Leonard Smalls was a small time gangbanger from the city of Dakota, and the bastard child of the city's mayor. He killed his father at a young age, and engaged in criminal behavior for most of his life.[2] During an event later dubbed 'the Big Bang', most of the city's gangs showed up for a massive confrontation at Paris Island, only to be attacked by members of the Dakota police department. The majority of the men and women present at Paris Island were exposed to experimental tear gas designed by Edwin Alva, which killed most of those present and granted superhuman abilities upon the survivors.

The exposure to the gas caused Leonard to grow several times his normal size, and granted him with several superpowers, the most notable of which being pyrokinesis. Dubbing himself 'Holocaust', Leonard joined the Blood Syndicate, only to be expelled after a violent duel with the team's leader, Tech-9. Now on his own, Holocaust used his abilities to muscle his way into Dakota's organized crime scene, eventually amassing a vast amount of manpower and wealth.