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Brother Blood

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Brother Blood
Brother Blood as depicted in New Teen Titans #22 (August 1982).
Art by George 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
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.

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

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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

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Sebastian Blood VIII

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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 its 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 Zandia.[3] He battles the Teen Titans before Raven defeats him and destroys his mind.[4]

Sebastian Blood IX

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Television

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Brother Blood as he appears in Teen Titans (2003).
  • Brother Blood appears in Teen Titans (2003), voiced by John DiMaggio.[11] This version is a cyborg with psychic powers and the headmaster of the H.I.V.E. Academy. In comparison to the Teen Titans' previous enemy Slade, series producer and writer David Slack stated that Blood is his opposite, seeking attention rather than hiding from it. Furthermore, he draws inspiration from real-life cult leaders and deviates from his comics counterpart because the original's backstory was difficult to adapt.[12]
  • Brother Sebastian Blood appears in the second season of Arrow, portrayed by Kevin Alejandro.[13] This version was born in the crime-infested Starling City district 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 politician and friend of Oliver Queen while working to rebuild the Glades. In secret, he operates as the leader of the Church of Blood, which he inherited from its founder Roger Trigon. 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 backer Slade Wilson, with cultist Cyrus Gold becoming Blood's first successful test subject. Following the death of his campaign rival Moira Queen and 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 ally Isabel Rochev.
  • Brother Blood appears in Teen Titans Go!, voiced again by John DiMaggio.[11]
  • An original incarnation of Brother Blood named Sebastian Sanger appears in the fourth season of Titans, portrayed by Joseph Morgan.[14] This version is the son of Trigon and Mother Mayhem and half-brother of Rachel Roth who was orphaned by his parents and became a Metropolis taxidermist. 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

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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

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Miscellaneous

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  • Brother Blood appears in Smallville Season 11: Harbinger, in which he attempts to sacrifice Rachel Roth to summon the Sons of Trigon, only to be thwarted by Zatanna and John Constantine.[16]
  • An original incarnation of Brother Blood appears in the Arrow tie-in comic Arrow: Season 2.5.[17] Following Sebastian Blood's death, devout theologian Clinton Hogue takes up the mantle of Brother Blood and leadership of the Church of Blood. Using his ties to the mercenary group, the Renegades, he takes Felicity Smoak hostage, but Oliver Queen saves her while Roy Harper kicks Hogue out of a window, sending him falling to his death.
  • The Arrow incarnation of Brother Sebastian Blood appears in the tie-in novel Arrow: 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 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 an orphanage. After creating a skull mask to conquer his fears, Blood formally joined the Church of Blood as Brother Blood, vowing to protect the citizens of Starling City and Zandia no matter the cost. Sometime later, he met Slade Wilson, who offered to help him become mayor of Starling City.

References

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  1. ^ a b 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)
  7. ^
    • Teen Titans (vol. 3) #30 (January 2006)
    • Teen Titans (vol. 3) #67 (March 2009)
    • Secret Six (vol. 3) #19 (May 2010)
  8. ^
    • The Phantom Stranger vol. 4 #1 (October 2012)
    • The Ravagers #3 (September 2012)
    • The Ravagers #4 (October 2012)
    • Animal Man vol. 2 #23 (October 2013)
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Titans (vol. 3) #25 - 35 (November 2018 - May 2019)
  11. ^ a b c d "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.
  12. ^ "Welcome titanstower.com - BlueHost.com". www.titanstower.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Smallville: Season 11 Harbinger. DC Comics.
  17. ^ 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.
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