Brother Blood

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Brother Blood
Brotherblooddcu0.png
Brother Blood as depicted in New Teen Titans #22 (August 1982).
Art by George Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Sebastian 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
AbilitiesSebastian Blood VIII:
Hypnosis
Sorcery
Longevity
Immunity to Raven's soul-self

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

Brother Blood is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first iteration, Sebastian Blood VIII, is a power-hungry priest and head of the Church of Blood, as well as the eighth person in the DC Universe to 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 the Teen Titans before being killed by his successor, Sebastian Blood IX.

Contents

Brother Blood appears in the 2003 Teen Titans animated series and its 2013 spin-off Teen Titans Go! , voiced by John DiMaggio. Sebastian Blood is a recurring character in the second season of the Arrowverse series Arrow , portrayed by Kevin Alejandro. Joseph Morgan appears as the character in the fourth season of the HBO Max series Titans .

Publication history

The first Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood VIII, debuted in The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982), and was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. [1] He was a regular foe of the Teen Titans for many years. [2]

The second Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood IX, debuted in Outsiders (vol. 3) #6 (January 2004), and was created by writer Judd Winick and artist ChrisCross.

Fictional character biography

Sebastian Blood VIII

The first Brother Blood encountered by the Titans is the eighth to bear the title. Centuries prior, the first Brother Sebastian obtained a magical shawl that granted him longevity, but the shawl's original owner cursed him and his descendants to be killed by their sons. [1]

The eighth Brother Blood intends to extend the Church of Blood beyond its home country of Zandia. [3] He battles the Teen Titans before Raven defeats him and destroys his mind. [4]

Sebastian Blood IX

The second Brother Blood, art by Tony Daniel. Brother Blood.png
The second Brother Blood, art by Tony Daniel.

After recovering and returning to his cult, Blood VIII is killed by his young son, who assumes the role. [5] [6] He exhibits additional vampiric abilities and reveals that the Cult of Blood is based on the worship of Trigon. As a result, he unsuccessfully attempts to marry Raven, Trigon's daughter.

In Infinite Crisis , Blood joins Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains before Kid Eternity sends him to Hell. [7]

The New 52

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Brother Blood is depicted as a former potential champion of the Red, a cosmic force that connects all animal life, who seeks to gain its power. [8] [9]

Mother Blood

A new incarnation of Brother Blood is introduced in DC Rebirth . This version is Sonya Tarinka, a former leader of the Cult of Blood who has a deep connection to the Red and can control the minds of others. [10]

Powers and abilities

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 in public 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

Television

Brother Blood as he appears in Teen Titans (2003). BrotherbloodTTanimatedseries.jpg
Brother Blood as he appears in Teen Titans (2003).

Film

Brother Blood appears in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract , voiced by Gregg Henry. [11] 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 by Mother Mayhem as an aide. He tasks Deathstroke and Terra with kidnapping the Teen Titans so he can use their blood to become a god-like being. However, Nightwing and Terra thwart Blood's plot before Raven depowers him and Mayhem kills him to prevent him from being imprisoned.

Video games

Miscellaneous

References

  1. 1 2 Greenberger, Robert (2008). "Brother Blood". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 62. ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1.
  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. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 42–43. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
  4. New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #31 (May 1987)
  5. Outsiders (vol. 3) #4 (November 2003)
  6. Outsiders (vol. 3) #6 (January 2004)
    • Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30 (January 2006)
    • Teen Titans (vol. 3) #67 (March 2009)
    • Secret Six (vol. 3) #19 (May 2010)
    • Phantom Stranger (vol. 4) #1 (October 2012)
    • Ravagers #3 (September 2012)
    • Ravagers #4 (October 2012)
    • Animal Man (vol. 2) #23 (October 2013)
  7. 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. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  8. Titans (vol. 3) #25 - 35 (November 2018 - May 2019)
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Brother Blood Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 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 credits or other reliable sources of information.
  10. "Welcome titanstower.com - BlueHost.com". www.titanstower.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. Lang, Derrick (July 20, 2013). "Bronze Tiger, Brother Blood coming to Arrow". Yahoo TV. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  12. 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. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  13. Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  14. Smallville: Season 11 Harbinger. DC Comics.
  15. Zalben, Alex (September 1, 2014). "Arrow Producers Reveal Huge Secrets In 'Season 2.5'". MTV . Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.