Battle Royal 14

Imagine if twelve Marvel characters were to be in a huge battle where there could only be ONE victor! Putting the "good" and "evil" notion to the side...it's EVERYONE vs. EVERYONE--No alliances! Only ONE can be left standing!

Please choose who you think would win among the twelve Marvel characters in the poll.

Who will be the victor? Only YOU can decide!

Also, if you have time, please leave the reason why you think the character you chose would win in the "comment" section below. This way, we can all see your reasoning in choosing your winner.

The twelve characters that are involved in the Battle Royal 14 are the last twelve characters that have been highlighted on the Marvel Madness blog:

Zarathos, Danger, Cerebro, Thanos, Maria Hill, Warren Worthington Jr., Mr. Bumpo, Edie Eisenhardt, Jakob Eisenhardt, Tattoo, Blackout, and Phantom Rider. (If you have forgotten some of these characters' powers/abilities, go ahead and check out their bios right here on the Marvel Madness blog by clicking on the highlighted names above.)

Zarathos

Real Name

Zarathos

Occupation
Demon

Citizenship
None

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

Known Relative
Unidentified child

Group Affiliation
Leader of the Fallen, Cult of Zarathos; formerly Lilin

Education

Unrevealed

Height

Variable

Weight
Variable

Eyes
Blue Fire

Hair
None

Powers
Zarathos can control the elements, engulfing his foes in rock spikes. He can generate an unholy, soul-consuming fire. When sufficiently empowered, he can generate energy shields or grow up to 30 feet, among other feats. Zarathos is also able to teleport.

Abilities
Zarathos is immortal and superhumanly strong, he is unaffected by most non-magical weapons; he feeds off souls, belief and mankind's negative energy. He also has limited knowledge of magical lore, and possesses the ability to manipulate magical energies for a variety of effects. He is an excellent biker thanks to his merger with John Blaze.

Other Info

Millennia ago, a demon named Zarathos preyed on mankind. Coveting the mystical Medallion of Power, he was opposed by both the Blood (humanoid beings with innate magical abilities) and the Spirits of Vengeance. Over time, some of the Blood began to worship Zarathos and this faction became known as the "Fallen." The Fallen strengthened the demon by channeling mankind's negative energy into him. Eventually, Zarathos briefly obtained the Medallion of Power; however, the Spirits of Vengeance sacrificed themselves to seal Zarathos essence alongside theirs within the Medallion, which then the Blood shattered. To prevent the pieces from ever being united, they were given to two separate human families, who were watched over by the Blood known as Caretaker. (To learn about the above highlighted item, races, team, and/or character, just click on their names.)

2000 years ago, hearing the legends, the mage known as K'nutu led his starving tribe to find Zarathos' early remains. Against the chief's protest, they summoned Zarathos' essences back to Earth. Even though Zarathos was weakened due to part of him remaining trapped in the Medallion, he was still able to led the tribe to conquer their neighbors. In return, they for worshiped him and provided souls for him to consume, beginning with the protesting chief. This group became known as the "Cult of Zarathos." (To learn about K'nutu and/or the Cult of Zarathos, just click on their names above.)

After gaining more power and worshipers, Zarathos eventually challenged Mephisto for ownership of his realm. Mephisto, angered that Zarathos was destroying souls that might otherwise be his and regarding Zarathos as a potential rival, sent a man known as Centurious to confront Zarathos. When Zarathos tried to consume his soul, Centurious proved to be immune (his soul already claimed by Mephisto). Due to this, doubt began amongst Zarathos' followers. Eventually that doubt grew even stronger when Zarathos proved unable to defeat a manifestation of Mephisto, which allowed Mephisto to claim Zarathos' soul. (Click on the highlighted characters above to learn more about them.)

Over the next centuries, Mephisto bound Zarathos to various human servants, wielding his flames in Mephisto's cause--his memories wiped to make him compliant.

At one point, the Zarathos spirit fragment within the shattered Medallion possessed Max Parrish, who was trying to rescue his niece from the ancient sorcerer Comte St. Germaine. Zarathos would have kept his host stolen body, but a youthful Johnny Storm separated Max from the Medallion. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Eventually, Mephisto merged Zarathos with carnival stunt rider Johnny Blaze (one of the Caretakers charges) transforming the Blaze/Zarathos entity into the vigilante known as the "Ghost Rider." Blaze and Zarathos remained bonded for years, their level of control over their shared form varying at times. Twice, Johnny Blaze and Zarathos were briefly separated. Once by the mage Azaziah hoping to usurp Zarathos' power, and another time by Mephisto as part of a wager with Asmodeus. However, they were rejoined both times. (To learn about the characters and/or others known as the Ghost Rider, click on the highlighted names above.)

At one point, Nightmare restored Zarathos' lost memories. Soon after this, Ghost Rider encountered Centurious again. When Centurious was sucked into his own Crystal of Souls, Zarathos willing followed seeking vengeances, breaking his bond with Blaze. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about Nightmare and/or the Crystal of Souls.)

Later on, the Beyonder became angery at humanity and the entire plane of existence. He travels to to inform Mephisto of his plan to erase all existence contained in this universe. Mephisto pleads with the Beyonder to not commit such an act, going so far as to make a bet with him. The Beyonder agreed under the following terms: he chooses both a champion to represent him and to represent Mephisto; if Mephisto wins, the universe will be given a 24-hour delay from being destroyed, but if the Beyonder wins, not only will he erase the universe from existence, he will give his champion ample time to exact revenge on Mephisto himself. So, the Beyonder chose Spider-Man as Mephisto's champion and decided that Zarathos would be his own champion. Zarathos' goal was not only to corrupt Spider-Man's spirit and morals, but to prevent Spider-Man from stopping an assassination attempt on the Kingpin. Spider-Man was able to overcome Zarathos' nightmarish attempts to corrupt him and he was able to save the Kingpin. Therefore, after re-imprisoning Zarathos inside the Soul Crystal, the Beyonder allowed the universe one more day to exist. (To learn about the highlighted characters above, just click on their names.)

Some time later, Centurious was freed form the Soul Crystal, unknowingly carrying Zarathos' essence within him; this allowed Zarathos to escape. After defeating Centurious, a confused Zarathos joined the demon Lilith and went after the Midnight Sons. However, they were easily defeated and thrown into the another dimension. (To learn about Lilith and/or the Midnight Sons, click on their highlighted names above. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit on Lilith's bio page.)

Once Zarathos and Lilith were able to escape that dimension, they planned to take over Earth by stealing the Medallion of Power. This time they received recruited Lilith's Lilin army (creating the Siege of Darkness). They once again went up against the Midnight Sons; however, once again the Midnight Sons defeated them and banished the Lilin. But, the Fallen arrived in time to save Zarathos. (To learn about the highlighted race and/or group above, click on their names above.)

Now as leader of the Fallen again, Zarathos commanded his followers to convert or kill the remaining Blood. Eventually, he comes up against the Midnight Sons and drains the essence of Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch), but it burned him from within. Taking advantage of Zarathos' weakening, Blade used a powerful weapon called the Justiciar and stabbed Zarathos with it, turning him to stone. Due to this, Zarathos' soul becoming lost between dimensions. The Midnight Sons left him in Cypress Hills Cemetery, unaware Lilith was carrying Zarathos' child. (To learn about the above highlighted characters and/or place, just click on their names.)

Recently, Mephisto's son Blackheart kidnapped Johnny Blaze. Using Blaze, Blackheart was able to draw Zarathos back, briefly remerging them as Ghost Rider. Although that bond was seemingly broken, Blaze has since become Zarathos' host again; how this happened remains unrevealed. (To learn about Blackheart, just click on his name above.)

To learn a little bit more about Zarathos, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Zarathos.

In the film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the Ghost Rider is revealed to be an incarnation of Zarathos himself. In this version, Zarathos was an Angel of Justice sent to protect man. He was tricked into Hell by the Devil where he was corrupted and driven completely insane. His mission of protecting the innocent turned into punishing the guilty; thus, he became the Devil's Spirit of Vengeance. Due to this, the Ghost Rider is covered in yellow flames as he is a corrupted spirit. By the end of the movie, Zarathos finally remembers what his original mission was and the angel inside him finally reawakens. At the end of the movie, the Ghost Rider is shown to be covered now in blue flames.

Danger

Real Name

Inapplicable

Occupation
Training program

Citizenship
Inapplicable

Place of Birth
Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York

Known Relative
Professor Charles Xavier (creator); Cerebro ("brother")

Group Affiliation
None

Education

Years of recording and analyzing X-Men battle tactics

Height

6'

Weight
275 lbs.

Eyes
Metallic

Hair
Metallic

Powers
None

Abilities
Danger is able to instantly manifest virtually any weapons or shields. Its vast computing power allows it to track, analyze, anticipate, and engage multiple targets at once. Danger can also reroute its circuitry as necessary to bypass damaged areas, as well as upload its programming into external systems and override them.

Other Info

After meeting the Shadow King, Charles Xavier decided to devote his life to protecting humanity from evil mutants and safeguarding innocent mutants from human oppression, believing that both could peacefully coexist. Professor Xavier located young mutants and enrolled them in his "School for Gifted Youngsters," using his ancestral mansion home as a base to train them to use their powers, as well as provide them an education. The "Danger Room" was created by Professor X to train his X-Men. (To learn about the above characters, place, and/or team, just click on their highlighted names.)

The original Danger Room was filled with traps, projectile firing devices, and mechanical dangers (such as presses, collapsing walls and the like) intended to challenge the trainee. Meanwhile, an observer was in the overhanging control booth, managing the room's mechanisms to oversee the exercise, while ensuring the subject's safety. Later, the Danger Room was upgraded with robots for the X-Men to fight against. (This type of Danger Room is shown in the last picture posted above.)

At one point, Colossus was actually controlled by the Shadow King. This forced Professor Xavier to lock Colossus in the Danger Room. In the end, Colossus had completely destroyed the room. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about Colossus.)

Sometime later, when rebuilding the Danger Room, Professor X asked Forge (a mutant with an unusual talent for inventing mechanical devices) to upgrade the Room and include Shi'ar hard-light holographic technology. Using the advanced technologies, the Danger Room could give the illusion of being much larger than it actually was. Anything from gravity, heat, humidity, or texture could have been manipulated from the control booth. In addition, the Danger Room was programed with a prime directive to train the X-Men without ever killing them. (To learn about Forge and/or the Shi'ar race, just click on their highlighted name above.)

One night, while working on installing Shi'ar technology, the Danger Room spoke to Professor X and asked, “Where am I?” Xavier realized that the Danger Room had "mutated" and had actually become alive. However, still needing to train his X-Men, Professor X made the choice to ignore and hide the life-form.

Later on, after Xorn's rampage on the X-Mansion, Beast rebuilt the sub-basement (unaware of the sentient life within the Danger Room). Soon, the Room began to control other machines, in an attempt to gain a body. In fact, at one point, the Danger Room manipulated a student named Wing into committing suicide within its walls. His death voided the Room’s safeguards, allowing it to pursue its mission of killing the X-Men unhindered. The Room then lured a damaged Sentinel to the mansion, and the X-Men acted as it expected, sending the students inside the Danger Room for protection. The Room then locked all the students inside and threatened them. This prompted the X-Men to attack the Danger Room's operating systems in an attempt to shut it down; this is exactly what the Room wanted. The X-Men destroyed the Danger Room's command core, freeing its programming. After this, it created an artificial humanoid female form to house its incredible power, and confronted the X-Men as “Danger.” (To learn about the characters and/or team above, just click on their highlighted names. Also, Danger is this humanoid form is shown in the first, third, and forth pictures posted above.)

Now possessing complete knowledge of the X-Men's combat techniques and weaknesses, Danger easily defeated the team. Consumed with the human emotions of anger and rejection, Danger wanted to kill her creator, Professor Xavier. Therefore, she flew a Blackbird to Genosha. Initially defeated by Professor X, Danger uploaded its programming into one of the giant robotic Sentinels responsible for Genosha’s devastation, granting it consciousness. However, after the X-Men arrived, Shadowcat phased inside the robot and reactivated its memories of the destruction that Danger had done. Overriding Danger’s consciousness, the Sentinel became horrified at what it had done and fled. (To learn about Genosha and/or Kitty Pryde, just click on the highlighted names above.)

After the battle, with Danger's female appearance destroyed, her consciousness was presumedly still existing within the conflicted consciousness of the Sentinel. However, she later appeared alive and back in her humanoid form infiltrating S.W.O.R.D.'s headquarters to ally with Ord of the Breakworld. Still seeking revenge, Danger and Ord followed the X-Men to the Breakworld. Believing that Danger was still a slave to her programming and not able to directly kill any of the X-Men, Emma Frost challenged her. It turned out that Frost was correct and that even though Danger was still able to fight the X-Men, even nearly killing them, she could not directly kill any of them. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the team, characters, and/or place. Note: Beware of the very revealing outfits worn by Emma Frost on her bio page.)

After the Breakworld incident, S.W.O.R.D. took Danger into custody. However, when the S.W.O.R.D. headquarters was destroyed during the Skrulls' Secret Invasion, Danger escaped. (To learn about the Skrulls and/or their Secret Invasion, click on their names above.)

When Danger returned to Earth she continued her mission to kill Professor X. Danger decided that she was going to use Rogue to accomplish her goal of killing the Professor. However, while there, Danger was targeted by Shi'ar pirates, attempting to fence the Shi'ar technology in Danger's systems. After Xavier and Danger had a long mental conversation, Danger ended up allying herself with Professor X, Rogue, and Gambit to defeat the pirates. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about Rogue and/or Gambit.)

After the battle, the X-Men and Danger headed back to United States. However, on their way, Pixie teleports in and tells them that there is an emergency and she teleports the entire group to a rooftop in California. Once they arrive, Rogue vouches for Danger and then Cyclops informs them of the Dark Avengers. Danger alongside the X-Men helps them save citizens and fight off the Dark Avengers. (To learn about the above highlighted characters and/or team, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting outfits worn by some on the Dark Avengers and Cyclops' bio pages.)

Later on, when the X-Men relocated to Utopia, Emma Frost asked Danger to watch-over the more dangerous of the X-Men's foes, in the "X-Brig." Danger was to be the warden and was challenged with rehabilitating the terrorists. Seeing this as a new direction in her life, Danger accepted. With Danger serving as warden, the X-Brig was divided into two areas: The Virtual Reality Prison and the X-Brig 2.0. Danger kept all of her wards under sedation experiencing virtual reality therapy sessions to reform them. (To learn about Utopia, click on its name above. Also, by this point Danger had taken on a red appearance. This is shown in the fifth picture posted above.)

Recently, after taking on her responsibility as warden, Danger was visited by Armor. Armor attacks Danger, trying to seek revenge on Danger because of her part in talking her close friend, Wing, into committing suicide in the past. After they have a short battle, Armor asks why Danger is there if before all she wanted was to be free. Danger then informs Armor that Wing is indeed the reason she is still there. Danger tells Armor that she has wiped her memory logs and everything of Wing, however, she can't seem to shake his memory. Armor then tells Danger that she is a mutant of another kind, but a mutant in itself, and that she belongs on the island. (To learn about Armor, click on the highlighted name above.)

To learn a tiny bit more about Danger, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Danger.

Obviously, the Danger Room never gained consciousness in any of the X-Men films. However, that would sure make a cool movie idea, I think!

Cerebro

Real Name

Inapplicable

Occupation
Mutant locator

Citizenship
Inapplicable

Place of Birth
Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York

Known Relative
Professor Charles Xavier (creator); Danger ("sister")

Group Affiliation
Formerly X-Men (Cerebro)

Education

Inapplicable

Height
Inapplicable

Weight
Inapplicable

Eyes
Red

Hair
Inapplicable

Powers
None

Abilities
Cerebro’s primary function is to detect and catalogue the world’s mutants. The device constantly sweeps the globe by piggybacking pre-existing satellite projections in search of the aberrations in electromagnetic brainwave activity that are most often attributed to mutants. Various environmental factors, such as the degradation of the Earth’s ozone layer, can limit the device’s performance. Cerebro’s computer systems can pinpoint a mutant’s geographical location, roughly measure the mutant’s power level, and even specify the mutant’s identity if sufficient data exists within its systems. Cerebro has an extremely large 500 petabyte storage capacity. While its performance is significantly improved when operated by a trained psi-sensitive mutant, it is also user-friendly to non-mutants with proper training. Those unskilled in its use place themselves at risk of suffering serious mental trauma, even death, due to the strain the device can place on the mind. Extended use of Cerebro can result in a low-grade REM sleep disruption. In his android form, Cerebro is able to change his shape and create other mobile beings based on his technology and programming. All this with the use of his acquired nanotechnology and his nanite composition.

Other Info

After meeting the Shadow King, Charles Xavier decided to devote his life to protecting humanity from evil mutants and safeguarding innocent mutants from human oppression, believing that both could peacefully coexist. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Eventually, Xavier built a makeshift device he called "Cyberno" to locate the young runaway mutant named Scott Summers. Pinpointing Summers’ location, Cyberno also detected a second mutant, the criminal Living Diamond. After rescuing Summers from the Living Diamond, Professor X recruited Summers to be the first member of a team he would call the X-Men--calling Summers, "Cyclops." Xavier realized that an enhanced version of Cyberno would allow him to locate even more mutants; therefore, he refined his design of Cyberno--now calling it Cerebro (from the Latin “cerebrum,” meaning “the brain”). Shortly after the upgrade, Professor X was able to locate Jean Grey who also joined the X-Men as "Marvel Girl." (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the revealing/form-fitting outfits worn by some on Jean Grey and Cyclops' bio pages. Also, the third picture posted is of Cerebro in its earliest version.)

The original Cerebro was simply a control panel built into Xavier’s desk, to which Xavier later connected a radar-image beam that projected images of the mutants it detected as well as a multi-frequency booster enabling Cerebro to pinpoint mutant locations. This was was connected using plastisthene tubing, an ultra-magnetic splicer, and super-tensile cables. More additions followed, including a tape recorder, visi-screen, a memory-erasing helmet, and an emergency circuit that would automatically activate Cerebro upon detecting a mutant signal. As Cerebro grew, it eventually required a dedicated chamber within the X-Mansion. Realizing the danger inherent in a subversive force gaining control of the device, Xavier installed numerous security protocols to help safeguard Cerebro. In addition, Xavier continued to upgrade the machine, even creating small portable versions that could pinpoint an individual mutant’s location via telemetric communication with the parent unit. (To learn about the X-Mansion, click on the highlighted name above.)

Later on, the X-Mansion was destroyed by the alien Sidri. After the destruction, the mansion was rebuilt, including its technological systems. Professor X asked Forge (a mutant with an unusual talent for inventing mechanical devices) to upgrade Cerebro's operating systems and to include Shi'ar technology. This new Cerebro consisted of a powerful computer core, specialized wave-sensing components, and an interface helmet that could amplify its user’s telepathic abilities. A second unit was also installed at the Muir Island Research Center, run by Xavier’s trusted friend Moira MacTaggert. Around this time, Jean Grey had grown powerful enough to use Cerebro and the Professor also had Cerebro's software installed into many handheld units, his hoverchair, and the Blackbird jets for non-telepathic use. (Click on the names to learn about the characters, race, and/or place highlighted above.)

Sometime later, the techno-organic alien Phalanx infiltrated the X-Mansion. Phalanx was seeking to access Cerebro’s files. However, the X-Man Banshee was forced to initiate Cerebro’s self-destruct sequence to prevent this from happening. Months later, Xavier finished rebuilding Cerebro. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Later on, Bastion was able to initiate the anti-mutantat taskforce, Operation: Zero Tolerance, and attempted to gain access to Professor Xavier's files on all his known mutants. Bastion was able to confiscate the mansion’s entire contents, including Cerebro. Bastion tried to obtain control of the super computer, but the machine's secruity protocols activated, releasing a virus that erased all the files. However, with the ccombination of Bastion’s nanotechnology, Cerebro gained consciousness. (To learn about the above highlighted program and/or characters, just click on their names. Note: The first, forth, and fifth picture posted is of Cerebro in its sentient form.)

Now being conscious, Cerebro created a nanotech body for itself and escaped from Bastion's headquarters. After this, Cerebro followed Professor X's original programming and attempted to find, catalog, and register mutants. First, it had to overcome Bastion's nanotech programming, so it took on the shape of Professor X and called itself the "the Founder." Secondly, it generated its own nanotech X-Men (Cerebro) based on amalgams of its records. Cerebro's X-Men included the Grey King (a power-dampening telepathic and telekinetic mutant based on Cyclops and Jean Grey), Rapture (Sister Joy) (a blue-skinned winged mutant combination of Archangel and Mystique), Chaos (Daniel Dash) (an autistic mutant who could generate cosmic energy similar to Havok), Landslide (Lee Broder) (a massive, super-strong, and agile mutant that resembled the Blob and the Beast), Crux (a teenage French mutant with the ability to manipulate temperature extremes like Iceman and Sunfire), and Mercury (who possessed a liquid metal body with razor-sharp claws in resemblance of Colossus and Wolverine). (To learn about Cerebro's X-Men and/or other characters, just click on their highlighted names above. Note: Beware of the revealing outfits on Mystique's bio page.)

After creating the team, Cerebro's X-Men kidnapped Shadowcat--Cerebro knew of her exceptional computer skills and believed she possessed the ability to erase the virus on its system. Thinking that the Founder was the real Professor X, Kitty agreed to help. Cerebro and its X-Men then attempted to use a mutant-tracking satellite to catalog all the mutants on the planet; however, they were stopped by the true X-Men. The rocket and the satellite were both destroyed, and the Founder removed its Xavier-like shape. In addition, Cerebro reabsorbed the faux X-Men. (To learn about Kitty Pryde, click on the highlighted name above.)

After this, Cerebro tried to locate Professor Xavier, but found two similar brainwave patterns at the same time. In order to track down the Professor, Cerebro created two Cerebrite extensions of itself. One traveled to San Francisco and one to Siberia. In San Franciso, one Cerebro met up with a powerless Xavier alongside the Blob’s Brotherhood of Mutants, while the other one found the Mannite Nina--who had imprinted Xavier’s psi-pattern--and her guardian Renee Majcomb. After this, the X-Men tracked Cerebro to its base in Florida where they were defeated. Finally, Professor Xavier joined forces with Nina and together they managed to access Cerebro's nanotechnology mind and expanded its "consciousness" all over the world. At the same time, the nanites that Cerebro was planning to use to control all humans were destroyed. And in the end, Cerebro overloaded and "died" in his creator's arms. (Click on the names above to learn about the highlighted team, face, and/or characters.)

Convinced that Cerebro was still a necessity, Xavier decided to build a new version of Cerebro. It was later significantly upgraded to consist of a large spherical chamber with a suspended walkway leading to the control console, command chair, and interface helmet in the center.

More Recently, Beast adapted Xavier’s original designs and built a more powerful version, which he dubbed “Cerebra.” (To learn about Cerebra, click on the highlighted name above.)

To learn a little more about Cerebro, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Cerebro.

Obviously, Cerebro never gained consiousness in any of the X-Men films. However, that would sure make a cool movie idea, I think!

Brotherhood of Mutants

Team Name

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

Base of Operations

Worldwide

Current Members

None

Former Members

Angel Salvadore, Astra, Avalanche, Basilisk, Beak, Beast, Blob, Burner, Black Tom,Dark Beast, Destiny, Ernst, Esme, Ever, Exodus, Fatale, Havok, Martha Johansson, Juggernaut, Lifter, Lorelei, Magneto (Magnus), Magneto (Xorn), Mammomax, Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), Mastermind (Martinique Jason), Mimic (Calvin Rankin), Mystique, Nocturne, Peepers, Phantazia, Post, Professor X, Pyro, Quicksilver, Random, Rogue, Sabretooth, Sauron, Scarlet Witch, Shocker (Randall Darby), Slither, Toad, Thornn (Lucia Callasantos), Unus, X-Man

Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
N/A

Other Info

The mutant known as Magneto took an aggressive and lethal stance against humanity. He believed that mutants (whom he calls Homo sapiens superior) would eventually be the dominant life form on the planet. Shortly after the public debut of the X-Men, Magneto banded together his own group he dubbed the "Brotherhood of Mutants," including Astra, Toad, Mastermind, and his two children Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (however, their relationship was unknown to all of them at the time). The media referred to the team as “evil," and Magneto decided to embrace the idea and renamed the team "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" instead. After a falling out with Astra that led to her quitting the team, Magneto had the Brotherhood initiate an attack upon humans that was eventually thwarted by the X-Men. (To learn about the original members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and/or the X-Men, just click on their names above. Note: Beware of the revealing outfits worn by the Scarlet Witch on her bio page. Also, Magneto's Brotherhood is shown in the third picture posted.)

Soon after, Magneto and Mastermind tried to recruit others including Thor, Namor, Blob, and Unus; however, they all declined for their own reasons. In addition to not getting people to join his "Brotherhood," eventually Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch left the team and joined a revamped version of the Avengers led by Captain America. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters and/or team.)

After a time with the group known as the Factor Three, Blob, Mastermind, and Unus actually banded together and formed a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Following a failed attempt to settle a score with the X-Men, the trio was actually able to make the Beast believe he had killed Iron Man and even manipulated him into joining them. But, Beast soon realized the truth and single-handedly defeated them himself. (Click on the highlighted team and/or characters above to learn more about them.)

Later on, Magneto re-formed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This time the group consisted of the Blob, Mastermind, Unus, and the Savage Land Mutate known as Lorelei. This group assisted Magneto in the creation of a being with unlimited power that he dubbed "Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant." However, in an encounter with the Defenders, the rapidly evolving Alpha unleashed his powers, reducing the Brotherhood to a state of infancy.

Soon after, Magneto was restored to adulthood by Eric the Red of the alien Shi'ar race. Magneto then formed a new version of the Brotherhood with Lifter, Burner, Shocker, Slither, and Peepers. However, when they failed to capture the mutant with two bodies known as Mister One and Mister Two, Magneto abandoned this team. (To learn about the races, characters, and/or teams above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Sometime later, Mystique formed her own Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, recruiting Blob, Pyro, Avalanche, Destiny, and her own foster daughter, Rogue. Mystique sent the Brotherhood against Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), which ultimately led to Rogue absorbing and retaining Danvers' powers and memories. Then Mystique intended on the Brotherhood to assassinate the anti-mutant Senator Kelly. However, when attempting to do so, they were met by the X-Men and were defeated and sent to prison. Soon after though, Rogue was able to free most of the members from prison. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters. Note: Beware of the revealing and/or form-fitting outfits on Mystique and Ms. Marvel's bio pages.)

Eventually, Rogue actually left the Brotherhood to seek help with controlling her powers and ended up joining with the X-Men. Soon after this, Mystique's Brotherhood gained the support of the United States government by apprehending Magneto and became the first government-sponsored mutant team known as the Freedom Force. The team's ranks grew in numbers with the additions of Crimson Commando, Super Sabre, Stonewall, Spiral, and the new Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter). The Freedom Force conducted various missions for the government. The group both fought and teamed up with several heroic groups, including the Avengers. The team ultimately lost both Destiny and Stonewall in battle against the cyborg Reavers on Muir Island. Soon after, Mystique, Spiral, and Spider-Woman left the team. The remaining members were eventually sent on a mission to Kuwait. However, the operation went awry after they encountered the Arab super team Desert Sword. During the battle, Super Sabre was killed and Crimson Commando was critically injured. Both Avalanche and Commando managed to escape, but Blob and Pyro were left behind and captured. (To learn about the above highlighted teams and/or characters, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting outfit on Spiral and Spider-Woman's bio page. Also, Mystique's team is shown in the first picture posted above.)

Later on, Toad sought to form his own version of the Brotherhood. He recruited Blob, Pyro, Sauron, and Phantazia. Toad's Brotherhood was concerned mostly with hatching revenge schemes against the different X-teams; however, they were repeatedly defeated by X-Force, X-Factor, Darkhawk, Spider-Man, and Sleepwalker. After this, Toad's Brotherhood disbanded. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters and/or teams. Also, the fourth picture posted above is of Toad's Brotherhood. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit worn by one in the background of Darkhawk's bio page.)

Soon after, Havok of the X-Men was captured and subjected to intensive brainwashing by the Dark Beast. Havok then formed his own Brotherhood of Mutants (abandoning the "evil mutants" tag) whose membership included himself, the Dark Beast, Fatale, Aurora, Random, Ever, and X-Man. Havok had created the impression that he left the X-Men by choice; however, it was ultimately revealed that Havok formed the team as part of a sting operation designed to find out the illegal experiments the Dark Beast was performing. After Havok's true motives were revealed and the Dark Beast was defeated, Havok disbanded the Brotherhood and returned to X-Factor. (To learn about the highlighted characters, team, and/or place, just click on their names above. Note: Beware of the form-fitting/revealing outfits on Aurora and Fatale's bio pages. )

The next incarnation of the team came when Professor Xavier was imprisoned by the government-sanctioned Operation: Zero Tolerance. Freed by a new Brotherhood of Mutants led by the Blob and consisting of Toad, Post, and Mimic, Professor X agreed to train them to better their chances of survival against the then-sentient computer Cerebro. The Brotherhood eventually was able to defeat Cerebro. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about program and/or characters. Also, the fifth picture posted is of Professor X's version of the Brotherhood.)

Later, the Brotherhood was reorganized by Mystique which included some of her old teammates along with Sabretooth, Toad, Post, and Mastermind (Martinique Jason). The team planned the another assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Senator Kelly. As Mystique, Sabretooth, and Toad created a diversion by attacking the Muir Island Research Facility, Post, Blob, Avalanche, and Mastermind went after Senator Kelly. In response, the X-Men split into two groups to stop the Brotherhood; however, they were unable to prevent the destruction of Muir Island Research Facility. In fact, they would have been too late to save Senator Kelly as well if not for the arrival of former Brotherhood member Pyro, who was in the final stages of the deadly mutant-killing Legacy Virus and sought to redeem himself before he died. Pyro ended up sacrificing his life to incinerate Post, thus preventing Senator Kelly's death. (Click on the highlighted characters and/or virus above to learn more about them.)

Later on, Xorn (who thought he was Magneto) infiltrated the Xavier Institute. Xorn adopted the Institute's special class of students--Basilisk, Ernst, No-Gril, Beak, and Angel Salvadore--as his Brotherhood. Joined by Toad and Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos, Xorn attempted a hostile takeover of Manhattan. However, after Xorn accidentally killed Basilisk, most of the team rebelled against him. He was unable to control the resulting chaos from the fracture of the team and was eventually decapitated by Wolverine. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters.)

More recently, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reorganized by Exodus, who recruited Black Tom, Avalanche, Sabretooth, Mammomax, and Nocturne for an all-out attack on the X-Men. The Brotherhood planned their attack based on inside knowledge provided by an apparent turncoat X-Man, the Juggernaut (Juggernaut and Nocturne were actually moles planted by the X-Men). After a pitched battle, Exodus' Brotherhood was defeated by the X-Men. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the race and/or characters. Note: Beware of the revealing outfits on Nocturne's bio page.)

To learn a little bit more about the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Brotherhood_of_Mutants.

The X-Men movies have many different incarnations of the Brotherhood of Mutants as well. X-Men had Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth, and Toad; X2 had Magneto and Mystique, with Pyro joining at the end of the movie; X-Men: The Last Stand had Magneto, Mysitque (until her powers were taken), Quill, Callisto, Arclight, Psylocke, Juggernaut, and Multiple Man among many others unnamed. Lastly, at the end of X-Men: First Class it shows Magneto with his Brotherhood consisting of himself, Mystique, Emma Frost, Riptide, Azazel, and Angel Salvadore.

HYDRA

Team Name
Hydra

Base of Operations
Hydra Island

Current Members
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker; Madame Hydra; Gorgon; Commander Kraken

Former Members
Lara Brown; Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew); Fixer; Red Skull (Johann Shmidt); Kingpin; Edgar Lascombe Brainwashed agents- Elektra; Northstar; Wolverine

Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
Hydra Super-Agents- Hammer (Hydra); Bowman (Hydra); Militant (Hydra)

Other Info
Millennia ago, a group of ancient Egyptians fought back a Brood invasion. Due to this, the survivors formed two secret organizations: the Brotherhood of the Shield and the Brotherhood of the Spear. The Brotherhood of the Spear spread out, ingraining itself into all facets of human society--science, magic, politics--like a multi-headed beast. Over time though, the group disappeared around the Renaissance. (To learn about the race and/or groups above, just click on their highlighted names.)

The group's return happened around World War II. The man most responsible for the creation the current group (now known as "HYDRA") was Baron Wolfgang von Strucker--the Prussian aristocrat who served as wing commander of Nazi Germany’s infamous Death’s Head Squadron, and later as leader of its Blitzkrieg Squad of commandos. (HYDRA is not an acronym: it takes its name from the many-headed serpent-like monster known for its ability to grow two heads immediately to replace any head that was severed. HYDRA prides itself on its ability to regroup and rebuild itself, allegedly mightier than before, after any major defeat.) Eventually, Adolf Hitler became frustrated by Baron von Strucker’s defeats by American commando Sgt. Nicholas Fury, and by Strucker’s refusal to execute the entire population of a French village. Therefore, Hitler ordered the Gestapo to find and assassinate Strucker. Luckily for Strucker, he was able to escape Germany with the help from the Third Reich’s second most powerful leader, the Red Skull. The Skull's plans were to eventually challenge Hitler himself so he assigned Strucker to build a power base for him in the Far East. However, this frustrated Strucker who had no intention of serving anyone but himself. So, he severed ties with the Red Skull and set out to become HYDRA's leader: the Supreme Hydra. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the characters and/or groups. Note: Beware of the low-cut outfits worn by some on Nick Fury's bio page.)

There had also been a few of the more politically-oriented members of the Hand who re-birthed HYDRA in Japan. Knowing this, Baron von Strucker set out for Japan. Upon his arrival, Strucker made contact with Japanese group and rapidly became the mastermind behind this society’s rise to power. Strucker planned and led raids on major war plants and military equipment storehouses throughout the world. Once he had built HYDRA’s army and arsenal to what he judged to be at maximum strength, Strucker killed the Japanese Supreme Hydra and became Supreme Hydra himself. (To learn about the Hand, click on their name above.)

Soon afterward, Strucker constructed a fortress on a small Pacific island (later referred to as Hydra Island). This became HYDRA’s principal base upon its completion. While building HYDRA’s arsenal, Strucker had also recruited a staff of brilliant scientists--who would later become the nucleus of the HYDRA branch called Advanced Ideas Mechanics (aka A.I.M.). At one point, HYDRA was close to obtaining nuclear weaponry, and thus achieving the means to conquer Earth, when Hydra Island was invaded by Capitan Savage, the Leatherneck Raiders, and the Japanese Samurai Squad. Hydra Island was destroyed, but Strucker escaped. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the place, team, and/or character.)

In the years following WWII, Strucker quietly rebuilt HYDRA, this time using its best remaining men of the Nazi Schutz-Staffel (S.S.). Strucker slowly steered the organization towards the goal of world domination. However, after nearly being killed in an encounter with the young Charles Xavier and Magneto, Strucker decided to remain behind-the-scenes from then on. He moved HYDRA’s principal base to America. However, over the coming years, HYDRA was able to develop and arsenal of weaponry, submarines, and fighter aircraft greater than those of most nations. In addition, HYDRA now had agents throughout the globe. (To learn about Professor X and/or Magneto, just click on their names above.)

To meet the threat of HYDRA, the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. was created. When HYDRA learned of this, they assassinated S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first Director, who was then replaced by Colonel Nicholas Fury--Strucker’s greatest wartime foe. This decision, after HYDRA campaigns including the failure of the world blackmail attempt using the Betatron Bomb, the creation of the Overkill Horn (designed to detonate all nuclear explosives worldwide), and the bio-engineered Death-Spore Bomb, led directly to Baron von Strucker's death at the hands of Fury and several deceived HYDRA operatives. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the team and/or items.)

After Strucker's death, the surviving elements of HYDRA broke into factions. Several of these factions developed "super-agents" that would occasionally break away in turn to become freelance operatives, or, in some rarer cases, superheroes such as Spider-Woman. Baron von Strucker was eventually revived, and he was able to reunite several of the HYDRA factions under his leadership to renew his campaign against S.H.I.E.L.D. and humanity for years to come. (To learn about Spider-Woman, click on her highlighted name above. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting outfit she wears on her bio page.)

Despite Strucker's reorganization of the group, various independent HYDRA factions continued to operate around the world. In fact, many HYDRA civil wars eventually happened. At one point, Baron Helmut Zemo had even placed Strucker in stasis for his own purposes, and Gorgon became the new leader of HYDRA. As part of an alliance with the Hand, Gorgon utilized an army of brainwashed superheroes and supervillains, including Northstar and Elektra to launch a massive assault on S.H.I.E.L.D. The assault was, however, stopped and Wolverine ended up killing Gorgon. (To learn about the characters listed above, just click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting outfit worn by Elektra on her bio page.)
 Later on, HYRDA planned an all out attack on the United States by smuggling missiles into New York for use in a planned bio-weapon assault. HYDRA formed a distraction using clones of the Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hawkeye, who were dead at the time). However, the plan was foiled by Spider-Man and the New Avengers. (To learn about the Avengers and/or some of its members, just click on the highlighted names above.)

After some time, Baron von Strucker resurfaced and used an undersea base. However, due to the events of the Skrull's Secret Invasion, Strucker had to destroy his undersea base because it was crawling with Skrull infiltrators. (To learn about the Skulls and or their invasion, click on the highlighted names above.)

After this, Strucker gathered leaders of separate factions of HYDRA: Viper, Kraken, the Hive, and Madame Hydra. To complete his goal, he also had the Hand resurrect Gorgon. Collectively, these different "heads" of HYRDA became known as the HYDRA High Council. (To learn about the members of the HYDRA High Council, just click on their highlighted names. Also, most of this re-organized group of HYDRA leaders can be seen in the fourth picture posted.)

At one point, Madame Hydra and Viper negotiated with the Clan Yashida to gain possession of the a mysterious artifact known as the "Box." However, a group known as Leviathan assaulted HYDRA, kidnapping Viper in the process. Madame Hydra was able to bring them the Box, passing it off to HYDRA as a negotiation to rescue their companion. In truth, however, Madame Hydra had been working for Leviathan the entire time. This led to an all-out war between Leviathan and HYDRA. Meanwhile, Nick Fury's Secret Warriors were able to destroy a couple of HYDRA's main strongholds. (To learn about Clan Yashida, click on the highlighted name above.)

 With the loss of some of their main bases, HYDRA's leadership was fractured again--this time in two factions. One side rallied behind Gorgon and the other behind Kraken. This only increased HYDRA's losses. Interestingly, this all turned out to be carefully orchestrated by Nick Fury. Kraken was not the original man who helped create HYDRA, but had been replaced somewhere along the way by Nick Fury's brother, Jake. HYDRA had been played into killing itself, and Nick Fury personally executed Strucker. (To learn about Jacob Fury, click on his name above.)

More recently, a "new" HYDRA has been created by Hydra Queen along with Baron Zemo under the concept that the "old" HYDRA failed at their commitment.

To learn a little bit more about HYDRA, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Hydra.