The Aryan Brigade is a group of
supervillains
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are ofte ...
in
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. They were also known as the Purifiers of the Aryan Nation.
The first version of the Aryan Brigade first appeared in ''
Justice League Task Force'' #10 (March 1994) and were created by
Michael Jan Friedman
Michael Jan Friedman (born March 7, 1955) is a New York City born American author of nearly sixty books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in licensed tie-in products of the '' Star Trek'' franchise. Ten of his titles have a ...
.
Fictional character biography
First Aryan Brigade
The
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
's version of the Aryan Nation is a white supremacist terrorist organization that created a designer virus which would attack and destroy "non-white" DNA in humans. They were secretly led by
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Sanders Hotchkins. When several noted chemists began disappearing, they drew the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
's attention. The FBI contacted Hannibal Martin, the Justice League Task Force's liaison, and the
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...
assembled a covert team to infiltrate the terrorists. While undercover,
Hourman
Hourman or Hour-Man is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original Hourman was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in '' Adventure Comics'' #48 (March 1940), during ...
was forced to use his powers and drew the attention of the Aryan Nation's superhuman enforcers who call themselves the Aryan Brigade. Thanks to Blind Faith's mental powers, the Aryan Brigade was able to uncover and surprise the Task Force. They captured all but Hourman who returned to free them. In the meantime, the Nation had readied its virus for delivery into the atmosphere. J'onn followed the rocket and forced it to detonate in space. All members of the organization were subsequently arrested.
Following this, the Aryan Brigade's members were recruited by the
Overmaster to be part of his new
Cadre
Cadre may refer to:
*Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff
*Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...
.
Golden Eagle II and Heatmonger popped up in one of the incarnations of the
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
.
In ''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...
'', Iron Cross was seen as a member of
Alexander Luthor Jr.
Alexander Luthor Jr. is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Publication history
Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character made his first appearance in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #1 (April 198 ...
's
Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, ...
where he is among those who took part in the Battle of Metropolis.
''
One Year Later
"One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through books published by DC Comics. It involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the ''Infinite Crisis'' storyline, to explore ...
'', Iron Cross was seen amongst the recent incarnation of the Injustice League.
Heatmonger and Iron Cross were among the villains transported to another world in ''
Salvation Run
''Salvation Run'' is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie into the company's major event series ''Final Crisis'' in 2008.
Premise
The premise of the series, which is based on a pitch by George R. R. Martin, ...
''. Iron Cross was killed by
the Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
. Heatmonger is used by
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
as a power source for a teleportation device, and is seemingly killed when it self-destructs.
Blind Faith and Backlash appear as part of a group of villains seeking to avoid being sent to the prison planet.
Second Aryan Brigade
A new version of the Aryan Brigade appears and is composed of Backlash and new members Rebel, Bonehead and Luftwaffe. They attack a casino in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, but are swiftly defeated by the
Freedom Fighters.
[''Freedom Fighters'' #1. DC Comics.]
Members
First Aryan Brigade members
The members of the first Aryan Brigade are:
* Backlash - A supervillain who had elastic whip-like arms.
* Blind Faith - A female blind psychic supervillain who serves as the group's seer.
* Golden Eagle - A supervillain equipped with an exo-skeleton and artificial wings. Not to be confused with the first
Golden Eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
.
* Heatmonger - A female supervillain with robotic arms that shoot out blasts of thermal energy.
* Iron Cross - A supervillain with super-strength.
Second Aryan Brigade members
The members of the second Aryan Brigade are:
* Backlash - A supervillain who had elastic whip-like arms.
* Bonehead - A bulletproof man with spikes protruding from his skull.
* Luftwaffe - A powerful metahuman in full World War II German pilot attire.
* Rebel - A superstrong white supremacist.
In other media
Television
A male version of Heat Monger named Lucious Coolidge appears in ''
The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'' season three episode "Cause and Effect", portrayed by Richard Zeman. Lucious Coolidge, nicknamed Heat Monger, is a criminal and arsonist in
Central City
In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...
and an enemy of the
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
and
Kid Flash
Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the c ...
. Coolidge became known as Central City's most notorious arsonist ever since
Mick Rory
Heat Wave (Mick Rory) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an enemy of The Flash and a member of The Rogues along with Captain Cold.
Actor Dominic Purcell has portrayed the character in The CW's Arro ...
"
went off the grid". At some point, he was defeated by the Flash and arrested by the Central City Police Department. At Coolidge's trial, he glared at
Cisco Ramon and
Julian Albert when they made fun of his codename. Cecille Horton was the prosecution in his case. Barry went up to testify, but unknown to Judge Hankerson and Coolidge, Barry had lost all of his memories. As such, he botched the testimony and Judge Hankerson allowed Coolidge to walk. Upon his release, Coolidge was back to his old tricks, setting fire to a large office building. However, he was defeated by Barry (who had recently regained his memories) and Kid Flash and was arrested again.
Film
Iron Cross, Heatmonger and Backlash were reportedly featured in
David S. Goyer
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...
's script for an upcoming
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...
film project entitled ''
Escape from Super Max''. In the script, the trio appeared as inmates of the Super Max Penitentiary for Metahumans.
References
External links
Aryan Brigadeat the Unofficial DC Universe Guide
Aryan Brigadeat the DC Wiki
{{Freedom Fighters
DC Comics supervillain teams
Comics characters introduced in 1994
DC Comics neo-Nazis