One of the darkest, deadliest and bloodiest groups of "heroes" in all of comics is the Blood Syndicate from Milestone Entertainment. This superhuman group isn't a team like the Avengers or the Justice League; they're an outright gang who use their powers to take on rivals and defend their turf. Though they seemed like any other dark '90s team with "blood" in their title, they were much more than the average vigilantes in their titular series by Ivan Velez Jr, ChrisCross, Trevor Von Eeden and James Fry III. After being absent from Milestone's initial 2020 relaunch, the gang of Bang Babies is finally set to make their return.
A recently revealed image from DC FanDome shows the violent Milestone team's returning lineup, which includes several new and familiar faces. Before the Blood Syndicate makes their modern comic book return, here's a look at who might be returning to the team.
Blood Syndicate's Holocaust
One of the more obvious silhouettes in the promotional image is Holocaust. Leonard Smalls was a prominent member of the Blood Syndicate briefly, before becoming a villain for main Milestone hero Static as well as one of the most powerful Bang Babies ever.
Holocaust's presence at the Big Bang and subsequent exposure to Quantum Juice gave him pyrokinetic powers, allowing him exert control over flame. He also developed superhuman strength and durability, making him tough enough to fight young metahumans like Superboy and Wonder Girl later on in Teen Titans. The promotional image shows Holocaust looking somewhat smaller than he usually does, though his fiery eyes and familiar hair make him easily recognizable.
Milestone's Tech-9
Right beside Holocaust is fan favorite Tech-9, a.k.a. Rolando Texador. Tech-9 can be recognized by his wearing a hat and carrying a firearm, which is tied to his superpower. Tech-9 has the ability to shoot endless rounds out of projectile and long-range weapons, namely guns. His aim is also supremely sharp, so he rarely misses his target. He was the leader of the Force Syndicate, leading the Blood Syndicate once his former gang united with the Paris Island Bloods.
Tech-9 was a force to be reckoned with due to his powers and his tactical mind honed by military experience, and he saw his gang as his family. He was seemingly killed in Blood Syndicate #4 (by Ivan Velez Jr., Dwayne McDuffie, Arvell Jones, James W. Fry, Andrew Pepoy, Michelle Wrightson, and Steve Dutro) but appears poised to now return.
Blood Syndicate's Aquamaria
One of the more colorful characters seen in the image is Aquamaria. In the original continuity, she was a member of a Latin gang that was present at the Big Bang. Upon exposure to Quantum Juice, she fell into the nearby James River, becoming a living water woman.
Aquamaria's powers allow her control over water in all its forms, as well as variations of cryo and pyrokinesis over her own body. Her one limitation is that she has to remain in contact with the James River or else evaporate, which is likely why she spent so much time merely observing the Syndicate before joining them.
Brickhouse and Third Rail
Behind Holocaust would seem to be the stony Brickhouse. Named after the song by The Commodores, Brickhouse was a Big Bang survivor whose body took on a rocky appearance. She would escape the machinations of SYSTEM, who intended to weaponize her and other Bang Babies, before joining the Blood Syndicate.
Her monstrous appearance and tendency to experience violent seizures made her self-conscious, but a later "facelift" improved her looks and self-esteem. She would also fall in love with Third Rail, who himself was rather large and had superhuman strength. Third Rail might possibly be the figure standing a little bit in front of Tech-9, so the couple may get back together in the new continuity.
Blood Syndicate's Wise Son
The person in between Tech-9 and what might be Third Rail is likely Wise Son, the secondary leader of the Blood Syndicate. Much like Tech-9, Wise Son was known for wearing shades and a hat, the former of which can be seen on the silhouette.
Wise Son's powers gave him incredible invulnerability, making him essentially impossible to harm. This also gave him a degree of super strength, allowing him to fight even the likes of Icon and Holocaust, both of whom had strength on par with Superman. Wise Son was also an edgy and rebellious radical, which the sunglasses helped to show off.
Milestone's Other Blood Syndicate Members
The other figures in the image aren't nearly as clear, so their identities are definitely up for grabs. One of the frames does appear feminine, however, so it's more than likely Flashback. She was a member of the Blood Syndicate who had the power of flight as well as the ability to rewind time three seconds. This seemingly inconsequential power was once taxed to the maxed when she had to save the team from an explosion.
Another member who might be returning is her brother Fade, whose powers made him immaterial and intangible. Unfortunately for him, he eventually lost more and more control over this ability, making him become permanently ghost-like. There's also the chance that these other figures are original characters who weren't introduced in the original Milestone continuity. Fans will have to wait until the book's release in 2022 to see which of Dakota's bloodiest gang members make the team.