Church of Blood (DC)
The Church of Blood is an organization that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Church of Blood was a religious cult that was formed and led by Brother Blood. Their origins were traced as far back as 1301 A.D. when their Bible was first written establishing their Church which worshipped the Eighth Devil Trigon. (Teen Titans v3 #11) Though according to one account, its origins were traced to the small country of Zandia which in 1202 was pillaged by Christian knights during the Fourth Crusade. In that time, the people that inhabited the land were massacred until an unnamed priest arose who led the Zandians in fighting back against the Crusaders and driving them from the country. The man than had the blood of the slain Crusaders gathered and poured into a pit beneath his church where he claimed it would serve as a warning to their enemies. A year later, he came to bath in the blood which he began to claim had granted him strength and immortality where he began to take the name Brother Blood. He then established the Church of Blood where he himself became the source of worship by its members. With control of Zandia and the Church, Brother Blood came to attract thousands of followers to whom with many coming from outside the country as they sought the strongest of disciples. As a result, many of Zandia's own people died under Brother Blood's reign as his cult grew in power and he began to sire children. However, in his old age, he came to be slain by his own son who usurped him and became the new Brother Blood. This began a practice where the child of the reigning Brother Blood would kill their father and take their place only to be killed and succeeded by their own children. (New Teen Titans Annual v2 #2)
Under the direction of the newest Brother Blood, the Church of Blood captured the reborn Raven with the intention of making her the bride of their leader. (Teen Titans v3 #10)
Their efforts to cease control of the world came to be thwarted by the Teen Titans. (New Teen Titans v2 #31)
The cult was later involved in enacting their leaders plan dictated under Operation Mertamon that involved a million sleeper agents being deployed to abduct millions of children from maternity wards to be brought into the church. (Outsiders v3 #5)
Looking for James Macquarrie, the Secret Six had Black Alice infiltrate the cult but her questions attracted suspicion from its members leading to them apprehending. As a result, the team moved in where they defeated the Church of Blood only to find that Mr. Macquarrie had been sacrificed as per their rituals. (Secret Six v3 #19)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. It was said that the cult had traditionally served the Parliament of the Red and acted as its servants. (Titans v3 #34)
At some point, the Church of Blood was founded by Brother Blood who became aware of the existence of the Red where he sought to attain its power. (Animal Man v2 #23)
Afterwards, the Teen Titans under Damian Wayne were responsible for capturing Brother Blood thus breaking the Church of Blood who struggled without a leader. However, a group of the cult's female disciples had been away where they were performing experiments for their leader. One of their number named Sonya Tarinka had been dispatched to investigate Source energy that was released falling the break in the Source Wall. She was transformed from exposure into a super-powered being with a connection to the Red where she took the name of Mother Blood. She re-organised the Blood Cult under her control as she sought to bring about the rise of a new race of Haemo Sapiens that were united through the Red and would remake the world. To achieve that, she intended to harness Source energy from Unearth that was a new realm powered by imagination and use a tear into the Bleed in order to fully take-over the Red for their use. They came to be opposed by the Titans who were investigating Source energy eruptions around the world where Mother Blood intended to manipulate them so that she could gain access to Unearth for her plans. (Titans v3 #32)
Overview
The Church maintained their own Bible containing prophecies and lessons that led them in the worship of the demon Trigon. This included their own version of the Revelation that spoke of the Eighth Son of the Church marrying the demon’s daughter thus bringing about a reign of peace by slaughtering all the mortals of the world. (Teen Titans v3 #11) The Brother Blood was a central figure in the worship of the Church who was not seen as a mere man but rather a holy figure. (New Teen Titans Annual v2 #2) The cult had also traditionally been servants of the Parliament of the Red that was the primal matter of all organic life. (Titans v3 #34)
Members
- Brother Blood VIII :
- Brother Blood IX :
- Confessor :
- Anna Resik :
- May Bennett :
- Bethany Snow :
- Sonya Tarinka : a young girl who was persecuted by her family where she illegally immigrated to America for a better life only to be pursued by the authorities until she was taken in by the Church of Blood where she was part of a female harem that served its leader Brother Blood but eventually came to be transformed by Source energy into Mother Blood where she came to lead the cult. (Titans v3 #32)
Notes
- The Church of Blood was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez where they made their first appearance in New Teen Titans v1 #21 (July, 1982).
In other media
Films
- In Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, the cult of Brother Blood appeared in the setting of the 2017 animated film. It was led by Brother Blood who claimed that it was a church though the media argued that it was a glorified church which preached that superheroes were a danger to the world. Their leader espoused his believers to abandon secular thought and instead believe in him to become a god to protect them. He was secretly managing both the cult and the H.I.V.E. organization in order to build a machine to acquire superpowers. To achieve that goal, he hired the mercenary Deathstroke with capturing the Teen Titans so that he could acquire their abilities.
- In Arrow, the Church of Blood appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the Cult of Trigon appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game. It worshipped the demon Trigon and was led by Brother Blood with them being a supporting faction for the Villain side.
Appearances
- New Teen Titans v1: (1982)
- New Teen Titans Annual v2:
- Teen Titans v3:
- Outsiders v3:
- Secret Six v3:
- Animal Man v2:
- Titans v3:
External Links
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