Twelve Brothers in Silk

Superteambox


imagesize=
caption=The Twelve Brothers in Silk, Birds of prey #84, artist Joe Bennett
team_name=The Twelve Brothers in Silk
publisher=DC Comics
debut="Birds of Prey" #81
creators=Joe Bennett
Gail Simone
base=
members=Rabbit, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig
subcat=DC Comics
hero=
villain=y
sortkey=PAGENAMEThe Twelve Brothers in Silk, also known as The Silk Brothers, is a group of fictional comic book villains, a family of killers that have fought the Birds of Prey in the DC Comics Universe. They were created by artist Joe Bennett and writer Gail Simone.

History

cquote|"Twenty-Five years ago, there was this legendary fighter, by the name of Huang. Undefeatable. Supposedly killed " three men " once without waking up from a nap. As he grew older his heart grew bitter at the thought of his eventual defeat. So he decided to pass along his gifts. He believed in the Chinese Zodiac, and set about having a son born under each sign. He took many wives. Each child who had the misfortune of being born a girl, or in the wrong year, was killed immediately. And each child who lived was branded. He trained them brutally. Made them all twisted inside. Nurtured their hateful aspects. And then, before the year of their thirteenth birthday, he asked them to kill him. So he would never be defeated, and would live on, defeating his enemies throughout eternity."Black Canary, from Birds of Prey #81, by Gail Simone

The Twelve Brothers, 12 martial artists named after the signs of the Chinese Zodiac, first appeared in the employ of Mister Tan, a Singaporean drug lord. Posing as American mobsters, Wildcat and Black Canary attempted to fool Mister Tan into selling them all of his drugs, which would ultimately cripple his operations while simultaneously depriving the real American mafia of one of their main drug suppliers.

Led by Huang Chao Ran, the brother known as Rabbit, the Twelve Brothers monitored Black Canary and Wildcat during these dealings, attempting to determine if they were legitimate. Their attempts to force Canary and Wildcat to reveal their true identities failed, and culminated in a spar between Rabbit and Black Canary that was interrupted by a furious Mister Tan.

Mister Tan realized that he had been set up after agreeing to the terms Canary stipulated, and in an attempt to avoid being ruined he arranged for a real mob group to buy his drug shipment. The Twelve Brothers accompanied the shipment to protect it, and met Canary and a group of fighters in America. The two groups agreed to a duel.

Canary's team consisted of herself, Wildcat, Richard Dragon, Green Arrow II (Connor Hawke), Savant and Creote, and Huntress. Before the fight could end in one side's clear defeat, however, Canary signaled her team mate Lady Blackhawk to attack the drug shipment, destroying it. Canary then gave Rabbit an ultimatum: with the shipment destroyed he had already failed in his mission. The only way the brothers could be sure to walk away with their record of never losing intact was to call a draw. Rabbit agreed, and the groups parted ways.

Powers and abilities

Each of Twelve Brothers in Silk is considered almost Lady Shiva level in skill. Given that they fight as a group, this makes them one of the most feared forces in the criminal world.

They allow themselves no alcohol, women, or other "vices" except for fighting. They value honor highly, and Black Canary both exploited this and was careful to respect it - they would do anything to avoid "losing face", but to dishonor them would mean making a powerful enemy for life.

Although they fight side by side, their greatest weakness is supposedly that they don't really care about one another.