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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 | |
|---|---|
 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 by | Sebastian Blood VIII: Marv Wolfman George Pérez Sebastian Blood IX: Judd Winick ChrisCross |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Sebastian Blood |
| Team affiliations | Both: Church of Blood Sebastian Blood IX: Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities | Sebastian Blood VIII: Hypnosis Sorcery Longevity Immunity to Raven's soul-self Sebastian Blood IX: Vampirism Enhanced strength Adept hand-to-hand combatant |
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.
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The first Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood VIII, debuted in The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982), 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.
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, and its original owner cursed him and his descendants to be killed by their sons.[1]
The eighth Brother Blood is, seemingly, the first who wishes 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
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][8][9]
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.[10][11]
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.[12]
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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.
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Television
- Brother Blood appears in the third season of Teen Titans (2003), voiced by John DiMaggio.[13] This version is the charismatic and sadistic headmaster of the H.I.V.E. Academy and rival of Cyborg who possesses psionic powers such as mind control, teleportation, telekinesis, energy shield creation, and a photographic memory. In comparison to the Teen Titans' previous enemy Slade, series producer/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 significantly from his comics counterpart because the original's backstory was difficult to adapt.[14] 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 and transforms himself into a cyborg before being defeated.
- Brother Sebastian Blood appears in the second season of Arrow, portrayed by Kevin Alejandro.[15] 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 charismatic and highly motivated 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 Father Roger 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 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.[13] In his most notable appearance in the episode "Waffles", he creates a torture robot called Pain Bot (voiced by Scott Menville in the first season and Khary Payton in the second)[16] to aid him, who later befriends Cyborg and defects to the Titans.
- An original incarnation of Brother Blood named Sebastian Sanger appears in the fourth season of Titans, portrayed by Joseph Morgan.[17][18][19] 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
Brother Blood appears in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, voiced by Gregg Henry.[13] 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
- Brother Blood appears as a boss in Teen Titans (2005), voiced again by John DiMaggio.
- Brother Blood appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Ev Lunning.[13]
- Brother Blood appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[20]
Miscellaneous
- 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.[21]
- An original incarnation of Brother Blood appears in the Arrow tie-in comic Arrow: Season 2.5.[22] 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 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 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 met Slade Wilson, who offered to help him become mayor of Starling City.
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