Sportsmaster

Sportsmaster is a supervillain who was identified by Aqualad and is a member of the League of Shadows.

Characteristics
Sportsmaster is a tall, strongly-built man, cutting an intimidating figure. He has short, blond hair. His face has not been seen, as it is covered by a hockey mask, which only reveals his brown eyes. He wears what seems like a sleeveless blue muscle shirt, with a collar that covers some of his neck. He wears arm and elbow pads on both arms and fingerless gloves. On his left arm, he has metal plates attached that act very much like armor. He wears black pants with pockets that hold his weapons. He also has a belt that acts very much like the utility belt Robin uses; it holds various types of high-tech, sports-themed weaponry.

Personality
Sportsmaster's large stature is a clear indicator of his personality. He is arrogant, cocky, and blunt. He is not afraid of talking back at people when they slight him in any manner. When Cheshire made a sharp remark about him breaking her out of prison, he told her "beggars can't be choosers," and later told her to grow up when she told him she would not kill him due to being a professional and on a mission. Supported by his size, he is very aggressive when in battle.

Despite his arrogance, he will compliment someone should they surpass his expectations; he complimented Aqualad during their battle. He does not fret or lose his cool when in a dire situation. He simply parachuted out of his helicopter when Miss Martian detonated a planted bomb in it and calmly watched on as Aqualad took out his men with a hydra-beast.

History
On July 22, Sportsmaster traveled to the island of Santa Prisca on behalf of the Light. He went to purchase a Blockbuster-Venom formula from Kobra, who had taken control of Santa Prisca (and its local Venom factory) from Bane. The deal was interrupted by The Team, who destroyed almost the entire shipment of the formula, although Sportsmaster was able to escape with a single ampule.

On September 7, Sportsmaster was sent to free Cheshire from prison. Refusing to let them escape Red Arrow chases after them. The two boarded a helicopter and managed to escape, though Red Arrow had managed to track them with an arrow he shot at the helicopter.

Later, Sportsmaster and Cheshire meet with Ra's al Ghul to discuss their mission, but are interrupted when Ra's al Ghul discovers Red Arrow spying on them atop a roof. Red Arrow shoots an arrow at Ra's al Ghul, but it is blocked by Sportsmaster. Cheshire heads towards Red Arrow and Sportsmaster quickly catches up by pole vaulting to up to the roof and in mid-flight throws a disk at Red Arrow, breaking his bow in the process. Sportsmaster suggests that Red Arrow's name be "Broken Arrow" instead. Unarmed and cornered, Red Arrow attempts to escape, but Sportsmaster throws an exploding javelin, forcing Red Arrow to jump into the river below. Sportsmaster follows and throws another javelin that reaches the water shortly after Red Arrow and explodes. Seemingly satisfied with his victory, Sportsmaster leaves.

Sportsmaster then serves as backup after Cheshire's failed assassination attempt. He joins the fray via helicopter and comes with several Shadows. He then proceeds to singlehandedly take out several armed bodyguards but is stopped by Aqualad after being struck to the head by Aqualad's mace. He then goes after Aqualad, easily blocking his attacks and proceeds to take out his javelin. In his next scene, Sportsmaster pays Aqualad in kind for his previous attack with a clothesline after Aqualad momentarily took his eyes off of him. With Aqualad on the floor, Sportsmaster takes out a heavy hammer and attempts, but is unsuccessful, to crush Aqualad with it. In the next scene he is battling Aqualad with a fencing foil. Impressed by Aqualad's vigilance and skills, Sportsmaster compliments Aqualad for doing better than he did in Santa Prisca and Bialya. Surprised by his Intel, Aqualad questions his source. Sportsmaster insinuates a mole.

Some time later, Aqualad creates a hydra-beast and defeats several Shadows. Sportsmaster watches on as this happen. As the beast closes in on Sportsmaster, Cheshire jumps in and throws a smoke bomb. When the smoke clears, the two are not seen.

Powers and abilities
Sportsmaster possesses no known superhuman powers. Rather, he is a highly-trained martial artist and is able to use a wide variety of weapons.

Physical fitness: Sportsmaster's fitness is at least to the degree of an Olympic athlete, as he uses a pole to perform high leaps in the fashion of pole vaulting. In one instance during combat, he took out a mace attached to a cord which, upon landing on the ground, created a small crater. Despite the heavy weight implied he was able to easily swing it around. He is able to leap over Miss Martian when she was behind him and held her hostage while he attacked Superboy.

Hand-to-hand combat master: Augmented by his size, strength, and reflexes, Sportsmaster has demonstrated skill in hand-to-hand combat. He singlehandedly took out several bodyguards, as he was able to easily evade strikes from them from behind and counter their attacks with throws, spin kicks, and knee jabs. The force of his attacks are strong enough to knock out bodyguards with a single blow and was able to knock Aqualad off his feet, spinning him, with a clothesline.

Acute senses: His training is not reserved to his physical abilities. Sportsmaster trained himself to the degree that he can sense Miss Martian when she is using her camouflage ability—on two separate occasions—when no other person noticed her.

Weapons master: Seemingly his preferred fighting style, Sportsmmaster has used a wide variety of weapons with high efficiency. His deadliness is augmented by his acute senses and strength.

Equipment
Sportsmaster uses a vast array of Olympic-themed weapons alongside his physical capabilities to give him more variety and flexibility when in battle. His weapons include, though are not limited to:


 * Pole: To perform high leaps in the fashion of pole vaulting. With this pole Sportsmaster was able to leap high enough to land on a roof.
 * Javelins: One of his most frequently used weapons. These can be used in hand-to-hand combat, as well as thrown causing and explosion on impact. Furthermore, the javelins can be set to explode at a certain time, as they did when he threw one at Miss Martian, and again in Taipei, when he threw one at Red Arrow.
 * Saber: A sword for fencing;
 * Discus: A disc that can be hurled and disarm an opponent;
 * "Hammer": A heavy metal ball attached to a cord and handle. Sportsmaster has this hidden in one of his pockets. Upon landing on the floor, a small crater is created. Despite its heaviness, Sportsmanster can easily swing it around.

Production notes
This is the third animated incarnation of Sportsmaster, who had his first official appearance (if you discount his pastiche iteration) in the DC Animated Universe series Justice League Unlimited. However, the latter portrayal was more of a background villain, unlike in Young Justice where he has a more prominent role. He had also appeared in one Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.

Comics background
In the comics, Sportsmaster's real name was Lawrence "Crusher" Crock, and he was an enemy of Green Lantern and Wildcat. He was a member of the Injustice Society and he teamed up with (and later married) the Golden Age villainess Huntress, aka Paula Brooks. Later they had a child named Artemis Crock who became a villainess in her own right as the third Tigress.