Jump to content

Brother Blood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brother Blood
Brother Blood as depicted inNew Teen Titans#22 (August 1982).
Art byGeorge Pérez.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSebastian Blood VIII:
The New Teen Titans#21 (July 1982)

Sebastian Blood IX:
Outsiders#6 (January 2004)
Created bySebastian Blood VIII:
Marv Wolfman
George Pérez

Sebastian Blood IX:
Judd Winick
ChrisCross
In-story information
Alter egoSebastian Blood
Team affiliationsBoth:
Church of Blood

Sebastian Blood IX:
Secret Society of Super Villains
H.I.V.E.Academy
AbilitiesSebastian Blood VIII:
Hypnosis
Sorcery
Longevity
Immunity toRaven's soul-self

Sebastian Blood IX:
Vampirism
Enhanced strength
Adept hand-to-hand combatant

Brother Bloodis the name of twosupervillainsappearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byDC Comics.The first iteration,Sebastian Blood VIII,is a power-hungrypriestand head of the Church of Blood, as well as the eighth person in theDC Universeto assume the mantle, after killing his father and taking the Brother Blood mantle from him. This tradition had gone on for generations, dating back to the 13th century, when the first Brother Blood was born after obtaining Jesus of Nazareth's prayer shawl and gaining superhuman abilities. As Brother Blood, Sebastian served as a recurring adversary of theTeen Titans,until being killed by his successor,Sebastian Blood IX.

A different iteration of Brother Blood appeared in the 2003Teen Titansanimated series and its 2013spin-offTeen Titans Go!,voiced byJohn DiMaggio.Sebastian Bloodwas also a recurring character on thesecondseason ofThe CWArrowverseshowArrow,portrayed byKevin Alejandro.Joseph Morganappeared as the character in the fourth season of theHBO MaxseriesTitans.

Publication history[edit]

The first Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood VIII, debuted inThe New Teen Titans#21 (July 1982), created by writerMarv Wolfmanand artistGeorge Pérez.[1]He was a regular foe of the Teen Titans for many years.[2]

The second Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood IX, debuted inOutsidersvol. 3 #6 (January 2004), created by writerJudd Winickand artistChrisCross.

Fictional character biography[edit]

Sebastian Blood VIII[edit]

The first Brother Blood encountered by the Titans was the eighth to bear the title. Seven hundred years earlier, a priest in the fictional nation of Zandia named Brother Sebastian killed another priest to gain possession of what he believed to beChrist's prayer shawl. The shawl gave him invulnerability and reduced his aging, but the priest he killed cursed him to be slain by his son before his hundredth birthday. Upon doing so, his son became the second Brother Blood. He, in turn was killed byhisson, and this continued for seven centuries.[1]

The eighth Brother Blood is, seemingly, the first who wishes to extend theChurch of Bloodbeyond Zandia. He wants the Church to be a world power.[3]The Church of Blood began operating in America, and the Titans were called to investigate when an ex-girlfriend ofCyborgattempted to escape this cult. Because of the Church of Blood's influence, the Titans found moving against him difficult, especially when public opinion was turned against them by Bethany Snow, a reporter who was also a member of the Church. As such, Blood often got the better of the Titans in some aspect in their clashes, even when he appeared to have been killed in defeat since it gave him the opportunity to fake his resurrections to solidify his follower's fanatical devotion to him.

Brother Blood brainwashedNightwingand attempted to take control ofRaven's power. She defeated him, and his mind was seemingly destroyed.[4]Brother Blood's wifeMother Mayhemlater birthed a girl, suggesting the curse was over.

Sebastian Blood IX[edit]

The second Brother Blood, art byTony Daniel.

Some time later, inOutsidersvol. 3, Brother Blood returned to villainy.[5]Shortly after recreating his cult, he was killed by a young boy, Sebastian, claiming to be the new Brother Blood.[6]This version reappeared inTeen Titansvol. 3.

This teenaged Brother Blood seemingly based all his decisions on advice from Mother Mayhem, but this was actually a female cultist chosen at random and killed if the advice was not what he wanted to hear. He also exhibitedvampiricabilities. He revealed that the Cult of Blood was based on theworshipofTrigon.It was for this reason that the new Bride of Blood was to beRaven.The Titans were able to save Raven, but the Church of Blood continued.

Brother Blood later appeared during the "Infinite Crisis"storyline as a member ofAlexander Luthor Jr.'sSecret Society of Super Villains,where he claimed an undeadLilith Clayto be his mother. He also summoned the firstHawk and Dove,Phantasm,Kole,andAquagirlfrom the dead to be his ownTeen Titans.Brother Blood was stopped byKid Eternityand sent to the eighth level of Hell, but not before Kid Eternity summoned the past Brother Bloods, all of whom took out their anger and hatred on Sebastian.[7]

In the aftermath of the "Reign In Hell" miniseries, Blood, now an adult, escaped from his incarceration and was opposed byKid Eternity.The fight between the two brought them toTitans Tower,where Blood fought the Titans. After drainingRed Devil's powers, Blood realized that he had tainted himself withNeron's influence and fled the battle. He was later seen approaching an unknown woman, looking to make her his new mother.[8]

Sometime later, theSecret Sixwas hired to infiltrate one of Blood's cults and rescue a wealthy teenager who had been forced into the group against his will. After the team's cover was blown, they proceeded to kill a number of the church's members and ultimately destroyed their compound.[9]

The New 52[edit]

In September 2011,The New 52rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, The Cult of Blood (once again as Trigon's pawns) makes their debut in issue one of thePhantom Stranger.[10]Brother Blood himself appears inRavagers.[11]Blood kidnaps the team intending to useBeast Boy's powers in a ritual to travel inThe Red'sdimension.[12]The Ravagers manage to interrupt the ritual asTerraburies him alive.[13]He survives and returns inAnimal Man,where it is revealed his obsession with the Red came from being their first option for champion before Buddy Baker was chosen.[14]

Mother Blood[edit]

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books calledDC Rebirth,which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to the New 52.Sonya Tarinkais a woman who has a deep connection to The Red, as well as the previous leader. AsMother Blood,she is shown to have the power of mind control as she mind-controlled Beast Boy.[15]

Powers and abilities[edit]

The first Blood is a formidable opponent who is backed by a massive number of fanatical followers. He is an expert manipulator who feeds off of the faith of his members coupled with a capable staff that can see through disguises to detect infiltrators and assist inpublic relations.He ages at a much slower rate than normal humans. Brother Blood is immune to Raven's soul-self due to his shawl's powers. He is also nigh invulnerable and has supernatural physical strength.

The second Blood's powers work in a manner similar to those of a vampire: he gains strength from blood, and can take on the abilities of anyone whose blood he has sampled. Like the first Blood, he is backed by a massive number of fanatical followers.

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

Brother Blood as he appears inTeen Titans(2003).
  • Brother Blood appears in thethird seasonofTeen Titans(2003), voiced byJohn DiMaggio.[16]This version is the charismatic and sadisticheadmasterof theH.I.V.E.Academy and rival ofCyborgwho possesses psionic powers such asmind control,teleportation, telekinesis, energy shield creation, and aphotographic memory.Additionally, in comparison to the eponymousTeen Titans' previous enemySlade,series producer/writerDavid Slackstated: "In the end, we tried to make him the anti-Slade. Where Slade hides in the shadows, Brother Blood loves the spotlight. Slade always has some ulterior motive, Brother Blood will tell you what he's planning right away. So there's some contrast there. We weren't even sure we'd get to use that name. I think what was important that we kept was that he was the leader of a cult. We kept that role and drew inspiration from cult leaders we read about. They are very charming seeming people. From that, we gave him this sort of 'power of temptation' – this ability to control people's perceptions. And the power of persuasion. We didn't get too deep into the character from the comics, because so much of it was so outside of what we'd be able to do. He's definitely one where we've strayed more".[17]After Cyborg proves immune to his mind control, destroys the H.I.V.E. Academy, and thwarts his plot to destroy Jump City, Blood seeks revenge by brainwashingTitans Eastinto serving him, creating robotic copies of Cyborg to aid him further, and becoming a cyborg himself in an attempt to better understand Cyborg's immunity. Ultimately, he is defeated by Cyborg.
  • Brother Sebastian Bloodappears in thesecond seasonofArrow,portrayed byKevin Alejandro.[18]This version was born in the crime-infestedStarling Citydistrict of the Glades and raised by an abusive, alcoholic father named Sebastian Sangre and a submissive mother named Maya Resik. As of the present, Blood moonlights as a charismatic and highly motivated politician and friend ofOliver Queenwhile working to rebuild the Glades. In secret, he operates as the leader of the "Church of Blood",which he inherited from its founder FatherRoger Trigon,via a skull mask outfitted with a voice modulator. Through the cult, he kidnaps criminals and injects them with the Mirakuru serum in an attempt to replicate the process that empowered his ally and secret backerSlade Wilson,with cultistCyrus Goldeventually becoming Blood's first successful test subject. Following the death of his campaign rivalMoira Queenand learning Slade intends to completely destroy Starling City, leaving nothing to rebuild from, Blood attempts to betray him by giving Queen vital information and Mirakuru samples in exchange for leniency, only to be killed by Slade's allyIsabel Rochev.
  • Brother Blood appears inTeen Titans Go!,voiced again by John DiMaggio.[16]In his most notable appearance in the episode "Waffles", he creates a torture robot called Pain Bot (voiced byScott Menvillein the first season andKhary Paytonin the second)[19]to aid him, who later befriends Cyborg and defects to the Titans.
  • An original incarnation of Brother Blood namedSebastian Sangerappears in thefourth seasonofTitans,portrayed byJoseph Morgan.[20][21][22]This version is the son of Trigon andMother Mayhemand half-brother ofRachel Rothwho was orphaned by his parents and became aMetropolistaxidermist.After seeing hallucinations of blood and hearing chanting, Sebastian becomes the leader of the Church of Blood to seek Trigon's power for himself.

Film[edit]

Brother Blood appears inTeen Titans: The Judas Contract,voiced byGregg Henry.[16]This version is the leader of an unnamed cult that seeks divine dominion over mankind; claims to be centuries-old, attributing his long lifespan to his practice of bathing in his enemies' blood; and is served byMother Mayhemas an aide. He tasksDeathstrokeandTerrawith kidnapping theTeen Titansso he can use their blood to become a god-like being. However,Nightwingand Terra thwart Blood's plot beforeRavendepowers him and Mayhem kills him to prevent him from being imprisoned.

Video games[edit]

Miscellaneous[edit]

  • Brother Blood appears inSmallville Season 11: Harbinger,in which he attempts to sacrificeRachel Rothto summon theSons of Trigon,only to be thwarted byZatannaandJohn Constantine.[24]
  • An original incarnation of Brother Blood appears in theArrowtie-in comicArrow: Season 2.5.[25]Following Sebastian Blood's death, devout theologianClinton Hoguetakes up the mantle of Brother Blood and leadership of the Church of Blood. Using his ties to the mercenary group, the Renegades, he takesFelicity Smoakhostage, butOliver Queensaves her whileRoy Harperkicks Hogue out of a window, sending him falling to his death.
  • TheArrowincarnation of Brother Sebastian Blood appears in the tie-in novelArrow: Vengeance,which explores and expands on his backstory. As a result of his father Sebastian Sangre's abuse, Blood suffered skull-related nightmares. Amidst these, he befriended teenager Cyrus Gold and the latter's mentor Father Roger Trigon, who killed Sangre after he threatened to kill Blood. Blood's mother Maya Resik was framed for Sangre's death, arrested, and placed in a psychiatric institution while Blood was placed in the Zandia Orphanage. After creating a skull mask to help him conquer his fears, Blood formally joined the Church of Blood as Brother Blood, vowing to protect Starling City's poorest citizens and Zandia's orphans, no matter the cost. Sometime later, he metSlade Wilson,who offered to help him become mayor of Starling City.

References[edit]

  1. ^abGreenberger, Robert(2008). "Brother Blood". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.).The DC Comics Encyclopedia.London:Dorling Kindersley.p. 62.ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1.
  2. ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019).DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle.DK Publishing. p. 187.ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. ^Rovin, Jeff (1987).The Encyclopedia of Supervillains.New York: Facts on File. pp. 42–43.ISBN0-8160-1356-X.
  4. ^Teen Titansvol. 2 #31. DC Comics.
  5. ^Outsidersvol. 3 #4 (November 2003). DC Comics.
  6. ^Outsidersvol. 3 #6 (January 2004). DC Comics.
  7. ^Teen TitansVol. 3 #30. DC Comics.
  8. ^Teen Titansvol. 3 #67. DC Comics.
  9. ^Secret Sixvol. 3 #19. DC Comics.
  10. ^The Phantom Strangervol. 4 #1. DC Comics.
  11. ^The Ravagers#3 (September 2012). DC Comics.
  12. ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 56.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
  13. ^The Ravagers#4 (October 2012). DC Comics.
  14. ^Animal Manvol. 2 #23 (October 2013). DC Comics.
  15. ^Titansvol. 3 #25-35. DC Comics.
  16. ^abcd"Brother Blood Voices (Teen Titans)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedApril 7,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  17. ^"Welcome titanstower.com - BlueHost.com".www.titanstower.com.Archived fromthe originalon 16 April 2008.Retrieved19 December2022.
  18. ^Lang, Derrick (July 20, 2013)."Bronze Tiger, Brother Blood coming to 'Arrow'".Yahoo TV.Archivedfrom the original on October 21, 2013.RetrievedApril 7,2024.
  19. ^"Pain-Bot Voice - Teen Titans Go! (TV Show)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedApril 7,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  20. ^Andreeva, Nellie (January 31, 2022)."'Titans' Sets Season 4 Villains: Joseph Morgan As Brother Blood, Franka Potente As Mother Mayhem, Lisa Ambalavanar As Jinx ".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedJanuary 31,2022.
  21. ^Behbakht, Andy (2022-10-04)."Titans Season 4 Villain Costumes Revealed In New Brother Blood Images".ScreenRant.Retrieved2022-10-10.
  22. ^Jamie Parker (18 November 2022)."Titans Reveals Raven and Brother Blood's Surprising Connection".CBR.Retrieved19 December2022.
  23. ^Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013)."DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide".IGN.RetrievedApril 7,2024.
  24. ^Smallville: Season 11 Harbinger.DC Comics.
  25. ^Zalben, Alex (September 1, 2014)."'Arrow' Producers Reveal Huge Secrets In 'Season 2.5'".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon September 4, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 11,2014.

22. the sandman #13 Neil Gaiman 11/28/89

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brother_Blood&oldid=1231334668"