Hounds are the name given to several fictional groups of

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. This term usually refers to those who track or hunt down mutants while serving a higher authority.

History

Days of Future Past

The Hounds were first introduced in ''Uncanny X-Men'', from the "

Days of Future Past "Days of Future Past" is a storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book ''The Uncanny X-Men'' issues #141–142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. An adult Kate Pryde transfer ...

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

n timeline, as part of the backstory of

Rachel Summers Rachel Anne Summers (also known as Rachel Grey) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne. In h ...

. These brainwashed mutant hunters were created and commanded by the cyborg

Ahab Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, ...

, who used them to hunt down and imprison mutants in

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. Rachel was forced to become one of these Hounds while still an adolescent, which scarred and haunted her for years afterward. Eventually she broke her conditioning and rebelled. As a result, Rachel was sent to the camps herself as punishment.

Shadow King's Hounds

Shadow King The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also ...

is later seen to use mind-controlled humans called Hounds to track

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

, who had been transformed into a child by the villainous Nanny. These Hounds were reduced to a nearly mindless, animalistic state by the Shadow King apparently for his own amusement.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the ''

Age of Apocalypse "Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The ''Age of Apocalypse'' briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comic ...

'' reality, the Hounds are mutants used to hunt down and imprison mutants and humans in concentration camps or simply to kill their targets. Sabretooth was used as the leading Hound to the Horsemen until his defection. Wild Child was too ferocious that he was kept a prisoner until Sabretooth rescued him.

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...

was used as the prime hound to the Bounty Hunters.

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

was a mutant altered by Beast who served

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

as his leading hunter after the defection of Sabretooth.

Spider-Verse

In the "

Spider-Verse "Spider-Verse" is a 2014– 15 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It features multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared in various media, all under attack by Morlun and his family, the Inheritors. The event ...

" storyline, the Hounds of Earth-001 are servants of Verna of the Inheritors. They consist of

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

, Fireheart, Kravinoff, five different

Vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

, the

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

, the

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

, Hammerhead, Ox, a

Hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nig ...

, and various

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...

s. Sable, Fireheart, and Kravinoff of the Hounds accompany Verna to Earth-1610 to hunt

Miles Morales Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). () is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and is one o ...

. Miles Morales and Jessica Drew struggle to hold off Verna's Hounds. Verna laments that the hunt is over before it began. Superior Spider-Man (

Otto Octavius Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and firs ...

's mind in

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

's body), Assassin Spider-Man, and

Spider-Punk Spider-Punk (Hobart Brown) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an alternate version of Hobie Brown and Spider-Man who opposes President Norman Osborn, V.E.N.O.M., and the Inheritors. Spider-Pu ...

emerge from a portal and immediately incapacitate the Hounds. While Verna mourns the deaths of her Hounds, Miles looks at the shattered gravestone of his mother and says she made things personal between them with Verna furiously responding that she will feast on his bones. Verna later sent the Vultures after the Ben Reilly of Earth-94. Reilly defeats them with the aid of Spider-Ham and the Old Man Spider-Man of Earth-4 Verna, Rhino, and Scorpion arrive to hunt Hobgoblin (who was the identity of this world's Peter Parker) and drain his life force. They are thwarted by Spider-Woman of Earth-65 who then escapes with Hobgoblin. In the final battle, Verna has an army of Green Goblins. During the "

Spider-Geddon ''Spider-Geddon'' is a 2018 comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics featuring multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared in various media, and his supporting cast. In this sequel to ''Spi ...

" storyline, Verna begins her hunt for the crystal containing Solus' lifeforce with he help of her Hounds which consist of Sable, Fireheart, Kravinoff, and Scorpion as well as

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

being the latest Hound. They compete with

Kaine Parker Kaine Parker is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a superhero and former supervillain who serves as an ally, an enemy, and foil to Peter Parker / Spider-Man and ...

's group to get to the crystal first.

In other media

Television

Live action

The Hounds feature in the ''X-Men'' film universe spin-off television series, ''The Gifted''. They are directly referenced first during a scene in the season one episode titled "boXed in". In the series, the Hounds' villainous leader Roderick Campbell is portrayed by

Garret Dillahunt Garret Lee Dillahunt (born November 24, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in television, including the roles Burt Chance on the Fox sitcom ''Raising Hope'', for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television A ...

Animation

In the ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' episode "The Fifth Horseman," it showed a foursome of mutants serving

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

who were called Hounds (rather than the

Horsemen of Apocalypse The Horsemen of Apocalypse are a team of supervillain characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Horsemen of Apocalypse are first mentioned in ''X-Factor'' #10 (Nov. 1986), and make their f ...

despite the title of the episode). Their costumes were based on those of the ''Days of Future Past'' Hounds. Three of them were unnamed, but the fourth was

of the

Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televis ...

(who in the comics was one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse).