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When Suicide Squad's Bloodsport Tried to Kill Superman, Up for Auction

Almost 35 years before he became a starring character of The Suicide Squad played by Idris Elba, Bloodsport was a character who appeared early on in John Byrne's relaunch of the Superman regular series, itself a follow-up to Byrne's The Man of Steel limited series which had told the story of Superman's rebooted origin in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths.  This original version of the character Bloodsport, whose real name is Robert DuBois, debuted in Superman (1987) #4, making a dramatic entrance in the process.  There's a copy of Bloodsport's first appearance in Superman #4 (DC, 1987) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages available in the 2021 August 22-23 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122134 at Heritage Auctions.

Superman #4 (DC, 1987), intro of Bloodsport.
Superman #4 (DC, 1987), intro of Bloodsport.

 

Robert DuBois is the first of three characters to call himself Bloodsport, and he also appeared in Season 3 of the Supergirl television series on the CW.  As we learn in Superman (1987) #4, DuBois' younger brother Michael lost both arms and legs during the Vietnam War.  Robert blamed himself for this because he had avoided the draft while his younger brother Michael used his name and went to war.  A subordinate of Lex Luthor is able to channel Robert's resultant obsessions against Superman, also giving him access to powerful weapons — including one equipped with kryptonite bullets.  The plan almost works.

Superman (1987) #4 was written by John Byrne with art by Byrne and Karl Kesel with a cover also by Byrne. The debut of a character who has endured across comics, film and television, there's a copy of Superman #4 (DC, 1987) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages featuring the first appearance of the first Bloodsport available in the 2021 August 22-23 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122134 at Heritage Auctions.

Superman #4 (DC, 1987), intro of Bloodsport.
Superman #4 (DC, 1987), intro of Bloodsport.

Superman #4 (DC, 1987) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages. Intro of Bloodsport, who appears in the new The Suicide Squad movie. Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $5. CGC census 8/21: 147 in 9.8, none higher.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 3806894002 and purchase grader's notes if available.

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Mark SeifertAbout Mark Seifert

Co-founder and Creative director of Bleeding Cool parent company Avatar Press. Bleeding Cool Managing Editor, tech and data wrangler. Machine Learning hobbyist. Vintage paper addict.
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