Brood (comics)

The Brood are a fictional race of insectoid, parasitic, extraterrestrial beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, especially Uncanny X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, they first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #155 (March 1982).^[2]

According to Dave Cockrum, the Brood were originally conceived to serve as generic subordinates for the main villain of The Uncanny X-Men #155: "We had Deathbird in this particular story and Chris [Claremont] had written into the plot 'miscellaneous alien henchmen.' So I had drawn Deathbird standing in this building under construction and I just drew the most horrible looking thing I could think of next to her."^[3]

The Brood are an alien race of insectoid beings. They are a specialized race, one that has evolved to reproduce and consume any available resource.^[4]

Despite their resemblance to insects, the Brood have endoskeletons as well as exoskeletons. Also unlike insects, they have fanged jaws instead of mandibles. Their skulls are triangular and flat, with a birthmark between their eyes. Their two front legs are tentacles they can use to manipulate objects.

Due to their natural body armor and fangs, the Brood are very dangerous in combat. In addition, they have stingers that can deliver either paralyzing or killing venom.

The Brood reproduce asexually and have no clear gender. They reproduce by forcibly implanting their eggs into other sentient organism. Each host can only support one egg. Upon hatching, the host dies as the Brood egg releases mutagenic enzymes into the bloodstream. At the same time, the Broodling mentally attacks and assimilates its host.^[5]

They use a hive mind to pass memory to their hosts, which also passes an individual's knowledge, given to a broodling, to the hive and back to the queen, meaning newborn brood know what any member of the race knows. Until the embryo gains the host's body the embryo can only gain temporary control of the host, often without the host noticing as the host is unaware when it loses control.

If the host possesses any powers, the resultant Brood will inherit them. The persona of the host once the Brood is "born" appears to be extinguished, but in some cases, the host's will may be strong enough to survive and coexist with the Brood's.^[6] However it is implied that hosts with advanced healing ability are unable to turn, for example when an egg was implanted in Deadpool, instead of turning into a Brood, a small Brood burst out of Deadpool's body.^[7]

Some roles in the civilization are flexible.

• The Empress is the ruler of the Brood and contains the species' hive mind. She exercises almost total control over her progeny, including determining which Brood become Queen and which remain Warrior-Prime. Only one Empress can exist at a time. Brood Empresses are larger than normal Brood and possess horns, whiskers, and telepathic abilities that give them a link with the entire Brood hive. The Brood Empress is served by the Firstborn, guards who help her kill renegade Brood.^[8][9]
• The Firstborn are the children and servants of the Empress. Because they are not born from hosts, they do not possess the Warrior-Primes' ability to conceal their appearance by shifting into their host's form. The Firstborn are larger than common Brood Warriors-Prime and possess spiked armor plating and the ability to teleport short distances. However, they lack the wings and tentacles of the Broodlings.
• The Brood Queens fulfill the mental command of the Empress and can communicate with their spawn via telepathy. The Queen's tail functions as a venom-filled stinger rather than an ovipositor. There are two type of Brood Queens, the small Dwarf Brood Queen, are Queens that due to their size and strength are raised among the bottom level of the Brood, and the slightly larger Brood Queens. The Queens lead individual colonies, which usually encompass entire planets.^[8]
• The Broodlings are Brood workers and warriors who are organized into several different roles, among them Weaponeers, Clan-Masters, Hunt-Masters, Huntsmen, Tech Handlers, and Scholars. Each Brood has six limbs; two tentacles that function as forearms and two rear sets of jointed limbs. Elite Broodlings are known as Warriors-Prime. The Warrior-Prime retains the genetic memory of its host, enabling it to access the host's abilities and assume their appearance.
• The Brood King is a mutant Brood created by infecting a host with a King Brood egg. Unlike those infected with Queen's or Drone's eggs, the Brood King cannot infect others and maintains much of its original personality.^[10] It is later revealed that the King-type egg was created by the Kree, who created a device to control the Brood with.^[11][12] Broo, a Brood drone who developed sentience, later eats the device, temporarily giving him the ability to command other Brood.^[11]

The Brood, like most alien species, possess advanced technology. These include:

• Interstellar warships: despite using the Acanti, the Brood also use actual ships, however with a mixture of organic and inorganic material.^[6]
• Energy-based weapons^[6]
• Psi-scream weapons: gun-like devices that attacks the minds of targets with subconscious fears and hatreds.^[13]
• Inhibitor fields that block telepathy.^[13]
• Nanotechnology^[14]
• Teleportation^[14]

The Brood originate from a dark galaxy prior to the emergence of Galactus from his incubator. Their planet of origin is unknown, but it is rumored that the Brood originated from another dimension. They were eventually found and captured by the Kree empire, along with other hive species, so they can be weaponized and used against rival empires. The Supreme Intelligence approves of the idea, though he states that it will take millions of years to amass a large enough Brood army.^[11]

In the next eight million years of experimentation, the Black Judges deem the Brood a major success and unleashed them on the Shi'ar galaxy, where the Brood found certain large space-dwelling creatures that they decided to prey on to use as living starships. These creatures included the whale-like Acanti and the shark-like Starsharks.^[15]

Mar-Vell, a captain in the Kree army, is ordered to make contact with the stranded Grand Admiral Devros on a planet in the Absolom Sector, a region known to be infested with Brood. Mar-Vell's team, which includes the medic Una and Colonel Yon-Rogg, is ambushed by Brood after landing on the planet and are taken prisoner by the Brood-infected Devros. The colony's Brood Queen impregnates each captive with Brood embryos, but Mar-Vell and Una manage to escape, destroy both leaders of the Brood colony, and rid themselves of their infections using Una's modified omni-wave projector. After rescuing Yon-Rogg, the trio escape the planet and are rescued by the Shi'ar royal Deathbird.^[16]

Deathbird later allies with the Brood to gain their help deposing her sister Lilandra Neramani as ruler of their empire.^[13] As a reward for their help, Deathbird gives the Brood Lilandra, the X-Men, and Carol Danvers, along with Fang of the Imperial Guard, to use as hosts. The Brood infect the entire party except for Danvers, who is subjected to experiments due to her status as a human-Kree hybrid. Wolverine's healing factor purges him of the Brood embryo, and he helps the others escape. He is unable to save Fang, who becomes a Brood warrior before they leave.^[6]

After returning to Earth with the Starjammers, the X-Men defeat and detain the Brood Queen infecting Charles Xavier. The advanced medical facilities at the Starjammers' disposal are able to transfer the consciousness of Xavier from the Brood Queen's body to a new cloned body, enabling Xavier to walk again.^[13][6]

Civilian Hannah Connover, previously infected with a Queen, soon begins to demonstrate attributes of Brood.^[17] She uses her new-found "healing" powers to become a faith healer and cure many people with her reverend husband. However, she secretly infects many people with embryos. Across the Galaxy, on the "true" Brood Homeworld, the Brood Empress sends her "firstborn" Imperial Assassins to kill Connover for going against the Empress' wishes. Unable to stop future waves of Assassins from coming, the X-Man, Iceman, freezes Connover, putting her in suspended animation and causing the current firstborn to kill themselves.

In Contest of Champions II, the Brood and the Badoon abduct several heroes and pose as a benevolent species willing to give the heroes access to advanced technology after competing against each other in a series of contests. However, in reality, the Brood intend to use Rogue, infested with a Brood Queen, to absorb the powers of the contest winners and become unstoppable. Fortunately, Iron Man realizes that the Brood are drugging food to amplify aggression- relying on his armor's own life-support systems to prevent him succumbing to the 'infection'- and is able to uncover the plot.^[13] The Brood Queen is extracted from Rogue with the aid of Carol Danvers, who forces the Brood Queen to flee by threatening to kill Rogue.^[14]

At some point in the dawn of civilization during the year 2610 BC, a spaceship filled with Brood crash landed in Egypt, marking the end of the second great dynasty. Imhotep and a group of soldiers, among them En Sabah Nur, fended off the invasion, with Imhotep killing the Queen.^[18]

The Brood return to Earth in the Ms. Marvel series and battle Carol Danvers, who as Binary played a key role in their earlier defeat. Strangely enough, none of the Brood present recognize who she is, possibly because of her inability to fully access her cosmic powers, which also changed her physical appearance. The Brood are also stalked and summarily exterminated by the alien hunter called Cru, with whom Ms. Marvel also came into violent contact.^[19]

During the invasion of Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave, the Brood were decimated, and the species is now on the brink of extinction.^[20]

Some Brood appear in the arena of Sakaar in the Planet Hulk storyline of The Incredible Hulk, one of them even becoming a main character. A Brood referred to as "No-Name", who becomes a genetic queen because their race is becoming rarer, becomes the lover of insect king Miek and also appears in World War Hulk.^[21] When it is discovered that Miek was the one who let the Hulk's shuttle explode, No-Name and Hulk attack Miek.^[22] Near the end of the War the "Earth Hive", the shared consciousness of every insect on Earth, use Humbug as a Trojan Horse to deal a crippling blow to No-Name, rendering her infertile and poisoning the last generation of hivelings, growing in Humbug's body. No-Name is a rarity among the Brood, as she learned to feel compassion for other living beings.^[23]

The decimation of the Brood causes the interstellar ecosystem to destabilize, since the Brood, dangerous as they are, served as predators for even worse species. These remaining species are now breeding out of control and present a greater threat than the Brood ever did. With no other choice, the X-Men act to prevent the Brood's extinction. According to Bishop, there would be a race of benevolent Brood in the future, prompting the X-Men to willingly serve as Brood hosts, so that they could instill them with the same compassion felt by No-Name. After being connected with the hive-mind, the X-Men learned of a nearby Brood who was born with the ability to feel compassion, making him the Brood equivalent of a mutant. While such Brood are typically destroyed upon hatching by their kind, this one is permitted to live due to the Brood's dwindling numbers.^[24] After rescuing the Brood mutant, the X-Men have their Brood embryos removed to be raised aboard the Peak, with the Brood mutant acting as their mentor.^[25]

The 2012 X-Men subseries Wolverine and the X-Men featured a Broodling as a student at Wolverine's Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Nicknamed "Broo" by Oya, the Broodling is a mutant who possesses heightened intelligence and is non-violent. In a possible future timeline seen by Deathlok, Broo joins the X-Men.^[26]

During the Infinity storyline, a Brood Queen appears as a member of the Galactic Council, representing the Brood race.^[9] The Queen makes a deal with J'son, the former emperor of the Spartoi empire, to have J'son surrender his home planet of Spartax to the Brood in exchange for acquiring one planet for every ten worlds they conquered.^[4]

Dario Agger and the Roxxon Energy Corporation send a group of Brood-infected wolves to track down Weapon H. When Weapon H kills the attackers, Agger sends a group of Brood-infected drones, Space Sharks, and a Brood-infected human riding an Acanti to attack him. After the Brood Drones and Brood-Space Sharks are killed and the Acanti is knocked out, Weapon H tells the Brood-infected human to carry a message to Roxxon to leave him alone.^[27]

The following characters are either Brood or were turned into Brood:

• Assassin^[28] – A Brood who was spawned from an Assassin's Guild member.
• Blake^[27] – A servant of Roxxon Energy Corporation who was infected by the Brood parasite to help apprehend Weapon H.^{[27][29][30][31]}
• Blindside^[32] – A Brood mutant who can teleport. He was killed by Storm.
• Brickbat^[32] – A Brood mutant with super-strength. He was killed when Havok collapsed a building, causing a support beam to impale him.
• Broo^[24] – A Brood born a mutant when held in the Pandora's Box Space Station.
• Broodskrulls^[33] – A group of Brood and Skrull hybrids.
• Buchanan Mitty^[34] – Former entomologist turned Brood.^[35]
• Deadpal^[7] – A small Brood born from Deadpool's body after a failed transformation.
• Devros^[16] – A former Kree turned Brood.
• Dive-Bomber^[32] – A Brood mutant who can fly with the wings on its back. He was killed by Havok.
• Dzilòs^[6] – A Brood killed by Wolverine.
• Empress Brood^[36] –
• Fang^[37] – An Imperial Guard turned Brood.^[16]
• Haeg'Rill^[13] – One of the Brood who allied with Deathbird.
• Hannah Conover^[38] – A Brood Queen who is married to William Conover.
• Harry Palmer^[32] – A human paramedic-turned-Brood who is the leader of the Brood mutants. He was killed by Wolverine.
• Josey Thomas^[32] – A human paramedic-turned-Brood who is Harry Palmer's partner in the Brood mutants. She is later killed by the Empress Brood.
• Kam'N'Ehar^[13] – One of the Brood who allied with Deathbird.
• Karl Lykos Brood clone^[39] – A clone with mixture from both Sauron and Brood DNA, created by Kaga to join his army to annihilate the X-Men.
• Khasekhemwy Khasekhemui^[40] – A Pharaoh and ruler of Egypt during the Second Dynasty who was infected by the Brood. He and the Brood with him were killed by a coalition led by Imhotep.
• Krakoa Brood clone^[41] – A clone with a mixture from both Krakoa and Brood DNA, created by Kaga to join his army to annihilate the X-Men.
• Lockup^[32] – A Brood mutant with a paralyzing touch. He was killed when Havok collapsed a stage on him and Spitball.
• Nassis^[42] – A former Shi'ar student turned Brood.
• No-Name^[43] – A Brood Queen who is a member of the Warbound.
• Queen of the Brood^[44] – An unnamed Brood Queen who is a member of the Galactic Council.
• Skur'kll^[13] – One of the Brood who allied with Deathbird.
• Spitball^[32] – Robert Delgado is a lawyer from Denver whose mutant powers allow him to spit plasma. He was among the mutants who were turned into Brood by Harry Palmer. During the fight with the X-Men, Spitball is killed when Havok collapsed a stage on him and Lockup.
• T'Crilēē^[6] – A hunt-master which contacted a Shi'ar vessel.
• Temptress^[32] – A Brood mutant with pheromones that enable her to enslave anyone to her control. Temptress was killed by Wolverine.
• Tension^[32] – A Brood mutant who can extend his arms to constrict anyone. After attacking Reverend William Conover, Tension was killed by Havok.
• Tuurgid^[45] – A former Frost Giant turned Brood.^[46]
• Whiphand^[32] – A Brood mutant who can transform his arms into long bands of energy that can disrupt the neuro-functions of anyone. He was killed by Colossus who snapped his neck.
• Xzax^[47] – A Brood mercenary who is a member of Dracula's New Frightful Four. He was killed when Deadpool slammed him into a moving truck.
• Zen-Pram^[16] – A former Kree turned Brood.

An alternate universe version of the Brood appears in Age of Apocalypse. Without the X-Men to aid them, part of the Shi'ar Imperium was consumed by the Brood, who infected its populace with Brood implants, including the still-captive Christopher Summers. Escaping to Earth, Summers fought to control his Brood implant, but was captured by Mister Sinister. Summers is killed by his son Scott, who cremates his body.^[48]

The Brood, amalgamated with DC Comics character Brother Blood, appear in the Amalgam Comics one-shot The Exciting X-Patrol.^[49]

Benign factions of the Brood are established to exist in the future timeline that Bishop originates from. It is speculated that these "good" Brood originated from Hannah Connover.^[17]

The Brood make a minor appearance in JLA/Avengers, where they attack Mongul as the DC and Marvel universes come together.^[50]

In WildC.A.T.s/X-Men: The Silver Age, Mister Sinister creates alien hybrids of the Brood and Daemonites.^[51]

An alternate universe version of the Brood appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. This version of the species originates from the mindscape, where the Shadow King dwells.^[52]

In X-Men: The End, taking place in a possible future, the Brood hatch a plan with Lilandra (possessed by Cassandra Nova). Nova plans to solidify her rule over Shi'ar space by smuggling an other-dimensional pure-Brood queen from an alternate universe. This realm is one where the X-Men failed to ever fight the Brood, they are described as 'pure'. This Brood Queen is implanted in Lilandra's sister, Deathbird.^[53][54][55]

In the comic book series of X-Men '92, which is set in the X-Men animated series' universe, a cadre of Mutant Brood called X-Brood (composed of Hardside, Fastskin, Phader, Sharpwing and Openmind) were tracked down by the Shi'ar, until they were saved by the X-Men.^[56]

In Marvel Zombies: Resurrection, the infection that has transformed most of Earth's heroes into zombie-like beings is revealed to be the result of a Brood infesting Galactus, which allowed the Brood to achieve a new state of being and expand their resources even further.^[57]

In the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" comic, the Brood were responsible for infecting the Imperial Guard who were allied with Hyperion.^[58]

• A heavily altered version of the Brood called the Colony appears in X-Men: The Animated Series. These versions are reptilian and possess metallic armor. The actual Brood make a cameo appearance in the episode "Mojovision".
• The Brood make a cameo appearance in the Avengers Assemble episode "Mojoworld".
• A Brood makes a cameo appearance in the M.O.D.O.K. episode "Beware What from Portal Comes!".

• A Brood Queen appears as a boss in X-Men (1994).
• The Brood appear in X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse.
• A species based on the Brood called the Cerci appear in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. They are genetically engineered, insectoid creatures with animal-like intelligence.
• The Brood appear in Marvel Heroes.
• Brood appears as a card in Marvel Snap.

• One of the Marvel Milestone statues features Marc Silvestri's Brood-infected Wolverine cover for Uncanny X-Men #234.
• Brood Queen is one of the "build a figure" toys in the Marvel Legends series.
• Broodling toys have been produced by Toy Biz (winged, for their X-Men line) and Marvel Select Toys (unwinged and based on Fang's transformation, in a two pack with a Skrull warrior).

• The Brood at Marvel.com
• The Brood at UncannyXmen.net
• Brood on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki
• Brood at Comic Vine
• Brood at Comic Book DB