Blockade (Dexter Parish; Cable foe)

blockade-parish-cab81-vcable 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.

Height: Unrevealed (in his earlier appearances, he seemed a little taller than the 6'8" Cable, making him approximately 7'2"; when possessed by Aentaros, he looked closer to 8' tall, if not even taller)
Weight: Unrevealed (he was not only tall but also very thick; presumably at least 400-500 lbs., but as his composition is unrevealed, it is impossible to estimate; however, he sat in what appeared to be a normal chair without problem; he also did not tear through the roof of the bus on which he was standing)
Eyes: Orange sclera with dark irides; solid yellow while possessed by Aentaros
Hair: None
Skin: Red

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.

blockade-parish-cab56-face-heatsealed blockade-parish-cab55 After traveling to New York City, Blockade visited the Bronx apartment of his old friend James Sanders (aka Speed Demon).

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.

Blockade subsequently confronted Domino just after she had left Cable's base within a steel company off of 45th and 10th street in Clinton, noting that she was pretty hot for a mutie and asking her if she was ready to die.

blockade-parish-cab56-catchankle

(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.

blockade-parish-cab56-shutdown (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.

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. blockade-parish-cab58-padcell

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#68 - BTS) - While battling the Harbinger of Apocalypse, Cable considered those who had affected him and whom he had affected, among them Blockade.

blockade-parish-cab80-face-possessed blockade-parish-cab80-vcable (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.

(Cable II#80 (fb) - BTS) - Alarms were set to sound if Blockade moved.

(Cable II#79) - Aentaros of the Undying subsequently possessed the otherwise comatose Blockade from his hospital bed at a S.H.I.E.L.D. military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, and resolved to kill Cable first and then Shire.

(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.

(Cable II#81) - After some struggle, Cable found normal assaults to be ineffective against Aentaros/Blockade. Cable broke Aentaros' fingers to little effect, but he finally damaged Aentaros/Blockade's lumbar spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

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.

blockade-parish-cab81-neckbreak

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Clarity analyzed the battle via Lea and Irene's recordings, and he subsequently provided information to Cable regarding Aentaros and the Undying.

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Considering that despite having been a hired gun that Blockade deserved better than what had happened to him (as well as considering his own involvement in Blockade's fate), Cable informed Bridge of Blockade's location and asked him to make arrangements for a decent burial.

Comments: Created by Joe Casey and Ladronn.

Who or what is Blockade?

There's some unexplained back-story to Blockade, as he was old friends with Speed Demon, who noted that he would have bet that Blockade would never come back to New York now get involved with super heroes.

What happened in New York?
Who had he fought in the past?

Source of powers

In Cable II#55, Blockade refers to Domino as a mutie and notes that he "knows zilch about muties."
In Cable II#56, Blockade repeatedly refers to Domino as a mutant, both to her face and when telling his associates about his mission. From his tone, it would not seem likely that he was a mutant himself.
I don't see any discussion of his origins in Cable II#58 or #79-81.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries on the Undying refer to Blockade as a "mutant mercenary."

I don't think mercenary is quite right, as he is a contract killer rather than a soldier, but he may well have worked as a paid soldier in the past.
Given his discussion of mutants in Cable II#55-56, I would not think he was a mutant, although it is possible that he was a mutant and was just "closeted," in denial, etc.
He spoke colloquially, so I would think he was most like a human mutate, but perhaps he is a Deviant, Inhuman, demi-god, extraterrestrial, extradimensional, etc., with decades amongst humanity allowing him those speech patterns.

    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:

BLOCKADE - robot of Stranger--Avengers I#317
BLOCKADE of Reality-691 circa 31^st century - Rancor's Lieutenants, son of Bear, killed him when he fought for the Resistance, blinded fighting Guardians. Grow in size + strength + durability--Guardians of the Galaxy I#8
PARRISH, ESTHER - circa 1882, possessed by one of the Undying, poisoned rum of 20 people, including her father and two brothers--Cable II#81
PARRISH, MAX - archeologist, uncle of Cammy Brandeis, accompanied she and Susan + Johnny Storm in conflict involving St. Germaine and Medallion of Demon-Z, briefly merged with Ghost Rider (Ketch/Kale version, though apparently under the control of Zarathos)--Before the Fantastic Four: Storms#1
other "Parrish" characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

images: (without ads)
Cable II#55, pg. 13, panel 6 (heat-sealed facial patterns);
        last page (confronting Domino);
    #56, pg. 3, panel 5 (catching Domino's ankle);
       pg 5, panel 5 (small full profile);
       pg. 8, panel 2 (small full front);
       pg. 15, panel 2 (face, hat);
       pg. 20, panel 4 (mind shutting down);
    #58, pg. 12, panel 5 (padded cell);
    #80, pg. 13, panel 5 (face, possessed by Aentaros);
       pg. 21, panel 2 (upper, confronting Cable);
    #81, pg. 6 (full, confronting Cable);
       pg. 11, panel 3 (breaking own neck)

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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