BLOCKADE
BLOCKADE
Real Name: Dexter Parish
Identity/Class: Unrevealed superhuman (see comments);
apparent criminal record
Occupation: Contract killer, assassin, hitman
Group Membership: None;
among the many other victims/hosts of the Undying (including Andy Carmody, the Circle Killer, Domino/Neena Thurman, Irene Merryweather, Esther Parrish, Randall Shire, numerous others unidentified)
Affiliations: Aentaros, Hydro-Man (Morris Bench), Speed Demon (James Sanders), Stilt-Man (Wilbur Day), unidentified bartender;
unidentified employers
Enemies: Aentaros, Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Domino (Neena Thurman), S.H.I.E.L.D.;
presumably the Chicago Police Department
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly a a hospital bed at a S.H.I.E.L.D. military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland;
formerly Chicago, Illinois
First Appearance: Cable II#55 (June, 1998);
(identified) Cable II#56 (July, 1998)
Powers/Abilities: Blockade is large and strong (perhaps lifting 5-10 tons).
His rocky hide is highly durable,
enabling him to withstand repeated assaults with minimal damage.
He
sometimes used a blow torch to heat fix some costume make-up to his
face without any damage or obvious discomfort.
He does not carry any weapons, preferring to kill with his hands.
He is a highly skilled warrior,
able to block strikes from experienced warriors with his hands, and his
exceptional speed and reflexes allows him to catch the arm or leg of
someone attempting to strike him.
His durability protects him from
most
assaults, and he is relentless in his assaults. Despite his bulk, he
can leap onto a moving bus, use his strength to crush hand holds into
its frame, and ascent to its roof.
He had an ethic that once he
cashed a paycheck, he would do the job, no matter who the target was or
who else was around them.
Domino considered his voice to be "like gravel."
He was reportedly
ten-times stronger while possessed by Aentaros.
He also had the characteristic glowing circle-within-a-circle on his forehead.
.
History:
(Cable II#55 (fb) - BTS) - With the advent of the information superhighway, Blockade chose to keep to the shadows, avoiding conflicts with superhumans.
(Cable
II#55 (fb) - BTS) - Blockade was set up by some wealthy clients -- who
could barely look him in the face -- in an "ultra-sweet" high rise
apartment in downtown Chicago.
(Cable II#55) - While working out, Blockade received an email from a client hiring him to kill the mutant Domino, with instructions that he would find everything he needed in a locker in Grand Central Station, including full payment in advance and an electronic device to locate his prey.
He accepted the assignment.
|
They discussed Blockade's assignment and Sanders' recent activities while Blockade applied some "black
diamond" make-up in a pattern on his face that he then apparently heat-fixed with a
mini-blow-torch. Sanders admitted his surprise that Blockade had come
back to New York and was getting involved with super heroes, but
Blockade explained that the money was too good to pass up. Reminding
Sanders of the deal to forget he was ever there once he had left,
Blockade noted his uncertainty that he would return as his target was
both really good and really lucky; regardless, he loved a challenge. . |
.
|
 (Cable
II#56) - After confirming that he was a hitman and killed with his own
hands, Blockade withstood Domino's attacks, sometimes catching one of her arms or legs, and he progressively beat her
down,
(Cable
II#56 - BTS) - Sensing Domino's distress via their psychic rapport, Cable traveled to help her. (Cable
II#56) - Domino leapt atop a moving bus to escape, but Blockade leapt
into the vehicle, climbed atop its roof and renewed his assault. He
eventually caught her in a bear hug, and when she tried to gouge out his eyes Barely conscious, Domino's
luck power allowed her
to barely squeeze out, but, badly injured (multiple rib fractures and
not being able to see out of one eye, at least), she either could not
avoid
his next punch or she leapt
away to avoid it. Regardless, she fell over the edge of the bridge into the river below. (Cable
II#56 - BTS) - Domino narrowly made it to the shore, after which Cable
took her to a hospital, using his telepathy to prevent others from
recognizing her. Cable considered it a blood debt to stop Blockade for what he had done to Domino. |
.
.
|
After Hydro-Man and Stilt-Man fled,
Blockade and Cable delivered a series of powerful strikes against each
other, heavily damaging the bar in the process. Eventually knocked to
his knees, Blockade vowed that he was not being taken in, to which
Cable agreed. Using his telepathy, Cable turned
Blockade's mind inward on itself, telepathically allowing him to
experience the Hell of his own subconscious. Lost within his own
fractured psyche and flooded by a nightmare of indescribable images,
Blockade's mind, for intents and purposes, simply shut down. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents subsequently took
Blockade away in a stretcher. Via records from the Chicago police, they
identified his code name, real name, and his career as a contract
killer. Via a telepathic spike discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psi-division and
the description from the bartender, S.H.I.E.L.D. appreciated Cable to have
been the one to take down Blockade, and they planned to alert G.W. Bridge about his involvement (Cable II#58 (fb)) - Comatose, Blockade was kept within a padded cell in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psychiatric ward. (Cable
II#58 - BTS) - Blockade's condition was reported as part of a S.H.I.E.L.D. discussion on Cable. |
.
.
|
(Cable
II#80 (fb) - BTS) - Alarms were set to sound if Blockade moved. (Cable
II#80 (fb)) - Blockade awakened, and Aentaros prevented the alarms set
to sound if Blockade moved. Looking at the invisible cameras,
Blockade/Aentaros ranted about death and destruction and then stated,
"Fear me, humans. I am Aentaros. I am Undying." (Cable
II#80 (fb) - BTS) - Blockade/Aentaros broke out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital,
killing eight and wounding 23 more, while 37 others were missing. (Cable II#80 - BTS) - An unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent showed Commander G.W. Bridge footage of Blockade's revival, after which he noted that the symbol on Blockade's head reminded him on an old serial murder case of the "Circle Killer." (Cable
II#80 - BTS) - Regarding the apparent possession of Andy Carmody, Irene
Merryweather advised and arranged for Cable to meet with the man known
as Clarity. (Cable
II#80) - Aentaros stalked Cable. (Cable
II#80) - As Cable met with Clarity, Blockade/Aentaros broke into
the room, and almost immediately, soldiers of the Ranshi Empire of
Earth-2775 arrived and assaulted Cable as well. |
However, when Cable tried to
force answers from his foe, Aentaros mockingly told him that this
shell/body meant nothing and that death made him strong.
After telling Cable that his friends would perish and that he would follow, Aentaros caused Blockade to twist his own neck around until it broke, killing Blockade and liberating Aentaros to possess another.
Comments: Created by Joe Casey and Ladronn.
Who or what is Blockade?
His name is revealed in Cable II#56 as "Dexter Parish" and that spelling is confirmed #58.
In Cable II#79-81, he got an extra "r," making it Parrish.
The OHotMU entry on the Undying confirms the original spelling.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Blockade should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Cable II#55 (June, 1998) - Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco with Keith Aiken (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#56 (July, 1998) - Joe Casey (writer),
Ryan Benjamin (penciler), Matt Banning with Scott Hanna, Keith Aiken,
& Jon Holdredge (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#58 (September, 1998) - Joe Casey
(writer), Ed McGuiness & Ladronn (penciler), Nathan Massengill
& Juan Vlasco (inkers), Jason Liebig (assistant editor), Mark
Powers (editor)
Cable II#68 (June, 1999) - Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
First posted: 05/21/2023
Last updated: 08/27/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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After traveling to New York City,
Blockade visited the Bronx apartment of his old friend James Sanders (aka Speed Demon).
(Cable
II#56) - At the bar Sins, Blockade played cards with Hydro-Man and
Stilt-Man, complaining about the latter's smoking while listening to
the bartender's story about how he had obtained the Unicorn's helmet.
As he assured his friends that his target was dead and had been alone,
Blockade was confronted by Cable, who had tracked him via his faint
psi-signature in Domino's mind. 
(Cable
II#79 (fb) - BTS) - Blockade was transferred to a hospital bed at a S.H.I.E.L.D. military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.