• For the second Bloodsport see: Bloodsport (Trent)

Origin

During the Vietnam War, Robert DuBois was drafted into the US armed forces. Upon receiving his induction notice, DuBois fled to Canada, not because he had a moral objection to war, but because he was afraid of dying. Dubois' younger brother Michael reported for induction in his place, passing himself off as Robert. Michael DuBois was sent into combat in Vietnam, where he lost both his arms and legs. On learning of his brother's lost limbs, Robert DuBois went insane through guilt. He spent years in and out of psychiatric hospitals in Canada and became obsessed with the Vietnam war.

Operatives contacted Robert on behalf of Lex Luthor, who saw him as a pawn to be used in Superman's assassination. Under the direction of a man named Kimberley, the operatives of Luthor played upon Dubois' fixations with Vietnam to condition him psychologically into wanting to kill Superman. They also equipped Dubois with an arsenal of advanced scientific weapons, including a gun that fired needles of Kryptonite. Calling himself Bloodsport, Dubois went to Metropolis, claiming both he and his brother had seen action in Vietnam and that they had both been wounded out there. Professing anger at Metropolis's citizens for the way they were "wasting" the freedom that he and his brother had fought to earn, Bloodsport began to indiscriminately shoot into the crowd, killing dozens of innocent people.

In his first clash with Superman, Bloodsport wounded the Man of Steel with his Kryptonite needle gun. However, Jimmy Olsen managed to save Superman's life, holding Bloodsport at gunpoint until he escaped. After receiving medical attention, Superman returned to the fray. Even Luthor was outraged at Bloodsport's murder of so many innocent people, and he too tried to stop the crazed killer. Superman managed to cause Bloodsport's teleportation device to malfunction, meaning the villain had no more access to his weapons. Bloodsport then threatened to detonate his power pack, potentially eradicating 10 square miles of the city.

However, Jimmy Olsen had managed to track down Michael Dubois, and the paraplegic managed to convince his brother to lay down his weapons.

The third Bloodsport has teamed with Hellgrammite and Riot. No other information has been revealed.

In Other Media

Television

• Bloodsport appears in Justice League Unlimited as a minor villain and a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society of Super Villains.

Film

• Bloodsport appears as one of the main characters in the 2021 film The Suicide Squad, played by Idris Elba. In the film, Bloodsport is introduced as an expert assassin who is arrested and sent to Belle Reve Penitentiary after a failed attempt to kill Superman. He is blackmailed by Amanda Waller into joining the Suicide Squad in order to help out his daughter, who is facing legal trouble. Bloodsport agrees, leading the second of the strike teams to Corto Maltese to finish his assignment: wipe out the extraterrestrial Project Starfish to stop it from falling into the hands of an anti-American regime. He successfully landed in Corto Maltese undetected with his team, consisting of Peacemaker, Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, and Polka Dot Man, and find a proper camping spot to rest. He then wakes up to Polka Dot Man expelling polka dots from his system, and sees Cleo nearly getting eaten by King Shark, which makes him attack the humanoid shark. But as Cleo summons a horde of rats in rage, which reveals his fear of rats, stating he wasn't going to share his liabilities. He then storms off, annoyed by Cleo's optimistic choice of befriending King Shark. As they keep heading towards their destination, they're informed of Flag being located, whom they're assigned to rescue, which becomes a competition between him and Peacemaker and uncovering him being saved by the rebels and not captured. While blending in to stay undetected in the city, he reveals to Cleo his fear of rats coming from a time when his father punished him by locking him in a room full of rats for 24 hours, to which she reveals she had a good relationship with him until he succumbed to a drug overdose, which began their friendship. They would eventually wait for the Thinker at a bar he visits, drinking and dancing. Their plan goes sideways and they get captured, while learning Quinn survived. They kill the soldiers and go to retrieve Harley before heading for Jotunheim. Peacemaker opposed it but couldn't disobey, but as they reached her last spot, she broke herself out, annoying Bloodsport. They then infiltrate the base under rain before the military could stop them. Planting explosives through the upper levels, enemy soldiers arrive, who are quickly dispatched by Abner.

Merchandise

• Bloodsport was featured in Funko's Pop! line of bobbleheads.
• Bloodsport was featured in the DC Multiverse line from McFarlane Toys as part of the King Shark Collect-and-Connect wave.