This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Hounds | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #141 (Jan. 1981) |
Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne John Romita, Jr. |
In-story information | |
Type of organization | Enforcers |
Leader(s) | Ahab |
Agent(s) | Cyclops Invisible Woman Franklin Richards Sabretooth Stone Rachel Summers |
Hounds are the name given to several fictional groups of mutant characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This term usually refers to those who track or hunt down mutants while serving a higher authority.
The Hounds were first introduced in Uncanny X-Men, from the "Days of Future Past" dystopian timeline, as part of the backstory of Rachel Summers. These brainwashed mutant hunters were created and commanded by the cyborg Ahab, who used them to hunt down and imprison mutants in concentration camps. Rachel was forced to become one of these Hounds while still an adolescent, which scarred and haunted her for years afterward. Eventually she broke her conditioning and rebelled. As a result, Rachel was sent to the camps herself as punishment. [1]
Shadow King is later seen to use mind-controlled humans called Hounds to track Storm, who had been transformed into a child by the villainous Nanny. These Hounds were reduced to a nearly mindless, animalistic state by the Shadow King apparently for his own amusement. [2]
Adrian Toomes is recruited into working at an Orchis black site, in order to track the movement of Nightcrawler through New York, bemoaning the audacity of mutantkind. Adrian not only sees mutants as inhuman "abnormalities," he is actively experimenting on them in an attempt to create "Hounds," dangerous mutant trackers by utilizing grafted-on pieces of Phalanx technology. Vulture is seen experimenting on Feral. Toomes then reveals that his new title is "Director Vulture," before showing off his upgraded Phalanx-enhanced cybernetic wings, making the often weak villain now an incredibly formidable threat. [3] Upon obtaining Cloak and Dagger, he adds them to the Hounds and sends them with Feral, Fatale, Animax, and Reaper to target Mystique and Nightcrawler's Creepy Crawler appearance. [4]
In the Age of Apocalypse reality, the Hounds are mutants used to hunt down and imprison mutants and humans in concentration camps or simply to kill their targets. Sabretooth was used as the leading Hound to the Horsemen until his defection. Wild Child was too ferocious that he was kept a prisoner until Sabretooth rescued him. Caliban was used as the prime hound to the Bounty Hunters. Wolverine was a mutant altered by Beast who served Holocaust as his leading hunter after the defection of Sabretooth.
In the "Spider-Verse" storyline, the Hounds of Earth-001 are servants of Verna of the Inheritors. They consist of Sable, Fireheart, Kravinoff, five different Vultures, the Scorpion, the Rhino, Hammerhead, Ox, a Hobgoblin, and various Green Goblins. Sable, Fireheart, and Kravinoff of the Hounds accompany Verna to Earth-1610 to hunt Miles Morales. [5] Miles Morales and Jessica Drew struggle to hold off Verna's Hounds. Verna laments that the hunt is over before it began. Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius's mind in Peter Parker's body), Assassin Spider-Man, and Spider-Punk emerge from a portal and immediately incapacitate the Hounds. While Verna mourns the deaths of her Hounds, Miles looks at the shattered gravestone of his mother and says she made things personal between them with Verna furiously responding that she will feast on his bones. [6] Verna later sent the Vultures after the Ben Reilly of Earth-94. Reilly defeats them with the aid of Spider-Ham and the Old Man Spider-Man of Earth-4 [7] Verna, Rhino, and Scorpion arrive to hunt Hobgoblin (who was the identity of this world's Peter Parker) and drain his life force. They are thwarted by Spider-Woman of Earth-65 who then escapes with Hobgoblin. [8] In the final battle, Verna has an army of Green Goblins. [9]
During the "Spider-Geddon" storyline, Verna begins her hunt for the crystal containing Solus' lifeforce with he help of her Hounds which consist of Sable, Fireheart, Kravinoff, and Scorpion as well as Chameleon being the latest Hound. They compete with Kaine Parker's group to get to the crystal first. [10]
The Hounds feature in the X-Men film universe spin-off television series, The Gifted. They are directly referenced first during a scene in the season one episode titled "boXed in". [11] In the series, the Hounds' villainous leader Roderick Campbell is portrayed by Garret Dillahunt. [12]
In the X-Men episode "The Fifth Horseman," it showed a foursome of mutants serving Apocalypse who were called Hounds (rather than the Horsemen of Apocalypse despite the title of the episode). Their costumes were based on those of the Days of Future Past Hounds. Three of them were unnamed, but the fourth was Caliban of the Morlocks (who in the comics was one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse).
The Brotherhood of Mutants is a fictional group of mutants appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Brotherhood are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men.
Sabretooth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, he first appeared in Iron Fist #14 and was initially depicted as a serial killer known as "the Slasher", before being developed into an X-Men villain during the "Mutant Massacre" crossover in 1986. This portrayal of Sabretooth has endured as the archenemy of the superhero Wolverine.
The Vulture is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of whom are depicted as recurring enemies of the superhero Spider-Man and belong to the collection of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, typically using special suits which allow them to fly at vast speeds.
Kraven the Hunter is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 as an adversary to the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He since endured as one of the web-slinger's most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the supervillain Chameleon, and is one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.
Nightcrawler is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in the comic book Giant-Size X-Men #1. By the time of his creation, there was already another Marvel character with the same name, but with a hyphen (Night-Crawler), which was later changed to Dark-Crawler to avoid confusion.
Apocalypse is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is one of the world's first mutants, and was a principal villain for the original X-Factor team and later the X-Men and related spin-off teams. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jackson Guice, Apocalypse first appeared in X-Factor #5. Apocalypse is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe where he is the husband of Genesis and the father of the original incarnation of the Horsemen of Apocalypse.
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the original timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295.
Toad is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The X-Men #4.
Morlocks are a group of mutant characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are usually depicted as being associated with the X-Men in the Marvel Universe. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith, they were named after the subterranean race of the same name in H. G. Wells' novel The Time Machine, but unlike in the Wells book, they are not a faceless, threatening mass of villains. They first appeared as a group in The Uncanny X-Men #169. Caliban appeared prior to that, but he was not yet a member of the Morlocks.
Graydon Creed is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Brandon Peterson and first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #299. He is the "baseline human" son of Sabretooth and Mystique.
The Marauders refers to one of two teams of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Marauders team included mutant warriors and assassins employed by the X-Men's enemy Mister Sinister, a mad scientist villain often intent on creating a perfect race of superhumans. At different times, the Marauders have been tasked by Sinister to perform kidnappings, assassinations, mass murder, or simply fight Sinister's enemies. At different times, Marauders have been killed in combat, but often Mr. Sinister later uses his cloning technology to re-create them. This team of Marauders has appeared in many different stories of the X-Men franchise, as well as stories featuring other Marvel Comics heroes.
"Mutant Massacre" was a 1986 Marvel Comics crossover storyline. It primarily involved the superhero teams the X-Men and X-Factor. The solo hero Thor, the New Mutants, Power Pack, and Daredevil crossed over for an issue each in their own comic books.
Caliban is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #148, by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum. A mutant with the ability to sense other mutants, he was originally a member of the Morlocks. He was also a member of the X-Factor, X-Men, X-Force and The 198. He was chosen twice by Apocalypse as one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, first as Death and the second time as Pestilence, and Apocalypse also enhanced his superpowers through genetic manipulation.
Bolivar Trask is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a military scientist whose company Trask Industries is well known as the creator of the Sentinels. He is also the father of Larry Trask and Madame Sanctity.
The Horsemen of Apocalypse are a team of supervillain characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Led by Apocalypse, they are loosely based on the Biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, though its members vary throughout the canon.
Azazel is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chuck Austen and Sean Philips, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #428. He belongs to the subspecies of humans named mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. He is the father of the X-Men's Kiwi Black and was originally the father of Nightcrawler as well until that was retconned in 2023.
Puma is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #256, as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man. Despite this, the character does not lack morals or a sense of justice, and eventually reforms and becomes an ally of Spider-Man. Puma is the alter ego of Thomas Fireheart, a Native American who was bred to be a perfect warrior prophesied to stop a future threat that might destroy the world, gaining the ability to transform into an anthropomorphic mountain lion. He later became a businessman and the CEO of Fireheart Enterprises, as well as a mercenary.
Uncanny X-Force was a comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña, the first volume of the series continued the story of Wolverine and his X-Force team from the series X-Force, vol. 3. The title was relaunched after issue #35 as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch event, and the new volume features Psylocke and Storm leading a new team of "outcasts and scoundrels". The second volume was one of two X-Force ongoing titles, along with Cable and X-Force.