Being the black sheep of the family is one thing, but being the black sheep of an entire race is something else. Such was the case for Broo, a creature born into the sadistic, insectoid race of extraterrestrials known as the Brood. How much do you know about him?
Broo, created by writer Christos Gage and artist Juan Bobillo, made his first appearance in Astonishing X-Men #40 in 2011. While the Brood creatures are known for enjoying the suffering they inflict on others, Broo possessed a large measure of kindness and empathy that was severely lacking from the rest of the race. As a result, the rest of the Broods proposed that they kill him. Fortunately, the Queen Mother argued against this as their species had begun to dwindle and they couldn’t afford to lose any numbers. Since the Brood are a hive-mind, and thus bound to mindlessly follow their queen, they accepted her decision.
However, as Broo became more advanced and more compassionate, the other Broods considered him an abomination and abandoned him. While on a mission to eliminate the Brood, the X-Men find Broo in a Brood ship laboratory. As they are preparing to leave, with Broo in tow, the Queen Mother attacks the group and attempts to stop them. Broo then confronts the Queen Mother on her cruel act of keeping him alone and tells her that he is no longer one of them. At the same time, Storm sets off a strike of lightning to defend Broo. The resulting lightning releases him from the hive-mind, leaving him free-willed to do as he pleases.
In a later storyline, Broo enrolls in the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning, where he was teased for his Brood origins. While Wolverine and Kitty Pryde quickly come to his rescue, Brood assured them that he would not allow the altercation to ruin his eduction. During his time at the school, Broo meets and quickly falls in love with Idie Okonkwo. The pair later team up with fellow students Quentin Quire and Kid Gladiator to fight against the teachers-turned-monsters and Frankenstein’s men attacking the school. Eventually, the heroes managed to defeat those threatening the school and despite the severe damage to the institution, classes were able to resume as usual.
More recently, Broo has lended his talents to the Avengers. As the X-Men and the Avengers argued over how to handle a problem with Phoenix, Broo used his advanced intellect to offer insight into the situation and propose a solution. Impressed by his problem-solving and wisdom, Broo was invited to join the Avengers’ support staff in charge of their I.T. Who knows what world-saving adventure the enigma of the Brood race will be a part of now?
