Batroc the Leaper

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Batroc the Leaper
Batroc the Leaper as depicted in Unbelievable Gwenpool #24 (January 2018).
Art by Gurihiru.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceTales of Suspense #75 (March 1966)
Created byStan Lee
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoGeorges Batroc
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliations
PartnershipsGwen Poole
Notable aliasesThe Leaper
Abilities
  • Master French kickboxer
  • Expert hand to hand combatant
  • Olympic level athlete and weightlifter
  • Extraordinary agility, flexibility and reflexes
  • Experienced thief and smuggler

Georges Batroc the Leaper (French: Batroc le Sauteur) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #75, 1966.[1] He is a mercenary and a master of the French form of kick-boxing known as savate, commonly depicted as an adversary of Captain America,[2] and a mentor of Gwen Poole. Batroc's name derives from the word batrachia, a classification of amphibians that includes frogs, which also plays on the stereotype of calling French people frogs.[3]

The character was played by Georges St-Pierre in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and animated series What If…? (both 2021).

Publication history

Batroc, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared in Tales of Suspense #75 in March 1966. He has reappeared in various Marvel titles ever since.[4]

Sporting a new costume designed by

Black Panther.[5]

Sporting a muted, subtle redesign by Gurihiru, Batroc served as the primary mentor of Gwenpool in Christopher Hastings' 2016–2018 series The Unbelievable Gwenpool, with their relationship being described as "one of the warmest aspects" of the series.[6][7]

Fictional character biography

Georges Batroc was born in

Iron Fist and Gambit. Batroc has occasionally led his own team, "Batroc's Brigade", although the membership has changed over time.[8]
The group has primarily fought Captain America.

In the character's first appearance, he was hired by

HYDRA and abducted Sharon Carter for them. He lured Captain America into a rematch, in which he insisted HYDRA not intervene, and again lost; however, when HYDRA agents prepared to kill both Cap and himself, Batroc, incensed at such "men wizout honair", switched sides to help Cap against HYDRA.[10]
In both of these stories, Batroc was regarded as a deadly combatant, his skill respected by enemies and employers alike.

Batroc's Brigade

Batroc was then hired by a foreign power to locate a "seismo-bomb" with the first known Batroc's Brigade (consisting of the original

Porcupine and Whirlwind) to battle Captain America.[12]

Batroc then formed a third Batroc's Brigade, which consisted of various unnamed henchmen, rather than known supervillains, since supervillains had failed Batroc in the past. The alien Jakar, concealing his true nature and intent, hired this group to abduct children from New York and to battle Captain America and the

Iron Fist and a ninja warrior, several Brigade members dying in the process.[14]

For a while after that, Batroc operated without a Brigade. Alongside an extra-dimensional demon ally, Batroc attempted a theft of

Mister Hyde, Batroc attempted an extortion scheme against Manhattan. He battled Captain America, but when Mister Hyde decided to carry out the threat, which would kill thousands, Batroc, again showing that there were some lines he would not cross, aided Captain America against Hyde, saving the city.[17]

Batroc then formed a new, longer-lasting lineup of Batroc's Brigade - this one consisting of

Baron Helmut Zemo then hired Batroc's Brigade to acquire the fragments of the Bloodstone. They battled Captain America and Diamondback.[20] The Brigade was later hired by Maelstrom to help him build a device that could destroy the universe and battled the Great Lakes Avengers.[21] Alongside Snakebite, Batroc also battled the Punisher.[22]

Later, Batroc the Leaper showed up as a member of a small army of villains organized by Klaw to invade

Black Panther's royal bodyguards.[23]

During the crossover

Black Panther, the Huntress and the Black Widow, in defeating the Brigade.[24]

Batroc had a daughter, Marie, who is teamed in villainy with the daughter of similar B-list supervillain the

Taskmaster expresses his shock that the Tarantula and Batroc are heterosexual before soundly beating the two villains' offspring, tossing them effortlessly off of a building before shooting them in the heads, killing them both, noting that he also "hates ethnic stereotypes."[25]

Batroc briefly served among the group of villains forcibly drafted into

Camp Hammond.[28]

Ultimately, however, Batroc found government work unsatisfactory and returned to his mercenary life, confronting the new

The Man with No Face, a mysterious being from Captain America's past.[30] It is soon revealed that Batroc was stealing the original Human Torch's remains for reverse engineering.[31]

The Unbelievable Gwenpool

By the events of

Gwen Poole a.k.a. Gwenpool who killed their team's assassin and took credit for his kills, earning her an unwanted place on the team.[33] Finding out that she has no powers and only killed the assassin through luck, after noticing her lack of skill during a fight with Thor, he decided to turn her in, until she convinced him that she was actually from another universe and knew useful information;[34] Batroc is surprised to realise from Gwen's information that he remembers nothing from before his first fight with Captain America, Gwen explaining that he did not exist before that point due to it being his first appearance, and that he was based on French stereotypes, his Wikipedia page mentioning his name to be derived from frogs.[34] Batroc then decided to make Gwen less of a liability by teaching her actual combat moves and the use of weapons, allowing her to subsequently defeat MODOK when he independently found out her secret and took over the team briefly;[35] that coming Christmas, Batroc then took time to mourn the deaths of his wife and daughter.[36] After a fight with some aliens in which they did not get paid, and their base was destroyed, the group broke up,[37] briefly reuniting after being captured by Arcade.[38]

After Gwen learns her series is coming to an end as a direct result of choosing to be a

characterisation he has had in The Unbelievable Gwenpool, instead relegating him to being a mindless two-dimensional henchman and minor antagonist once more, Gwen hugs him "Goodbye, Georges Batroc.", and prepares to face oblivion.[41][6] Over a finale montage set over several future months, years, and decades, Batroc joins Gwen in confronting MODOK when he returns from space, and remains canonically in-contact with her for the rest of her existence.[42][7]

During the Secret Empire storyline, Batroc the Leaper alongside the Living Laser and Whirlwind, trapped inside the Cosmic Cube, attack a haggard, bearded man in a torn World War II army uniform who identifies himself as Steve Rogers. He is assisted by people that appear to be Sam Wilson and a Bucky Barnes with both his arms.[43]

During the "King in Black" storyline, Batroc the Leaper is among the villains recruited by Mayor Wilson Fisk to be part of his Thunderbolts at the time of Knull's invasion.[44]

Powers and abilities

Batroc the Leaper has no superhuman abilities, but is in peak physical condition in every respect. He is an Olympic-level weightlifter and has extraordinary agility and reflexes. His leg muscles are particularly well developed, enabling him to leap great distances equal to an Olympic athlete. He is an expert martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant who specializes in savate, and he is also adept at other martial arts such as Krav Maga.[45] He is also skilled in parkour.[45] He is also a skilled military tactician, having formerly been in the French Foreign Legion.

Batroc is also an experienced thief and smuggler who can speak both French and English.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The

Spider-Man's "venom strike".[46]

MC2

In the MC2 continuity, Batroc the Leaper still operates his own criminal syndicate, until stopped by American Dream.[47]

Marvel Zombies

A zombiefied version of Batroc the Leaper appears in the third installment of the Marvel Zombies series, where he is killed by Absorbing Man's trademark concrete ball and chain.[48]

House of M

In the alternate continuity of the 2005 "

Hood's extensive-criminal empire.[49] He participated in the takeover of Santo Rico and stayed to fight when the Red Guard came, to protect the sapiens population. He was the first of them to die, attacked by Agent Toad and terminated by two of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soldiers.[50]

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again

In Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again, Batroc appears alongside Bullseye as one of two mercenaries sent by Red Skull to kill Deadpool after he starts killing off villains. They are ambushed by Deadpool however and Batroc ends up killed by him.[51]

In other media

Television

Marvel Cinematic Universe

See also:
Georges Batroc (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Georges Batroc appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Georges St-Pierre.[56] This version is an Algerian mercenary and pirate.

Video games

Miscellaneous

Batroc the Leaper appears in the motion comic Marvel Video Comics: Training Day, voiced by Mark Oliver.[citation needed]

Merchandise

Batroc the Leaper received an action figure in Hasbro's Marvel Legends toy line.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780780809772
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  2. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
  3. ^ "Captain America: Marvel Admits One MCU Villain's Name is Secretly a Pun". Screen Rant. 10 June 2022.
  4. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0
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  5. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #1. Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ a b Sava, Oliver (January 3, 2018). "Gwen embraces villainy to avoid cancellation in this Gwenpool #24 exclusive". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Magnett, Chase (March 1, 2018). "Why We'll Miss 'Gwenpool'". Comic Book. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  8. ISBN 978-1465455505
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  9. ^ Tales of Suspense #75–76. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Tales of Suspense #85. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Captain America #105. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Captain America #130. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Captain America #149–150. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Marvel Premiere #20. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Marvel Team-Up #52. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ The Defenders #63–64. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Captain America #251–252. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Captain America #302–303. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Solo Avengers #3. Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Captain America #357–362. Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ GLA: Misassembled #1–4 (2005). Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ Punisher #67. Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #1–6 (2005). Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ JLA/Avengers #4. Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ Agent X #6. Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ Avengers: The Initiative #1. Marvel Comics.
  27. ^ Iron Man #14. Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Anthony Flamini and Ronald Byrd (w). Civil War Battle Damage Report, no. one-shot (March 2007). Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ Captain America (vol. 5) #43. Marvel Comics.
  30. ^ Captain America vol. 5 #44. Marvel Comics.
  31. ^ Captain America vol. 5 #45. Marvel Comics.
  32. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #2 (April 2016) Marvel Comics.
  33. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #2 (March 2016) Marvel Comics.
  34. ^ a b The Unbelievable Gwenpool #3 (June 2016) Marvel Comics.
  35. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #4 (July 2016) Marvel Comics.
  36. ^ Gwenpool Holiday Special: Merry Mix Up #1 – "Gwenpool's Unbelievable Christmas (a.k.a. the Gwenpool Holiday Special For Real This Time)" (December 2016) Marvel Comics.
  37. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #10 (January 2017) Marvel Comics.
  38. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #12–13 (February–March 2017) Marvel Comics.
  39. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #20 (September 2017) Marvel Comics.
  40. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #23 (December 2017) Marvel Comics.
  41. ^ a b c The Unbelievable Gwenpool #24 (January 2018) Marvel Comics.
  42. ^ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #25 (February 2018) Marvel Comics.
  43. ^ Secret Empire #4. Marvel Comics.
  44. ^ King in Black: Thunderbolts #1. Marvel Comics.
  45. ^ a b Heroes for Hire vol. 3 #6 (July 2011)
  46. ^ Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man vol. 2 #13
  47. ^ American Dream #2. Marvel Comics.
  48. ^ Marvel Zombies 3 #3. Marvel Comics.
  49. ^ House of M: Masters of Evil #1. Marvel Comics.
  50. ^ House of M: Masters of Evil #4. Marvel Comics.
  51. ^ Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again #5. (September 2017) Marvel Comics.
  52. ^ "Comics Continuum". Comics Continuum. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  53. ^ a b "Batroc". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  54. ^ "Why I Hate Gym". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 1. Episode 6. April 29, 2012. Disney XD.
  55. ^ "Iron Vulture". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 4. Episode 4. March 6, 2016. Disney XD.
  56. ^ Johnston, Mike (March 25, 2013). "UFC's GSP lands role in Captain America sequel". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  57. ^ Hernandez, Pete (September 14, 2020). "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Georges St-Pierre, Emily VanCamp Reprise Marvel Roles In Set Pics". TheDirect.com. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  58. ^ Hood, Cooper (2020-09-14). "Falcon & Winter Soldier Set Photos Confirm The Return of Batroc". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  59. ^ "Here Are All the Marvel Actors Doing Voices in 'What If…?'". Collider. 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  60. ^ Zalben, Alex (March 7, 2014). "Exclusive: Marvel's 'Avengers Alliance' Gets 'Winter Soldier' And 'Guardians of The Galaxy' Upgrades". MTV.

External links

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