Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Let’s talk about the frustrated athlete turned Golden Age Super-ish Villain: Sportsmaster
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Appearances in Heroclix: Batman Team-Up
First Appearance: All-American Comics #85 (May 1947)
Team Affiliations: Injustice Society; Legion of Doom
Powers/Abilities: Master athlete and hand-to-hand combatant; Utilizes sports-themed weapons such as exploding baseballs, flying bases, rocket baseball bats, knockout basketballs, lacrosse snare nets, and exploding hockey pucks
Created by: John Broome – Irwin Hasen
Earth 2
Lawrence Crock comes of age with dreams of being a professional athlete, earning accolades all over the world. When these dreams are dashed, he turns to a life of crime and begins calling himself Crusher Crock. He battles Wild Cat and Green Lantern several times. He eventually joins several iterations of the Injustice Society and begins calling himself Sportsmaster. His great claims to fame are hypnotizing the Justice Society of America with an exploding ball and later stealing Old Ironside.
Crock eventually marries the Huntress of Earth 2 and they have a daughter, Artemis Crock, who becomes the third Tigress. Sportsmaster spends most of his later years behind bars but his daughter breaks him out at least once. After Sportsmaster dies, the criminal organization known as the Council clones him to use as enforcers.
Earth-One
The Lawrence Crock of Earth-One follows a similar path to that of his Earth-2 self. However, with no JSA to terrorize, he instead becomes a constant foe of Robin and Batgirl. He again falls in love with and marries the Huntress on his earth. They eventually compete in a villains versus heroes baseball game, which they lose. This loss seems to bring a moment of clarity and the pair reform, passing into obscurity.
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