main image

THE BROOD MUTANTS

Membership: Blindside, Brickbat, Dive-Bomber, Lockup, Spitball, Temptress, Tension, Whiphand

Purpose: The defeat and infection of the X-Men and the conquest of earth in the name of the Brood

Affiliations: Brood, Harry Palmer, Josey Thomas

Enemies: William Conover, X-Men (Colossus/Peter Rasputin, Dazzler/Alison Blaire, Havok/Alex Summers, Longshot, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Rogue/Anna Marie, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett)

Base of Operations: Denver, Colorado

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men#232 (August, 1988)

History:

(Uncanny X-Men#232) - After being infected with a Brood egg at a crash site in New Mexico, paramedic Harry Palmer infected his partner Josey Thomas, and began seeking out those emergency calls involving mutants, infecting them with Brood eggs to create a force of Brood capable of fighting the X-Men on an equal playing field. He infected Blindside, Brickbat, Dive-Bomber, Lockup, Temptress, Tension, and Whiphand. Robert Delgado, a prominent Denver attorney, suddenly manifested his latent mutant power to hurl super-heated balls of plasma from his mouth, setting his office aflame. The terrified man then suffers a heart attack, as police, fire and paramedics were called.

Paramedics Harry Palmer and Josey Thomas sped toward Dynasty Plaza, the site of Delgado's office. They arrived to find that the fire was out, but Delgado was on the floor, in serious need of medical attention. Claiming he couldn't stop himself from starting the fire and was didn't want to die. Harry told him he's not going to die, mentioning that he could in fact guarantee that he would live forever. Palmer's arm morphed into a Brood limb, entering Delgado's abdomen and implanting him with a Brood egg, saving his life (sort of, depending on how you view Brood infection), but transforming him into the Brood mutant Spitball. Later that night, the X-Men caught up to Palmer, and after a wild chase through the city, cornered him in an alley. Palmer's Nest, however, had been alerted, and sped to the scene, after infected Denver police officers Dale and Ruth failed to stop the X-Men, the Brood Mutants arrived. "We are all of us Brood here. And soon, old enemies, very soon, you will be too!"

(Uncanny X-Men#233) - The Brood Mutants surrounded the X-Men, and Spitball fired a blast at the startled heroes. The X-Men realized these Brood were mutants, as Palmer gloated how he picked them for that reason. Colossus struck Brickbat, who shrugged it off and knocked the giant Russian backwards. "By the by…the names Brickbat…'cause I hit like one!" As Storm tried to take to the sky, Tension grabbed her and handed her over to Temptress, who used her pheromones to try to control her mind, but Storm panicked and broke free, flying away with Dive-Bomber hot on her heels. Havok couldn't bring himself to kill Dive-Bomber, as Temptress brushed a tentacle against Rogue, overwhelming her psyche, and then used her pheromones to nab Psylocke, and the two then double-teamed Wolverine; Rogue/Temptress attacking his body and Betsy/Temptress attacking his mind. Elsewhere, Piotr and Brickbat crashed through cars and buildings, equally matched in strength. As Wolverine struggled with how to defeat Rogue and Betsy without hurting them, Lockup snuck up on him, using his powers to paralyze him, and Palmer implanted him with the egg of a Brood Warrior. Brickbat and Colossus continued to tear up downtown Denver, as Dive-Bomber, realizing he's not fast enough to catch Storm, attacked an airplane, ripping off its engines and forcing Storm to come to the rescue, after which he grabbed her from behind on the ground, and brought her to "Lord Harry" to be implanted with the egg of a Brood Queen. He didn't get far, however, as Havok, with no other alternative, struck him dead. Seconds later a building collapse claimed Brickbat, as he was impaled on a support beam. Palmer realized that the X-Men were willing to kill, and fled with the Brood Mutants to re-group, sending Rogue ahead with the unconscious Logan and Temptress. Havok remorsefully stood over Dive-Bomber's body as he changed back to human form, further compounding Alex's grief.

(Uncanny X-Men#234) - Spitball and Dazzler burst through the windows of the Mile High Diner, Dazzler managed to throw Robert off, but the diner's patrons, thinking her an evil mutant, grabbed her, only to have Spitball blast at them all. Whiphand's torturous neural whip arms snared Dazzler, as Blindside, the team teleporter, appeared. A human man rans in to "show that bug-eyed monster what human beings are made of!" To which Blindside wryly replied "I know what human beings are made of. It makes your species among the tastiest of delicacies." (I love that line!), Longshot arrived and rescued the man, only to be ensnared by Whiphand, who taunted him with impending death. Longshot started to smile, "I'm killing you, fool…or are you to stupid to notice!" Just then Colossus grabbed the Brood Mutant from behind, and snapped his neck. Blindside was incinerated by one of Storm's lightning bolts, and then Spitball decided to choose discretion over valor, and fled. As Rogue headed toward the site of the Glory Day Ministries sunrise service carrying Temptress and Wolverine, Logan awoke and slaughtered Temptress, causing Rogue to throw him to the earth with the force of a small meteor. Palmer, Spitball, Tension and Lockup fled in Ruth and Dale's police car, and Psylocke began to scream and thrash around because of Temptress' death, forcing Tension to hold her down. Spitball asked Palmer if he was wearing his seatbelt just as the car smashed into Colossus. Palmer ordered Spitball to kill the Russian, but his blasts just bounced off. Storm arrived, and Palmer ordered Psylocke to "fry her brains", but Temptress' pheremones had worn off. Palmer, Spitball, Tension and Lockup fled to the Glory Day site, as Rogue/Temptress guarded their backs, battling Storm. Dazzler shot Rogue down, finally expunging Temptress' consciousness from her psyche. Wolverine was also there, and he transformed, briefly, into a Brood Mutant as the Reverend William Conover tried to help him, but the Brood died when Logan's healing factor kicked in. Tension climbed up to the rigging holding the Mission's lights, and reached down to strange the Reverend "You mess with the Brood…you pay the price! You're dead pal!" Just then Havok fried him. As Havok wrestled with his actions, Spitball fired a sneak attack at him, but Longshot rescued Alex, and the blast hit a wall instead, which fell upon Spitball and Lockup, killing the last of the Brood Mutants. Palmer then grabbed the Reverends wife, Hannah, as a hostage, but was killed by Wolverine.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Dan Green (inks).

Due to his boasting to kill Dazzler and Longshot, most people consider Whiphand the cruelest of the Brood Mutants, but I disagree, both Blindside and Brickbat also taunted their intended victims with horrible deaths.

The Brood Mutants received a profile in the Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe: 1989 Character Updates. This is also where the main image comes from.

Profile by Darc_Light

CLARIFICATIONS:
Blindside should not be confused with:

Brickbat should not be confused with:

Lockup should not be confused with:

Spitball should not be confused with:

Temptress should not be confused with:

Tension should not be confused with:

Whiphand should not be confused with:

Blindside

  Blindside was killed by one of Storm's lightning bolts during the Brood Mutants' battle with the X-Men.

Note: Blindside possessed the mutant power of teleportation.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234











Brickbat

  Brickbat fought Colossus during the Brood Mutants' skirmish with the X-Men. He was slain when a building collapsed, and he was impaled upon a support beam.

Note: Brickbat possessed the mutant powers of superhuman durability and strength comparable to that of Colossus (class 70).

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234











Divebomber

  Dive-Bomber fought Storm in aerial combat during the Brood Mutants' battle with the X-Men, but was not as fast as she was, turned his attention to an airplane to bring her to him. He was blasted out of the sky and slain by Havok, his body reverting to its human form as he died.

Note: Dive-Bomber's mutant power was unclear as many Brood possess wings and natural flight. He did, however, possess an immunity to Storm's lightning, and had a smaller, rounded head than most Brood, for better aerodynamics.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233











Lockup

  Lockup assisted Harry Palmer in implanting Wolverine with a Brood egg by using his power to paralyze him. He was killed during a battle with the X-Men when Spitball accidentally brought down a wall which crushed him.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234





Spitball

  Spitball, Robert Delgado, was a lawyer in Denver before being infected with a Brood egg by Harry Palmer, who came to the scene of a fire Delgado had accidentally started when his power manifested. During a battle with the X-Men, Spitball was killed when he accidentally knocked over a wall with one of his blasts, which crushed him.

Note: Spitball possessed the mutant power to discharge super-heated balls of plasma from his mouth.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234














Temptress

  Temptress managed to inhabit the mind of Rogue by touching her, and also fought for control of Psylocke. She was killed by Wolverine, and with her death, Rogue and Psylocke gradually regained control.

Note: Temptress possessed the mutant power of pheremones which could control the minds of others.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234












Tension

  Tension was able to defeat Storm after which Temptress tried to possess Storm.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234












Whiphand

  Whiphand was a young-looking mutant who was transformed into a Brood by Harry Palmer. During the Brood Mutants' battle with the X-Men, his neck was snapped by Colossus.

Note: Whiphand possessed the mutant power to transform his arms into long bands of energy which painfully disrupted his victims' neuro-functions.

--Uncanny X-Men#232, 233, 234








Dale & Ruth

  Dale and Ruth were two Denver police officers who were infected with Brood eggs by Harry Palmer. Ruth was killed by Wolverine, whose senses informed him she was Brood. Dale was apparently killed during the X-Men's battle with the Brood Mutants. Subsequently, the Brood Mutants used Dale and Ruth's police car for transportation.

--Uncanny X-Men#232











images: (without ads)
Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe: 1989 Character Updates (main image)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p1, pan1 (in the alley)
Uncanny X-Men#234, p4, pan2 (Blindside)
Uncanny X-Men#234, p6, pan2/3 (Blindside death)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p3, pan3 (Brickbat)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p5, pan5 (Divebomber)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p22, pan2,3 (Divebomber death)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p8, pan4 (Lockup)
Uncanny X-Men#234, p14, pan2 (Spitfire)
Uncanny X-Men#234, p3, pan5 (Spitfire, breathing fire)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p4, pan5,6 (Temptress)
Uncanny X-Men#233, p4, pan4 (Tension)
Uncanny X-Men#234, p5, pan2 (Whiphand)
Uncanny X-Men#232, p21, pan1 (Dale & Ruth)

Appearances:
Uncanny X-Men#232 (August, 1988) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Ann Nocenti, Bob Harras, Daryl Edelman, Mark Gruenwald(editors)
Uncanny X-Men#233 (September, 1988) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Uncanny X-Men#234 (September, 1988) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc Silvestri (pencils), Josef Rubinstein (inks), Bob Harras (editor)

First Posted: 12/13/03
Last Updated: 03/16/18

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters