Blood Brothers (comics)

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character_name=The Blood Brothers
caption= The Blood Brothers in battle with "Iron Man" on the cover of "Iron Man" #55 (Feb. 1973). Art by Jim Starlin & Joe Sinnott.
alter_ego=
species=Roclite
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Iron Man"#55 (Feb. 1973)
creators=Jim Starlin
Mike Friedrich
alliances=
aliases=
powers=Superhuman strength and durability (increased when in proximity to one another)
Vampiric need to drain blood|

The Blood Brothers are fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in "Iron Man" #55 (Feb. 1973) and were created by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich.

Publication history

Following their debut, the Blood Brothers returned in a Starlin/Friedrich story in "Marvel Feature" #12 (Nov. 1973), again fighting the superhero Iron Man, here teamed with Fantastic Four member The Thing. The Blood Brothers continued as Iron Man antagonists in "Iron Man" #89-91 (Aug.-Oct. 1976), then disappeared from publication for several years before resurfacing to battle the titular superhero team in "The Avengers" #252-253 (Jan.-Feb. 1990). Following appearances in "Quasar" #12 (July 1990), and "X-Men" vol. 2, #107 (Dec. 2000), they temporarily switched alliances to aid Earth's superheroes against a common threat in the three-issue miniseries "Maximum Security" (Dec. 2000 - Jan. 2001; first two issues released same month). They were next seen as interplanetary prison-escapees on Earth in the four-issue miniseries "Drax the Destroyer" #1-4 (Nov. 2005 - Feb. 2006), where one Blood Brother died. They are unrelated to the high-tech motorcycle gang the "Blood Brothers", seen in "X-51" #10-12 (May-July 2000).

Fictional character biography

The Blood Brothers are large twin ape-like aliens originally in the service of the Titan Thanos, acting as the guardians of his first base on Earth. ["Iron Man" #55 (Feb. 1973)] Pursued by Drax the Destroyer, the duo battle the superheroes Iron Man and the Thing in a bid to stop them from interfering in Thanos' plans. When they fail to do so, Thanos teleports the Blood Brothers to an unrevealed location. ["Marvel Feature" #12 (Nov. 1973)]

They reappear years later in the service of the villain the Controller, and battle Iron Man once more. Iron Man defeats them both with the aid of the hero Daredevil. ["Iron Man" #89-90 (Aug.-Sept. 1976)] Sometime later, the United States military discovers Thanos' old Earth base in Arizona, and after activating some of the machinery accidentally teleport in the Blood Brothers. The two battle the Avengers and are eventually depowered by Thanos' brother, Eros. ["The Avengers" #252 (Jan. 1990)]

The Blood Brothers are imprisoned, but are later released by the hero Quasar and left on the planet Mars. ["Quasar" #12 (July 1990)] They later attempt to stop Rogue of the X-Men from rescuing a mutant extraterrestrial of the Skrull race. ["X-Men" #107 (Dec. 2000)] The brothers later fight alongside Earth's metahumans against an invasion by Ego the Living Planet, but are later imprisoned with alien criminals Paibok the Power Skrull and Lunatik. ["Maximum Security" (Dec. 2000 - Jan. 2001)] The pair eventually escape and crash-land on Earth. They help enslave a small Alaskan town in an attempt to craft a space-worthy ship. This fails, due to the intervention of Drax the Destroyer, where one brother is apparently killed. ["Drax the Destroyer" #1-4 (Nov. 2005 - Feb. 2006)] The brother, however survives, and both are seen escaping the Raft, a floating prison for supervillains. ["New Avengers" #1 (Nov. 2004)]

The pair later join the Hood and his criminal empire, ["New Avengers" #35 (Oct. 2007)] and help fight the alien shape-shifting race the Skrulls during the Skrull invasion of Earth. ["Secret Invasion" #6 (Sept. 2008)]

Powers and abilities

Each Blood Brother's tremendous strength and durability is dependent on his proximity to his twin. When standing together, the two have a high degree of superhuman strength, but if separated weaken to below even normal human levels. The Brothers also drain the blood of victims in the manner of a vampire, although it is unclear as to whether they totally rely on blood for sustenance.

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.comics.org Grand Comics Database]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/FRAMES00.HTM The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]

External links

* [http://marvel.com/universe/Blood_Brothers Marvel Universe: Blood Brothers] (third-party wiki)