BARON BLOOD

Real Name: Kenneth Crichton

Identity/Class: Human, vampire (English)

Occupation: Vampire, former art student

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Baroness Blood, Captain Fate, Dracula, Lilith, Christopher Sinclair;
formerly Captain America, Nigel Peters, Spitfire (Jacqueline Falsworth Crichton), Union Jack (Montgomery Falsworth), Jenny Wilson;
formerly Union Jack (Joey Chapman)

Enemies: Baron Blood, Black Queen (Selene), MI13 (Black Knight/Dane Whitman, Blade/Eric Brooks, Captain Britain/Brian Braddock, Excalibur/Faiza Hussain, Gloriana/Meggan Puceanu, Spitfire/Jaqueline Falsworth Crichton, Union Jack/Joey Chapman, others)

Known Relatives: Jacqueline Falsworth Crichton (Lady Crichton, Spitfire, mother), Cedric Crichton (father, deceased), Montgomery Falsworth (Lord Falsworth, Union Jack, grandfather, deceased), Jane Falsworth (Lady Falsworth, grandmother, deceased), Brian Falsworth (Union Jack, uncle, deceased), John Crichton (son), John Falsworth (Baron Blood, great-uncle, deceased), William Falsworth (great-grandfather, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Falsworth Manor, England

First Appearance: (As Kenneth Crichton) Captain America I#253 (January, 1981); (as Baron Blood) Union Jack#2 (January, 1999)

Powers/Abilities: Baron Blood possessed the normal abilities of a vampire, including mesmerism, the ability to transform into mist, enhanced strength and endurance, and the ability to gain strength by feeding on the blood of others. He could also transform others into vampires.

History: (Captain America I#253) - Kenneth came home from art school alongside his friend Joey Chapman to be with his family at Falsworth Manor, and discovered that Captain America was visiting to investigate reports of the return of Baron Blood, Kenneth's great-uncle. When Baron Blood invaded Falsworth Manor one evening, Kenneth witnessed him attack Captain America.

(Captain America I#254) - Kenneth tried to help Captain America against Baron Blood, who finally fled when the sun rose. Kenneth and Joey aided in the search for Baron Blood the next day, and Kenneth finally learned that Baron Blood was impersonating Dr. Jacob Cromwell when his girlfriend Jenny turned up with bite marks on her neck.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#42/3 (fb)) - Against his mother's wishes, Ken declined donning the Union Jack costume to face Baron Blood, and instead offered up Joey as the new Union Jack, believing he represented common people better than the Falsworth family.

(Captain America I#254) - Joey donned the Union Jack costume to help draw Baron Blood out, and Baron Blood was slain by Captain America. Kenneth stood by with Joey, his mother, Captain America and Montgomery Falsworth as Baron Blood's body was burned into ashes. His grandfather died quietly as Baron Blood was destroyed.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#89/3) - Kenneth attempted to set his newly-youthened mother up with Nigel Peters, a pub owner, as he had her sit for a portrait he had begun of her when she still looked her natural age. When Jacqueline went to confront Peters on the issue, Kenneth was kidnapped by agents of the Hellfire Club, serving the Black Queen (Selene). Selene attached Kenneth to a bomb in Easthill Commons and threatened to set it off unless Spitfire turned herself over for vivisection. Spitfire refused and ran to untie Kenneth, just as Selene detonated the bomb. However, Kenneth wasn't injured. Afterwards, Kenneth showed his completed portrait of his mother to Peters, and Jacqueline joined them for a drink.

(Union Jack I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Proving to have anemia, Kenneth became a patient at St. Mary's Hospice, and befriended another victim of anemia, Christopher Sinclair. Sinclair eventually died from anemia.

(Union Jack I#1) - At Christopher's funeral with Joey, Kenneth was approached by the Baroness, a vampire created by his great-uncle. Later, he went out drinking with Joey, and complained about the way his mother had been behaving since her rejuvenation, and how he resented Joey for becoming Union Jack. They got into a fight in an alley, but Joey ended it quickly and brought Kenneth home to Falsworth Manor. Later that night, Christopher, now a vampire, tried to draw Kenneth away to his mistress, the Baroness, but Sinclair was driven off by Union Jack.

(Union Jack I#2) - Kenneth was treated for his anemia at Falsworth Manor, and complained at how blessed his mother was for gaining superhuman powers. Later, he went out with Joey as he met with Romany Wisdom for aid in deciphering a vampire plot to obtain the Holy Grail, and was again approached by the Baroness, who invited him to join her cult. Frustrated by his disease, Kenneth went to her one evening, and begged her to heal him. She agreed. Kenneth became the new Baron Blood, and fought Union Jack at the Museum of Natural History while the Baroness' vampires took the Holy Grail. He mesmerized Joey, and prepared to bite him.

(Union Jack I#3) - When Baron Blood bit Union Jack, it released a packet of holy water from the lining of his costume. Union Jack tried to help Kenneth, but he refused him, revelling in his new strength. Baron Blood returned to the Baroness, and slept with her, impregnating her with his son. Later, he joined with the Baroness and her cult at Glastonbury Abbey as she drank from the Holy Grail, rendering her immune to all the vulnerabilities of the vampires. She then destroyed the Grail rather than share it, and the entire cult was destroyed by the rising sun. As Kenneth turned to dust, Union Jack tried to save him, telling him to "be strong." Kenneth replied "I am" and disintegrated into ashes. A grave was set up for Kenneth in the Falsworth family plot.

(Blade III#12) - Kenneth was one of the many vampires that returned after Blade had fulfilled an old prophecy.

(Captain Britain and MI13#10) - Dracula sent Kenneth to his mother Jacqueline.

(Captain Britain and MI13#11) - Kenneth led Jacqueline through underground tunnels in London to a meeting with his master Dracula, who telepathically subdued Jacqueline.

(Captain Britain and MI13#12) - Kenneth, dressed as Baron Blood, and his mother waited outside Dracula's fortress on the moon, protected by the magic of the Mother of Demons Lilith. Inside the fortress Kenneth showed Jacqueline captured humans, hanging from the ceiling as food source for the vampires. He watched his mother sate her hunger for blood on one of them. Afterward he led her to a meeting with Dracula, Lilith and Fate, which ended at Fate's enlarged flagship. He later found Spitfire attempting to use her communicator to contact MI13 and told her not to use it, but she convinced him that Dracula had allowed her to keep it for a reason. When his mother asked Kenneth who else he had taken Kenneth led her to 26 graves including the grave of Dr. Hussain, father of Spitfire's teammate Faiza. He explained to her that they were all taken on the same night she was brought to the Moon by him and that Dracula planned mass conversions in Dartmoor after Great Britain was conquered. Spitfire was shocked.

(Captain Britain and MI13#13) - Baron Blood (Kenneth) and Spitfire were together on Captain Fate's flagship. Spitfire pretended she had finally succumbed to Dracula's control, which made her son Kennth happy. (see comments)

(Captain Britain and MI13#14) - Baron Blood watched as Dracula strengthened his hold over his mother, which was not as easy as it was in his fantasy. Kenneth and his mother accompanied Dracula down to the troops. Back on the bridge Spitfire turned on Dracula in front of her son, who told Faiza that he doesn't want a cure for his vampirism and would stay. Faiza replied that they were not there for Kenneth. Captain Britain and his allies retreated to Earth while Kenneth stayed with Dracula, who told him that this was Britain's last chance at survival. With Fate gone after Black Knight had broken Fate's curse Kenneth took control over the flagship's controls by Dracula's order. Kenneth next informed Dracula of a message from Dr. Doom, who had sent Meggan Puceanu, Captain Britain's wife, into his brig as hostage. Kenneth and Dracula went downstairs to meet their hostage that would give them an advantage over Captain Britain.

(Captain Britain and MI13#15) - Dracula soon noticed that Gloriana's influence caused rebellion among his troops, including Baron Blood, who was loyal to Dracula, but also noticed her influence. Captain Britain attacked the flagship again to save Meggan and Baron Blood watched the hero fight against Lilith. When the vampires started to burn up because Quincy Harker's real skull was not actually destroyed and the mystic barrier over Great Britain still existed, Baron Blood was among the vampires fleeing the flagship and return to the Moon through a portal created by Lilith. He fled further into Dracula's base on the Moon when agents of MI13 attacked and ran into Blade and Union Jack, who doused all caskets with holy water and placed garlic inside the base. Kenneth surrendered to his old friend Union Jack because he only worked for Dracula to be back together with his mother, but Blade staked Kenneth from behind through the heart, apparently destroying him because that was what Spitfire had asked him to do.

Comments: Created by Roger Stern, John Byrne and Josef Rubinstein.

Jenny's last name was revealed in Baron Blood (Kenneth)'s profile in Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1 (December, 2011).

The scene in Captain Britain and MI13#13 was just part of Plokta's illusiong that was created to make Dracula believe that he had won.

Profile by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Baron Blood is connected to, but should not be confused with:

• Baron Blood, John Falsworth, his great-uncle, @ Invaders I#7
• Baron Blood, Victor Strange, vampire brother of Dr. Strange, @ Dr. Strange III#15

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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