Xenobrood
Encyclopedia
Xenobrood is a fictional comic book
superhero
team in the DC Comics
universe. They first appeared in Xenobrood #0 (October 1994
). The series was created by Doug Moench
and Tomm Coker
.
event. The series was not well received, and ran only 7 issues.
near the Iraq
border. Leight discovers several Sumer
ian cuneiform
tablets and a chrome cylinder in archaeological strata dated to the 4th millennium BCE. He takes the Sumerian cylinder to both NASA
and S.T.A.R. Labs
, neither organization was able to analyze it. He ends up taking the cylinder to Creighton Engineering, and their "Laser Enhanced Spectrographic Analysis
" process was able to uncover the fact that the cylinder surface was etched with a holographic record that displays Sumerian glyphs. Leight later discovers that the cylinder contained four walnut
sized crystal
s, the crystals rapidly develop into "four lumps of super-dense protoplasm
" when submerged in seawater and exposed to sunlight. With the help of Lorna Copely owner and founder of Genetrix Inc. Zecharia is able to grow all four forms to maturity. The four awaken fully clothed, mentally mature and self aware thanks to a psionic link and "download" from Leight's mind.
The four declare the "cerebral data transfer" from Leight's mind to be complete, but a lot of data was already pre-programmed into their DNA
. The members of the Xenobrood were suppsoedly created as "organic robots", drone servants used as miners by an alien race named the Vimanians who had made contact with the ancient Sumerians.
With Superman
's help the Xenobrood, Leight and Copely explore an ancient abandoned alien laboratory base, and defeat a three eyed, white hared Vimanian named Lord Vimana, and the members of his "Vimanian Bestiary". Lord Vimana is the last true survivor of the Vimanian overlords who created the Xenobrood, he is served by an army of human clones
. The members of his Bestiary are four organic crystal drones named Kohli (Kali
), Gargol (Gargoyle
), Tauran (Minotaur
), and Mahduse (Medusa
).
. By having their early worker drones mate with Australopithecus afarensis
, and later Homo erectus
, the Vimanians intended to jumpstart the human evolutionary process, thereby creating an entire race of super powered slaves. Much later the White Martians would experiment on Homo sapiens
who had possibly inherited the metagene
left by the Vimanans.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe. They first appeared in Xenobrood #0 (October 1994
1994 in comics
-Year overall:* Huge changes in the marketplace force many retailers and small publishers out of business...
). The series was created by Doug Moench
Doug Moench
Douglas Moench , better known as Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok.-Biography:...
and Tomm Coker
Tomm Coker
Tomm Coker, also known as Thomas L. Coker, is an American comic book artist and film director/writer.-Career:Coker's career started in the early nineties drawing comic books for Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics and DC Comics...
.
Publication history
Xenobrood #0 was launched as part of DC Comics' Zero HourZero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
event. The series was not well received, and ran only 7 issues.
Fictional history
The Xenobrood are four superbeings processed from thousand year old alien crystals discovered by archaeologist Zecharia Leight on a dig in KuwaitKuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
near the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
border. Leight discovers several Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
tablets and a chrome cylinder in archaeological strata dated to the 4th millennium BCE. He takes the Sumerian cylinder to both NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
, neither organization was able to analyze it. He ends up taking the cylinder to Creighton Engineering, and their "Laser Enhanced Spectrographic Analysis
Spectrometer
A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...
" process was able to uncover the fact that the cylinder surface was etched with a holographic record that displays Sumerian glyphs. Leight later discovers that the cylinder contained four walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
sized crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s, the crystals rapidly develop into "four lumps of super-dense protoplasm
Protoplasm
Protoplasm is the living contents of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a general term of the Cytoplasm . Protoplasm is composed of a mixture of small molecules such as ions, amino acids, monosaccharides and water, and macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and...
" when submerged in seawater and exposed to sunlight. With the help of Lorna Copely owner and founder of Genetrix Inc. Zecharia is able to grow all four forms to maturity. The four awaken fully clothed, mentally mature and self aware thanks to a psionic link and "download" from Leight's mind.
The four declare the "cerebral data transfer" from Leight's mind to be complete, but a lot of data was already pre-programmed into their DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. The members of the Xenobrood were suppsoedly created as "organic robots", drone servants used as miners by an alien race named the Vimanians who had made contact with the ancient Sumerians.
With Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's help the Xenobrood, Leight and Copely explore an ancient abandoned alien laboratory base, and defeat a three eyed, white hared Vimanian named Lord Vimana, and the members of his "Vimanian Bestiary". Lord Vimana is the last true survivor of the Vimanian overlords who created the Xenobrood, he is served by an army of human clones
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
. The members of his Bestiary are four organic crystal drones named Kohli (Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
), Gargol (Gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
), Tauran (Minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
), and Mahduse (Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
).
Origin of the Metagene
According to the cuneiform tablets translated by Doctor Leight and his associates, the Vimanians supposedly interfered with human evolutionHuman evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
. By having their early worker drones mate with Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
, and later Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
, the Vimanians intended to jumpstart the human evolutionary process, thereby creating an entire race of super powered slaves. Much later the White Martians would experiment on Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
who had possibly inherited the metagene
Metahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
left by the Vimanans.
Powers and Abilities
- According to Superman and Doctor Leight, the extra chromosome possessed by members of the Xenobrood is the source of their superhuman abilities.
- The four drones have bodies that are both crystalline and organic, or as they are later referred to as "organic crystal".
- All four members of the Xenobrood have Rh negativeRh blood group systemThe Rh blood group system is one of thirty current human blood group systems. Clinically, it is the most important blood group system after ABO. At Present, the Rh blood group system consists of 50 defined blood-group antigens, among which the 5 antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important...
blood that is still somehow compatible with humans. - The drones were created for manual labor, specifically the mining of mineralMineralA mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
and metalMetalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
oreOreAn ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s. This is supposedly reflected in the abilities they each exhibit.
Members
- Astra - Female in blue costume who can possess people. Used to search for pockets of ore.
- Blip - Green costumed female who can teleport anyone and anything anywhere. Used to transport ore and rubble.
- Thrasher - Hulking brute in brown costume with super strength. Used to pulverize stone.
- Zapatak - Purple costumed team leader, fires energy bolts. Used to melt ore.