- Mercy is a sin.
- — Brother Blood src
Sebastian was the ninth individual to assume the name of Brother Blood. As demanded by eight generations of tradition, whoever holds such a title is recognized as the High Priest of the Church of Blood and an emissary to the demonic entity known as Trigon.
History
Due to a seven-hundred year old curse, an individual can only achieve the title of Brother Blood through an act of patricide. There is no formal observation of ascendance, and the child of the High Priest can murder his father and assume his rank at a time of his own choosing.
While still a teenager, Sebastian stabbed his father to death, after the latter's failed attempt to take over the Slab and abduct a million infants. He dumped Blood's body into the river and assumed the mantle of Brother Blood. By rite of ascendance, Sebastian took control of the Church of Blood commanding loyalty from legions of loyal followers.
Garbing himself in the vestments of his father, the new Brother Blood embarked upon a bold plan to solidify the mystical power of the Church of Blood. He instructed his cultists to seek out and abduct Raven, the half-human daughter of their lord, Trigon. The Church of Blood hunted Raven down and brought the weakened girl to one of their underground domains. Blood declared that Raven was to be his new sister-bride and consummated the pact by literally biting the Chakra gemstone off Raven's forehead and swallowing it. Through Raven, Blood intended to sire a child stronger than any that has ever arisen throughout the Church's history. Together, they were to cleanse the Earth of all non-believers and achieve total global control of the planet.
The dark and powerful side of Raven's soul, reacted adversely to her imprisonment. Her soul-self splintered and expanded outward across the San Francisco Bay area. For miles around, people began to fall into a hypnotic daze, endlessly chanting, "Raven belongs to Brother Blood". Raven's former allies the Teen Titans sought her out and located her at Blood's sanctuary.
Unlike his predecessors, Sebastian took an active role in the Church's ambitions. Not content to merely order his cultists to fight the Titans, Blood himself engaged in battle and began savagely attacking them. He latched onto Superboy and sank his teeth into the hero's arm, drinking some of his blood. Like a living vampire, Sebastian's strength increased with the infusion of blood and he became even more powerful. He managed to briefly overcome the Titans, but Robin (aided by Deathstroke and Ravager), managed to distract Brother Blood by driving a Batarang into his helmet. Blood grabbed Raven and escaped through the tunnels until he reached the surface.
Sebastian quickly conducted a ritual to finalize his marriage to Raven in accordance to centuries' worth of prophecy. With Raven firmly under his control, Blood used her soul-self to open a doorway to the eighth plane of Hell, releasing a horde of flying demons. The demons began slaughtering anyone (even cultists) who was not a true believer in the path of Blood.
The Titan known as Beast Boy transformed into an roundworm and entered Brother Blood's mouth. Directing himself towards his stomach, he recovered Raven's Chakra stone and forced Blood to regurgitate both the stone and himself. With Raven now under full control of her powers, she enveloped Brother Blood in her soul-self, transporting him to the eighth plane of Hell.
Even in Hell, Brother Blood struggled to find a way to return to Earth and reclaim his title. As luck would have it, the unfettered spirit of vengeance known as the Spectre widened the breach between the lands of the living and the lands of the dead. Brother Blood discovered the late mystic adventurer known as Kid Eternity and chained him to the gates of the afterlife. Taking control of Eternity's powers, he entered the gates and reappeared on Earth.
Brother Blood commanded massive hordes of demons, instructing them to wreak havoc across the Los Angeles area. Once again, the Teen Titans answered the call of duty and fought Sebastian's forces. Brother Blood summoned the animated corpses of several dead Titans including Omen, Phantasm, Kole, Hawk and Dove. He instructed them to go forth and slay the Teen Titans. While the demons razed the City of Angels, Brother Blood traveled to Titans Tower where he encountered Raven. He brutally attacked her, biting into her shoulder. Beast Boy intervened and saved Raven's life. Blood temporarily escaped.
Raven recognized that the only way to stop Blood's reign of terror was to seal the dimensional gateway to the afterlife. Beast Boy and she entered the dimensional plane and freed Kid Eternity from the gates of the afterlife. Grateful for their help, Eternity agreed to assist them in taking down Brother Blood.
They returned to Earth and squared off with Blood in the streets of Los Angeles. Kid Eternity used his ability to summon the dead to resurrect the bodies of all eight previous generations of Brother Blood. The Blood family descended upon Sebastian and destroyed him. With Sebastian dead, all of his effects ceased and his demon agents returned to Hell.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Magic: Sebastian was born into a family of blood. Under the tutelage of the Church of Blood he became a high priest and enacted a curse that required him to murder his father in order to gain his powers and rights as Brother Blood.
- Energy Absorption: Sebastian consumes life and strength by sucking the blood of his victims like a vampire.[1]
- Power Absorption: After biting and drinking the blood of a victim, Blood gains their abilities such as Superboy's strength or a demon's healing.[1]
- Immortality: While most of the Blood family is human in nature. After Sebastian's defeat he was sent to hell for eternal torment. Due to his interaction with Kid Eternity while in hell he managed to survive countless hellish years and aged into adulthood.
Abilities
- Charisma: Brother Blood was a charismatic leader that managed to curry the loyalty of hundreds of cultists despite his youth.
Notes
- The concept of Brother Blood was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. The current incarnation of Blood was created by writer Judd Winick and artist ChrisCross.
Trivia
- Sebastian is named after the Christian priest who was slain by the first High Priest of the Church of Blood in the 12th Century.
- Brother Blood's marriage to Raven is not legally recognized.
- Brother Blood once used Raven's Chakra to open the gates to Hell.
- Brother Blood inherited the prayer shawl once worn by his predecessors and incorporated it into his own raiment.
Related
- 18 Appearances of Sebastian Blood IX (New Earth)
- 5 Images featuring Sebastian Blood IX (New Earth)
- 2 Quotations by or about Sebastian Blood IX (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Sebastian Blood IX (New Earth)
Footnotes
Titans Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of the Teen Titans, the Titans, or any of the other various Titans incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans Villains" category. |