BROTHERHOOD
Membership: Hoffman (Leader), Marshal (former), Mike Asher, Bryson Bale, Bela, Clive, Chela, Fagin, Fiona, Marabeth, Ms. Fingers, Orwell, Oswald, Malon Reeves, Jane Smythe (former), Trois, Various unnamed
Purpose: Mutant terrorism
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Marshal, Malcolm Reeves, Dr. Perot, X-Force, The governments of the world, Traitors to the cause
Base of Operations: Former cells in London, Colombia, Tokyo, North America and Brazil; Various other locations
First Appearance: The Brotherhood#1 (January, 2001)
History: BTS- Hoffman and Marshal met each other early in life, and immediately started a healthy rivalry, which just continued to escalate. At some point, they started up the militant terrorist group, The Brotherhood, along with Orwell. After Marshal left due to Hoffman getting a little power-hungry, Marshal became a government agent set on taking down Hoffman.
(The Brotherhood#1)- In Russia, the young mutant Oswald blew up a dance club, while Hoffman watched on. Fagin, on orders from Hoffman, befriended Mike Asher at his High School in Brooklyn. After a couple misadventures, they came upon a mutant being beaten by an angry mob. Fagin jumped in to help, but was quickly overpowered by the mob. Hoffman then showed up with Oswald, who cleared the crowd.
(The Brotherhood#2)- In Bogota, Colombia, government agents cracked down on the local Brotherhood Cell's headquarters. All they found there was a terrified girl-- a terrified girl who blew the whole place up. Hoffman, Orwell and Fagin discussed Mike Asher's future in the Brotherhood, as they watched over his house. Meanwhile, Asher cut himself punching his computer monitor. His school life wasn't much of an improvement, and the EVIL goth kids clued him in on their plans to shoot up the school. Scaring even them, he decided to end it by committing suicide. Fagin slapped the knife away from Asher and told him what being a mutant was really about... Power. An explosion then ripped through Barksdale Airforce Base, where the sole surviving soldier from the Colombian assault was being held.
(The Brotherhood#3)- In a nightclub in lower Manhattan, Fagin introduced Mike Asher to a fellow Brotherhood member, Marabeth. Meanwhile, Orwell and Hoffman dealt with a traitor to the cause. At Asher's school, the government was holding tests for the X gene, using HIV tests as a coverup. Of course, this was the day that the EVIL goths decided to shoot up the school. Asher, after outing himself as a mutant to the whole school, decided to try to stop them, but Marabeth and Fagin beat him to it. Under Hoffman's guidance, Asher ignited his blood by the testing truck, and blew it up.
(The Brotherhood#4)- Bryson Bale's London Cell attempted to kidnap Malon Reeves, daughter of media mogul Malcolm Reeves. Malon somehow escaped her mansion and drove away in her sportscar. Clive flew after her and tried to catch her, but she ended up running him over. Orwell watched on as Bela drained the last bit of Clive's life away. Malon decided the safest place for her to go was a night club... The London Cell showed up a short time later, and tore through the clubbers. The cornered Malon fought back, burning Bela's hand and destroying Fiona's zombie things. Bryson had better luck just smacking her upside the head. Later, Orwell returned to America, where Hoffman told Fagin and Asher that they were going to get a look inside the Brotherhood, as they were joining the London Cell.
(The Brotherhood#5)- Back at their headquarters, Bela of the London Cell tortured Malon, until Bryson stepped up to protect her. Some time later at Malon's estate, Marshal found Bela snooping around and introduced him to his fist. Fiona watched on, but was quickly caught as well. Bryson took Malon to her uncle Peri's clinic, which ended up being a mutant abortion clinic, where testing was done on the unborn mutant fetii. Malon, pissed that her family would be behind something like this, blew the place up.
(The Brotherhood#6)- Bryson and Malon started attacking her father's assets, and sent him a tape of some of their best work. Back in London, Asher started having second thoughts, but Fagin reminded him it was all about the "cause". Bela's torture was continued by Marshal, and he finally cracked. While Bryson and Malon started to get a little freaky, a military strike against the London Cell, brought about by Malcolm Reeves began. The London Cellers escaped via the sewer system, and Bryson offered Fagin and Asher a way out. They both accepted. Malon confronted her father, and told him it was time he outted himself to the world as a mutant. Malcolm's powers flared up and he tried to attack Malon. Bryson jumped in to save her, and they ended up tumbling out the window in a big ball of flamey pain. Malon didn't even have time to grieve, as Marshal, who was watching from the shadows, told her that she could avenge Bryson. All she had to do was help him get Hoffman. Hoffman and Orwell, shocked by the news of the fall of the London Cell decided... it's time!
(The Brotherhood#7)- In Philadelphia, Hoffman held a Brotherhood rally, then decided to whip the crowd into an anti-police frenzy. Afterwards, he decided to hit up a bar and attempted to hit up a barfly, however Orwell showed up and crashed his party. The bartender, noticing who they were, told them to get out. This suggestion was met with an energy beam from Hoffman, who later blew the place up. Meanwhile, Fagin, Malon and Asher were stuck in a jail, under Marshal's supervision. One by one, he talked them into selling out Hoffman for their freedom.
(The Brotherhood#8)- Returning to Hoffman, Fagin, Malon and Asher were given a mission to take care of a traitor to the Brotherhood. Marshal later gave them a stand-in body to leave at the scene. The group were startled to find that the person they were looking for was actually a woman, Jane Smythe. They were also startled that she could turn into a man, Dick Smythe. Having little problem dealing with Jane/Dick Smythe in the end, they freaked out, before contacting Marshal again. With the help of a pocketknife, Mike Asher's explosive blood, and a gas stove, the situation was fixed and Hoffman wound up with Jane Smythe's hand on his desk. Seeing that the mission was completed, Hoffman announced their next target... X-Force's Doop!
(The Brotherhood#9)- At the X-Force parade, tensions started to rise between Fagin and Asher. Meanwhile, Marshal looked over the ragtag crew of Brotherhoodies that Hoffman had gathered for this event. While Asher, Malon and Fagin considered ways out of this situation, they were stuck in the battle between X-Force and the other Brotherhood members while Marshal confronted Hoffman. Hoffman had a trick up his sleeve however, as Ms. Fingers caught Marshal from behind. Fagin and Malon decided their best bet was to fight their way out of this situation, but Vivisector quickly gutted Fagin and the Orphan knocked Malon into the Spike, impaling her. Asher tried to talk some sense into Doop, but U-Go Girl teleported him him into the air and he smashed into a parked car. Just as he was getting overconfident, Hoffman's best friend, Orwell, smashed a brick over Ms. Finger's head, showing the London Cell weren't the Brotherhood's only traitors. Marshal announced his plan to take over the Brotherhood, and Hoffman let out a massive energy blast, frying Orwell by accident. While Marshal and Hoffman came to blows, Asher, who was watching on the whole time, noticed his explosive blood dripping towards them. Looking over the remains, U-Go Girl wondered aloud if this was the end of a revolution...
COMMENTS: Created by X and Essad Ribic.
What a failed, failed, failed series... If you have the chance to pick all the books up for like negative five dollars, don't do it. Really.
There was much speculation who writer X was
when the book first started, but it showed to be pretty smart
that he/she didn't reveal his/her secret.
According to Prime
Eternal: The popular theory was
Devin Grayson.
You may have noticed the above has shown up in all of the individual Brotherhood profiles in some form or another. Well, I would like to say that I'm a huge fan of Grayson's work on Nightwing, and, in my eyes, all signs point to Writer X being Howard Mackie. "Mysterious" characters, plotlines leading nowhere, "cool" scenes that add nothing to the actual story... Hmm... Maybe it was Mark Millar. Hey, I just noticed this series used the names Malon (which is like Malan) and Fiona, which were character names during Robert Weinberg's Cable. Brrr. --Prime Ed-ternal
Did Writer X have a thing for cutting off hands or what?
The codenames of Trois and Chela were revealed in the Brotherhood entry in OHotMU A-Z Hardcover#2.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Brotherhood should not be confused with:
The X-Force who brought down the Brotherhood, now known as X-Statix, should not be confused with:
Jane Smythe should not be confused with:
Cap'n Happy has no known connection to:
Claws has no known connection to:
Scaly Man has no known connection to:
Trioccula has no known connection to:
Chela was at the X-Force parade, only to meet an ugly doom. He was killed when X-Force member Phat choked him with excess skin from his hand. -Brotherhood#9
Marabeth met with Fagin in a club in Brooklyn, and confronted him there about his drug use. Fagin introduced her to new Brotherhood recruit Mike Asher, who she later bedded. The next day at his school, she stopped the EVIL goth kids from blowing it up through lethal means, killing them all herself. After Asher dealt with his problems, she walked off with him, Fagin, and Hoffman... Never to be seen again. Marabeth believed strongly in the Brotherhood's cause, and and in its propaganda. -Brotherhood#3
Ms. Fingers was a squidlike mutant with the ability to teleport or become transparent. She caught Marshal by surprise in his final battle with Hoffman, as one of the last Brotherhood members loyal to Hoffman, but she was decked with a brick by Orwell. -Brotherhood#9
Smythe, Jane/Dick was able to transform into a hulking green man when in danger. Other than being really strong, it didn't help much, as Asher, Fagin and Malon had no problem taking care of him/her, with some assistance from Marshal, and delivered her hand to Hoffman. According to Hoffman, Jane apparently sold out the Brotherhood, but to who was never revealed, though Marshal said it wasn't one of his people. -Brotherhood#8
Trois was also at the X-Force parade. She seemingly could shoot energy beams from her eyes. -Brotherhood#9
An unnamed Colombian mutant who was left behind in the Bogota Brotherhood headquarters for when the military attacked it. She could cause explosions just by thinking about it, and possibly blew up Barksdale Airforce Base from very long range. -Brotherhood#2
--Explosa?
This unnamed mutant who listens to too much Phish gave Hoffman a pep talk before the press conference in Philadelphia. His powers, if any, were unrevealed. -Brotherhood#7
--Phishy McPhish?
"Spud" was another of the Unnamed Brotherhood Squad who were slaughtered at the X-Force parade. He had boney protrusions from his back, but looked kind of like some sort of half-potato, half-man otherwise. -Brotherhood#9
"Scaly man" was yet another member of the Unnamed Brotherhood Squad who were slaughtered by X-Force at the parade. Beyond having scales, his powers are not known. -Brotherhood#9
"Cap'n happy" (I'm running out of stupid things to name these guys) was another of the Unnamed Brotherhood Squad who were slaughtered by X-Force at the parade. His powers, like his name, are not known. But aren't those teeth nice? -Brotherhood#9
First Posted: 12/07/2002
Last updated: 12/11/2002
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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