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The Parliament of Limbs are a collective body of Totems; the former Avatars of The Red.

History

They represent the interests of all animal life on the planet Earth. Having chosen Maxine Baker as their Avatar, they also chose her father Buddy Baker to act as her protector as the super-hero known as Animal Man. Maxine was chosen upon her birth after the previous Avatar was killed by Anton Arcane five years previously, and it was Ignatius of the Totems who convinced the others to have The Tailors imbue Buddy with the power he'd need to protect her.

Despite all this, Buddy did not know about the Parliament's existence, having been conditioned to believe that he was given his power by aliens.[1] It was not until his daughter's powers began to manifest, and she took him into The Red that he learned of his powers' true nature. The Totems explained that Maxine's powers had awakened because of a threat to The Red in the form of The Rot. The Red, The Rot, and The Green had always been in balance, and the Avatars existed in order to maintain that balance. With the return of Anton Arcane, though, the balance had tipped.[2]

The Rot had corrupted three former totems, who called themselves the Hunters Three, and those three antagonized the Baker family in the hopes of corrupting Maxine for the Rot as well. In order to provide additional protection to their chosen avatar, the Totems chose Ignatius to go back to reality with Buddy and Maxine as their new cat, Socks.[3]

Despite their efforts, though, Buddy found himself killed by one of the Hunters Three, and had to return to The Red to meet with the Parliament and beg for a second chance. He was guided through the Red by a new friend in Shepherd.[4] He faced a cold reception, though, and it was only after pleading his case that they agreed to remake him stronger - with the help of the Tailors again - in order to better protect his daughter.[5]

Unfortunately, once he united with the Swamp Thing in a plan to enter The Rot and put a stop to Anton Arcane, Buddy and Alec were trapped there for an entire year. In the meantime, the Rot seized control of the planet, killing and consuming their loved ones and reducing the Parliaments of both Limbs and Trees to weak bodies whose tenuous grips on the planet were confined to two small locations in the Green Kingdom and the Red Kingdom, where those few with connections to the Red and Green still survived.[6] Fortunately, the two of them managed to defeat Arcane, and they were returned to their original timelines, with the Rot in balance with their two elements.[7]

It was too late, however, for Cliff Baker, Buddy's son, and Buddy decided it was time to put an end to his connection to the Red. When he confronted the Parliament on the matter, they grew angry and stripped him of his connection, retaining their ties to Maxine against his wishes.[8]

Intent on bringing her brother back to life, Maxine and Socks entered the Red by night to find his spirit there, enlisting Shepherd's help. Upon visiting the Parliament, she assured them that she will remain their Avatar - but only if they would allow her to search for Cliff. They agreed.[9]

One Totem, however, had decided that Buddy and Maxine were not worthy of their roles, and allied itself with Brother Blood in a coup against the other Totems. While Maxine and her friends sought Cliff, the Totem allowed Brother Blood into The Red and turned on its own companions and murdered them.[10] Eventually, Buddy fought his way back to The Red to kill the rogue Totem, and expel Brother Blood from the Red with Maxine's help. This left the Red without a Parliament, and it was agreed that Socks and Shepherd would take on that role together - albeit, perhaps not in the way it had existed to that point.[11]



See Also

Links and References

Footnotes


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Titans Villain(s)
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This character has been primarily an enemy of the Teen Titans, the Titans, or any of the other various Titans incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans Villains" category.

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