using Area Attacks and the environment (he's immune to most of the effects of fire, heat and smoke- Cap is not), but Cap can easily hit him in open-air, and pretty much one-shots him when he gets in range of the thing powering Blockbuster's suit. He is rapidly-overwhelmed by smoke and the heat inside his costume- Cap has to remove the suit and carry the guy out, miraculously surviving the smoky, burning warehouse.