Hounds (Marvel)
The Hounds are an organization that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
The Hounds were human Mutants that came to be abducted and brainwashed to serve in anti-Mutant hunting operations. (New Mutants Annual v1 #6) The United States Government operated the Hound Program that genetically modified Mutants to become hunters of their own kind. One Mutant was taken to be a product of the program where he was genetically altered with new abilities with this specimen being known as the Hound. All of this was done so under a government cover-up that operated through research conducted seemingly under the Department of Agriculture that claimed they were funding research in preventative measures against transmittable bovine diseases. (X-Factor v1 #123)
Graydon Creed sought an update on the Hound Program and began to have his doubts over the project after Mystique was in possession of information that was damaging to him along with his associates. (X-Factor v1 #123)
Bowser had Stone dispatched with the goal of recovering Sabretooth with the Hound finding Creed attempting to kill the Mutant child Trevor Chase. Stone gave Creed the choice of either willingly coming into the program or being hunted by them with Sabretooth reluctantly agreeing. (X-Factor v1 #137)
The Shadow King came to create his own version of Hounds that were normal human beings who psychically had erased any human instinct. He came to extend all their animal instincts, canceling any restraint or hesitation, nor moral boundaries, leaving them with the sole desire to obey and carry out their master's every wish. The Shadow King first released his Hounds to attack the young Ororo while he was robbing the mansion of a wealthy couple who were among the mutated members of the Hounds. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #265)
Overview
In appearance, Hounds were Mutants that were bred in captivity to hunt other members of their kind. They were originally designed to be presented as a subspecies with dehumanizing affectations. As a result, they were intended to generate both fear and sympathy in their intended targets. (Power of X v1 #1)
One specimen known as the Hound were products of genetic experimentation altering its makeup to make it a weapon and given the power to nullify a Mutant's powers. This subject was a Mutant that was programmed to not stop till it killed other Mutants. (X-Factor v1 #123)
According to one account, the Hounds were not killers but instead tasked with locating Mutants who were put on a leash and trained as part of the program. (X-Factor v1 #138)
The original generation of Hounds came to be abandoned as their broken and dependent nature meant that they were ultimately ineffective hunters. In time, more modified versions were created such as those bred in SalCen Khennil that were formed with unreadable 'black brains' that were conditioned for insurgence as well as duplicity. (Power of X v1 #1)
Some Hounds were shown to be accompanied by swarms of Scout droids that helped track down quarry for the Hound. In case of heavy resistance, a Hound could receive aid from Sentinels that were dispatched to help capture or eliminate a quarry. (New Mutants Annual v1 #6)
Members
- Bowser :
- Stone : a male Mutant operative who had rock-hard skin and was dispatched to bring Sabretooth back into the program along with recovering the Mutant child Trevor Chase. (X-Factor v1 #137)
- Rachel Summers :
- Maxine :
- Manon :
Notes
- The Hounds were created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and John Romita, Jr. Where they made their first appearance in Uncanny X-Men v1 #141 (January, 1981).
Alternate Versions
- In Uncanny X-Men v1 #141 (1981), an alternate version of the Hounds appeared in the Days of Future's Past reality that was designated as Earth-811 in the Multiverse. This was a possible alternate future where the Sentinels came to take control of the world. This timeline saw the Hounds operate as agents of the Sentinels with them being Mutants driven feral to hunt their own kind. The cyborg Ahab operated as the Houndmaster who was in charge of controlling them.
- In Powers of X v1 #1 (2019), an alternate version of the Hounds appeared in the reality designated as Moira's Sixth Life in the Multiverse.
- In Powers of X v1 #1 (2019), an alternate version of the Hounds appeared in the reality designated as Moira's Ninth Life in the Multiverse. Hounds were bred in captivity in the SalCen Khennil camp to hunt down other mutants. The first few generations were designed to have a dehumanized appearance meant to invoke fear in their targets, which also made them ineffective. Later generations however were known as 'black brains' and instead of a brute force were designed to infiltrate and then betray their own kind. At first, these mutants looked different from each other and displayed different powers, but after being revealed as a black brain telepath, they shed their external skin and gained a uniform appearance of a humanoid female with an exposed black brain, which made them immune to telepathic probing. While these Hounds were extremely effective, the majority of them betrayed the Man-Machine Supremacy and defected to fight for the side of the mutants instead.
In other media
Television
- In X-Men, the Hounds appeared in the animated television series in the episode "The Fifth Horsemen" where they were actually shown as being servants of Apocalypse. Each wore a red uniform and were led by Caliban who was the only named member of the group. They were described as being faithful servants of Apocalypse that were gathered and led by Fabian Cortez after he was saved by En Sabah Nur. Under Cortez, they went and discovered an old Lazarus temple established by Apocalypse in a Mayan temple in South America to serve as a failsafe for his return. By this point, Apocalypse's body was lost but his spirit still remained and desired a vessel to possess so that he could return to the corporeal world. The Hounds were tasked with recovering a vessel but the sacrifice managed to escape. At the time, Jubilee and Beast were exploring the region with the former being captured to serve as the vessel. However, Caliban rebelled against Cortez and freed Jubilee with Beast's aid with the resultant skirmish causing the temple to collapse. In the chaos, the Hounds fled whilst a de-powered Caliban was taken to safety by the two X-Men.
- In The Gifted, the Hounds made an appearance in the live-action television series where they fist appeared in the episode "boXed". The Mutant Underground when examining some records from Sentinel Services encountered a file detailing a new initiative known as the Hound Program. It was shown that a number of Mutants were captured and used as Hounds by Sentinel Services with them being brainwashed to use their abilities against other Mutants. A special tattoo was shown to be stamped on the body of these Mutants.
Appearances
- New Mutants Annual v1: (1981)
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- X-Factor v1:
- Excalibur v1:
- Cable v1:
- Extermination v1:
- X-Force v5:
- Power of X v1:
External Links
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