Abigail Brand

Abigail Brand
Agent Brand Art by John Cassaday
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Astonishing X-Men vol.3, #3 (2004) (Cameo) Astonishing X-Men vol.3, #6 (2004) (first full appearance)
Created by	Joss Whedon (writer) John Cassaday (artist)
In-story information
Species	Human Mutant/Alien Hybrid
Team affiliations	Alpha Flight S.W.O.R.D. X-Men
Partnerships	Beast
Abilities	Pyrokinesis

Special Agent Abigail Brand is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Abigail Brand's first appearance was a cameo in Astonishing X-Men #3 (2004), and she was introduced fully in Astonishing X-Men #6 (2004). She was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.

Abigail Brand is the commanding officer of S.W.O.R.D., a S.H.I.E.L.D. offshoot that deals with defending the Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Almost no details about her personal life have been revealed, but she is known to be 28 years old as of the Skrull's "Secret Invasion".

When an alien by the name of Ord came to Earth, convinced that a mutant was destined to destroy his planet, Brand intervened in order to avoid an interplanetary war. Brand acquiesced to Ord's plan to avert the destruction of his world by allowing him to create a 'cure' for the mutant 'condition'. It was later revealed that the mutant prophesied to destroy Breakworld was Colossus. Furthermore, statements made by Ord suggest that neutralizing Earth's mutant population may have been just one step in an as-yet unrevealed plan.

After her involvement in this plan became known to the X-Men and to then-S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, Brand faced a board of inquiry to answer charges against her conduct. She defended her actions on the grounds that averting interplanetary warfare was a responsibility so great as to justify courses of action that would otherwise be considered immoral or illegal. This defense seems to have convinced the board as she was subsequently still in command of S.W.O.R.D.

Despite the antagonistic relationship she and Fury demonstrated toward each other, she was considered a Fury loyalist by Fury's then-successor as S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Maria Hill. Brand made no effort to hide her dislike for Hill, and no further contact between the two has been shown.