Synopsis
Overview[]
The Bloodsport was an annual competition in Madripoor. The Bloodsport included a succession of one-on-one fights, each of them ending in the utter defeat of one of the fighters. Use of super-human powers and advanced personal weaponry was allowed, and commonly (but not always) the fight ended in the death of one of the contestants. The winner of the fight would then fight in the following round, until he or she was declared victor.
Event[]
One of the annual competitions was sponsored and organized by the Viper, with Mister X as previous champion. Under the sight of celebrities in the audience, different super-human fighters gave their blood in the field. In the first round:
- Headhunter defeated and killed Oddball;
- Puma apparently devoured the Gamecock;
- Taskmaster defeated, but not killed, the Cat;
- Maximillian Zaran defeated, but not killed, his old partner Razorfist;
- Anaconda snapped Forearm's neck;
- Toad murdered Eel;
- Wolverine defeated Speed Demon.
In the second round:
- Taskmaster defeated Zaran by throwing a cane at his head while the latter deflected arrows shot by Taskmaster;
- Puma defeated Anaconda by slashing through her windpipe (though she survived the injury);
- Wolverine defeated Toad by grabbing him by the tongue and slamming him against the cage in which they were; and
- Defending winner Mister X (who did not fight in the first round due to "champion privileges") beheaded the Headhunter.
In the semifinals:
- Wolverine defeated Puma; and
- Mister X defeated Taskmaster.
The final had Wolverine facing Mister X. Here, Wolverine learned that his opponent was a telepath and, thus, could predict his every move and counter it with uncanny accuracy. However, Wolverine later slipped into his berserker rage and started turning the tables of the battle, since the viciousness of his rage makes him attack unpredictably. Mister X was nearly killed, but his bodyguard Blok saved him in the nick of time.
Behind the Scenes[]
The "Bloodsport" first appeared in Wolverine (Vol. 2) #167. Tieri organized a thread in the Internet, where the fans could propose characters to be killed in the pages of the comic-book. Although he probably considered the results, he did not followed any of the ideas except Todd Thompson's suggestion of killing "any or all of the Serpent Society" (personalized in Anaconda, who nevertheless survived). Some of the most popular characters included Meltdown (7 votes), Bloodscream (aka Bloodsport) and Jubilee (4 votes each). Other characters such as Mimic and Sebastian Shaw found unexpected supporters once they had been "nominated". Viper herself was nominated (and she ended as the sponsor of the event).
The "Bloodsport" was also a comic-book event covering Wolverine #167 to Wolverine (Vol. 2) #169
The event was later referenced in the video-game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, in Ryu's ending, where he prepares to face Iron Fist in Bloodsport. Incidentally, the event's creator, Frank Tieri, had also written the tie-in comic packaged with pre-orders for the game.