ULYSSES BLOODSTONE

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human mutate;
    Hyborian Era; Post-Hyborian era; 1st through 10th Centuries; 11th through 17th Centuries; 18th and 19th Century; World War I; World War II; Post-World War II; Pre-Modern

Dual Identity: Bloodstone's existence was unknown to the general public, and it was similarly unknown that he was Ahab or Frank

Occupation: Adventurer, hunter, soldier of fortune;
    former movie actor
    former Major in the army of Colonial America
    former hunter/gatherer

Group Membership: Former member of the Explorers Club, Monster Hunters (Dr. Druid, Makkari, Namora, Zawadi), the crew of the Pequod (Ishmael, Queequeg, others), and an unnamed Vanir tribe (including Torg, and possibly Raa)

Affiliations: Howard Avery, Lynn Avery, Charles Barnabus, Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon), Black Fox, Blonde Phantom (Mason); Billy Brand, Captain America of 1776, Brad Carter, Lewis Conrad, Darkhawk (Chris Powell), Mr. Dluga, Mr. Dluga Sr., Samantha Eden, First Line (immediately before their forming), Frankenstein monster, Gorgilla, Gyre, Hellsgaard, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Eric Koenig, Man-Wolf (John Jameson), Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Namorita, N'Kantu the Living Mummy, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division), Sphinx (Anath-Na Mut), P.D.Q. Werner, Major-General Wallace Worthington, Ymir (likely object of worship @ 8250 BC, see comments);
    allegedly Hate Mother

Enemies: the British Army during the Revolutionary War, Conspiracy, Creature from the Sea, Diablo, Domino, Dracula, Exo-Mind, Fin Fang Foom; Flutist, Gigantus, Goram, Gor-Kill the Living Demon; Grottu, Hessians, Killer Shrike, Kro, Living Totem; Lizard Men, Moby Dick/Giganto, Nosferatu and the Nosferatu vampires, Orrgo, Possessor, Sharzan the Elemental, Skrulls, Sphinx (Anath-Na Mut), Sir William Taurey, Tricephalous,  Ulluxy'l Kwan Tae Syn, numerous unnamed monsters;
    allegedly Blight Beast of Krakow, Hideous Felch-Monster of Bihar Province

Known Relatives: Elise Bloodstone (widow), Cullen Bloodstone (son), Elsa Bloodstone (daughter);
    It would seem likely that he had numerous offspring over his 10, 000 years+ life.

Aliases: Ahab, Frank, Redstone Kid, numerous others unidentified;
    possibly Beowulf (see comments)

Place of Birth: Northern Vanaheim (see comments), European Continent, @ 8250 BC.

Base of Operations: formerly a series of strategic bases across Earth, including: (1) Bloodstone Island, Largos, Tropic of Cancer, near the Caribbean Ocean (see comments), as well as (2) Minibase-6, in Harlem, New York, (3) a base near Moscow, Russia, (4) a mansion in Boston, Massachusetts, and at least two others;
    formerly the Explorer's Club, New York City;
    formerly Colonial America, @ 1776-1781;
    formerly Northern Vanaheim (in the region that would become Scandanavia)

Place of Death: New York City

First Appearance: (as Frank) Strange Tales I#73 (February 1960);
    (as Bloodstone) Marvel Presents#1 (October, 1975)

Powers/Abilities: Ulysses Bloodstone possesses a variety of abilities conferred on him via the fragment of the Bloodgem imbedded in his chest. He can lift 5 tons and has enhanced speed, stamina, agility, and senses (approximately 1.5 times that of an Olympic athlete). He has vast regenerative powers, enabling him to recover from virtually any injury up to the dispersion of a vital portion of his bodily molecules (some sources claim he could regenerate if a single cell survived). The period of regeneration varied with the severity of injury: to regenerate a missing limb once took him about a decade, during which time he slept in self-induced suspended animation. The Bloodgem fragment granted him virtually immortality, rendering him immune to aging and many conventional diseases. Elsa Bloodstone has demonstrated immunity to vampire bites: Actually, her blood was pure enough to destroy a vampire if consumed; the Bloodgem fragment itself was an anathema to vampires; Ulysses's Bloodgem fragment may have granted him similar abilities.

    Bloodstone also possessed an invisible third eye on his forehead, granting him a number of extrasensory perceptions, including the ability to see human auras (permitting him to see people in the dark) and the ability to mentally travel to one of the astral planes. He had limited telekinetic powers and could also induce suspended animation in himself, for at least a century at a time.

    Ulysses Bloodstone was dependent on the Bloodgem to survive; forced separation resulted in rapid death. Otherwise, he did not require air, food, or water to survive, and he was immune to aging and terrestrial disease.

    He has the reflexes of an athlete and is experienced in virtually every form of combat and martial arts devised by man, as well as possessing a vast knowledge of weaponry. In the modern era he carried a stainless steel Bowie knife, .45 automatics, gloves with spiked knuckles, a sword capable of cleaving metal, a dagger with launching blades, and a specially designed sawed-off shotgun which fired explosives shells which he could psychically detonate. The shotgun could fire five rounds before it required reloading. His modern costume included a flak storage pouches for a variety of weapons and ammunitions, as well as tough leather boots. He was equipped with a series of weapons designed for use against vampires, including a shotgun firing silver cross buckshot, an ultraviolet flashlight, etc. The Bloodstone itself was as potent against a vampire as a religious icon was in the hands of the faithful.

    Bloodstone Island and several of his other bases had advanced weaponry, etc. He possessed a Lamp which contained a Genie he had enslaved years ago, which served as his early warning system, lighting up during supernatural encounters or other trouble, and transporting him to said encounters if he so wished.

 

 

Height: 6'2"        Weight: 225 lbs.        Eyes: Blue        Hair: Blond

Distinguishing Features: Glowing red gemstone embedded in chest.

History:
(Marvel Presents#1 (fb)/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16, p32/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Master Edition#2: Bloodstone/Captain America I#357/2(fb)) - The Man who would become Ulysses Bloodstone was born approximately 8250 B.C. (see comments), towards the twilight of the Hyborian Age, into a small nomadic tribe who occupied Northern Vanaheim, which would later be called Scandanavia. One of his tribe's foremost hunters, he one night observed a meteorite crashing to the Earth. He directed his subsequent hunting endeavors in that direction, and one day when he spied a cloaked figure (Ulluxy'l), whom he followed into a cavern, where he approached an advanced citadel.

(Marvel Presents#2 (fb)/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16/Marvel Universe#7(fb)) -
    Ulluxy'l, a servant of the Exo-Mind, sought a human host for the Exo-Mind, and offered the savage a portion of the power of the Hellfire Helix, channeled via the Bloodgem. The savage was initially startled by Ulluxy'l's appearance and tried to attack him, but Ulluxy'l psychically immobilized him. Irradiated by the Bloodgem, the savage was endowed with superhuman strength. Ulluxy'l sent the savage to bring his tribe before the Bloodgem as well.

(Marvel Presents#2 (fb)/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16) - The savage returned to his tribe and demonstrated his power by overpowering a mastodon or mammoth (or whatever the hairy elephant with the tusks are), after which he fired an energy blast and then offered the "power of the gods" to his people. They followed the savage to Ulluxy'ls citadel, where Ulluxy'l performed an elaborate ceremony, arranging the tribesmen in a geometric formation around the Bloodgem, to access the powers of the Helix. The Bloodgem issued its energies, , psychically draining the tribesmen's minds and killing their bodies. However, the cosmic images and energies channeled proved too much for the tribesmen, who broke formation and thus disrupted the ceremony. While Ulluxy'l lamented the failure of his plan for ultimate power, the savage lunged upon the gem, causing it to explode into hundreds (see comments) of fragments, destroying the citadel and even shattering the mountain containing the cavern. One of these geometrically perfect fragments imbedded itself in the savage's sternum; the others were scattered across the planet.

(Marvel Presents#2 (fb)/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16) - Although his people had perished in the process (see comments), the savage had become immortal. He dedicated himself to exacting revenge upon Ulluxy'l, the being he held responsible for his people's death, and eventually took the name Ulysses Bloodstone.

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb) - BTS) - Kaballa claimed that the Exo-Mind wished to observe the evolution of humanity through disinterested eyes. To do so, it required a host whose entire existence revolved around a single purpose. Realizing that revenge would be an ideal purpose, the Exo-Mind empowered Ulysses Bloodstone to survive for an indefinite period and serve as its host, and gave him the purpose of killing Ulluzy'l (whom Bloodstone saw as the director) and saving the world from him. The Exo-Mind allegedly created (or directed) a large number of the monsters Bloodstone fought over the years, primarily to keep him motivated to go on living.

 

 

 

 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16/Marvel Universe#7 (fb)) - For a hundred centuries, Bloodstone pursued his goal of taking down Ulluxy'l, while Ulluxy'l sought to regather the Bloodgem fragments. To keep Bloodstone from reaching him, Ulluxy'l dispatched hordes of extradimensionally born monsters to kill him. Bloodstone managed to triumph over the many creatures sent against him, but only succeeded in locating his archfoe a handful of times over the millennia. When he lost Ulluxy'l's trail completely, and was not involved in learning new languages, skills, or knowledge, Bloodstone went into a self-induced suspended animation, sometimes for up to a century at a time. On more then one occasion he lost a limb during his career (Can you name these monsters? see comments).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Defenders II#9 (fb)) - Untold millennia ago (still wearing a loincloth, but now carrying a shoulder bag and wielding a glowing spear), Bloodstone drove the would-be conqueror Orrgo from Earth.

(Rampaging Hulk I#3/2 - text) - Bloodstone was allegedly active in Ancient Egypt.

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6/3 (fb) - BTS) - Bloodstone observed Greek society, and how it eventually fell under the Domination of the Romans.

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6/3 (fb) - BTS/Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb)) - Bloodstone observed as the Romans aspired to the ideals of the Greeks, but saw the Roman senate was supplanted by the rule of Caesars.



(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - At some point between this period (ancient China) and the modern area, Bloodstone confronted the alien dragon Fin Fang Foom, but the outcome of their battle is unknown.

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6/3 (fb) - BTS) - Bloodstone observed as Britain's Parliament came about because a cadre of feudal barons forced old King John to share power with them.

 
 

 

 

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb)) - Bloodstone was active as a swashbuckling swordsman aboard a sailing ship, encountering pirates (see comments for these unidentified glimpses).

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb)) <16th Century?>- Bloodstone was present during the Renaissance.

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb)/Captain America I#357/2(fb)) - Bloodstone was present alongside the Puritans, during which time he battled a winged demon-like creature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6/3 (fb)) - In 1776, as Captain Steven Rogers announced his plans to join the fight against England, Bloodstone, refused to join the struggle, having grown disillusioned with the pursuit of high ideals such as independence, liberty, and democracy, and the subsequent failure of the same.

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#7/3 (fb) - BTS) - By 1781,  Bloodstone had become convinced that the efforts of such men as the Colonial Americans such as Steven Rogers made democracy worth fighting for. He joined the American army an ascended to the rank of major.

(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#7/3) <1781> - Major Bloodstone called out to Rogers--now dressed in what would become his Captain America costume--and stopped Sir William Taurey from shooting him in the back. Taurey was killed as his bullet ricocheted off Rogers' shield.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#2 (fb)) <1781> - Bloodstone fought alongside Rogers--now Captain America--and General Wallace Worthington in the Revolutionary War.

 

 

 

 

(Marvel Universe#7 (fb)) - In the 19th Century, Bloodstone, then known as Captain Ahab, led his ship, the Pequod, in pursuit of a lighter gray, if not white, version of Giganto, which  received the name Moby Dick (see comments).

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - In the era of the "old west" Bloodstone took on the alias of the Redstone Kid. During this time, he unsuccessfully tried to track down the Living Totem.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16) - By the early 20th century, Ulluxy'l had acquired all but four of the Bloodgem fragments, while Bloodstone had acquired a fortune through mercenary work and shrewd investments.

(Punisher VII#14 (fb)) <1910-1923> - Hearing of Hellsgaard's loss of family to werewolves and subsequent imprisonment, Bloodstone freed him and the two fought many monsters and vampires. Dracula took the fight to the duo of Ulysses Bloodstone and Hellsgaard, and threw the armored Hellsgaard through a portal into Limbo.

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (fb)) - Bloodstone was a biplane pilot.

(Bloodstone#4 (fb) - BTS) <1930s> - Bloodstone battled Nosferatu, the leader of a sect of Nosferatu vampires. In a struggled described as an "airship debacle," Bloodstone nearly defeated Nosferatu, and apparently decimated his forces.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) <World War II> - Bloodstone encountered the Blonde Phantom during the war.

(Strange Tales I#73/Marvel Universe#4(fb)) <1956> - Ulysses Bloodstone, using the alias "Frank," was summoned to Mombasa Africa by his friend Museum of Natural History Curator Lynn Avery to stop Grottu, a giant ant.  As Grottu and his legion of army ants approached Mombasa and passed straight through the city, Frank realized that Grottu's goal was to reach the wharf and the ships that would allow it to reach the rest of the world.  Frank shot off Grottu's antennae, limiting his ability to control the ants, and then had the natives gather a large supply of sugar from a nearby warehouse, and had it dumped on top of Grottu.  The other ants were drawn to the sugar and Grottu's could not drive them off.  The ants ravenously consumed the sugar and then wandered back into the jungle, leaving Grottu dead...or so it would seem...

(Marvel Universe#4(fb)) - Bloodstone followed the trail of Grottu's destruction back towards it origins, into a narrow mountain pass, when he encountered a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He was assisted by the adventurer Zawadi, and the two managed to drive the creature off. Bloodstone and Zawadi continued to follow the trail, which ultimately led to a collapsed cave in the Wakandan mountains. His only certain finding was that Grottu came from underground.

(Marvel Universe#4) - Six weeks later, Bloodstone and Zawadi met at Hathaway's Explorer's Club, where they were joined by Dr. Druid and the Eternal Makkari. After sharing their adventures, the four formed the group the Monster Hunters, to locate and end the threat of the source of the numerous monsters plaguing the world at that time.

(Marvel Universe#5) - The monster Gorgilla was sent into New York on a rampage by the Deviant Kro. The Monster Hunters followed Gorgilla and encountered him in Yankee's stadium and the Statue of Liberty, where Dr. Druid mentally calmed and managed to control him. The quartet decided to return Gorgilla to the wild.

(Marvel Universe#6) - Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters took Gorgilla to Midnight Mountain , where they were attacked by the Lizard Men, whom they fought off with Gorgilla's aid. However, in the process, Makkari was captured and Bloodstone revealed his true nature.

(Marvel Universe#7) - After explaining his origins to Zawadi and Druid, Bloodstone accompanied them in pursuit of Makkari, encountering the immense Gigantus in the process. Bloodstone stunned Gigantus with the rocket thrust from they ship, and he escaped the monster, though it did cause their ship to sink. Descending down a tunnel, they encountered other monstrous creatures, eventually confronting Kro and freeing Makkari. However, Kro unleashed other mutates against them, including Tricephalous, and the Monster Hunters were forced to allow him to escape.

(Marvel: The Lost Generation#2 (fb) - BTS) - The Monster Hunters were joined by Namora.

(Marvel: The Lost Generation#2) <1958> - Following psychic emanations tracked by Druid, the Monster Hunters traveled to a Long Island research center, where they encountered the soon to be First Line: Black Fox, agent Scott (Effigy), Liberty Girl, and Yankee Clipper, who had come at Scott's request to investigate security breaches at that facility. They were attacked by a series of monsters, which proved to be humans mutated by a Skrull device. The Skrull escaped, and Effigy used an alleged transformation by a Skrull energy weapon to pretend to develop new metamorphic powers (which he, being a Skrull, had all along).

(Tales of Suspense I#9/Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Ulysses was drawn to Veracruz by stories he had heard of Diablo from sailors in Trinidad, and witnessed Diablo's boasting of how easily Earth would fall before his might. However, the unnamed man outsmarted the invader with a simple cigarette lighter, creating a flame and then snuffing it to fool Diablo into thinking the people of Earth could match his powers.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Bloodstone encouraged the other Monster Hunters to contribute to his journals regarding their encounters with the various monsters. 

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - sometime after 1960, Bloodstone encountered and defeated Gor-Kill the Living Demon.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Bloodstone befriended would-be author Lewis Conrad and the two shared stories of monsters. Conrad revealed his encounter with Taboo to Bloodstone.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Bloodstone arrived in Chicago to track down the Brute That Walks, but the creature had already disappeared. He found Howard Avery, the Brute's alter ego, who revealed his secret to Bloodstone over drinks.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16) - In the latter part of the 20th century, Bloodstone had established headquarters in six different locations across the globe, each with hand-picked operatives.
    By this point, he had become very proficient at modern technology, as well as applied technology.

(Black Cat I#1/3 (fb) - BTS)) - Ulysses Bloodstone was informed form of Dracula's location by the Black Fox, who wished to use him as a distraction to steal and escape from Dracula during a card game

(Black Cat I#1/3) - As Dracula finally won a round against the cheating Black Fox, Ulysses Bloodstone kicked the door in. As Dracula and a pair of unidentified vampires fought Bloodstone, the Black Fox grabbed his winnings and fled. After Bloodstone staked one of Dracula's agents and the Black Fox's agent Castillo Drake staked the other, Dracula threw Bloodstone to the ground and then apparently transformed into a cauldron of bats and flew after the fleeing Black Fox and his associates, leaving Bloodstone behind.

(Bloodstone#1 (fb) - BTS) - Approximately 18 years ago, Bloodstone met and married a woman named Elise, who adopted his last name.  Eventually Elise gave birth to his daughter, Elsa

(Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular#2/3) - Not long after Elsa was born Ulysses walked around with her in Elsa's room and talked to her.

(Bloodstone#1 (fb) - BTS) - Ulysses and Elise separated when Elsa was two years old. Ulysses distanced himself from both, and Elsa never knew him as she grew up.
    After the break-up, Ulysses established a mansion in Boston, Massachusetts, which served to house many of the relics and other items he had collected over the years. The house was cared for by the vampire Charles Barnabus, who was also named to be the executor of his estate. Bloodstone also befriended an eccentric Polishman named Mr. Dluga, as well as his son. At some point, he also befriended the Frankenstein monster, who came to occasionally stay at his mansion, eventually acting as its caretaker. The monster, sometimes using the name Adam, sometimes accompanied Bloodstone on missions. Bloodstone trusted Adam to give his daughter Elsa a fragment of the Bloodgem in a choker (the Bloodstone choker, of course), when she was old enough.

(Nova IV#33) - Sphinx pulled Bloodstone out from the timestream and pitted him, Basilisk, Moonstone (Sofen), Man-Wolf (John Jameson) and Gyre, one of the Fraternity of Raptors, against the champions of his elder self, which included Black Bolt, Darkhawk, Mr. Fantastic, Namorita and Nova.

(Nova IV#34) - Bloodstone fought Mr. Fantastic in Vanaheim and was defeated when Mr. Fantastic adjusted the fuses on Bloodstone's time delay shells, blowing Bloodstone up and knocking him out in the process. Bloodstone's team ultimately lost and the elder Sphinx claimed both Ka Stones for himself.

(Nova IV#35) - Bloodstone quickly realized that his shotgun was not enough to deal with the elder Sphinx, empowered by two Ka Stones. Sphinx was ultimately stopped by Nova (Rich Rider) and Bloodstone was presumably returned from where he came from.

(Marvel Presents#1) - Bloodstone was drawn to the menace of the monstrous Creature from the Sea, summoned by the Possessor (inhabiting the body of a Flutist) to serve as his new host. Sensing the connection, Bloodstone incapacitated the Flutist, and the Creature wandered off. However, the Possessor then emerged from the Flutist's form, and considered taking Bloodstone's form instead. After forming a mind-meld with Bloodstone, the Possessor fired an energy blast through his chest, incapacitating him.

(Marvel Presents#2) - The Possessor continued to review Bloodstone's origins via mind-meld, but Bloodstone eventually confronted him on the astral plane and apparently destroyed him. Bloodstone's gem identified his fate as being intertwined with that of actor Brad Carter, and when director P.D.Q. Werner offered Bloodstone an acting job, he accepted, intending to stay close to Carter until he could determine their link.

(Rampaging Hulk I#3/2 - text/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16) - Bloodstone worked in film alongside Carter and Werner for a period of time. During this time, Werner scouted an island as a location for a movie. Investigating the island, Bloodstone found that it had formerly been known as Largos (see comments). Renamed Bloodstone Island, it became his Bloodstone's main base of operations.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16 - BTS) - Ulluxy'l allied himself with Conspiracy, a group of four others assembled by the Exo-Mind to complete the five beings necessary to channel the Hellfire Helix's full energy into Earth. 

(Rampaging Hulk I#6/2 (fb) - BTS) - Bloodstone submitted a folder to the United Nations, detailing the existence of Bloodstone Island and his right to it.

(Rampaging Hulk I#1/2) - Six months later, agents of Centurius smuggled a Bloodgem fragment onto an ocean liner departing from Rio de Janiero, the same ship on which Bloodstone was traveling. Accompanying Brad Carter, Bloodstone fought Centurius's agents--who sought to capture either Bloodstone or his gem, after which he was introduced to Samantha Eden, a freelance journalist. However, the ship was then attacked by the monstrous Goram, who rent a hole in the hull, causing the smuggled Bloodgem fragment to fall to the ocean floor. Bloodstone pursued it, but was incapacitated by Goram, who escaped with the fragment.

(Rampaging Hulk I#2/2) - Goram delivered the Bloodgem fragment to Centurius and then sent Goram to attack Bloodstone Island. Bloodstone used the island's defenses to contain Goram, but Killer Shrike, an agent of the Conspiracy arrived and freed Goram, intending to follow him to learn who his master was. Bloodstone subdued the Shrike, while Brad Carter followed Goram and was captured by Centurius's agents.

(Rampaging Hulk I#3/2) - After learning that several scientists had been abducted, Bloodstone sought out Tony Stark to help investigate and to learn if S.H.I.E.L.D. had any further information. After a brief battle resulting from the usual case of mistaken identities/purposes, Bloodstone and Iron Man joined forces and tracked Centurius to his lair (based on the last coordinates transmitted by Carter's ship). However, Ulluxy'l confronted Centurius as well, only to learn that Centurius was actually secretly part of the Conspiracy, who had conspired to expel Ulluxy'l from their group. Bloodstone destroyed Centurius's robots and defeated Goram, but then confronted Centurius just as he utilized the Bloodgem fragment he had acquired to slay Ulluxy'l. Centurius' then activated his island's self-destruct mechanism and escaped, forcing Bloodstone and Iron Man to rescue Centurius' prisoners--with the aid of S.H.I.E.L.D.--and flee as well.

(Rampaging Hulk I#4/2) - S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Eric Koenig dropped Bloodstone off at his own island, where he offered Samantha Eden a position as his public relations agent to aid in his worldwide struggle against and investigation of the Conspiracy. Bloodstone then meditated on his own Bloodgem fragment and learned of the existence of the Exo-Mind, the intelligence within the Hellfire Helix and Bloodgem. The Exo-Mind told him of the Otherworldly Gods/Elders who wished to use the Bloodgem to transform Earth's dimension into a chaotic world similar to their own.
    Samantha Eden was allowed to return to her apartment in France to consider Bloodstone's offer, but she was then confronted by Domino, an agent of the Conspiracy.

(Rampaging Hulk I#5/2) - Bloodstone and Brad Carter traveled to a Manhattan hotel, and Bloodstone was ambushed by the "Death Suite," a trap set by the Conspiracy; Bloodstone destroyed the trap.
    Meanwhile, Conspiracy agents destroyed Bloodstone Island and blew up a subway in Greenwich Village. In addition, another Conspiracy agent delivered the Modular Man to a New York hospital, where he collected the Killer Shrike before meeting up with another Conspiracy agent. Domino convinced Samantha Eden that she must distance herself from Bloodstone due a threat he posed to the world.

(Rampaging Hulk I#6/2) - Bloodstone tracked the energy impulses from the Death Suite to a control room in the suite above. There he encountered several Conspiracy agents who acted as empathic batteries and channeled the combined mindforce of the Conspiracy against him. Bloodstone's own power, channeled through his Bloodgem, overcame his attackers, and he met up with Brad Carter and Samantha Eden and regrouped at his Minibase-6, a bar in Harlem owned by his ally, William Brandon Montague III, a.k.a. Billy Brand. His computers analyzed a programming tape from the "Death Suite" 's control room, giving only the vague message "Yesod is in Cancer" (see comments). Bloodstone sent Carter to investigate the loss of communication with Bloodstone Island, and three days later Bloodstone himself appeared before the United Nations, declaring his sovereignty of Bloodstone Island, and requesting the UN's assistance and support.
    Bloodstone's meeting was interrupted by the monstrous Sharzan the Elemental, who battled Bloodstone and eventually stunned him, allowing Kaballa (a member of the Conspiracy) to transport them both to his subterranean base

(Rampaging Hulk I#8/2) - The stunned Bloodstone was devastated to hear Kaballa reveal that he had been a pawn of the Exo-Mind and that his entire 10,000 years of existence had just been for the Exo-Mind's enjoyment.

    According to Kaballa, eventually the Exo-Mind decided it wished to experience death through Bloodstone, since its own life is eternal. At the same time, it decided, having experienced all it could through innocent eyes, it wished a new perspective. To this end, the Exo-Mind organized the Conspiracy (five members, including Ulluxy'l) to usurp Bloodstone's gem. They would gain its power in exchange for providing this new perspective. 

    Bloodstone was brought before the Conspiracy, where one of its members, Dr. Juden Bardham, a cardiologist, cut the Bloodgem from his chest. The Conspiracy left Bloodstone for dead, traveling to the cavern in which Bloodstone had gained his power millennia before, and prepared to perform the ceremony to gain its power. However, the Exo-Mind instead absorbed the Conspiracy members and used their energies to coalesce the Bloodgem fragments into a single, monstrous crystalline creature. Reborn in the Bloodgem creature, the Exo-Mind traveled to and rampaged through New York. However, residual Bloodgem energy in Bloodstone's corpse reanimated him, and he made his way from the Conspiracy's underground citadel to confront the Bloodgem creature. Now absolutely focuses on a sole purpose, Bloodgem used his third eye to access the astral plane on which the Exo-Mind existed. His chronic exposure to the Bloodgem's energies enabled him to survive the Exo-Mind's assaults and penetrate the outer mind/form, and to confront the very Hellfire Helix itself. Disrupting the Hellfire Helix, Bloodstone severed the Exo-Mind's connection to the Bloodgem. The Bloodgem creature shattered into countless fragments, while Bloodstone's body decayed into a lifeless skeleton.

    Brad Carter arrived at Bloodstone Island, where he was slain by an agent of Centurius. Domino confronted Samantha and revealed that he had merely been distracting her to prevent her from allowing Bloodstone to be distracted from his narrow-minded purpose, which would have made him unfit for the Conspiracy's plot to defeat him.

(Captain America I#357/2) - Baron (Helmut) Zemo and Batroc's Brigade (Batroc, Machete, Zaran) located the skeleton of Ulysses Bloodstone within the Museum of Natural History. Their psi-sensitive agent, Tristram Micawber confirmed the bones to be Bloodstone's, and then Zemo removed the sternum to which the Bloodgem fragment was formerly attached, and gave it to use as a divining rod, with which they might seek out the Bloodgem fragments; Zemo sought to use the Bloodgem to resurrect his deceased father, Heinrich Zemo.

(Captain America I#358-362 - BTS) - Despite interference from Captain America and many others, Zemo's allies utilized Bloodstone's sternum to successfully collect the Bloodgem fragments, but when they tried to resurrect Zemo, they instead found his body possessed by the Exo-Mind. The Exo-Mind attacked all involved in the Bloodgem hunt and planned to renew its plot to take over the Earth (or the Universe). However, Crossbones, who had sought the Bloodgem fragments for his boss, the Red Skull, shattered the Bloodgem (and the head of Zemo's corpse) with a crossbolt. The corpse and the Bloodgem fell into an active volcano.

(Bloodstone#1-4 - BTS) - Elsa Bloodstone inherited the Bloodstone choker and set on a series of adventures as a monster hunter in her own right.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 - BTS) - Elsa found her father's journal and used it as the starting point for a monster database she was compiling.

Comments: Created by John Warner, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Mike Vosberg, and Bob McLeod.
Ulysses Bloodstone was named by Stan Lee, and designed by John Romita, Sr.

    Bloodstone wins the award for most appearances in the last ten years (real time), for someone who's been dead for close to 30 years (real time). You see Bucky and Uncle Ben Parker a lot, too, but Bloodstone's way cooler! This guy might have been active anywhere in the last 10,000 years, and I'm all for seeing more of him. Where was he in World War II? Where was he during the age of Camelot? The Old West? World War I? American Civil War? Vietnam (though that's a bag of worms I hate to get into...some folks just don't understand the sliding timescale and topical references! ) - Since this profile's first publication, Bloodstone has been revealed to have been active in the Old West and in WWII in the Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone book. - Madison

    The letters page in Marvel Presents#2 contains a detailed essay on how Bloodstone came about, including the fact that the story that started in Marvel Presents#1 was originally intended to be ten ten page installments in the series Where Monsters Dwell, which was cancelled before the serial ever came about.

The Rampaging Hulk story considers Bloodstone Island to be in the Caribbean Ocean, while the OHotMU Master Edition says in the Pacific. Both sources state in to be in the Tropic of Cancer, which as I understand it is a horizontal band parallel to and north of the equator. However, in Rampaging Hulk#2, they travel twelve-thirteen hours by jet-skimmer (along the water surface) from a New York harbor to Bloodstone island. That sure sounds closer to the Caribbean to me, but I'm no geography expert. However, to reach the Pacific, they'd have had to have crossed America, right?

    Marvel Presents#1 describes Bloodstone's origin as occurring in the 81st Century B.C., whereas the OHotMU Master Edition specifies it as closer to 8250 B.C. Pay your money, take your choice.

    The excellent story in Captain America I#357-362 would make it appear that there were only six Bloodgem fragments, as the assembled group restored the Exo-Mind. Perhaps the volume of gem fragments assembled was not complete, but still sufficient to restore the Exo-Mind. Perhaps the hundreds of fragments coalesced into a mere six over time, as they were gathered by Ulluxy'l.

    The deaths of Bloodstone's people were not shown, and so it is certainly possible that one or more survived. The Anachronaut Raa is a primitive man and a look-alike for Bloodstone. Whether Raa's Hill People were the same as Bloodstone's Vanir tribe, or whether Raa just existed after Bloodstone and found one of the Bloodgem fragments is uncertain. I prefer the latter.

    I'm not sure who the monsters shown here are, but a few people have guessed that they are Grendel and the dragon fought by Beowulf. That remains unconfirmed, so here's a link to the Big Mother profile, which contains everything I know about Beowulf.
   Since we've met the real Beowulf we know that Ulysses was either conflated with the real deal or took his name for a bit.
--Loki
    And the true answer, courtesy of Roger Stern himself:

"Who was that monster?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know, but I wanted to thank him...

Seriously, that was the first time either creature had been shown. I just asked Jason Armstrong to give me a couple panels of Bloodstone fighting big ugly monsters over the ages, and he did.

Nice job, Jase!

-- Roger

    Re: Defenders II#9: since I wrote this, I talked to Kurt Busiek, and it was definitely Bloodstone in Defenders II#9.

    You can read all you want about the story of Moby Dick in the actual book, by Herman Melville, or in Marvel Classic Comics#8, which adapts it. It's worth a mention in this profile because Ulysses Bloodstone recalled it in a flashback, but we're not including any more than that, b/c that story hasn't actually been adapted to the Marvel Universe.

    According to Samantha Eden's notes, Bloodstone Island was allegedly the former base of the Russian Gargoyle (father of the Gremlin) who had fought the Hulk. This information regarding the Gargoyle is suspect. I BELIEVE that information is based on the story in the first part of Rampaging Hulk I#1, which has since been revealed to have actually been part of Bereet's fictional film series. That doesn't mean that the Gargoyle might not have set up a base there, but the information is suspect. Similarly, any information on the Island's location based on that story is suspect.

    "Yesod is in Cancer" - Yesod is a reference to Kaballah, while Cancer is a reference to the Zodiac. They never did follow up on that, although the character Kaballa obviously has ties to the Kaballah, and Bloodstone's island is in the Tropic of Cancer.

    Tristam McCawber for some reason in one of those Bloodstone Hunt issues stated that Ulysses Bloodstone was born about 20,000 years ago. I suppose we must list that as a "mistake on the part of the character" (e.g. McCawber misspoke)--Per Degaton.

    Rampaging Hulk#8 shows a montage of images of Bloodstone's past, which I loosely placed in the above profile. Some likely dates/periods were given by our own Loki:

    Rampaging Hulk#7 did not feature Bloodstone, but rather a back-up Man-Thing feature.

    Blah, blah, blah, Ulysses Bloodstone's Earth X counterpart appeared somewhere, don't care, don't bother me with it.

I think most of the flashbacks in Nextwave should be taken with a grain of salt. Some of them could've happened, but most just screw up continuity too much to be included in history.
--Markus Raymond

Vanaheim

    In the OHotMU and in the image above, they show a picture of the Creature by the Sea, but color it green. That's because it was colored green on the cover to Marvel Presents#1. The real creature is orange

    Thanks to David A. Zuckerman for correcting the story number from Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ulysses Bloodstone should be distinguished from:

images:
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Master Edition: Bloodstone
Marvel Presents#1 - cover
Marvel Universe#7, p4, panel 5+6 (unknown monsters)
    p5, panel 1 (Moby Dick)
Defenders II#9, p1 (with spear against Orrgo)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6, third story, page 4, panel 5 (Revolutionary War)
Rampaging Hulk I#8, p55, panel 6 (montage scene)

Marvel Presents#2 (December, 1975) - John Warner (writer), Sonny Trinidad (artist), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Rampaging Hulk I#1/2 (January, 1977) - John Warner (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Rudy Nebres (inks)
Rampaging Hulk I#2/2 (April, 1977) - John Warner (writer/editor), Bob Brown (pencils), Rudy Nebres (inks)
Rampaging Hulk I#3/2 (June, 1977) - John Warner (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (pencils), Rudy Nebres (inks)
Rampaging Hulk I#4/2 (August, 1977) - John Warner (writer/editor), Val Mayerik (pencils), Sonny Trinidad (inks)
Rampaging Hulk I#5/2 (October, 1977) - John Warner (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Roger Slifer (editor)
Rampaging Hulk I#6/2 (December, 1977) - John Warner (writer), Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Sonny Trinidad (inks), Roger Slifer (editor)
Rampaging Hulk I#8/2 (April, 1978) - Steve Gerber (writer), Alan Kupperberg & Rod Santiago (pencils), Rudy Mesina (inks), David Kraft (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition#16 (June, 1987)
Captain America I#357-362 (September, 1989 - November, 1989 <bi-weekly schedule>) - Mark Gruenwald & Kieron Dwyer (#358-362) (writer), Kieron Dwyer (pencils), Al Milgrom (#357) & Danny Bulanadi (#358-362) (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel Universe#4-7 (September - December 1998) - Roger Stern (writer), Mike Manley (#4), Bret Blevins (#5) & Jason Armstrong (#6-7) (pencils), Mike Manley (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#6 (February, 1999) - Roger Stern (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Roger Langridge (inks), Matt Idelson (editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty#7 (March, 1999) - Roger Stern (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Roger Langridge (inks), Matt Idelson (editor)
X-Men: Hellfire Club#2 (February, 2000) - Ben Raab (writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Mark Powers (editor)
Marvel: The Lost Generation#2 (January, 2001) - Roger Stern & John Byrne (writers), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Defenders II#9 (November, 2001) - Kurt Busiek & Erik Larsen (writers), Erik Larsen (pencils), Klaus Janson & Dick Giordano (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Bloodstone#1-4 (December, 2001 - March, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (January, 2006)
Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular#2 (June, 2009) - Chris Yost (writer), Joh James (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Daniel Ketchum (editor)
Nova IV#33 (March, 2010) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Andrea Divito (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Punisher VII#14 (April, 2010) - Rick Remender, Tony Moore & Dan Brereton (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)
Nova IV#34-35 (April-May, 2010) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Mahmud A. Asrar (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Black Cat I#1/3 "Leaving Miami" (August, 2019) - Jed MacKay (writer), Mike Dowling (art), Nick Lowe (editor)

First Posted: 07/12/2004
Last updated: 07/24/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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