Holocaust (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
Holocaust is a fictional character in the Milestone Comics universe
. Created as part of the Blood Syndicate
for Milestone Media
, the character has since gone on to become a gangster and supervillain.
, and the My Name is Holocaust mini-series.
Milestone media discontinued its comic book line in the late 1990s but continued on as an entertainment company which is still in existence, creating new properties for screen and comics as well as managing DC COMCIS use of their various properties including the award-winning Static Shock
animated series created with Warner Animation. In 2008 DC and Milestone unveiled an experiment to fold the two comic book universes into one following author Grant Morrison
's Final Crisis
series. Contrary to common fan perception, this deal was more akin to a licensing agreement than an acquisition of MILESTONE's properties by DC COMICS. Moreover, the deal was contingent upon the strict provision that Milestone would continue to have editorial oversight over their trademarked properties.
As a provisional part of DC's mainstream continuity, Holocaust made his first reappearance in August 2009 as the main villain in issue #24 of The Brave and the Bold
, written by Matt Wayne
and with art from Howard Porter
. Following this, the character appeared as the antagonist in both Milestone Forever (a two issue mini-series published in April and May 2010) and as the main antagonist in a four issue storyline in Teen Titans #79-82 (published from March–June 2010).
The exposure to the gas caused Leonard to grow several times his normal size, and granted him with several superpowers, the most notable of which being pyrokinesis
. Dubbing himself "Holocaust", Leonard joined the Blood Syndicate, only to be expelled after a violent duel with the team's leader, Tech-9. Now on his own, Holocaust used his abilities to muscle his way into Dakota's organized crime scene, eventually amassing a vast amount of manpower and wealth.
, the characters of Milestone Media, Red Circle Comics
, and the THUNDER Agents were incorporated into DC's continuity.
Holocaust appeared at the graduation ceremony at a local Dakota high-school, where he attempted to kill the superhero Black Lightning
, blaming the hero for using his status as then-president Lex Luthor
's Secretary of Education to block Leonard's plans to build a casino. Leonard nearly killed Black Lightning, but was defeated and imprisoned thanks to the timley intervention of Static.
Some time later, Static returned to Dakota (after spending several months as a prisoner in the Dark Side Club) to find the city in a state of chaos due to the spread of a lethal virus. Static eventually tracked the origins of the virus to research facility, where he was ambushed and kidnapped by Holocaust. When several members of the Teen Titans attempted to rescue Static, Holocaust easily defeated them as well, and had them taken to a metahuman
prison he dubbed "The Hole". Smalls informed the heroes that he planned to execute them and weaponize their abilities for sale on the black market, but the remaining members of the Titans arrived at the Hole and attacked him.
Holocaust was able to defeat the would-be rescuers as well, only to be confronted by Cyborg
, Superboy, and Kid Flash. The combined might of the three heroes was enough to keep Holocaust at bay long enough for the other Titans to make their esacpe, and the entire team was soon assembled for a final showdown with the villain. After being bound by Wonder Girl's lasso, Holocaust was ultimately defeated when Kid Flash ran around him fast enough to open a vacuum
, which then sucked Leonard into the Earth's inner core
.
, and Bombshell
(all three of whom possessed superhuman strength and durability) unconscious with a single impact, as well as direct blasts underground. He was also able to create a shield made of fire that was powerful enough to absorb a blow from Blue Beetle's energy cannon.
He displayed near-Kryptonian
levels of strength during his battle with Superboy, and was able to withstand a number of direct blows from the young hero, including his trademark heat vision. In addition, while he was able to effortlessly absorb the Boy of Steel's attacks, Holocaust's own punches were able to damage the Kryptonian hero. He was also depicted as being powerful enough to lift Beast Boy
over his head while in the form of a rhinoceros
, and was able to knock Miss Martian
, a powerful member of the White Martian
race, unconscious with a simple backhand. Despite this, Wonder Girl was able to draw blood from Holocaust after striking him in the jaw, and Static was able to make him cry out in pain after shooting a bolt of electricity at his forehead.
The actual limits of Holocaust's superhuman durability have not been established, though both Static and Wonder Girl agreed that not even a fall into the molten core of the earth would be powerful enough to kill him.
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
. Created as part of the Blood Syndicate
Blood Syndicate
The Blood Syndicate is a fictional multicultural gang of superhumans created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in Blood Syndicate #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr...
for Milestone Media
Milestone Media
Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics and securing an unheard of publishing and distribution deal with DC Comics and the Static Shock cartoon series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers Milestone Media is a company best known...
, the character has since gone on to become a gangster and supervillain.
Publication history
Holocaust made his first appearance in Blood Syndicate #1. After leaving the team several issues later, the character became a recurring antagonist throughout the book's 35 issue run from 1993 to 1996. The character also appeared in several other Milestone titles such as Static #4, IconIcon (comics)
Icon is a fictional superhero, a comic book character published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Icon #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan...
, and the My Name is Holocaust mini-series.
Milestone media discontinued its comic book line in the late 1990s but continued on as an entertainment company which is still in existence, creating new properties for screen and comics as well as managing DC COMCIS use of their various properties including the award-winning Static Shock
Static Shock
Static Shock is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered in September 2000 on the Kids' WB! block and ran for four seasons, with a total of 52 half-hour episodes....
animated series created with Warner Animation. In 2008 DC and Milestone unveiled an experiment to fold the two comic book universes into one following author Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
series. Contrary to common fan perception, this deal was more akin to a licensing agreement than an acquisition of MILESTONE's properties by DC COMICS. Moreover, the deal was contingent upon the strict provision that Milestone would continue to have editorial oversight over their trademarked properties.
As a provisional part of DC's mainstream continuity, Holocaust made his first reappearance in August 2009 as the main villain in issue #24 of The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold is the title shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. The first of these was published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983...
, written by Matt Wayne
Matt Wayne
Matt S. Wayne is an American writer of comic books and television. Wayne is probably best known for his work on the animated series Justice League Unlimited and The Super Hero Squad Show, and writing and editing comic books for Milestone Media....
and with art from Howard Porter
Howard Porter
Howard Porter is an American comic book artist from southern Connecticut.-Biography:Porter graduated from Paier College of Art in Connecticut where he majored in illustration. One of his teachers there was Frank McLaughlin...
. Following this, the character appeared as the antagonist in both Milestone Forever (a two issue mini-series published in April and May 2010) and as the main antagonist in a four issue storyline in Teen Titans #79-82 (published from March–June 2010).
Fictional character biography
Leonard Smalls was a small time gangbanger from the city of Dakota, and the bastard child of the city's mayor. He killed his father at a young age, and engaged in criminal behavior for most of his life. During an event later dubbed "the Big Bang", most of the city's gangs showed up for a massive confrontation at Paris Island, only to be attacked by members of the Dakota police department. The majority of the men and women present at Paris Island were exposed to experimental tear gas designed by Edwin Alva, which killed most of those present and granted superhuman abilities upon the survivors.The exposure to the gas caused Leonard to grow several times his normal size, and granted him with several superpowers, the most notable of which being pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
. Dubbing himself "Holocaust", Leonard joined the Blood Syndicate, only to be expelled after a violent duel with the team's leader, Tech-9. Now on his own, Holocaust used his abilities to muscle his way into Dakota's organized crime scene, eventually amassing a vast amount of manpower and wealth.
Post-Final Crisis
Following Final CrisisFinal Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
, the characters of Milestone Media, Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics was an imprint used by Archie Comics Publications, Inc. to publish non-Archie characters, especially their superheroes, in the 1970s and '80s.-Phase 1: 1970s:...
, and the THUNDER Agents were incorporated into DC's continuity.
Holocaust appeared at the graduation ceremony at a local Dakota high-school, where he attempted to kill the superhero Black Lightning
Black Lightning
Black Lightning was one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. He debuted in Black Lightning #1 , and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden.- Publication history :...
, blaming the hero for using his status as then-president 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...
's Secretary of Education to block Leonard's plans to build a casino. Leonard nearly killed Black Lightning, but was defeated and imprisoned thanks to the timley intervention of Static.
Some time later, Static returned to Dakota (after spending several months as a prisoner in the Dark Side Club) to find the city in a state of chaos due to the spread of a lethal virus. Static eventually tracked the origins of the virus to research facility, where he was ambushed and kidnapped by Holocaust. When several members of the Teen Titans attempted to rescue Static, Holocaust easily defeated them as well, and had them taken to a metahuman
Metahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
prison he dubbed "The Hole". Smalls informed the heroes that he planned to execute them and weaponize their abilities for sale on the black market, but the remaining members of the Titans arrived at the Hole and attacked him.
Holocaust was able to defeat the would-be rescuers as well, only to be confronted by Cyborg
Cyborg (comics)
Cyborg is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and first appears in a special insert in DC Comics Presents #26...
, Superboy, and Kid Flash. The combined might of the three heroes was enough to keep Holocaust at bay long enough for the other Titans to make their esacpe, and the entire team was soon assembled for a final showdown with the villain. After being bound by Wonder Girl's lasso, Holocaust was ultimately defeated when Kid Flash ran around him fast enough to open a vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
, which then sucked Leonard into the Earth's inner core
Inner core
The inner core of the Earth, its innermost hottest part as detected by seismological studies, is a primarily solid ball about in radius, or about 70% that of the Moon...
.
Powers and abilities
Holocaust's abilities have never been clearly defined, though his most notable ability is his power to mentally conjure and manipulate fire. In a prior encounter, it required Static bringing down an entire roller coaster structure to incapacitate him. During his battle with the Teen Titans, Holocaust was shown to be able to generate heat blasts powerful enough to render Wonder Girl, AquagirlAquagirl (Lorena Marquez)
Lorena Marquez is one of several fictional characters to use the codename Aquagirl. She is a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. Lorena debuted in Aquaman vol...
, and Bombshell
Bombshell (DC Comics)
Bombshell is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Teen Titans vol. 3, #38, and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel.-Fictional character biography:...
(all three of whom possessed superhuman strength and durability) unconscious with a single impact, as well as direct blasts underground. He was also able to create a shield made of fire that was powerful enough to absorb a blow from Blue Beetle's energy cannon.
He displayed near-Kryptonian
Kryptonian
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman...
levels of strength during his battle with Superboy, and was able to withstand a number of direct blows from the young hero, including his trademark heat vision. In addition, while he was able to effortlessly absorb the Boy of Steel's attacks, Holocaust's own punches were able to damage the Kryptonian hero. He was also depicted as being powerful enough to lift Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
over his head while in the form of a rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, and was able to knock Miss Martian
Miss Martian
Miss Martian is a superhero in the . Miss Martian was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel and first appeared in Teen Titans #37 . Miss Martian is named "Megan Morse" after Marvel Comics associate editor Ben Morse's wife, Megan...
, a powerful member of the White Martian
White Martian
The White Martians are one of three fictional extraterrestrial races native to Mars in the DC Comics' shared universe. White Martians, also known as Pale Martians, appear in the comics of the DC Universe, chiefly JLA, Martian Manhunter, and Son of Vulcan.-History:As a race of shapeshifters,...
race, unconscious with a simple backhand. Despite this, Wonder Girl was able to draw blood from Holocaust after striking him in the jaw, and Static was able to make him cry out in pain after shooting a bolt of electricity at his forehead.
The actual limits of Holocaust's superhuman durability have not been established, though both Static and Wonder Girl agreed that not even a fall into the molten core of the earth would be powerful enough to kill him.