SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains crucial details about the HBO Max exclusive DC TV show, Titans. Be sure to catch yourself up before reading up on the comic book-cannon backstory of the upcoming fourth season’s main antagonist.
Since its original debut on DC Universe before migrating to HBO Max for its third season, Titans has seen its titular crew of young, costumed vigilantes take on a dizzying assortment of iconic DC villains, such as Vincent Kartheiser as the Scarecrow or Seamus Dever as the live-action debut of Trigon. Speaking of said inter-dimensional demon, comic book aficionados should likely be able to recognize his connection to the hit DC TV show’s next big bad: Brother Blood.
If you've never heard of this DC villain before his involvement in Titans Season 4 was cryptically announced on the series’ official Twitter, but his ominous name has you curious what he is all about, read on. The following is a quick, convenient list of all the most essential facts to know about Brother Blood from the comics and beyond, starting with his occupation.
Brother Blood Is The Leader Of The Church Of Blood
Created by comic book writer Marv Wolfman and illustrator George Pérez, Brother Blood made his DC Comics debut in the 21st issue of New Teen Titans in the summer of 1982. The fact that his name sounds like a demented clergyman is no coincidence. The bearer of the title is recognized as the High Priest of the Church of Blood, which is a cult that worships the aforementioned Trigon, who served as the main antagonist for much of the second season of Titans in 2018.
According to DC lore, the Church of Blood has existed for centuries and was, somehow, able to maintain a deceptive reputation of being a well-meaning and non-violent international cult. They might have gotten away with it if it were not for those meddling kids in the Teen Titans exposing them for their reign of evil. As a result, Brother Blood would become one of the most dangerous recurring enemies of the team, including when the title was succeeded by another.
Two DC Comics Characters Own The Brother Blood Moniker, A Father And Son
As you might have been able to guess, Brother Blood is a name that has been passed down from generation to generation for as long as the Church of Blood has existed. However, only two characters have held the moniker in DC Comics’ main continuity - the first being Sebastian Blood VIII, who was actually the cult’s eighth high priest over all. His son, Sebastian Blood IX, became his successor when he was a teenager by the only means possible, thanks to a 700-year-old curse: patricide, which means to kill one’s own father.
An interesting fact about Blood IX is that he also happens to be the (not legally recognized) husband of Titans member Raven, who is also the biological daughter of Trigon. As of now, there is no confirmation of which iteration of Brother Blood former The Vampire Diaries cast member Joseph Morgan is set to play on Titans Season 4. However, if it is Sebastian Blood IX, that will certainly make things a lot more awkward.
Brother Blood Is Gifted With Magical Powers
Being the High Priest of a demonic cult sounds far from glamorous, but it does have its perks, apparently. Anyone who holds the Brother Blood title becomes endowed with supernatural abilities, such as superhuman strength and immortality - meaning they can still be killed but cannot age. Sebastian Blood VIII and his son, Sebastian Blood IX, both had these gifts during their respective tenure leading the Church of Blood, but also had a few powers unique to one another.
Blood VIII could project devastating energy blasts, but only with enough followers in the Church of Blood to keep his power alive. He also needed to perform a ritual to maintain his immortality on an annual basis, unlike his son, whose agelessness and ability to absorb the energy and power of his victims through drinking their blood was due to his supposed vampirism. One thing that the father and son also had in common, outside of supernatural ability, was a charismatic leadership that gave them an edge when recruiting new members into their cult.
Brother Blood Has Been Previously Featured In Live-Action And Animated DC Adaptations
When Joseph Morgan joins the Titans cast in Season 4 as Sebastian Blood, it will mark a pretty big moment for the history of the DC villain and his adversarial relationship with the Teen Titans, as the first time he and the heroic team has faced-off against each other in a live-action comic book adaptation. It will not, however, be the first time audiences got to see the Titans take on Brother Blood on television. The villain has crossed paths with them on the third season of the popular Teen Titans animated series, as well as its more humorous spin-off, Teen Titans GO!, and was played by prolific voice actor John DiMaggio both times.
Gregg Henry (also known for playing Peter Quill’s grandfather in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies) would take over the role in one of the better recent DC animated movies, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, in which Brother Blood serves as the main antagonist, but is seen leading an evil organization called H.I.V.E. instead of the Church of Blood.
Sebastian Blood would make his live-action debut on Arrow as a charismatic Starling City politician played by Lucifer cast member Kevin Alejandro, but he would inherit the Brother Blood title not from his father by means of patricide, but from a priest named Father Roger Trigon. Not to mention, the Teen Titans were absent from the occasion, but at least his arc also touched upon his rivalry with Slade “Deathstroke” Wilson (Manu Bennett).
If only the Titans iteration of Deathstroke, played by Esai Morales on Season 2, was still alive, we might have seen an epic battle emerge between him and Brother Blood in Season 4. Not to mention how, in the Season 2 premiere episode, we saw Rachel “Raven” Roth (Teagan Croft) kill her father, Trigon, who also happens to be the very demonic entity whom the high priest of the Church of Blood worships. Could this mean that Sebastian Blood’s goal in the upcoming season will be to resurrect his deity and ensure his supreme dominance over the universe once and for all? See for yourself by streaming the show whenever it returns to HBO Max.
