History
Origin and early years[]
The mortal giant Bran (Bendigeidfran, or "Blessed Crow") was born in the Kingdom of Gwynedd (modern-day Wales) to the storm god Leir and to Penarddun. During his youth, he was tutored by the royal bards of Gwynedd.
At some point, he was part of the Walkers, a group of men wise in magic, and remained good, among the Proud Walkers when half of the group turned into evil and became the Evil Walkers.[3]
Upon adulthood, he was crowned king of Britain. He agreed his sister Branwen to wed with King Matholwch of Ireland, but upon learning he was mistreating his sister, led an army across the Irish Sea to rescue her. The ensuing war claimed both the lives of Matholwch and of Bran, who was beheaded.[1]
Godhood[]
The decapitated Bran was then resurrected and apotheosized as a full-fledged immortal demigod,[1] known as Bran the Blessed, and received worship from mortals, though he didn't asked for it and allegedly didn't thrive on it.[2]
Bran was among the few Celtic gods to remain on Earth, using a mortal host in order to maintain his strength on the mortal plane[1] (the Tuatha de Danaan become weak after prolonged stays in the mortal plane, and form symbiotic partnership with hosts to prevent this; a tattoo serves as the symbol of such link; the host will usually die from a premature death due to the stress of that status).[2][6]
Modern days[]
His most recent host was the mortal Bran Murphy, of Lakewood, Ohio, who was the bodyguard for the occult super-villain Dark Art.[1] Bendigeidfran said he liked him because they had the same name. During this time he also became an enemy of She-Hulk who he enjoyed messing with.[7][8]
As one of the few representatives of the Celtic pantheon on Earth, he was then approached by Hercules who wished to have Bran and the Tuatha de Danaan's support for a "misbegotten adventure",[2] presumably the Earth pantheons involvement in the Skrull Invasion.
Hercules also tried to enlist him in a round of songs, but Bran, seemingly eager to pick a fight, mentioned Megara in "a few well-chosen words", prompting Hercules to violence, and the two started brawling in the streets, urging the intervention of mandated She-Hulk to stop them.
As his host was seemingly dying (and asked Jazinda to end him), Bran tried to flee to join with him, but was decapitated by Hercules performing a Fastball Special with the assistance of She-Hulk, temporary incapacitating him and severing his link to Murphy (who was restored back to health).
Bran swiftly took a new host, Monique (who had been sharing a cell with She-Hulk moments before) offering her the power she needed to keep her family safe. His current whereabouts are unrevealed.[2]Attributes
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Powers
- Giant/Tuatha de Danaan Physiology: Bran was originally a "mere mortal Giant", a mortal demigod-giant, but he apotheosized to full godhood upon being resurrected.[1]
- True Immortality: Upon reaching godhood he became immune to aging and diseases and now he cannot be killed through conventional means.[1]
- Size Alteration: At that occasion, he also gained the ability to alter both his size and weight at will, with unknown upward limits,[1] though he has demonstrated that he can extend at least to the size of a multiple stories-building.[2]
- Superhuman Strength: He has enhanced strength enabling him to lift about 100 tons.[9]
- Superhuman Durability: Bran is highly resistant to damage.[9]
- Regenerative Healing Factor: He can be wounded in battle but his godly life essence gives him incredible recuperative abilities allowing him to fully recover from a penetration wound within minutes to hours, depending on its severity.[1][9]
- Possession: Bran can manifest himself on Earth via human host. Matching tatoos appear on the arms of Bran and of the host, though Bran can make his tatoo invisible. The link weakens the host and it slowly kills him but if the host dies of violent death Bran could die too. Bran and his host can see through each other's eyes.[9]
Abilities
Weaknesses
See Also
- 4 appearance(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
- 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
- 1 image(s) of Bendigeidfran (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 ; Bran the Blessed's entry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #30
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Marvel Atlas #1 ; United Kingdom's entry
- ↑ See Penarddun's page notes
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #14 ; Bran the Blessed's profile
- ↑ Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1 ; The Tuatha de Danaan's entry
- ↑ She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #24
- ↑ She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #28–30
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #14
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 14