Roberto Velasquez (Earth-616)

Bantam
Name	Roberto Velasquez
Current Alias	Bantam
Aliases	The Battling Bantam
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Captain America, Pro-Registration forces
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	5′5″ (1.65 m)
Weight	119 lbs (53.98 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human mutated by the Power Broker
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Place of Death	Manhattan, New York City
Personal Information
Identity	Public
Citizenship	Puerto Rican, American
Occupation	Licensed super hero; former boxer, boxing trainer
Education	High School
Base of Operations	San Juan, Puerto Rico; New York City,New York; Miami, Florida
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Mark Gruenwald, David Wohl
First	Captain America Annual #12 (March, 1993)
First	Captain America Annual #12 (March, 1993)
Death	Civil War: Front Line #3 (July, 2006)
Death	Civil War: Front Line #3 (July, 2006)

History

Roberto Velasquez was a talented young boxer training in Puerto Rico whose future as a professional was uncertain due to his meager size and weight, prompting Velasquez to accept an offer from Miami crime boss Armando Aviles to undergo an experimental physical augmentation treatment. Unknown to Velasquez, Aviles was in league with the Power Broker, a Los Angeles-based criminal organizer who used the strength augmentation process developed by criminal research scientist Dr. Karl Malus to create an army of super-powered henchmen. In his first match after receiving the treatment, Velasquez inadvertently killed his opponent and went into hiding, refusing to join Aviles' gang. After his friend was killed by Hammerhead, an augmented boxer working for Aviles, Velasquez, as "the Battling Bantam", joined forces with Captain America to raid Power Broker, Inc.'s Miami Base and defeat Hammerhead.

Bantam later split his time between super heroics and training other boxers at Trini's Gymnasium in San Juan (knowing that he was too powerful to ever step into the ring himself).

Civil War

After enactment of the SHRA, Bantam was among the heroes who immediately registered with the government and subsequently confronted the unregistered hero known as Thunderclap on a Manhattan street, believing he could convince Thunderclap to register through force. In the ensuing battle, Bantam was thrust into an oil truck, which exploded and killed the hero.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

• Superhuman Strength: Bantam was superhumanly strong and could lift around 4 tons.
• Superhuman Stamina: Bantam's stamina was enhanced to superhuman levels.
• Superhuman Durability: Bantam's durability was enhanced to the point where he had bulletproof skin.

Abilities

• Boxing: Intensively trained boxer (American boxing) and exceptional hand-to-hand combatant.

Weaknesses

Has berserker tendencies.

See Also

• 2 appearance(s) of Roberto Velasquez (Earth-616)
• 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Roberto Velasquez (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) of Roberto Velasquez (Earth-616)
• 16 image(s) of Roberto Velasquez (Earth-616)

Links and References

• http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/bantamcap.htm