Blackrock (comics)

Lucia as Blackrock

Appearing in DC Comics' Superman titles, Blackrock is a recurring enemy of Superman first appearing in Action Comics #458, (April 1976).

Blackrock was the creation of Dr. Peter Silverstone in an attempt to increase ratings for the United Broadcasting television network. Silverstone hypnotized UB President Sam Tanner and later Tanner's nephew, Les Vegas, to fill the role. Later Silverstone assumed the mantle of Blackrock himself, using a powerful black rock able to convert radio and television waves into energy to bedevil Superman. This "black rock", while a technologically advanced artifact, has the appearance of a polished gem that is black as coal. It was appropriately dubbed the "Blackrock".

Silverstone seems to have unwittingly overused it's powers killing himself as a result. He was found dead and the stone was taken off his corpse, by a man{name?} who tried to take over Metropolis with it's powers. He was later defeated by Superman and the stone was thrown towards the Sun by Superman.

Afterwards Bizarro flew into space and retreived the Blackrock before it could be incinerated. In November 2005's Superman #223 the Blackrock was passed on to Lucia, a mercenary with a grudge against Superman. Lucia was later defeated and lost the Blackrock. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

General powers and abilities:The various weilders of the Blackrock seem to have developed differing powers based on their personality. All seem to have had some degree of enhanced strength and toughness as well as flight and energy projection abilities. The Blackrock also has the ability to absorb ambient energy to empower it's weilder. Silverstone seemed most adept at using it's ability to process information from TV and radio signals. The guy who took it from Silverstone seemed most adept at using it to boost his own physical strength and toughness. Lucia seemed to prefer using it's energy projection abilities and also discovered a way to use it to drain Superman's power with it.