VARNAE

Real Name: Varnae

Identity/Class: Giganthopithecus magic user & the first vampire (pre-cataclysmic era, Hyborean era, post-Hyborian era, 1st-10th century, 11th to 15th century and modern era);
   citizen of pre-cataclysm Atlantis

Occupation: Lord of Earth's vampires

Group Membership: Leader of the Structure; ruler of all Earth's vampires;
former leader of the Bad Seed, pre-cataclysmic Darkholders

Affiliations: Afterlings, Bloodcoven (Bloodstorm One, Cruel, Damascene, Megrim, Smoke Eater, Unusual), Kaluu, Lianda, Lamia, Marie Laveau, Nimrod the First, Taj Nital, Steppin' Razor, Victor Strange, Aaron Thorne;
    enslaved Black Panther (T'Challa), Impossible City, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), many others;
    former worshipper of Chthon;
    possible contemporary of Thulsa-Doom

Enemies: Aamshed, Amalric of Nemedia, Anuket, Avengers (Black Panther/T'Challa, Captain America/Sam Wilson, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Thor/Odinson, Vision), Bast, Bible John, Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy), Blackout (Marcus Daniels), John Blaze, Bloodline (Brielle Brooks), Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Trinity Cabranes, Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Conan, Cusick of Tuscarora, Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna), Doctor Dark (Kane Tucker), Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Domini, Dracula, Dusk (Cassie St. Commons), Fists of Khonshu, Ghekre, Impossible City, Janus (son of Dracula), Khonshu, Kokou the Ever-Burning, Kull, Midnight Mission (Hunter's Moon/Dr. Yehya Badr, Moon Knight/Marc Spector, Tigra/Greer Nelson), Giacomo Montesi, Marcello Montesi, Paolo Montesi, Moon Knight (Max Coleridge), Nightfall, Nightstalkers (Blade, Frank Drake, Hannibal King), Norio, Ogam of New Iberia, Ptah the Shaper, Red Sonja, Salomé, Silhouette (Janelle Chord), Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Clea Strange, Strange Academy (Germán Aguilar, Doyle Dormammu, Guslaug, Zoe Laveau, Shaylee Moonpeddle, Toth), Thor (Odinson), Verdelet, Wise Men, Zula;
formerly Victor Strange

Known Relatives: None, although he is the figurative "father" of all vampires

Aliases: Arch-Magnus Necromantic, Baal, Bambu, Blade, Croatoan, Lord of the Vampires, Night Terror, Nosferatu Prime, Tsathoggua

Place of Birth: Atlantis

Base of Operations: Mobile;
    formerly pre-cataclysm Atlantis,
    Eurasia, Palestine, North America, Plateau of Leng, Kamar-Taj, Europe, New Orleans, New York, Rhode Island, Los Angeles

Education: Extensive magic studies

First Appearance: Bizarre Adventures#33 (December, 1982)

Powers/Abilities: Varnae is the Lord of the Vampires of Earth and a pre-cataclysm Darkholder. As such he has three sets of powers: Those associated with vampires, those pertaining to his status as Lord of the Vampires, and those gained through Black Magic.

Like all vampires, Varnae is immune to the effects of aging and the ravages of disease. He is able to turn others into vampires by biting them and draining their blood so they die (the way vampirism is spread, according to OHTMU Deluxe Edition#20). He is also able to turn into mist, a wolf, a bat, and a human-size bat. Like all vampires he can only be killed by being exposed to sunlight, being staked in the heart, or beheaded. Previously, the Montesi Formula, an incantation from the Darkhold, could kill all vampires, and did, but with its recent relaxing, it is unknown if it could be utilized again.

Due to his status as the first vampire created by the Darkhold, Varnae is Lord of the Vampires. As such he is able to control all other vampires, excluding those with extraordinary will-power and "living vampires," such as Morbius. Also due to his status as the first vampire, Varnae only fears religious icons from his time as a human; Crosses and other religious icons whose faiths he predates cause him no harm and have no effect on him. He is able to lift 7 tons, increase his size to up to 25 feet and has shape-shifting abilities. He can also plant telepathic thoughts in the minds of others and is a skilled swordsman. Additionally, even when slain, he can be resurrected through a spell in the Darkhold or through his spirit possessing a vampire. Finally, Varnae is a magician of unknown potency. He was a member of the Darkholder order in pre-cataclysm Atlantis meaning that he has access to some of the power of Chthon. He also at one time "sought the title" of Sorcerer Supreme and claimed to be a "Prince of Sorcerers," both hints at his probable great magical power. During his lifetime he was an adept swordsman.

The vampire Night Terror, whom Varnae briefly possessed, had the ability to drink someone's memories as he drank their blood. It is unknown if Varnae, in this new body, has this attribute as well.

Height: 10'
Weight: 475 lbs.
Hair: Green
Eyes: Red

History:
(Timespirits#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - Varnae was a Giganthopithecus, a species of giant apes that still existed around 70,000 BC. (see comments)

(Blood Hunt#4/Blood Hunt: Red Band#4 (fb) - BTS) - Varnae was one of the wizard kings of Atlantis, who spent the lives of their political enemies like they were nothing for greater and darker pursuits.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcover#7: MAGIC) - Lord Varnae, summoned by Agamotto, attended the Assemblage of Avatars in Atlantis around 19,000 BC to find a solution for the current conflicts between the Elder Gods. Only little was accomplished during the meeting and Agamotto became frustrated with humanity's limitations.

(Captain Marvel X#29 (fb) - BTS) - Varnae allegedly became the first possessor of the Book of the Vishanti (at least on Earth).

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11/2 / Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - In ancient Atlantis, a group of sorcerers (including Varnae), former followers of Thulsa Doom, found the Chthon Scrolls.

(Blood Hunt#4/Blood Hunt: Red Band#4 (fb) - BTS) - In ancient Atlantis Varnae allegedly was the first to transcribe the Darkhold to paper.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11/2 / Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - One of them, Varnae, was dying (from wounds received in Kull's war with the wizards), and so he was the first to volunteer himself to unleash a great new evil force upon the world. As Varnae died, the other sorcerers muttered Chthon's hellish incantations over his body. Varnae died, but three days later the cultists unearthed his great stone sarcophagus of blood, and he rose as a vampire.

(Doctor Strange II#61 (fb) - BTS, Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11/2, Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - A wizard attempted to command Varnae, so the vampire disabused him of the notion that Varnae had a will subservient to anyone's by eating him.

(Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Lamia became the high priestess of Varnae and butchered thousands in his name.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#6 (fb) - BTS) - Verdelet was a contemporary of Varnae, who was turned into a vampire early on.

(Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - The slain by Varnae, and those in turn slain by those he had slain, became the soulless will-less vampires the cultists had intended Varnae to become, and thus the vampire plague was unleashed.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11/2) - Varnae and the other vampires who followed him slew the other wizards, thus adding to their undead number. The undead worshipped him as the Lord of Vampires for centuries and he reveled in their worship.

(Blood Hunt: Black Panther#2 (fb)) - The lands that would later be known as Wakanda Varnae stole Vibranium from the Fires of Ptah and from it created shackles to bind mankind, but Khonshu became aware of his actions.

(Blood Hunt: Black Panther#2 (fb) / Blood Hunt#4 (fb) - BTS) - The captured humans helped him build a temple from Vibranium with a gate to ascend to godhood.

   He began hunting down and binding humans in the area to collect their blood for the ritual to ascend to godhood.

   Khonshu and Bast approached the Orisha Ptah, Eshu and Ghekre to form an alliance to stop Varnae. They attacked Varnae in his temple and while Kokou fought him, Bast freed the people Varnae had captured.

(Blood Hunt: Black Panther#3 (fb)) - Kokou burned Varnae's vampires and the land. He was going to burn Varnae as well, but the Orisha's leader Eshu had seen enough, tossed Varnae aside, sunk the temple beneath the earth and bound Kokou, Bast and Ptah (the last by his own will) to the land for their actions.

(X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm & Gambit#1 (fb) - BTS) - After the vampires were hunted down in Atlantis Varnae constructed Vampire Island in the Mediterranean Sea. He created everything on the island from magic including structures, the land and even the air. Vampires fled to the island and it became a place of worship impenetrable to teleporters that screwed up the powers of other superhuman beings.

(Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - At the time of the Great Cataclysm that sunk Atlantis, Varnae placed himself in suspended animation in his sarcophagus amid a viscid human stew. During this time, he received visions of the world around him, including the emergence of the Cimmerians.

(Timespirits#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - The last of Varnae's kind, the Giganthopithecus, vanished during the Great Cataclysm.

(Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb) - BTS) - Awakening during the Hyborian Era, Varnae used his mental powers to implant thoughts in the minds of the Afterlings, magically created humanoid bats that had served the adepts Morophla and Uathacht. He had them free him from his sarcophagus, and then used his powers to bind them to his will.

(Conan the Barbarian I#245 (fb)) - Using his powers, Varnae received a vision of a group of mercenaries traveling upon a road. One of these mercenaries discovered an indestructible parchment of the Darkhold. Varnae, aware that the Darkhold possessed spells to destroy vampires with, grew concerned.

   Again using his ability to implant thoughts in the minds of others, Varnae generated images of a woman guarding treasure to lure the leader of the mercenaries, Amalric of Nemedia, to Varnae's base in the Flaming Mountains of Khrosha.

(Conan the Barbarian I#244) - Conan, Red Sonja, and Zula, having escaped imprisonment, ventured into the Khrosha caves. The Afterlings abducted them, and brought them to Varnae.

(Conan the Barbarian I#245) - Varnae told Conan and his compatriots of who he was, delighted to discover that Chthon had no worshippers in the Hyborian era when they did not recognize his name. Only deities worshipped when Varnae had been a man, such as Chthon and Valka, could affect him or be invoked against him.

   Varnae also showed them a captured scout of the mercenary army he had guided towards himself, whom Varnae ate. Enraged, Conan and his allies attacked the Afterlings, to no success. Varnae, rather than kill the rowdy trio immediately, had them placed in a deep pit, intending to hold them until he captured the forces of Almaric (aka Malthom) at which point he would perform a massive blood sacrifice and transform the Afterlings into true vampires.

   Conan, Red Sonja, and Zula escaped, however, and managed to reach the outside. However, having just emerged from the caves, they saw the Afterlings attacking Amalric. Conan saved Amalric from an Afterling, but another flew away with the scroll of the Darkhold. Red Sonja wounded and pursued the Afterling, only to be attacked by Varnae. The Afterling dropped the scroll and died.

   Conan came to Sonja's rescue, freeing Sonja from Varnae's grasp, but Varnae soon grabbed him. Zula went for the Darkhold parchment as Varnae prepared to eat Conan. When Zula began reading the parchment, Varnae sent an Afterling to attack him, but Sonja defended Zula as he completed the spell. The spell, invoking deities such as Valka and Chthon, mystically injured Varnae, forcing him to flee. He hurled Conan away, but an Afterling gave its life to break Conan's fall.

(Timespirits#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Varnae bit the Timespirit Ogam of New Iberia. (Ogam was last seen around 6000 years before North America became known under that name)

(Bizarre Adventures#33/4 (fb)) - Varnae, observing members of a primitive tribe (possibly Picts during the Hyborian era, see comments), saw them chase a bison or buffalo type animal off a cliff and onto pre-sharpened stakes that they had set up. Varnae attacked the tribe, and after drinking their blood, impaled them on those stakes.

(Tomb of Dracula IV#2 (fb)) <2000 BC> - Varnae coerced the Sumerian sorceress Aamshed into creating the Ritual of Ascendance, which would vastly amplify the power of a vampire. However, Aamshed managed to twist the spell so that it could only be performed every two thousand years and that it must be performed on a vampire's home soil. As Varnae's home soil had long ago sunken beneath the surface of the ocean, he was unable to perform the ritual. (see comments).

(Tomb of Dracula IV#2 (fb)) <0 AD> - Varnae attempted and failed to raise Atlantis to perform the Rite of Ascendence; his efforts were again foiled by Aamshed.

(Timespirits#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking the Crystal Skull, a mystic item that could show the truth about anything, Varnae followed a group of Wise Men, who were following the Star of Bethlehem through the desert. The Wise Men became aware of Varnae following them and feared he was trying to deceive them when they saw a man sitting on a hill nearby (it was Cusick), but the one in possession of the Crystal Skull told the others that the man on the hill was not the shadowy evil following them.

(Timespirits#4/2) - Overlooking the desert Varnae watched the Wise Men and sent hordes of vermin to stop them. The Timespirit Cusick saved as many of them as he could before he was attacked from behind by Varnae, who bit Cusick, lifting him up with his humongous jaw. Varnae dropped Cusick when he tasted his blood, recognizing him as a Timespirit, who tasted even viler than the Timespirit he bit, Ogam. Cusick recognized Varnae as a Giganthopithecus turned vampires, a species that apparently went extinct when the last of them sunk with the Darkhold and Atlantis during the Great Cataclysm. Varnae picked up the Crystal Skull and flew away in his batform while Cusick crawled away to heal himself and three remaining Wise Men continued their voyage to a newborn child in Bethlehem.

   Sitting on a throne of bones in a dark cave filled with even more bones and full skeletons, Varnae stared at the Crystal Skull to find out if there was still some good in him, but the Crystal Skull showed him that he was pure evil. Cusick teleported in and grabbed the Crystal Skull before Varnae could crush it. Angered by Cusick's interference Varnae demanded the Crystal Skull back, but Cusick took off. Varnae transformed into his batform and flew after Cusick, who left Earth's atmosphere. When Varnae finally reached him he was instantly frozen solid, then dropped back to Earth and broke into a million pieces when his frozen form hit the ground. Cusick was sure this was Varnae's end and left with the Crystal Skull to deliver it himself to baby Jesus.

   After the million shattered pieces of Varnae's body unfroze, they sunk into the earth and slowly began to inch their way back together. His body was finally reformed after 33 years.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#63/4) - Circa 1000 AD, the Viking settlements in Vinland (North America), were overrun with vampires led by Varnae. The last human prayed to Thor to come to their aid, before being taken by the undead. The thunder-god found the settlement decimated and half the population dead. The other half were vampires. Thor was then confronted by Varnae, who revealed his names and his aliases of Baal, Tsathoggua, and Croatoan. Thor and Varnae battled, locked in a stalemate. Thor finally opened a portal with Mjolnir, letting sunlight through. Varnae fled the light, but his vampire minions were decimated.

   Almost six centuries later the last Viking settler was revealed to have been responsible for ending the Roanoke Colony by turning its population into vampires.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#12/2) - The pages of what would become the Darkhold came into the possession of the Catholic Church and a priest named Paolo Montesi. Demonstrating an ability to resist the temptations of the Chthonic parchments, he was granted the sole stewardship of them and given the ability to marry and produce heirs by Pope Eugene III circa 1150 AD. (See comments) Varnae was aware that the Church was now in possession of text revealing the existence of what would become the Montesi Formula, although they did not yet know it. He led an army of vampires into Rome and assaulted the Vatican, seeking to slay Paolo Montesi, preventing the Formula from ever being discovered. His forces clashed with the Papal Guard and Varnae was held at bay by Paolo wielding a cross. (See comments) Varnae, employing a ruse of some sort, caused the priest to stumble and drop the crucifix, and then killed him. However, Paolo's son was born that very night, then unknown to the vampire lord.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#13/2) - Giacomo Montesi, Paolo's son, followed in his father's footsteps as the curator of the Darkhold. (Exposure to the Darkhold gave the Montesis extraordinary long lifespans.) He deduced that the missing page containing the formula to destroy all vampires was taken to the east, to Tibet. Emissaries were sent by the priest in 1246, 1253 and 1350, finally finding the hidden city of Kanar-Taj. However, before communication could be established, one of Varnae's human agents slew Giacomo. The priest's son, Marcello, re-established ties with the Tibetan city in the 15th century, and Varnae responded by going to Kamar-Taj and training a mystic named Kaluu. With Varnae's tutoring, Kaluu grew strong enough to conquer Kamar-Taj. However, Kaluu grew greedy and sought control of the surrounding villages. Kaluu was defeated by the "white" magic of the mystic who would one day become Stephen Strange's mentor, the Ancient One.

(Bizarre Adventures#33, Dracula Lives!#2/1, Dracula Lives#3/1 - BTS) - Varnae, weary of his thousands of years of vampiric existence, seeks to choose a successor. To that end, in 1459, in the 3rd year of the second reign of Vlad Tepes, he set his sights on the Impaler as his successor.

   Varnae started sending Tepes bizarre dreams in which Tepes saw Varnae with his adulating undead hordes. One night, though, Varnae sent a dream that showed Tepes' Ottoman enemies, Turac and Baron Korda, planning an attack. In the dream, Turac stated that the Turks would attack from the East. Taking the dream as an omen, Tepes massed his soldiers on the East.

   However, Varnae deceived Tepes, as the Ottoman forces actually attacked from the west. The Ottoman soldiers took the badly wounded Tepes as a prisoner, wishing to use him as a figurehead for a puppet government. They took him to be healed.

   Varnae flew off to implement the rest of his plan. Turac brought Tepes to Lianda, a Gypsy healer-- as well as a vampire under Varnae's control. As Lianda bit Dracula, Varnae, at the battlefield where Tepes had been wounded, attacked priests sent to deliver last rites to the wounded.

   Meanwhile, Turac returned to Lianda to inquire of Dracula's condition. Lianda attacked Turac, but the Ottoman soldier wounded her with his spear. Turac left Lianda, presuming he destroyed her, and left with Tepes. Lianda, although seriously harmed, under Varnae's control, transformed into a wolf and returned to the Vampire Lord. She informed Varnae that Tepes had joined the ranks of the undead, and asked him to heal her wounds. Varnae scoffed at her and allowed her to disintegrate in front of him.

   As this happened, Turac brought Dracula back to his castle, where Dracula, unaware of what he had become, was taunted as Turac fondled Dracula's wife, Maria, who had been raped by Turks. Scratching Turac's face with her nails, Maria attempted to flee, but fell and broke her neck against hard stone. Enraged, Dracula broke the chains holding him. Realizing he had become a vampire, Dracula slew Baron Korda and Turac.

   Simultaneously, Varnae set up one last test to assess Dracula's worthiness to become the new Lord of Vampires. He chose a subordinate vampire named Nimrod, allowed him to drink some of his own blood, and sent him away. Nimrod was instructed to pretend to be the Lord of Vampires, and other vampires were sent to find Dracula.

   Dracula, meanwhile, had turned into a bat, taking the corpse of his wife and his still living son away. He gave his son to the Gypsies, and buried his wife's corpse. As he traveled, he flew over a church and a young couple named Cristina Virag and Serge Dobogoko. The two had first met only a few weeks earlier, and Cristina's uncle served as clergyman.

   Cristina saw Dracula as a bat, and informed her uncle of what she saw. Cristina's uncle went to Castle Dracula to destroy the now vampirized Turac. Before his destruction, Turac informed Cristina's uncle that Dracula now existed as a vampire. The clergy resolved to destroy Dracula.

   Meanwhile, other vampires found and abducted Dracula. Brought before Nimrod, Dracula refused to acknowledge Nimrod as his master, and a duel of stakes was announced. At the duel, Dracula destroyed both Nimrod and a vampiress named Lala. However, Cristina's uncle and other clergymen raided the vampiric gathering, taking out Dracula with arrows. After staking and burning the downed vampire, they decided to scatter Dracula's ashes in a river.

   Nearby, Serge seduced Cristina. They had sex, although Cristina only thought about Dracula during intercourse. (I bet if Serge knew that his ego would have been bruised. --Per Degaton.) Apparently, due too much "blood and pain", the newly deflowered Cristina went to clean herself in the river-- the same river where Dracula's ashes had been scattered. Dracula reformed in front of Cristina, but told her, out of gratitude, he would spare her.

   Meanwhile, Cristina's uncle arrived at the church-- to be confronted by Varnae, who feasted on the clergy. Cristina and Serge arrived to see the victorious Varnae. Serge revealed himself to be one of Varnae's minions, transforming into a monstrous form. He started to attack Cristina, but Dracula arrived and destroyed him. Cristina fled.

   Dracula confronted Varnae, who revealed to Tepes how he manipulated the events leading up to Dracula's becoming a vampire. Varnae, despite resistance on the part of Dracula, imparted his blood to Dracula. This went on through the night, until Varnae placed Dracula in a coffin to protect him from the dawn. Varnae himself walked out into the sun, gradually shrinking and disintegrating, until he reached a cliff where he totally evaporated.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#6 (fb) - BTS) - Verdelet felt slighted by Varnae for not making him the new Lord of Vampires.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#13/2) - On the night he made Dracula his successor, Varnae had just slain Marcello Montesi, again demonstrating his immunity to religious paraphernalia. Varnae never told Dracula about the Montesi Formula, taking the secret with him to the, uh, grave, so to speak. The Montesi Formula would ultimately be used by Dr. Strange to destroy Dracula and all other vampires (save Hannibal King).

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18) - Marie Laveau, desperate for vampire blood, had kidnapped Dr. Strange's friend, Morgana Blessing, and his brother Victor, and was holding them in a mansion outside New Orleans. She had put up magical shields which prevented entry to the house, and demanded that Dr. Strange hand over the "Vampiric Verses," a spell from the Book of the Vishanti. The Book of the Vishanti is the "white magic" counterpart to the Darkhold; As such for every spell within the Book of Sins, there is an antithesis within the Book of the Vishanti. Since the Montesi Formula had originated in the Darkhold, the spell to create vampires was contained within the Book of the Vishanti. Strange was about to deliver the spell-page to Laveau, when reason reasserted itself and he forever banished the page from the Earth plane. Laveau, possessing the Darkhold, invoked a spell contained within for resurrecting the Lord of the Vampires. When the incantation was completed, she prepared to sacrifice Morgana Blessing as the touchstone, but Brother Voodoo's servant, Bambu, jumped in the way and was himself slain. His corpse rose, transforming itself into the reborn Varnae. Varnae scoffed at Laveau's offer of an alliance, and attempted to feast on Blessing, but was confronted by Dr. Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme and the Lord of the Vampires battled, Varnae changing shape and revealing he had formerly sought to be Sorcerer Supreme before he became a vampire. Strange cast an "incantation of oblivion" on Varnae, making the undead mage relive his oblivion of 5 centuries. Embracing (un)life again, Varnae fled, claiming with Strange he finally had a reason to live: A worthy foe.

(Excalibur I#30 - BTS) - When Meggan of Excalibur began exhibiting vampiric traits, Doctor Strange appeared to cure her, noting that she had absorbed energies released by Marie Laveau's use of the Darkhold. Strange noted that he suspected Varnae was in England.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#19) - Varnae, wearing a human form, attacked a young couple in Cyprus Hills Cemetery, killing the boy and frightening away the girl. He then encountered John Blaze, still reeling from the aftermath of the "Siege of Darkness." Varnae attempted to make Blaze to drink a potion made from the vampire-lord's own blood, with the intent of turning the hero into a vampire. (At this point Varnae was still the only "true" vampire on Earth.) Blaze fought Varnae across the cemetery, and attempted to use a cross against him. As Blaze is not a believer (and Varnae is immune to Christian iconography) it had no effect. They finally arrived at the Midnight Sons' mausoleum, where Blaze pressed the first vampire's face into a Midnight Sons dagger icon. As Blaze believed in this, and it was from Varnae's time, it damaged the vampire lord, who fled, swearing vengeance.




(Nightstalkers#16 (fb) - BTS) - Varnae somehow completely broke the Montesi formula, creating other vampires and transformed the vampire hunter Taj Nital into a vampire.

(Nightstalkers#16 - BTS) - Varnae had Janus, the son of Domini and Dracula, kidnapped by Taj Nital as part of his plan against Dracula. Using Janus, Varnae then controlled HYDRA's genetically engineered vampire, Bloodstorm, (created from the DNA of Dracula himself) and instructed it to escape from the lab he was built in.

(Nightstalkers#17 - BTS) - Varnae instructed Bloodstorm to come to him from the decimated HYDRA lab and to take with him the Exorcist, Frank Drake's anti-occult gun, which HYDRA had taken. Blade arrived at Kennedy airport, where he encountered the now vampiric Taj Nital, but the Nightstalker was not aware of this development.

(Nightstalkers#18) - Varnae had Taj Nital bring Blade to him in a house in Rhode Island. At the house, Varnae menaced Blade, threatening the vampire hunter and making oblique hints about Dracula's return. Bloodstorm arrived, followed by Salomé, and Frank Drake and Hannibal King. Salomé offered Varnae the opportunity to serve her and the Lord of the Vampires rejected her offer. She blasted Bloodstorm, freeing him from Varnae's control. Frank Drake used the Exorcist against Varnae, not really harming him much, while Varnae ordered Taj Nital to slay Blade. The two grappled, with Blade killing his former ally. Varnae then ordered Hannibal King to kill his fellow Nightstalkers, and the vampire King struggled in a battle of wills with Varnae, finally impaling himself to protect his friends, but missed his heart. Drake went ballistic, sending Blade out of the structure, ostensively to power up the Exorcist, but Dracula's descendant then over-powered the Exorcist while rushing Varnae. The gun exploded, apparently killing Hannibal King, Frank Drake, and Varnae and destroying the house.

(Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#1 - BTS) - Prior to his confrontation with the Nightstalkers, Varnae turned Aaron Thorne into a vampire and made him the leader of an organization called the Bad Seed, designed to spread vampirism. It created a drug called Aceldama, a highly addictive substance containing vampire blood, whose use would turn its user into a vampire slave. Blade confronted Thorne at the New York Bad Seed operations HQ and defeated him, destroying the facilities. Thorne escaped, however, and hinted at further Bad Seed operations around the country.

(Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#2-3 - BTS) - The resurrected Dracula (see comments) confronted Blade at a New York night club. He quickly defeated the vampire slayer, but forgot about Blade's immunity to vampire bites. The hero received aid from Aaron Thorne, who battled Dracula on behalf of his master, Varnae. Dracula was winning when Blade made them both retreat by blasting them with running water (an obscure vampiric weakness). "Dracula" swore he would encounter Blade again soon.

(Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#4 - BTS) - A group of vampires, led by the Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, captured Blade and his ally Bible John in Los Angeles. They then prepared for Varnae's spirit to return to the Earth plane and enter Blade's body.








(Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#5) - Varnae's spirit, returned to Earth by the magic of Marie Laveau, sought to use Blade as its new body. In order for the possession to take effect, however, a certain sigil had to be painted on the vampire hunter. Blade was able to wipe away the painted sigil and escape from his restraints, in the process skewering the vampire Night Terror. Varnae, in desperate need of a body, possessed the vampire, making it his new body. Varnae engaged Blade in swordplay. Blade, who was weakening due to exposure to poison gas, was able to create a spark with the swords clashing, which ignited the gas causing the building the vampires and Blade were in to explode. Sunlight approaching in the ruins, the vampires, and Varnae, fled into underground.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Blood Hunt#4/Blood Hunt: Red Band#4 (fb) - BTS) - Varnae's spirit finally took possession of his anointed vessel Blade. (This was a callback to Blade: The Vampire-Hunter I#5! I love it!)

(Blood Hunt#1/Blood Hunt: Red Band#1 (fb) - BTS) - He then took control over the worldwide vampire cult known as the Structure after Moon Knight killed their leader and set plans in motion for a global attack on population centers and critical infrastructure with a horde of newly turned vampires. He then used an antediluvian Atlantean ritual to detonate all Darkforce users on Earth and turn them into portals for Darkforce to block out the sun.

(Doctor Strange VI#16 (fb)) - "Blade" contacted Victor Strange's ghost, who was trapped in the Crypt of Shadows, a space behind the mirrors of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and sought an alliance. "Blade" promised to attack Stephen Strange and turn him into a vessel Victor could possess.

(Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt#1 (fb)) - "Blade" called in a meeting at an abandoned 50's Diner with a group of vampire hunters loyal to him and slew them.

(Miles Morales: Spider-Man II#21 (fb) / Blood Hunt#1/Blood Hunt: Red Band#1) - "Blade" approached Spider-Man (Miles Morales) during the first hour of the long night and...

(Miles Morales: Spider-Man II#21 (fb) / Blood Hunt#2/Blood Hunt: Red Band#2 (fb) - BTS) - ...turned Spider-Man into a vampire...

(Miles Morales: Spider-Man II#21 (fb) / Blood Hunt#3/Blood Hunt: Red Band#3 (fb) - BTS) - ...and forced him to hunt down Brielle.

(Blood Hunt#1/Blood Hunt: Red Band#1) - "Blade" contacted the Avengers with a priority alert and claimed he was on the run and had important information for them, but needed to be teleported to the Impossible City. They stupidly locked on to his coordinates and teleported the truck he was driving to the Impossible City and got attacked by the Bloodcoven, whose leader Bloodstorm One told them that Blade couldn't make it. The Avengers were defeated, but except for Black Panther, Thor and Scarlet Witch the rest of the team were teleported to safety by the Impossible City.

(Blood Hunt#1/Blood Hunt: Red Band#1/Doctor Strange VI#15) - "Blade" instead made his way to the Sanctum Sanctorum because even though he knew Scarlet Witch didn't have it in her to cast the Montesi Formula he wasn't so sure about Doctor Strange, who was already looking for a way to assemble the Montesi Formula when "Blade" arrived. "Blade" mockingly told Strange that he knew Strange needed the Darkhold, which had been devoured by the Scarlet Witch, and then revealed how this vampire uprising came to be and how the Avengers were taken out by the superhuman vampires of the Bloodcoven. Strange was still in the dark about the mastermind behind this whole operation and was trying to form a plan with "Blade" only to get cut in half while "Blade" revealed that he was behind it.

(Doctor Strange VI#15) - "Blade" bit the badly injured Doctor Strange. Clea tried to get him off, but to her surprise "Blade" stopped her spell and then tossed Stephen's lifeless body at her. "Blade" then used swords from pre-Cataclysmic Atlantean hunters of magicians to cut through her magic defenses. The fight continued until Doctor Strange turned into a vampire and attacked Clea, who used the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak to contain him. "Blade" considered taking the Sorcerer Supreme out of the equation a win because Clea now could not cast the Montesi Formula without killing him and was now forced to ensure nobody else casts it to protect him. "Blade" then called the Bloodcoven to teleport him back to the Impossible City.

(Blood Hunt#2/Blood Hunt: Red Band#2 (fb) - BTS) - "Blade" turned Black Panther into a vampire.

(Blood Hunt#2/Blood Hunt: Red Band#2) - Black Panther tried to fight the influence "Blade" had over him, but succumbed and was sent to find the Temple of the First Blasphemy for his new master. "Blade" sent the Bloodcoven to find and bring Blade's daughter Brielle to him, but the Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Vision) prevented Brielle's capture. During the fight Bloodstorm One revealed to Captain Marvel that Blade had finally become the vessel he was meant to be. After the battle the heroes made their way to the Sanctum Sanctorum where Spider-Man (Morales) showed his true colors as a vampire as soon as he saw Brielle.

(Black Panther: Blood Bunt#1) - In Wakanda Black Panther still tried to resist "Blade's" control because he wanted to save his people from the vampires. "Blade" mocked the weakened Black Panther for not feeding and his futile attempt to resist him.

(Black Panther: Blood Hunt#3 - BTS) - Black Panther found the Temple of the First Blasphemy.

(Blood Hunt#3/Blood Hunt: Red Band#3) - Black Panther informed "Blade" that he had found the Temple buried deep beneath Wakanda. "Blade" ordered Black Panther to have the Impossible City teleport the Temple to the Impossible City. Scarlet Witch mocked "Blade" because the Bloodcoven had lost a member during their last encounter with the Avengers.

(Blood Hunt#3/Blood Hunt: Red Band#3 - BTS) - Spider-Man's attack on Brielle was thwarted and he was calmed down by Clea and Doctor Strange. Brielle was shocked to learn that her father Blade was behind everything that was happening at the moment and fled when she was asked to kill him. Dracula and Spider-Man followed her to convince her to go through with the murder.

(Blood Hunt#3/Blood Hunt: Red Band#3) - "Blade" was infuriated when the Captain America (Wilson) gave an inspiring speech broadcast to the people of Earth and instilled hope in them. "Blade" switched his plans and ordered Black Panther to have the Temple of the First Blasphemy teleported to New York City.

(Black Panther: Blood Hunt#3 - BTS) - Black Panther had the Impossible City teleport the Temple of the First Blasphemy to the Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

(Doctor Strange VI#16 - BTS) - Victor Strange took possession of Stephen's body while Stephen's astral form was away.

(Dracula: Blood Hunt#2) - "Blade" (in his astral form) found and attacked Brielle wandering around New York City while a group of vampires distracted Dracula.

(Dracula: Blood Hunt#3) - "Blade" trapped Brielle in an illusion and tried to convince her to join him in ruling the world, but seeing her friends and family turned into a vampires did the opposite. As soon as he realized what he had done he tried to scare Brielle off by showing her his true form, but that didn't work either. Brielle escaped the illusion and was ready to kill her father to stop Varnae.






(Blood Hunt#4/Blood Hunt: Red Band#4) - "Blade" teleported with Black Panther, the Bloodcoven and the captured Thor and Scarlet Witch to the Temple of the First Blasphemy. "Blade" finally revealed to Black Panther that he was actually Varnae possessing the Daywalker's form. He was ready to use the living Darkhold (the Scarlet Witch) and the blood of a god (Thor) to finally complete the ritual to attain godhood. He drank Thor's blood and completed the ritual to become one with the Darkforce dimension. He was shocked when Black Panther pointed out the rising Moon in the darkness, which hailed the return of Khonshu, but Varnae was sure that it was already too late. Black Panther finally turned on Varnae and removed the metal stake stuck in Thor's head so that the God of Thunder could join the battle against Varnae alongside the rest of the arriving Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Vision).

(Blood Hunt#5/Blood Hunt: Red Band#5) - Vision freed Scarlet Witch and she joined the battle against the Bloodcoven while Thor took on Varnae one on one, but his power was not enough and he got entangled in Varnae's Darkforce. Varnae was blown away by lightning when Mjolnir finally returned to Thor's hand from Earth's orbit. Moon Knight and an army of dead Fists of Khonshu joined the battle, but even their addition was not enough and Varnae caught all the heroes in Darkforce. Dracula arrived with Bloodline and stabbed Varnae through the chest, but even that was not enough because Varnae's possession of Blade had gone on for so long that the body was as much his as it was Blade's and Brielle was not part of Varnae's bloodline and therefore unable to kill him. Spider-Man then joined Brielle in stabbing Blade's body and because he was of Varnae's bloodline as a vampire created by him, their combined efforts banished Varnae's spirit from Blade's body. Scarlet Witch encased Varnae's spirit in a mystic crystal prison. As the sun rose after Doctor Doom and the students of Strange Academy broke Varnae's Darkforce ritual, all of Varnae's lofty plans had finally been thwarted.

Comments: Created by Steve Perry & Steve Bissette.

Varnae is still the Lord of the Vampires, despite any claims Dracula may currently make. When Varnae was resurrected in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18, the Darkhold spell was for resurrecting the Lord of the Vampires, and Varnae, not Dracula came back. Varnae is still out there and I'd love to see him return (in his original form, no problem for the Lord of the Vampires) to menace the MU or possibly battle Dracula himself.

The explosion in Nightstalkers#18 that killed Hannibal King and Frank Drake had an odd effect, according to the letters page of Blade I#10; the Dracula that arose from the explosion's wreckage in Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#1 was actually a composite being consisting of Frank Drank (Dracula's descendant) and Hannibal King (a vampire). The two's significant aspects were melded together in the explosion to create the new Dracula, who possessed none of the original's memories. Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#10 was the final issue of the series, and the first part of a story called "Dracula Untombed," The planned issues 11 and 12 would have revealed the above.
   However, Hannibal King has been seen separately since, in Blade: Crescent City Blues, where he revealed Drake was also alive, and the original Dracula showed up in Spider-Man Team Up#6. The Dracula in Spider-Man Team Up#6 had memories of fighting Dr. Strange previously and was taken to be the real deal. This means that the merged King-Drake Dracula seems to have been forgotten about and the Dracula in the short lived Blade series is now being taken as the original.
   My explanation for all this is that after Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#10, the composite Dracula was broken apart somehow and resulted in 3 components: Hannibal King, the badly injured Frank Drake, and the original Dracula, returned to (un)life through the merging and splitting of both his bloodlines. Similar to Snood's explaining of the Marduk fiasco, this isn't canon, but it is the closest we are probably going to get to anything resembling continuity.

In the Marvel Universe, crosses, or for that matter any religious icon, only repel vampires if wielded by one who truly believes in the significance of the symbol. The vampire's belief in the symbol is irrelevant; only the wielder's. However, Varnae has demonstrated (Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#13/2 and Bizarre Adventures#33) not being repelled by the crucifix. The explanation given is that he pre-dated Christianity and the gods he worshipped are no longer believed in, so he has nothing to fear. Presumably, Varnae alone has this attribute as he was vampirically created directly from the Darkhold, and is thus more "pure."
   There are, however, 2 times in which Varnae has been depicted fearing religious icons. One is in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#12/2, in which Paolo Montesi held him at bay with a crucifix until the vampire lord tricked the priest into dropping the icon and killed him. I would say that since Paolo was the 1st Montesi to be custodian of the Darkhold, his faith was especially strong and this, coupled with the confrontation occurring at the gates of the Vatican, caused Varnae to fear the cross. Or perhaps Varnae was just playing games with the ill-fated priest.
   In Spirits of Vengeance#19, Varnae battled John Blaze who tries unsuccessfully to hold the vampire at bay with a cross. When this failed, Blaze pressed a "Midnight Sons" dagger from a mausoleum into Varnae, causing the latter pain. The order of the Midnight Sons has been shown to have existed before Atlantis' fall, when they fought Zarathos (As seen in Midnight Sons Unlimited#4). Since the order existed in Varnae's time, he is susceptible to its iconography the way Dracula is to Christianity's.

Chuck J has a suggestion as to why Varnae may have been affected in the first of these two cases. "As we all know, the effectiveness of religious symbols against vampires depends on the faith of the wielder. Montesi, as a Catholic almost certainly believed in the Trinity, which means that he believed that Jesus is God, the creator of the universe and necessarily existed prior to anything else, including Varnae. It may be that the Christians Varnae encountered in times past were Arians (who believe that Jesus is a created being and not truly God. Note that Varnae's contempt was for the "damnable fisherman," not his Father.) Due to the "faith factor," a cross wielded by someone with these beliefs wouldn't hurt Varnae, even if Jesus really existed in the Hyborian era."

But Per Degaton disagrees, noting that "Actually, in Bizarre Adventures#33, Cristina's uncle, who was either a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox priest (as that story took place in Transylvania) attempted to use a cross against Varnae and it failed. Since BOTH the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church teach the Trinity, Cristina's uncle (and his fellow clergymen) would have believed in the Trinity. Not only that, but since they were in a church when Varnae attacked them, there were plenty of crosses around! Oh, and if you think that Cristina's uncle and his clergymen did not have sincere faith, earlier they had been shown as using crosses against Turac and other vampires successfully. Since the Roman Catholic Church had all Arians executed or exiled by the year 600 AD (so much for Christianity promoting tolerance), I doubt Varnae has ever encountered any Arian Christians in any of the adventures we have seen. I prefer Nick's explanation for why Varnae SEEMED to fear a cross at that one time. "Or perhaps Varnae was just playing games with the ill-fated priest." Maybe Varnae was hiding his immunity to the cross at that point in time, to save it as an ace in the hole, but since the Bizarre Adventures#33 story took place just after he had resolved to commit suicide, he felt had no need to conceal his immunity to crosses." The debate continues.
    --J. M. Lofficier states that it is the degree of faith that affects the vampire, and not the religious artifact or the religion itself. He also states that Marcello was just not as "powerful" in his faith as Paolo.
    The vampire is also likely even more affected by deities of whom he knew and respected.

The story in Marvel Comics Presents I#63/4 requires several explanations. First, Varnae mentions he was known as Baal in Babylonia. Baal was not worshipped in Babylon, but in Phonecia, modern day Israel/Palestine. The gods of both the Babylonians and Palestinians were considered pagan and evil by the Hebrews (readers of this entry would do well to disabuse themselves of the misconception that religious tolerance derives from Jewish tradition --Per Degaton), and Len Kaminski, the writer of the MCP story, probably confused the 2 groups. (A similar thing occurred in Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting when Fabian Nicieza listed Aqhat as a Hebrew deity; Aqhat was worshipped by the Phoenicians, who lived in the same area as the Israelites, and whose myths are often grouped together in mythology books.)
Since the actual deities exist in the MU, Varnae's listing of both Baal and Tsathoggua probably means that he attempted to steal their worshippers away similar to the way the Heliopolitan (Egyptian) god Seth did with the worshippers of the Elder god Set.
The name Croatoan is not the name of a god, but the only clue to the disappearance of the Roanoke, Virginia colony in 1590. The colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1587, and consisted of 117 people. After a year, the settlement's leader, John White, left to get more supplies in England, but was unable to return until 1590, due to the Spanish war. When he returned to the colony he found it abandoned, although there was no sign of a struggle taking place. The word Croatoan was carved in one tree and the letters CRO on another tree. To this day the fate of the colonists is unknown, although people have speculated that they were killed by Indians, the Spanish, or joined a friendly Indian village nearby and became part of its population.
    The name was seen again (or still) on a tree in Roanoke after the town was slaughtered by Logan as a test by Weapon X, as seen in Weapon X II#25--Snood.

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#12/2 listed the Pope who gave Paolo Montesi the charge of the Darkhold as Pope Eugene VIII. There has never been a Pope Eugene VIII. Eugene III was Pope from 1145-1153. This is around the time that the Darkhold parchments came into the Church's possession (Aelfric the Mad Monk possessed them and was burned at the stake in 1149.) so it is probably meant to be Eugene III that gave the Montesis charge of the Darkhold.

Also, Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#13/2 listed "as the 14th century was born" as when Marcello Montesi re-established contact with Kamar-Taj. However, the birth of the 14th century was the year 1300, when Giacomo Montesi was still alive and Kamar-Taj not yet found by his men. So the 14th century should be the 15th century, or the year 1400.

The mythology of vampirism in the Marvel Universe has been fairly consistent with mainstream folklore and itself over the years. Discrepancies have arisen here and there, but for the definitive examination of the subject consult the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#20. One example of an inconsistency is that, while in many myths about them, vampires fear running water, they don't in the MU; However Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#3 showed "Dracula" and Aaron Thorne being damaged by running water.
Lilith observes that Dracula was nearly killed by running water in Tomb of Dracula I#9, so there is a precedent in the Marvel Universe. --Prime Ed-ternal

Marvel: The Year in Review '92 had a personal ad in its "classified section" in which Elsa, (212) 555-2738, put out a message to an apparent vampire she encountered. She describes their meeting as "YOU: Pale long-haired rocker in costume w/fangs. ME: Blond punker w/ "VARNAE ROCKS" T-shirt and leather jacket."

Per Degaton's Comments:

Bizarre Adventures#33, though it contained Varnae's first appearance, did not go into Varnae's own origin. In fact, much of the story implied that Varnae had existed for much longer than later stories have pegged his becoming a vampire at. For example, in the first four pages of the story in Bizarre Adventures#33, Varnae's encounter with the primitive tribe discussed above took place. The writer probably intended this primitive tribe to be cavemen, but we know that Varnae was not born until well after the time of the cavemen. I have concluded that the primitive tribe we saw may have been Picts during the Hyborian era, as various primitive tribes existed throughout the Hyborian era, as well as many animals we generally associate with such times (such as mammoths). I have placed this encounter after Varnae's run-in with Conan, as Varnae mentioned that he existed in suspended animation during the Hyborian era until the Afterlings freed him.
   Varnae also made statements in Bizarre Adventures#33 that would imply he existed for millions of years, but again we know now that does not accurately reflect Varnae's age. Varnae crushed a cross brandished by a priest and stated: "The Gods I feared died eons ago". An eon means a period of one million years, so we know Varnae dissembles here (poetic license? --Prime Ed-ternal). Varnae also informed Dracula that: "I saw this stinking race climb from the mud", implying that Varnae existed before humanity did, but we know now that since Varnae himself once existed as a human being, this cannot represent the truth.
However, one bit of dialogue that Varnae mouths was confirmed by his encounter with Conan-- he stated he witnessed "the rise and fall of ancient Acheron, Valusia, Mei'ting, Atlantis...". We know that since Varnae opposed King Kull and was born in Atlantis, he tells the truth here, and he probably had visions of Acheron while in suspended animation.
   As discussed by Greg O:
What many students of Marvel chronology/history forget when constructing timelines for characters and events around the Pre Cataclysmic and the Hyborian Eras is that between each of these epochs and the beginning of modern history there was a cataclysm which destroyed the current civilization. Most people are aware of the one that destroyed the surface world Atlantis, but often forget the second cataclysm which ended the Hyborian Era. After each of these destructive events the geography of Earth was considerably altered and man sunk into a state of savagery and barbarism before once again beginning the laborious climb back up into civilization once more.
   Apparently the first was far worse and man had longer to recover because between the sinking of Atlantis and the beginning of the Hyborian Era man not only was reduced to barbarism but even devolved back into a semi-apelike state. The second was not nearly so bad, simply reducing man to savagery and breaking the Hyborian continent apart into the landmasses which would eventually drift into the positions we recognize on the map today. Thus the "cave-men" Varnae saw were likely the primitive men that existed between the Fall of Atlantis and the rise of the Sons of Bor. It is possible, but highly unlikely they were the savage humans between the Fall of Hyboria and the beginning of modern history - - the Hyborian Era and the history of the modern world are not strictly continuous as primitive man (as the historians reckon it) would have had access to all sorts of Hyborian Era advances like the hand pump, the forging of steel, oil lamps, hinges, advanced ship building and so forth. That and it appears in the interim between the Hyborian Era and the beginning of modern history man only had time to revert to savagery not devolve and then climb his way back up the evolutionary ladder.
   Also Varnae mentioned, in his Marvel Comics Presents appearance opposite Thor, that he watched Thor's race gnaw its way up upon the bones of the old gods' civilization. This strikes me as particularly a reference to Ymir whom in Norse myth Odin and his brothers formed the world from after slaying him. Though a "frost giant" now Ymir was the god of the Vanir and the Aesir races of the Hyborian Era. At this time I am still puzzling out the exact connection of the Hyborian Vanir and Aesir to the godly Asgardians - - perhaps a portion of these people were taken by the Asgardians back to their own dimension to serve as the super strong "mortals" of their realm.
   Back to Varnae though - - this reference to the Asgardians feasting on the bones of the old gods could be a reference to various Hyborian Era gods, or at least the ones that didn't survive to gain worshipers in the modern era.
I'll buy most of that. I don't know about "devolving back into a semi-apelike state," though. Other explanations for the observation of cavemen, dinosaurs, etc. in any era include the Savage Land, and races created by the Deviants--Snood

Incidentally, Varnae made a mistake in one of his recollections. Taunting a defeated clergyman, he stated: "I saw your damnable fisherman rise up to claim the meek and ignorant...laughed when he was nailed up, and spit on his resurrection". While we know that Varnae existed when Jesus Christ did, Jesus was usually depicted as a carpenter, not a fisherman! (Varnae may have had Peter in mind. Peter is usually shown as having been a fisherman before he became an apostle, and since he-allegedly-served as the first Pope/bishop of Rome, popes are quaintly said to wear "the Fisherman's Ring" as the successors to Peter. Actually, Steve Bissette, who incorporated many photos into his artwork, apparently used a still from the film "The Fisherman's Shoes" starring Anthony Quinn as the pope, so now we know how the mistake came about!)
Greg O's got more to say about this, too:
Varnae refers to ol' Jesus as a fisherman and people seem confused since Christ was most commonly known as a carpenter. However, let's not forget that this term could be meant euphemistically and not as a reference to Christ as a carpenter, but as the guy who "will make ye fishers of men". That and as the Christian faith began to spread out from the Middle East it was subject to all the mistranslations and misconceptions that any new religion endures (like being cannibals for eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood - - almost vampiric in a way). Hence, that little fish symbol thing that is such a popular adornment for people's automobiles these days. Christians used to have to meet in secret and this was a symbol which marked their gathering places - - on the one hand it was an obvious reference to the above "fishers of men" quote, but ALSO in many of the places where these fish symbols were first used Christos was often mistranslated into Greek as Igthos which means "fish" and creates further connections between Jesus and the image of him as a fisherman. Varnae likely meant it in some or all of these connections as well the others mentioned elsewhere.

The idea that the Darkholders created the first vampires was established in Doctor Strange II#61, a story which did not mention Varnae by name. However, subsequent retellings of the origin of vampires such as Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11/2 and Varnae's retelling of his origin to Conan in Conan the Barbarian I#244, confirm that Varnae served as one of the Darkholders of Atlantis who served Chthon. Chthon, by the way, in contrast with Set, is not a deity derived from either authentic mythology or Robert E. Howard's Kull or Conan stories. Chthon, instead, has to do with Marvel's aforementioned Darkhold, a book of black magic that was introduced in the Werewolf by Night stories in Marvel Spotlight I#3-4 (April to June 1972).

That a spell existed within the Darkhold to destroy all vampires was revealed in Werewolf by Night I#15 (March 1974), identified by name in Dracula Lives#6 (May, 1974), where it is first spoken and used. It is reaffirmed in X-Men Annual I#6 (1983)-- and Doctor Strange used it in Doctor Strange II#62 (December 1983). For speculation about the Montesi Formula and vampires see Montesi.

In Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18, Varnae claims to have used the Vampiric Verses before anyone else before the Great Cataclysm. The Vampiric Verses are in the Book of the Vishanti, they can be used to reverse the Montesi Formula. (Note: The Book of the Vishanti serves as a counteragent against the Darkhold, reversing most any spell from the Darkhold. Unfortunately, that means that while the Montesi Formula in the Darkhold can destroy vampires, the Vampiric Verses can resurrect them.) Varnae states that he spoke the Vampiric Verses (and thus, one might guess, had access to the Book of the Vishanti) before the Great Cataclysm.
--John McDonagh

Valka, whose name Varnae quaked at, in contrast with Chthon, does represent a deity from Howard's stories. Valka apparently existed as an actual entity in the Earth-616 universe, as he, along with Agamotto, played a part in the defeat of the Dweller-in-Darkness by Zhered-Na in Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#33/2. Other gods Varnae would have vulnerabilities to would include Set (who was worshipped by Thulsa Doom and the Serpent Men as well as by the Deviants), Honan and Hotath...and Holgar and Helfara, the Black Shadow, the Great Scorpion--Snood

In Conan the Barbarian I#260, they seem to have extended Crom's history back to the pre-cataclysmic era.
Was he worshipped in the days before Kull? If so, then Varnae should have vulnerabilities to Cromism. (Now, Conan had no Crom symbols on him in the 1991 published Varnae story, and taking a god's name in vain has never worked against vampires to my knowledge, so Varnae not wincing at a "By Crom!" would not serve as a problem.)--John
In Conan the Barbarian I#245, Varnae did seem to be unaffected when Conan invoked the name of Crom--in fact, Varnae seemed not to even recognize the name. In the same issue, however, at the mere mention of the word Valka, Varnae screams in pain. The apparent rationale being that Varnae was only harmed by the belief of Gods who existed prior to him.
However, Crom did indeed exist and even had followers prior to the Cataclysm: Crom
We know Varnae was created before the Cataclysm, apparently shortly after Kull slew Thulsa Doom. Kull's time was @ 500 years before the Cataclysm. So, either Crom developed worshippers AFTER Varnae became a vampire, or, more likely, since Crom's past was extended into the PreC era in Conan the Barbarian I#260, Roy the Boy didn't have it effect Varnae, since it hadn't been ret-conned yet.
Still, the defense would be that when Zula invoked Valka, he was actually reading the Darkhold Scrolls, some primitive form of the Montesi Formula, which turned a mere name into an actual invocation for power, and thus a weapon.
Or maybe Varnae had sprayed himself with a can of Crom-B-Gone--Snood.

An informative article about religion in the days of King Kull.

Bizarre Adventures#33, with its elaboration of Dracula's origin, drew on characters and situations from the stories in Dracula Lives!#2-3 (September to October 1973). The first stories in those issues, by Marv Wolfman and John Buscema, introduced Lianda, Turac, and Nimrod. Essentially, Varnae's manipulation of the events in that story interweaves as a retcon.

Also, although the OHOTMUDE's entry for Dracula stated that Solomon Kane, in his second encounter with Dracula in the 1500's (Savage Sword of Conan#26, January 1978) became the first individual known to have "killed" Dracula since the latter became a vampire, technically this is not true, as Bizarre Adventures#33 shows that Cristina's uncle and his clergymen managed to "kill" Dracula in 1459, as described above, they have the credit of being the first to "kill" Dracula since his emergence as a vampire.
--Solomon Kane's first encounter with Dracula is detailed in Dracula Lives#3--Snood.

Besides Varnae, other vampires shown as having existed during the Hyborian era include Akivasha (from Hour of the Dragon), the King of the Drelliks from Conan the Barbarian I#102-103 (Sept-Oct 1979), other vampires appearing in Red Sonja I#15 (1979), and in Savage Sword of Conan#32 (1978), #38(1979) and #141 (1987).

Snood observes: Just because he became a vampire @ 18500 BC doesn't mean he couldn't have been a millennia old sorcerer prior to that. Maybe he's one of the Elder Race, like Thulsa Doom, etc. Perhaps Varnae was the first vampire on Earth in the sense that we know it. Other Darkholders could have formed other sects of vampires, etc. Check out the comments under Lilith, Mother of Demons for discussion on other types of vampires.

Dagda79 makes an interesting observation: "Something odd.......in the 1602 series, Neil Gaiman uses Virginia Dare, the girl born in Roanoke....which we know from MCP#63 was decimated by a vampire turned by Varnae! "

Varnae only came out at night during his Conan appearances. That the scenes seem to take place in the day results from them taking place in the Flaming Hills of Khrosha, with constant volcanic activity.
--Per Degaton

A bit more info by Loki: Timespirits was Varnae's second appearance, but the first time he was identified as Gigantopithecus. It's worth noting that Timespirits was written and drawn by Varnae's creators, Steve Perry and Steve Bissette, so you'd imagine that this reveal was not a retcon but always intended. And if you thought that, you'd be right, because I just stumbled across an interview with Bissette from 2005:
"SB: Anyway, Denny asked Steve Perry and I to team up again and do a Dracula story. What Steve and I wanted to do was a real origin story. We cooked up Varnae the Vampire, which obviously came from the pre-Bram Stoker vampire novel, 'Varnae The Vampire'. Steve and I had been friends since college. He knew my interests. He knew my strengths. We cooked up the idea that the first vampire would be proto-human. He was a Gigantopithecus, a true prehistoric man; a pre-human. This was the first vampire--the primal vampire--and that's what we hooked the entire story on."

A Giganthopithecus is a giant ape species that went extinct around 100,000 BC, but not in the Marvel Universe where they were apparently still around 70,000 BC and some of them even survived until the Great Cataclysm sunk Atlantis. Varnae presumably hid his true nature from other wizards by using magic. It is possible that other wizards (I am specifically looking at his High Priestess Lamia and Verdelet) were Giganthopithecus as well. BTW this would mean that this species of giant apes was intelligent in the Marvel Universe or at least some of them were. I can actually see Chthon granting these monstrous creatures intelligence just to corrupt them and turn them into an instrument for his evil by teaching them dark magic. It worked out in the end for Varnae!
--Markus Raymond

The ritual that caused the Darkforce to seep into Earth's atmosphere possibly affected every Darforce user on Earth. This possibly included in addition to those seen Asylum (Henrique Gallante), Black Death, Darkveil (Darnell Wade), Dark Tower, Death Reaper, Doorman (DeMarr Davis), Ecstasy (Renée Deladier), Exile (Victor Kohl), Jack Chain, Nightwind, Noir (Sa'ida Zebari), Old Man, Quagmire (Jerome Myers), Sepulchre (Jillian Woods), Silencer, Smuggler (Conrad Josten), "Temnota", Tentakill (Lars Anthony Hanson), Vacuum, Vector (Grace Tam) and whoever else I forgot about.
--Markus Raymond

Thanks to Loki and Mike Castle for pointing out Varnae's appearance in Timespirits#4 (almost at the same time). Profile updated by Markus Raymond (Timespirits addition and new images).

Blood Hunt: Red Band#1-5 is a more gory version of Blood Hunt#1-5. It had the same creative team, but some pages showed more graphic violence and a few additional pages were included.

Varnae has entries in OHotMu Deluxe Edition#20, OHotMU 2006 A-Z#12 and Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1.

Profile by The Squid with Per Degaton. Updates by Markus Raymond (Timespirits, Blood Hunt & a few other minor bits).

Clarifications: Varnae, Lord of the Vampires should not be confused with:

Varnae used the alias Tsathoggua, probably to gain the real Tsathoggua's follower, and should not be confused with:

Varnae also used the alias of Baal, again to usurp the worshipers of the real deal, and should not be confused with:

images (without ads)
Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1, Varnae profile (main)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#20, p36, top right (Varnae mini-profile)
Conan the Barbarian I#245, p3, pan3-5 (turned into vampire)
Black Panther: Blood Hunt#2, p1, pan1 (in ancient Wakanda, going full ape)
Black Panther: Blood Hunt#3, p7, pan2 (groveling at the feet of Kokou)
Conan the Barbarian I#245, p1 (sitting on throne)
Conan the Barbarian I#245, p16, pan2 (vs Red Sonja)
Conan the Barbarian I#245, p19, pan1-2 (vs Conan, Valka invoked causes pain)
Timespirits#4, p14, pan5 (looking at Crystal Skull)
Timespirits#4, p15, pan1 (vs Cusick)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#19, p21, pan1 (bat form)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#19, p10, pan1 (human form)
Nightstalkers#18, Cover (destruction)
Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#5, p2 (Varnae's spirit)
Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#5, p14, pan5 (possessing Night Terror)
Blood Hunt: Red Band#1, p32 (Varnae possessing Blade, cutting Doctor Strange in half)
Blood Hunt: Dracula#2, p20 (astral form, possessing Blade)
Blood Hunt: Red Band#4, p4, pan4 (it was Varnae all along)
Blood Hunt: Red Band#5, p4, pan4 (Varnae--God of the Darkforce)
Blood Hunt: Red Band#5, p27, pan3 (trapped in crystal)

Appearances:
Bizarre Adventures#33 (December, 1982) - Steve Perry (writer), Steve Bissette (artist), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Timespirits#4 (April, 1985) - Steve Perry (writer), Steve Bissette (pencils), Tom Yeates (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#11 (December, 1989) - Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier (writers), David & Dan Day (pencils), Tom Vincent (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#12-13 (December, 1989 - January, 1990) - Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier (writers), David & Dan Day (artists), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#18 (June, 1990) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Jackson Guice (pencils), Tony Dezuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Excalibur I#30 (October, 1990) - Dana Moreshead (writer), Dave Ross (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#63 (November, 1990) - Len Kaminski (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#244-245 (May-June, 1991) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gary Hartle (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#19 (February, 1994) - David Quinn (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks)
Nightstalkers#18 (April, 1994) - Frank Lovece (writer), Douglas Wheatley (pencils), Frank Turner (inks)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#6 (July, 1994) - David Quinn (writer), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#1 (July, 1994) - Ian Edginton (writer), Douglas Wheatley (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Blade: The Vampire Hunter I#4-5 (October-November, 1994) - Ian Edginton (writer), Douglas Wheatley (pencils), Steve Moncuse (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Blade: The Vampire-Hunter I#6 (December, 1994) - Ian Edginton (writer), Nick Napolitano (pencils), Steve Moncuse & Phil Moy (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Tomb of Dracula IV#2 (January, 2005) - Bruce Jones & Robert Rodi (writer), Jamie Tolagson (pencils), Scott Koblish & Tom Palmer (inks), Warren Simons & John Miesegaes (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcover#7: MAGIC (2009) - David Sexton (writer), Jeff Younquist & Jennifer Gruenwald (editors)
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm & Gambit#1 (October, 2010) - Chuck Kim (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Wayne Faucher, Al Vey, Victor Olazaba, Mark Irwin & Chris Bachalo (inks), Daniel Ketchum (editor)
Captain Marvel X#29 (August, 2021) - Kelly Thompson (writer), Jacopo Camagni (artist), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
Blood Hunt#1 (July, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Doctor Strange VI#15 (July, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pasqual Ferry (artist), Darren Shan (editor)
Blood Hunt#2 (July, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Black Panther: Blood Bunt#1 (July, 2024) - Cheryl Lynn Eaton (writer), Farid Karami (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt#1 (July, 2024) - Bryan Hill (writer), Germán Peralta (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Blood Hunt#3 (August, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Miles Morales: Spider-Man II#21 (August, 2024) - Cody Ziglar (writer), Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto (artists), Thomas Groneman (editor)
Black Panther: Blood Hunt#2 (August, 2024) - Cheryl Lynn Eaton (writer), Farid Karami (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Doctor Strange VI#16 (August, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pasqual Ferry (artist), Darren Shan (editor)
Dracula: Blood Hunt#2 (August, 2024) - Danny Lore (writer), Vincenzo Carratú (artist), Annalise Bissa (editor)
Blood Hunt#4 (August, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Black Panther: Blood Hunt#3 (September, 2024) - Cheryl Lynn Eaton (writer), Farid Karami (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Dracula: Blood Hunt#3 (September, 2024) - Danny Lore (writer), Vincenzo Carratú (artist), Annalise Bissa (editor)
Blood Hunt#5 (August, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), Pepe Larraz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 07/11/2002
Last updated: 10/31/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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