Blackrock (comics)
Encyclopedia
Blackrock is a fictional supervillain
in the DC Comics
universe
. Blackrock is a recurring enemy of Superman
first appearing in Action Comics
#458, (April 1976).
. Silverstone hypnotized UB President Sam Tanner and later Tanner's nephew, Les Vegas, to fill the role. A third Blackrock (an energy construct) was created by Tanner's command not much later.
However, it is known that eventually Silverstone assumed the mantle of Blackrock himself, using a powerful stone that could metabolize electromagnetic energy into energy to achieve flight, energy blasts and superhuman strength, and fought Superman several times. This rock, while a technological artifact, has the appearance of a polished gem
that is black as coal
. It was appropriately dubbed the "Blackrock".
Silverstone is the only Pre-Crisis user of the stone that has been mentioned in Post-Crisis continuity. Overuse of the Blackrock's powers blinded Silverstone and left him insane. He was found sitting muttering to himself and watching constant television in an apartment by an ex-convict named Sam Benjamin, who beat Silverstone to death with the Blackrock and took it for himself. Despite its power, his inexperience with the Blackrock led to his defeat, and Superman took the stone and threw it towards the Sun.
A short time later, Alexander Luthor, Jr.
, disguised as Lex Luthor
, dispatched Bizarro
to retrieve the Blackrock from the Sun before passing it on to a South American woman named Lucia, a drug smuggler and revolutionary who had been jailed by Superman before. Her intense feelings of hatred towards the Man of Steel matched those of the Blackrock, and she proved particularly adept in using it. However, her skills were not enough to defeat Superman, and the Blackrock withdrew into itself.
It was eventually shown that the Blackrock had been kept by Superman who eventually locked it away in his Fortress of Solitude. The Blackrock eventually escaped and bonded with Plastic Man
. Shortly after the Blackrock was removed from Plastic Man, and found its way into the hands of Batman
, who shortly afterwards decided he needed its powers to help him stop a (then) rampaging Superman. Although it remained on Batman after Superman threw off the influence that was driving him to attack Batman, Superman was able to force it to leave Batman by threatening to kill him, informing the Blackrock that he knew Batman would rather die than live like this.
While the stone had bonded to Plastic Man
, he was not shown using its abilities much.
Batman
used it in much the same way that Lucia did; however, Batman showed more of a preference for physical combat than Lucia did.
Jimmy Olsen
and several other humans were bonded to Blackrocks when a shower of them rained down on Earth. These people showed some level of superhuman abilities similar to those demonstrated by Lucia, etc. but it was not shown if they were as strong.
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Blackrock is a recurring enemy of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
first appearing in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#458, (April 1976).
Pre-Crisis and Zero Hour
Blackrock was the creation of Dr. Peter Silverstone in an attempt to increase ratings for the United Broadcasting television networkTelevision network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. Silverstone hypnotized UB President Sam Tanner and later Tanner's nephew, Les Vegas, to fill the role. A third Blackrock (an energy construct) was created by Tanner's command not much later.
However, it is known that eventually Silverstone assumed the mantle of Blackrock himself, using a powerful stone that could metabolize electromagnetic energy into energy to achieve flight, energy blasts and superhuman strength, and fought Superman several times. This rock, while a technological artifact, has the appearance of a polished gem
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
that is black as coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. It was appropriately dubbed the "Blackrock".
Post-Crisis
The post-Crisis version was stated (in Batman/Superman adventures) to be a symbiotic alien life form, rather than a creation of Dr. Silverstone. Its appearance and abilities are approximately the same.Silverstone is the only Pre-Crisis user of the stone that has been mentioned in Post-Crisis continuity. Overuse of the Blackrock's powers blinded Silverstone and left him insane. He was found sitting muttering to himself and watching constant television in an apartment by an ex-convict named Sam Benjamin, who beat Silverstone to death with the Blackrock and took it for himself. Despite its power, his inexperience with the Blackrock led to his defeat, and Superman took the stone and threw it towards the Sun.
A short time later, Alexander Luthor, Jr.
Alexander Luthor, Jr.
Alexander Luthor Jr. is a DC Comics character who turned from a hero to a villain. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Alexander has a prominent role in the DC Universe storylines Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis....
, disguised as Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, dispatched Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
to retrieve the Blackrock from the Sun before passing it on to a South American woman named Lucia, a drug smuggler and revolutionary who had been jailed by Superman before. Her intense feelings of hatred towards the Man of Steel matched those of the Blackrock, and she proved particularly adept in using it. However, her skills were not enough to defeat Superman, and the Blackrock withdrew into itself.
It was eventually shown that the Blackrock had been kept by Superman who eventually locked it away in his Fortress of Solitude. The Blackrock eventually escaped and bonded with Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
. Shortly after the Blackrock was removed from Plastic Man, and found its way into the hands of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, who shortly afterwards decided he needed its powers to help him stop a (then) rampaging Superman. Although it remained on Batman after Superman threw off the influence that was driving him to attack Batman, Superman was able to force it to leave Batman by threatening to kill him, informing the Blackrock that he knew Batman would rather die than live like this.
Powers and abilities
The post-Crisis wielders of the Blackrock seem to have developed differing powers based on their personality. All seem to have possessed superhuman strength and endurance, flight and energy projection abilities. The Blackrock also has the ability to absorb ambient energy to empower its wielder. Dr. Silverstone seemed most adept at using its ability to process information from TV and radio signals. Samuel Benjamin was particularly skilled at using it to boost his own physical strength and toughness. Lucia's abilities seemed to be an amalgamation of her predecessors', but she seemed to prefer using its energy projection abilities and discovered a way to use it to drain Superman's power.While the stone had bonded to Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
, he was not shown using its abilities much.
Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
used it in much the same way that Lucia did; however, Batman showed more of a preference for physical combat than Lucia did.
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and several other humans were bonded to Blackrocks when a shower of them rained down on Earth. These people showed some level of superhuman abilities similar to those demonstrated by Lucia, etc. but it was not shown if they were as strong.