Warning! Contains Spoilers For Batman ‘89: Echoes #4!Batmanhas appeared in tons of different universes, including the fan-favorite world of Tim Burton’s 1989Batmanfilm starring Michael Keaton. This universe showed off tons of iconic versions of Batman villains, such as Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Danny DeVito’s Penguin, and now, in a comic book sequel, this universe has its very own version of Marvel’sHulktoo.
The perfect Hulk stand-infor the Keatonverse’s Batmandebuts inBatman'89: Echoes#4 by Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones. In this story, Bruce Wayne is trapped in Arkham Asylum and has to do his best to either befriend or avoid his fellow asylum inmates. This strategy goes fairly well, with Bruce even befriending the Riddler, but everything takes a turn when he runs into Roland Desmond.
Roland is often better known by his super villain title, Blockbuster, and he definitely earned the name - as Bruce quickly finds out. Enraged by the sight of a clown,Blockbuster goes on a rampage, smashing and destroying everything in sight, and it’s by far one of the biggest physical threats Keaton’s Batman has ever faced.
Like the Hulk, Blockbuster Has Always Been a Physical Powerhouse
Batman ‘89: Echoes#4 by Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, Stacey Lee, Jordan Gibson, Leonardo Ito, and Carlos M. Mangual
Roland Desmond is one of the biggest gangsters in Bludhaven, but he’s tussled with the Dark Knight before. Roland is a metahuman with massive physical strength, but what made him truly dangerous is his intelligence, which he gained after making a deal with the demon Neron. Ever since,Blockbuster has been a major threat thanks to both his brawn and his brain. Blockbuster is a perfect foe to introducefor Michael Keaton’s Batman, as this version of the Caped Crusader has never really faced an enemy who was physically stronger than him before, only really going up against the Joker, Catwoman, and the Penguin.
Blockbuster makes the perfect giant-sized, muscle-bound grunt that Bane simply isn’t suited for, a trap that movie writers often fall into with his character.
While some might assume Bane would be the expected villain to use, considering he’s much more well-known than Desmond,Blockbuster actually makes perfect sense for what the story needs.Bane is an intelligent warlord, someone who demands the focus of the story. But, up until his deal with Neron, Blockbuster was mostly a giant oaf with very low intelligence. But since demons like Neron don’t exist in the Keatonverse, Blockbuster makes the perfect giant-sized, muscle-bound grunt that Bane simply isn’t suited for, a trap that movie writers often fall into with his character.
Blockbuster Can Be Either a Genius or a Brute
He’s Typically Styled as a Nightwing Villain
Blockbuster is a great villain to introduce for the Keatonverse because he’s just so simple. Blockbuster has been a complete mindless brute in the past, so he’s easy to bring in to the story without the gravitas and importance of someone like Bane, and he’s much easier to explain than someone like Amygdala. If Blockbuster ends up staying around in this universe instead of just being a simple one-off threat, then Keaton’sBatmanwill finally be facing an enemy, like theHulk, who is physically stronger than him and who will present the kind of threat that simply wasn’t seen in the movies.
