An
alien race that appears in the comics published by
Marvel Comics.
The Brood were created by
Chris Claremont and
first appeared in
Uncanny X-Men #155.
The Brood are a race of reptilian aliens whose home planet has only been known as Broodworld. Armed with razor sharp teeth, a divided tail with stingers, wings, tough armor-like skin, and forelegs that can be used like tentacles, the Brood are a vicious race, conquering and killing all who oppose them. The Brood's appearance is similar in many ways to the alien in Ridley Scott's Alien.
The race is led by a queen who is larger than the normal Brood. She has the ability to implant an egg into a living host where it lays dormant until it is time to hatch. No criteria has been shown for the host as both humans and non-humans have been used as hosts in the past. When the egg hatches, the host is consumed and its body used to form the new Brood. The new Brood appears fully cognizant of its surroundings and capable of all its abilities from birth. In addition to this, if the host possessed additional powers or abilities, the new Brood possesses those as well. For this reason, the Brood have often come into conflict with the mutant X-Men, as mutant hosts pass on their abilities to Brood who hatch with in them. The X-Men fell victim of this at one point having eggs planted in each of them. The X-Man Wolverine actually had the egg hatch within him, but due to his adamantium skeleton and healing factor, he was not consumed by the egg. Ultimately, through the efforts of Wolverine, the Starjammers and the heroine Binary, the X-Men were saved from the effects of the eggs implanted within them.
The Brood are a space-faring race, employing gigantic creatures known as Acanti who can fly unaided through space as living
ships. The Acanti are enslaved by the Brood, who use them as living ships for their travels.
The Brood have been known to form alliances with other races in the past. The Brood first came into contact with the X-Men while they were fighting alongside the Sh'iar villainess Deathbird. Later, the Brood banded together with the Badoon to bring about the worldwide competition know as the second Contest of Champions.