Alien-mutant hybrid Abigail Brand is a protector of Earth. As the director for the Sentient World Observation and Response Department, AKA S.W.O.R.D., she has a penchant for getting the job done no matter the means, even if it requires her to work with known enemies.
Mutant-Alien Hybrid
Abigail Brand is a hybrid, part extraterrestrial on her father’s side and a mutant on her mother’s. As half mutant, she is able to generate burning energy in her hands. As half alien, her hair is naturally green and her tongue is shaped in a unique manner which allows her to speak alien languages that the human tongue cannot form. She has a half-brother sired by her father, Lothithanriaxiaxus or Lothi, who is a furry green alien that causes trouble. At some point, she gets tattoos on both her biceps, the names “Grace” and “Anna” and she takes the surname “Brand” though it is not her given name.
She becomes a Special Agent and Director of the S.H.I.E.L.D. subdivision, Earth agency S.W.O.R.D., which is charged with protecting Earth from extraterrestrial threats. She commands Peak, S.W.O.R.D.’s headquarters and a heavily armed orbital station. Her chief operatives within S.W.O.R.D. include psychic extraterrestrial and Lieutenant Sydren and the alien-dragon Lockheed, who serves as a mole within the X-Men’s ranks.
Pyrokinesis
As part mutant, Abigail is able to coat her hands in either blue or red flames without damage to her physically suggesting enhanced durability. She also survives a cannon blast to the chest and comes out barely singed.
Thanks to her alien heritage, her tongue allows her to speak alien languages that humans cannot. Some languages that she speaks are Lockheed’s tongue, Galactic Basic, High Skrull, Debased Kree, Shi’ar Prime, Merchant-Slang Majesdanian, and Earth languages English and Italian.
Enemies of Earth
While Brand is known to ally herself with Earth’s enemies to protect the planet, like Ord from Breakworld, she knows who to keep at a distance and when to bring them close to extract intel from them. She goes up against Breakworld aliens, Skrulls, Thanos’ forces and Henry Gyrich, her alien-hating co-commander on Peak.
Personal and Necessary Alliances
As S.W.O.R.D.’s director, Brand often recruits heroes to become agents of her organization. Recruits include the alien-dragon Lockheed, the psychic extraterrestrial Sydren, Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman, and the Korbinite-cyborg with the powers of Thor, Beta Ray Bill.
At times, Brand has difficulty with authority and especially a change in authority. Though she follows orders, when it’s in the best interest of protecting Earth, she’s antagonistic towards her superiors like oft times S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and Colonel Nick Fury. When he’s replaced by Maria Hill, Brand is open about her dislike of her. She acts the same towards Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, who later becomes her commanding officer.
Agent Brand flirts with and later dates X-Men Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy, AKA Beast. Their relationship starts of tense due to Abigail’s position as director of S.W.O.R.D., and her ruthless methods are not agreeable to Hank. However, she trusts his intelligence to question her professionally and informs him that they are physically compatible. They embark on a long-term relationship both work-related and personal.
Personal Log
During Brand’s time as director of S.W.O.R.D., she encountered an alien named Ord who saw a future where an Earth mutant would destroy his planet of Breakworld. Brand allowed Ord to create a cure for the mutant gene to stall so she and S.W.O.R.D. could find the mutant supposedly responsible. She learned that the mutant destined to destroy Breakworld was the X-Man Piotr Rasputin, AKA Colossus. Brand informed the X-Men and then faced a Board of inquiry for misconduct. She justified her actions citing that she was averting interplanetary warfare.
Working with the X-Men and Ord, Brand had them travel to Breakworld. On their way, Ord notified his contacts on Breakworld of their Colossus’ location and Breakworld forces attacked their vessel leaving Brand and the X-Men to flee in escape pods (all of which was a part of Brand’s plan).
The X-Men regrouped on the surface of Breakworld, and Brand mobilized her S.W.O.R.D. forces against the world’s despot and Powerlord Kruun. In fighting alongside the X-Men, she saved Beast by taking a cannon blast to the chest, but came away from it practically unscathed and the crisis Breakworld posed to Earth was averted.
After the mission ended, Brand offered Hank a job to question her actions and, as she was attracted to him, made an off-the-job offer to share in a romantic relationship with her. He accepted both offers.
Brand later broke into a Skrull armada ship and witnessed the Skrull Invasion on Earth from the vessel. In her infiltration, she found their prisoner Reed Richards, AKA Mister Fantastic, who was being tortured. Nearly caught by Skrulls suspicious of her identity, she seized on of their weapons and used it to escape. She rescued Mister Fantastic and they absconded to the Savage Land. There they found some Skrulls posing as Earth’s heroes.
After the invasion, she encountered Beta Ray Bill who sought world-eater Galan, AKA Galactus’ whereabouts. Brand shared the intel with the caveat that Bill could never reveal his source as it would put Earth in danger of Galactus. He promised on his hammer Stormbreaker, reminding her that he is worthy of it, and would never betray her. She asked him to also take out the genocidal maniac Voidian’s armory and he agreed. Upon Bill’s return to Peak, he delivered Voidian to Brand. She then recruited Spider-Woman into S.W.O.R.D. and sent her to Madripoor.
Later, when Agent Brand commanded Peak, S.W.O.R.D.’s orbital headquarters, she was forced to share her leadership post with former Avengers-liaison Henry Gyrich, who she believed to be a Norman Osborn, AKA Green Goblin-appointed pawn. She was right to distrust him considering she later uncovered his plans to rid Earth of all aliens. Gyrich ordered all aliens on Earth to be deported immediately, and being an alien herself, Brand became a fugitive in S.W.O.R.D. Brand, Sydren, Beta Ray Bill, Noh-Varr, AKA Marvel Boy, Jazinda, Karolina Dean, and the X-Man Beast were captured though. Brand and Beast escaped with help from a distraction provided by Lockheed. Beast proposed to Brand but in this moment, she brushed him off. On their way back to Peak, they stopped an alien insurgency. Upon their return to Peak, she blackmailed Gyrich to avoid a scandal, let him go and he resigned his post in S.W.O.R.D. recommending that it be left unfilled.
Brand later gave Scot Summers, AKA Cyclop’s X-Men team missions but when they were warring with the Avengers, she sided with the latter and ended up helping Max Eisenhardt, AKA Magneto. Shortly thereafter, Brand helped David Haller, AKA Legion, battle a monster and during the battle she was incinerated, in front of Beast no less. Though Legion resurrected her and all others who perished in the battle by sacrificing himself.
Aboard the Peak, Commander Brand sent word to Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, of the Guardians of the Galaxy that Thanos’ armada captured the station to take full advantage of the Avengers being off-world and ensure his invasion of Earth a success; holding it would prevent the heroes from returning. Brand’s swift message allowed the Guardians to attack the armada and free Brand. To keep the Peak out of Thanos’ hands, Brand set the auto-destruct button, and the station exploded shortly after she and the Guardians made their escape.
Eventually Alpha Flight replaced S.W.O.R.D. and Brand became the lieutenant commander of the team’s low-orbit space station, known as Alpha Flight Space Station (A.F.S.S.), having turned down the role of commander. She reported to Captain Marvel, who she was hostile towards.
