Brother Blood
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Brother Blood is the name of two fictional comicbook characters in the DC Universe. The first Brother Blood debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21 (1982), and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Teen Titans and Brother Blood
The first Brother Blood encountered by the Titans was the eighth to bear the title. Seven hundred years earlier, a Zandian priest named Brother Sebastian killed another priest to gain possession of what he believed to be Christ's prayer shawl. The shawl gave him invulnerability and reduced his aging, but he was cursed 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 by his son, and this continued for seven centuries.
The eighth Brother Blood was, seemingly, the first who wished to extend the Church of Blood beyond Zandia. He wanted the Church to be a world power. The Church of Blood began operating in America, and the Titans were called to investigate when an ex-girlfriend of Cyborg attempted 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 a reporter who was a member of the Church.
Brother Blood brainwashed Nightwing, and attempted to take control of Raven's power. It was the latter who defeated him, as his mind was seemingly destroyed. His wife, Mother Mayhem, later gave birth to a girl, suggesting the curse was over.
[edit] A new Brother Blood
Some time later, in Outsiders (vol 3), Brother Blood returned to villainy. However, shortly after recreating his cult, he was killed by a young boy, Sebastian, claiming to be the new Brother Blood. This version reappeared in Teen Titans (Vol. 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 exhibited vampiric abilities.
He revealed that the Cult of Blood was based on the worship of Trigon the Terrible. It was for this reason that the new Bride of Blood was to be Raven. The Titans were able to save Raven, but the Church of Blood continued. Brother Blood later appeared in Teen Titans #30, where he claimed an undead Lilith Clay to be his mother. He also summoned the first Hawk and Dove, Phantasm, Kole, and Aquagirl from the dead to be his own Teen Titans. Brother Blood was stopped by Kid Eternity and sent to the eighth level of Hell, but not before he summoned the past Brother Bloods, all which took their anger and hatred on Sebastian.
[edit] Other versions
During the Amalgam Comics run, there were two versions that were featured in the X-Patrol series. The first was mentioned by Niles Cable as Brother Blood, who commanded an army of "slaughtering zealots". The second equivalent, Brother Brood, was a cult leader to the alien Brood of Marvel Comics.
[edit] Powers & Abilities
[edit] Comics
- In the comics, Blood's powers work similar to those of a vampire, he gains strength from blood, and can take on the abilities of anyone whose blood he has sampled.
[edit] Television
- Blood's powers are primarily psychic in nature. He can control people's minds, use telekinesis, and in his final duel with Cyborg, showed the ability to teleport and use psychic energy offensively, he also exhibited the power to walk upon water. He was also shown to be capable of converting metal into flesh, although this only happened once, in the episode "Deception" (although this may have been an illusion). Being an accomplished martial artist, he also proved himself to be deadly in physical combat.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
In the Teen Titans animated series, Brother Blood, voiced by John DiMaggio, is an evil mastermind and Headmaster of the H.I.V.E. Academy. His plans are to a large degree reliant on technology stolen from Cyborg. He met Cyborg in "Deception" while Cyborg was spying on Blood disguised as Stone. He tried to use his skills in mind control to impose his will on Cyborg but it failed because half of Cyborg's brain was mechanical.
In "Wavelength", Brother Blood utilized Cyborg's sonic cannon schematics to build a massive underwater sonic resonator strong enough to wipe out Jump City. The plot was foiled with Cyborg and Bumblebee, another spy, and the resinator was destroyed. After the loss, Brother Blood headed for Steel City.
Blood's final appearances were in both episodes of "Titans East". Brother Blood took control of the minds of Aqualad, Bumblebee, Más y Menos, and Speedy having them construct a new headquarters for him and his students. He also converted himself into a cyborg to enhance his mental abilities. After a long battle between the Titans and Brother Blood and his controlled minions, Cyborg was able to get the better of Blood by revealing that his human spirit was the reason he could defy Blood. Brother Blood was then arrested and serves time in the Steel City prison. This Brother Blood is based on the first Blood the Titans encountered.
Although Blood was very evil, he also had his comedic moments. When Cyborg and Bumblebee were about to fight, he requested "less talking and more stinging". In that same episode, when he discovered Bumblebee was against him, he shouted, "Another spy! Tell me, WERE ANY OF MY STUDENTS ACTUALLY HERE TO LEARN?!". A large contrast from Slade, he was rather a bumbler and very prone to getting angry. Despite these differences, Blood was still one of the Titans' most dangerous enemies; he possessed a photographic memory, immensely powerful mind control, and a cruel, sadistic nature (after failing to take Cyborg apart to find out how he resisted him, he was going to use "trial and error" on the Titans East members). In addition to his psychic abilities, his fighting skills were superb as well, and his study of Cyborg's blueprints allowed him to know every one of Cyborg's weaknesses.
