BLOOD
MEMBERSHIP: Atrocity, Caretaker, Embyrre, Foundry, Metarchus, Patriarch, Ranter, Raydar, Regent, Rubach, Salomé,
Seer, Truthsayer; there are others
in existence, although they have not been seen.
Fallen: Atrocity, Embyrre (former), Foundry,
Metarchus, Patriarch, Ranter, Rubach
PURPOSE: Formerly served to protect Earth from likes of Zarathos and other demons. The Blood have dispersed and no longer act as a group or work towards any purpose. The Fallen are worshippers of Zarathos, who seek to assist in his conquering of Earth.
AFFILIATIONS: Midnight Sons (Blade, John Blaze, Frank Drake, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch/Noble Kale, Hannibal King, Morbius, Vengeance), Spirits of Vengeance
ENEMIES: Fallen, Lilin, Lilith, People of the Dust, Zarathos
BASE of OPERATIONS: The Nightclub
FIRST APPEARANCE: Caretaker:
Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992);
Blood: (Shadows only) Spirits of Vengeance#14
(September, 1993); see also individual entries (on the way)
HISTORY: (Ghost Rider III#42-43 (fb) - BTS) - In
a time before Atlantis, a group of beings came together to from
the Blood. The origins of this group remain unknown. They were
allies with the original Spirits of Vengeance, and fought to keep
the Medallion of Power from the hands of the demon Zarathos and
his ilk.
The Blood sought to guard the Medallion, but found that the power
contained within was too much for any one being to wield.
Zarathos attempted to claim the Medallion, but the Blood and the
Spirits of Vengeance opposed him. The Spirits merged with
Zarathos within the Medallion. The Blood saw only one solution.
The Medallion, which could never be destroyed, was instead,
shattered. The pieces of the Medallion, and the powers within
were placed within the descendents of two human families. The
Blood known as Caretaker was chosen to watch over those families.
(Marvel Comics Presents#145/4 (fb) - BTS) - The Blood merged their powers and stopped the People of the Dust after they killed flesh-beings for million of years.
(Spirits of Vengeance#16(fb))-Over the succeeding millennia, the Blood began to break apart. A group of them turned their backs on their previous mission and chose instead to worship the demon Zarathos. These beings became known as the Fallen. The other members began to follow their own paths and agendas, most of them chosing to live in isolation from the rest of the world, and even from their own brethren. Only Caretaker remained true to their original purpose.
(Spirits of Vengeance#14)-One of the Blood chastised Seer for not bringing Ghost Rider back to the Nightclub. This person also mentioned that Caretaker would be dealt with for failing to bring the Ghost Rider and the Medallion into the Blood's protection.
(Morbius#17)-Embyrre and Raydar allied themselves with Seer and the Midnight Sons.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#146)-Metarchus, one of the Fallen, impersonated Caretaker and attempted to slay Embyrre and Raydar, but failed and was forced to flee.
(Midnight Sons Unlimited#4)-Caretaker, Embyrre, and Raydar fought against Zarathos and the Fallen. Both Embyrre and Raydar were killed.
COMMENTS: Created by Howard Mackie...see also individual entries.
This entry, for the most part, deals only with the Blood as a group. The Fallen have a separate entry, and the individual members will all get their own entries over the next few months.
"In a time before Atlantis" would be in the ballpark of 20,000 BC. For a truly excellent pre-modern era Chronology of the Marvel Universe, check out Robert Wicks' Unofficial Chronology of the Marvel Universe. However, we mark the sinking of Atlantis as 18000 BC.
A mystery is intriguing...for awhile. Howard Mackie really likes to keep his characters mysterious. Throughout his several year run on Ghost Rider, not once did he actually reveal anything definitive regarding his origins. We never got anything other than bits and pieces for Ghost Rider, the Blood, the original Spirits of Vengeance, the Medallion of Power, etc.. Towards the end of the series, another writer revealed a well thought-out origin to the Ghost Rider, which Mackie quickly discounted, but offered nothing further of his own. However, all of the information "revealed" about the origins of the Ghost Rider, Zarathos, etc. in Mackie's (and the subsequent writers) series should be considered unconfirmed.
Lastly, the Blood were really hyped up, and then turned out to be a bunch of zeroes, in my humble opinion.
Though nothing was revealed it is possible that the Blood were the ones imprisoning Slorioth in Starkesboro.
--Markus Raymond
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Spirits of Vengeance of the Pre-Cataclysmic
era should not be confused for:
The original Spirits of Vengeance
existed before Atlantis as well. They were beings of power who
sought to protect humanity against the dark times Zarathos would
have brought to this dimension. The Spirits of Vengeance had
sufficient power to go head to head with Zarathos, and did so in
order to stop him from claiming the Medallion of Power. In the
process, they sacrificed themselves, melding with Zarathos within
the Medallion.
--They may also have been known as the Order of the Midnight Sons
The Nightclub is basically a bar in some pocket dimension that served as the base of the Blood. It stocked all manage of beverages for all manner of people, vampires, etc. Like everything else in this storyline, no explanation was given.
Appearances:
Spirits of Vengeance#14 (September, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer),
Mike Manley (pencils), Tom Palmer, Jeff Albrecht, Ralph Cabrera &
Tim Tuohy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#42 (October, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#43 (November, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance#16 (November, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer),
Henry Martine (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#145 (early January, 1994) - Chris Cooper
(writer), Reggie Jones (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford
(editor)
Morbius#17 (January, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer), Isaac Cordova (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#146 (late January, 1994) - Chris Cooper
(writer), Reggie Jones (writer), Fred Harper (inks), Richard Ashford
(editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#4 (January, 1994) - D.G. Chichester (writer),
John Hixson & John Bridges (pencils), Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin
& Scott Koblish (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
First Posted: 04/29/2002
Last updated: 06/12/2004
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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