Two mysterious characters who call themselves The Blood Siblings (or The Blood Sibs) appear in Ironheart as part of The Hood’s crew. They’re an interesting pair among the ragtag group of criminals, but one that isn’t explained very well. That said, some Marvel fans will understand the inspiration behind these two siblings, named Roz and Jeri (not Jerry, which was a misspelling in early promos for the series), as a very loose reference to a similar pair of villains from the Iron Man comics. Here’s what we know so far about the The Blood Siblings and their creative origins in Ironheart.
Why are Roz and Jeri called “Blood Siblings” in Ironheart?
Roz (Shakira Barrera) and Jeri (Zoe Terakes) are called Blood Siblings in Ironheart for several reasons. Though it’s not revealed in the show, both Roz and Jeri’s last names are literally Blood, but the other reason is because they are inspired by The Blood Brothers, which Iron Man fights in the comics.
Of course, we shouldn’t gloss over the literal meaning of “blood sibling,” which is a brother or sister who shares the same biological parents (as opposed to, say, an adopted sibling or half-siblings). Their familial relationship sets them apart from the rest of The Hood’s criminal gang, with a slight exception to Parker and John who consider each other cousins in a “blood brother” sort of way.
Parker introduces The Blood Siblings to Riri as “down-on-their-luck athletes, banned from every league for unsportsmanlike conduct.” Considering that he and John “found them making money off back-alley fights outside a dive,” the “league” they’re talking about is likely MMA. They even say that they hope to build an underground fight club with the money from the first heist. The pair excels at hand-to-hand combat and has no trouble taking out security guards using punches, kicks, and grapples in both heists shown in the first three episodes of the series.
Their names, Roz and Jeri, are clear references (among other Easter Eggs) to The Blood Brothers who are named R’Hos and Gh’Ree in the comics. This supervillain duo are ape-like beings called Roclites who are in charge of defending Thanos’s first base on Earth with their super strength, which is drawn by how close they are to each other. By comparison, The Blood Siblings are clearly Americans with no superhuman abilities, just pure brawlers, so they are pretty much new characters in the Marvel scene.
