BARON BLOOD
Real Name: John Falsworth
Identity/Class: Human, vampire (English, World War I era to modern day)
Legal Status: British subject, member of the aristocracy, legally dead
Occupation: Vampire, former assassin for German intelligence
Group Membership: Hydra;
former leader of an unidentified vampire coven, formerly Icon (Axis Annie, Brain Drain, Count von Blitzkrieg, DoctOrangutan, Fräulein Fatale, Geist, Hollow Men, Fritz Krone and his robots, Leopard Woman, Madame Mauser, Penny Panzer, Planner, Dieter Skul, Spider-Queen, Geoffrey Sydenham, Vunderknight, others), Überkommando (Iron Cross/Oskar Mors, Master Man/Wilhelm Lohmer, U-Man, Warrior Woman), Super-Axis (Lady Lotus, Master Man, U-Man, Warrior Woman)
Affiliations: Armadillo, the Bane, Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo), Baroness Blood, Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), Count Nefaria, Dracula, Grandmaster, Adolf Hitler, King Cobra (Klaus Voorhees), Lucas, Mys-Tech, Emil Nikos, Sin (Sinthea Shmidt), Siobhan, Taskmaster, Professor Thorton (Truett Hudson), Viper (Ophelia Sarkissian), Kaiser Wilhelm II, Ormond Wychwood
Bitten and/or vamped by him: Katherine Ainsley-Jones, Baroness Blood, Earle Bowman, Jenny, William Poprycz, Siobhan, Spitfire, Helmutt von Schuler, unnamed train engineers
Enemies: Avengers Initiative (Blonde Phantom/Louise Mason, Dominic Fortune, Nick Fury, Kraven/Sergei Kravinoff, Powell McTeague, Namora, Sabretooth/Victor Creed), Avengers (Captain America/Steve Rogers, Hawkeye/Kate Bishop, Hazmat/Jennifer Takeda, Hercules, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne, Wonder Man/Simon Williams), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Captain America (Sam Wilson), Kenneth Crichton, Freedom's Five (Crimson Cavalier, Phantom Eagle, Silver Squire, Sir Steel, Union Jack/Montgomery Falsworth), Grace, Howling Commandos (Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Nick Fury, Gabe Jones, Robert "Reb" Ralston), Invaders (Bucky, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Human Torch/Jim Hammond, Miss America, Spitfire, Sub-Mariner, Toro, Union Jack/Brian Falsworth, Whizzer/Bob Frank), Dr. Leo Jacobson, Nomad (Ian Rogers), Viktor Oberheuser, William Poprycz, Dr. Jonas Ravencroft, Redwing, S.H.I.E.L.D., Union Jack (Montgomery Falsworth), Union Jack (Brian Falsworth), Union Jack (Joey Chapman), the Unwanted
Known Relatives: Jacqueline Falsworth Crichton (Lady Crichton, Spitfire, niece), Kenneth Crichton (Baron Blood, grandnephew, deceased), Cedric Crichton (nephew-in-law, deceased), Montgomery Falsworth (Lord Falsworth, Union Jack, brother, deceased), Brian Falsworth (Union Jack, nephew, deceased), John Crichton (great-grandnephew), William Falsworth (father, deceased), Jane Falsworth (sister-in-law, deceased), Katherine Ainsley-Jones (distant niece)
Aliases: John Falsworth, Jr., Dr. Jacob Cromwell
Place of Birth: Falsworth Manor, England
Base of Operations: Mobile in England, including Falsworth Manor (while masquerading as John Falsworth, Jr.)
First Appearance: Invaders I#7 (July, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: Baron Blood possessed all of the abilities of a vampire, including flight, the ability to transform into mist, enhanced strength and durability, the ability to mesmerize humans and control mice, rats, bats and wolves, the ability to control the weather, and the ability to gain strength by sucking blood from victims; he could also transform others into vampires. Thanks to experiments performed by German scientists, he could withstand the effects of sunlight for brief periods of time.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: Black
History:
(Invaders I#9 (fb)) - In
the early 1910's, John Falsworth's father passed away, and his brother
Montgomery became Lord Falsworth. Jealous of his brother, John set out
to make his own fortune, and wound up traveling to Transylvania to seek
out Dracula, who John believed to be a real person. John found Dracula
asleep in his coffin at Castle Dracula and tried to control him with a
cross, but Dracula used his hypnosis to make John drop the cross, then
killed him. Three nights later, John arose from the dead as a vampire.
Dracula sent him back to England to wreak havoc on the homeland of his
enemies, the Harkers.
(Invaders I#8 (fb)) - By 1918, Falsworth had adopted the identity of Baron Blood, and entered into the service of Kaiser Wilhelm II to assassinate enemies of Germany during World War I. News of Blood's existence reached Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who dispatched Union Jack-- Montgomery Falsworth himself-- to stop Baron Blood from claiming his next victim. Union Jack fought Baron Blood atop a bridge, and managed to stab him with his silver dagger, causing him great pain. Blood fled without completing his mission, and when the war ended weeks later, he was left without a master.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#16 - Baron Blood entry) - Baron Blood was also known to have fought Union Jack's comrades in Freedom's Five during the war.
(Invaders I#9 (fb)) - When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, Baron Blood offered his services to him. Hitler's scientists performed experiments upon Blood which allowed him to resist sunlight for extended periods of time. Baron Blood finally returned to England in the identity of John Falsworth, Jr., claiming to be his own son, and telling the Falsworths that his "father" had died in Asia.
(Mortigan Goth: Immortalis#2 (fb)) - In 1940, the Falsworth's distant cousin Katherine Ainsley-Jones came to live with them, and she fell in love with the immortal Mortigan Goth. When Goth spurned Katherine, Baron Blood came to her and transformed her into a vampire so that she would be immortal as well.
(Captain America I#601 (fb)) - At some point in 1941 Baron Blood turned Nazi officer Helmut von Schuler into a vampire.
(Invaders I#7) - In 1942, Baron Blood attempted to feed on his niece, Jacqueline, but was interrupted by the Human Torch. He used his control over weather to temporarily put out the Torch's flame, and created a hurricane to prevent him from following. Later, he assaulted Namor's flagship and fought with Captain America, Bucky and Toro, but Toro drove him off with his flames. Blood returned to Falsworth Manor, assumed the identity of John Falsworth, Jr., and discovered that the Invaders were the guests of his brother.
(Invaders I#8) - John listened as his brother recounted his sole encounter with Baron Blood to the Invaders. The next morning, Captain America met with Jacqueline, and they wondered why they so seldom saw John during the day, but he appeared with a butterfly, and claimed that he was collector of rare butterflies that were more easily caught at night. That night, the Invaders split into three teams to find Baron Blood, but Blood had prepared traps for all of them; the Human Torch and Toro were tricked by a dummy of Baron Blood that had been filled with explosives that snuffed out their flames; the Sub-Mariner ran into a dummy filled with poison gas that knocked him out; Captain America and Bucky found the true Baron Blood, only to fall into an electrified net he had prepared for them. Baron Blood brought the 5 Invaders together to kill them, but then Union Jack appeared, and fought him. Blood managed to steal Union Jack's pistol and tried to shoot him with it, but instead it released an explosion of silver dust that blinded him, as Union Jack had planned. Baron Blood fled, and the Invaders were set free.
(Invaders I#9) - When the Invaders returned to Falsworth Manor, they found that Jacqueline had been fed on by Baron Blood. Blood appeared again as John Jr., and had to leave the room when the sun began to rise, weakening him. When all of the Invaders except for Union Jack had departed, Baron Blood confronted Union Jack, and used his mesmerism to make him drop his gun. He decided to leave his brother alive, and feast upon Jacqueline first. Baron Blood visited Jacqueline in her room, and revealed his true identity to her, but then the Human Torch entered, having remained behind, and drove Blood off with his flame, but Blood took Jacqueline with him as he set off to the caverns beneath Falsworth Manor. Union Jack caught up to Baron Blood in the caverns, but Baron Blood was his physical superior, and crushed his brother's legs with a boulder. Before he could feast further upon Jacqueline, the other Invaders arrived, and Captain America rescued Jacqueline from him. Union Jack then rolled a boulder on top of Baron Blood that knocked him on top of a stalagmite, which slew him like a stake through the heart.
(Invaders I#39) - Japanese soldiers under the command of Lady Lotus were sent to the caverns beneath Falsworth Manor to revive Baron Blood, but were interrupted by Spitfire and Union Jack (Brian Falsworth), Blood's own niece and nephew. However, Union Jack accidentally destroyed the boulder pressing down on Blood, and he soon revived to face the heroes.
(Invaders I#40) - Baron Blood defeated Union Jack and Spitfire, then left with the Japanese aboard their plane, creating a thunderstorm to cover their tracks. He was brought to New York's Chinatown to meet Lady Lotus, and tried to mesmerize her, but her hypnotic powers proved superior. Lady Lotus provided Blood with a coffin lined with English soil, and gave him a new costume. Later, he set out to an airfield in Idlewide, and fed on the air-traffic controller Earle Bowman. Blood took command of the traffic tower, allowing a plane piloted by Master Man and Warrior Woman to land. He was confronted by Captain America, the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Whizzer and Miss America, and was nearly defeated when the Human Torch created a fiery cross, but with no one to control the traffic tower, the Invaders had to leave him to stop two planes from crashing. Blood created a fog to conceal his escape, and returned to Lady Lotus.
(Invaders I#41) - Lady Lotus gathered together Baron Blood, U-Man, Master Man and Warrior Woman as the Super-Axis. While waiting for Lady Lotus to provide their next assignments, Blood went to sleep in his coffin. The next evening, the Super-Axis assaulted a train in the Chicago Railroad Center, and Blood feasted on the train's engineers. When the Invaders arrived, Blood assaulted Miss America, but was struck down by Captain America's shield. Their battle brought them to the Riverview amusement park, where Blood threatened some of the roller coaster passengers, but the Whizzer prevented him from attacking them, and the Sub-Mariner impaled Blood with an immense wooden post.
(Invaders III#6 (fb)) - In 1943 the Super-Axis (Baron Blood, Master Man, Warrior Woman, U-Man) were stationed in Eisenach, Germany with a contingent of soldiers. The Invaders (Bucky, Captain America, Human Torch, Miss America, Sub-Mariner, Whizzer) fought them shortly before bombs destroyed the whole castle.
(Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual I#2/2) - In 1943, Blood became the lover of Siobhan, a woman living in Ireland who had been in love with the Sub-Mariner. When the Sub-Mariner found out, he fought with Blood, even breaking Blood's neck, but Blood repaired the injury almost immediately. When Namor realized that Siobhan no longer love him, he left her to Baron Blood.
(Avengers/Invaders#11) - In the winter of 1943 Baron Blood was amongst a group of Nazi and other German-allied superhuman warriors -- including Iron Cross, Master Man/Wilhelm Lohmer, Thor Odinson, U-Man/Meranno, Warrior Woman/Julia Koenig) -- summoned/gathered by the Cosmic Cube-possessing Red Skull to defend Berlin from the gathered heroes -- including the Invaders (Bucky/James Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Human Torch/Jim Hammond, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth, Toro/Thomas Raymond, Union Jack/Brian Falsworth) and time-traveling Avengers (Luke Cage, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne, Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett).
(Avengers/Invaders#12) - The two forces battled, with Baron Blood battling Luke Cage, who posed as the World War II era hero Black Marvel to avoid drawing the Red Skull's attention to their time-travel. Eventually the heroes reclaimed the Cosmic Cube and restored their reality after Anselm used the Cube to summon every hero of the time to defeat the German and/or Nazi warriors. When the Skull was defeated the Cube was once again used, diverging the events to Reality-93198 and to wipe out all of the heroes' memories of the entire event.
(Captain America III#20/2 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood became active in the frontlines in Europe, feasting upon Allied soldiers. Among the troops he preyed upon was the 5th infantry, including Colonel William Poprycz. Blood tortured Poprycz and his men, and had soon feasted upon all of them, save Poprycz himself.
(Captain America III#20/2-21/2) - Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos were sent on a mission to kill Baron Blood, but Blood brought the commandos down with a gas attack, then imprisoned them in cells with Poprycz. He began to torture Fury, attempting to sway him with the promise of eternal life. Finally, Poprycz seemed to break, and begged Blood to turn him. Blood complied, but once Poprycz had become a vampire, he took advantage of Blood being temporarily called away, turned on the bunker's human guards, killing most of them, and tore open the base's doors, so the prisoners would be able to escape, despite knowing it was daytime outside. Poprcyz was killed by the sunlight, but Fury and the commandos were able to escape thanks to his sacrifice.
(Captain America I#616/6) - When the Nazis themselves became afraid of Baron Blood they stationed him at a castle in Constanta, Romania alongside Nazi soldiers and Jewish scientist Dr. Leo Jacobson, who worked on a serum to cure Baron Blood of his vampirism. SS Captain Viktor Oberheuser revealed the Nazis' plan to the Human Torch and Namor while Captain America and Bucky fought Baron Blood. Blood bit Captain America, who turned into a vampire, but was cured of the vampirism when he drank Baron Blood's own blood. Jacobson was unable to find a cure for Baron Blood's himself and he stayed a threat.
(Invaders Now!#2) - In January 1945, Blood served with the Überkommando guarding geneticist Arnim Zola in the Dutch town of Vliet. When the Invaders arrived, the Überkommando fought them, then fled when Zola released his mutated abominations.
(Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula#1 (fb)) - Shortly before the end of World War II in 1945 Baron Blood defected to the US to join his master Dracula. They hired Professor Thorton to work at Ravencroft on a cure for all vampire weaknesses.
(Ravencroft#4 (fb)) - Baron Blood and Dracula witnessed Bud Adams becoming one of the men experimented on by Professor Thorton at Ravencroft. Adams was mutated into a monstrous being.
(Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula#1 (fb)) - The vampires were disappointed when Thorton's experiments did not bring the results they sought and Dracula even considered joining the war of the side of Germany. Captain America and Bucky, who were searching for Bud Adams, ran afoul of the two vampires and got nearly killed by them until Dr. Jonas Ravencroft, who had enough of all the evil experiments conducted at his facility, released the mutated Unwanted (past failed experiments). Baron Blood and Dracula fled.
(Avengers 1959#2 (fb) - BTS) - After the war around 1959 Baron Blood joined Geoffrey Sydenham's secret US intelligence organization Icon.
(Avengers 1959#2) - Baron Blood and Brain Drain were stationed on a ship in the South Pacific near China. Following a lead the Avengers were teleported on to the ship by Powell McTeague and fought the former Nazi agents.
(Avengers 1959#3) - While fighting Namora Baron Blood was teleported to Washington DC by Sydenham, who was aided in this feat by his master Dormammu. Meeting their leader, Sydenham, in person for the first time Baron Blood and Brain Drain, chained in mystic chains, listened as Sydenham asked him to earn the freedom he had granted him.
(Avengers 1959#5) - Baron Blood joined Sydenham in Washington DC alongside Brain Drain, Geist, Spider Queen and some Hollow Men. They fought the Avengers, who attempted to take down Icon. Blood was staked by Kraven's spear.
(Captain America I#253 (fb) - BTS) - Because he was a member of British aristocracy, there was some concern about the disposal of his body. His body was sealed up inside of a coffin in the Tower of London with a stake in his heart, and surrounded with garlic and religious icons to prevent him from reviving until the matter could be settled.
(Captain America I#254 (fb) - BTS) - A
few years ago, Dr. Jacob Cromwell, a human thrall of Dracula's, was
sent to the Tower of London to revive Baron Blood. Breaching the
Tower's outer security with the aid of some of Dracula's vampires,
Cromwell removed the stake from Blood's chest, reviving him, and
replaced Blood's skeleton with an unidentified, long dead twenty-year
old female (see NOTE).
(Captain America I#253 (fb)/Union Jack I#2 (fb)) - After Dracula departed England once more, Blood became Cromwell's master. He stayed with Cromwell's family for a time, learning what he needed to know to impersonate him, and then, once he felt he was ready, Blood had Cromwell relocate his practice to the village nearest Falsworth Manor. However, when Blood began killing locals, though he was careful to ensure he was not identified, he alerted some of the villagers that a vampire was in the vicinity. They tracked Blood to Cromwell's home, and, unaware Cromwell's daughters were inside, set the place alight. Cromwell arrived home soon after, and rushed in hoping to save his children, but Blood slew both Cromwell and one of the daughters, Charlotte, and vamprized the other, Lily. Swiftly donning his already prepared Cromwell disguise, he then escaped the building before the fire completely engulfed it, carrying Lily's body. As Dr. Cromwell, he began to feed off of his patients, including Jenny, lover of his great-nephew Kenneth Crichton, biding his time waiting for his hated brother to become as infirm as possible, since Blood intended to vampirize Montgomery only once he was at his weakest, ensuring he would remain that way for eternity. Eventually Blood's bloodlust drove him to hunt and slay victims, not just survive off hypnotized donors each providing small amounts of blood, but he was careful to snap their necks first so that they would not return as vampires. Though the authorities, using Cromwell as a coroner, ascribed the slayings to a human serial killer, the string of murders leaving behind bloodless corpses aroused his brother's suspicions that Blood had returned.
(Captain America I#253) - Montgomery brought in Captain America to help him, because he couldn't convince the authorities that Baron Blood had returned. Captain America soon discovered that Blood's body was missing, and stayed at Falsworth Manor while he began his search. Baron Blood attempted to assault the Captain while he slept, but Captain America was ready for him. Baron Blood summoned a horde of rats to assault the manor while they fought, and Blood managed to hypnotize Captain America, then attempted to bite him.
(Captain America I#254) - Blood broke his teeth on the Captain's neck trying to pierce his chainmail. Kenneth Crichton came to aid Captain America against Baron Blood, and he was forced to flee when the sun rose. Blood returned to the identity of Dr. Cromwell, and fed again on Jenny. After Montgomery suffered a heart attack, Dr. Cromwell was summoned to take care of him, and found who he believed to be his brother dressed in the Union Jack costume. Blood revealed everything to him and intended to vampirize him, turning him into a feeble vampire for an eternity, but the man in the costume was actually Joey Chapman, a friend of Kenneth Crichton's. The new Union Jack was joined by Captain America in fighting Blood, and the Captain tried to drive him off with sunlight, but the sun was setting, and Blood could endure the pain long enough for it to set. As Captain America felt Blood growing stronger as they fought, he realized that the only way to stop him was to kill him, and drove his shield through the vampire's neck. Blood's body was separated, burned, and the ashes were scattered on the winds.
(Marvel Comics Presents#42/3 (fb) - BTS) - After his brother's death Montgomery Falsworth, the original Union Jack, passed away.
(OHotMU Deluxe Edition#16) - Baron Blood's ashes disappeared due to the Montesi Formula.
(Avengers Annual I#16 - BTS) - A simulacra of Baron Blood was one of the beings used by the Grandmaster while he possessed the powers of Death to serve in his Legion of the Unliving. Baron Blood joined Hyperion and Bucky in attacking the Wasp, Captain America and Wonder Man on an icy planet, charged to prevent the heroes from defusing one of the Grandmaster's Life-Bombs. Blood fought with the Wasp and Captain America, and was slain again when Captain America impaled him on an icicle. Death ultimately regained its power and undid the Grandmaster's actions.
(Knights of Pendragon II#11 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood was resurrected by Ormond Wychwood of Mys-Tech, using the power of the Bane. Wychwood sent Baron Blood to collect human sacrifices for him so that they could be used to hasten the coming of the Red Lord.
(Knights of Pendragon II#10) - Baron Blood hunted down his human sacrifices and forced them to wear Union Jack costumes. When Grace of the Knights of Pendragon investigated Wychwood's dealings, she was confronted by Baron Blood, who wanted her to be the last of the human sacrifices.
(Knights of Pendragon II#11) - Grace managed to fend off Baron Blood, then pretended to have become part of the Bane again to trick Wychwood, and contacted Union Jack, telling him that Baron Blood was back, seemingly drawing him into Wychwood's trap. Union Jack wound up being more than a match for Blood, and struck him down into the place where the last human sacrifice was meant to be. This tainted Wychwood's sacrifice, and caused a mystical explosion, ruining Wychwood's plans.
(Alias#26 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood somehow returned to his unliving state.
(Alias#26) - Baron Blood was incarcerated at the Raft. (see comments)
(Captain America IV#31) - Baron Blood attended the Serpent Society's auction where Captain America was sold. (see comments)
(Amazing Fantasy II#17/2) - A boat pulled
up alongside the harbor and out onto the harbor stepped a
group of vampires, led by Lord Falsworth. They accused Morbius of
tainting the line of vampire everywhere, and said that he shall die for
this crime. Morbius then saw that one of these accusers was his old
partner Nikos, who Lord Falsworth said he had resurrected from the
grave just to torment Morbuis. The vampires told Morbius they shall
come back for him soon, and they leave.
(All-New Captain America#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Baron Blood joined Hydra under Baron Zemo's leadership.
(All-New Captain America#5 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood drank Lucas' blood, which could sterilize human beings, incessantly as part of a contingency plan in case every other attempt to spread Lucas' blood all over Earth failed.
(All-New Captain America#1) - Baron Blood was at a meeting in Bagalia with Baron Zemo, Armadillo, Crossbones, King Cobra, Sin, Taskmaster and Viper. They were just discussing the new Captain America (Sam Wilson), when he arrived at their meeting place using Hydra's teleporting Infinite Elevator alongside Nomad (Ian Rogers) and Lucas, whom the duo had just saved from Hydra. Zemo welcomed Cap with his allies assembled behind him.
(All-New Captain America#2) - Baron Blood fought Cap and Nomad alongside the other villains until Nomad told Cap he could take care of the villains himself and Cap should take Lucas to safety. Nomad was captured by Zemo and his crew while Lucas, who turned out to be a Hydra agent himself, returned to Zemo after shooting Cap in the shoulder. Blood and the other left Zemo's Bagalia base with several canisters of Lucas' blood, taking the Infinite Elevator to bring the blood to locations all over the world as part of their plan to spread the blood through bombs.
(All-New Captain America#5) - Nomad learned of Baron Blood being a contingency plan and told Captain America about it moments after Cap thwarted Lucas' plan to spread his blood through fleas he rained down on Earth from a plane. Baron Blood wandered through the streets of Paris with plastic explosives strapped to his body. When Cap arrived in Paris with Lucas and Redwing through the Infinite Elevator Baron Blood sensed the presence of Cap's falcon companion Redwing. Baron Blood attacked the Falcon and bit him, enjoying it because he could feel Cap's fear through the falcon. Baron Blood then took into the sky to spread Lucas' blood by blowing himself up.
(All-New Captain America#6) - Captain America (Wilson) hunted down Baron Blood in the skies over Paris. Cap temporarily caught up to him after hitting Baron Blood with his shield, but Baron Blood got rid of him again and returned to the sky, declaring his intention to create an aged, helpless humanity for vampires to feast on. Cap caught up to Baron Blood in Earth's orbit and hit him in the face again with his shield. Bleeding from his mouth Baron Blood spit Lucas' blood in Cap's face, rendering him sterile. Cap kept fighting and ripped the plastic explosive belt off the vampire, then tackled Baron Blood to get him as far away from the bomb belt's detonation as possible. Cap then returned to Earth, leaving Baron Blood unconscious in Earth's orbit, hoping S.H.I.E.L.D. had noticed the detonation and would pick up the vampire.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega#1 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood was imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Pleasant Hill where his reality was rewritten by a Cosmic Cube.
(Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega#1) - Freed from his false reality Baron Blood joined forces with Baron Zemo and other villains to take down Pleasant Hill. They were opposed by the Avengers and during the villains' prison break ended up battling Captain America (Sam Wilson).
(Daredevil VI#15) - Baron Blood had a drink with Count Nefaria at the Bar With No Name in New York City.
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#13) - Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo) found Baron Blood in a cave, asking him to join forces with him. Blood joined Zemo's superhuman army.
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#16) - Baron Blood participated in Hydra's attack on New York City.
(Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Secret Empire)#1) - Baron Blood participated in Hydra's attack on Washington, D.C.
(Avengers IX#15 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Blood gathered vampire forces by night and got his hands on a Helicarrier. When the unending night started he took advantage of the situation and pivoted from his original plan.
(Avengers IX#14 - BTS) - Baron Blood's vampire troops began gathering humans like cattle and deliver them to the Helicarrier as food. Captain America and a team of ragtag Avengers, including Hawkeye (Bishop), Hazmat, Hercules and Quicksilver interrupted the gathering of humans. The civilians and the Avengers were caught in a Vortex Beam that brought them aboard Blood's Helicarrier.
(Avengers IX#14) - Baron Blood welcomed his captives and revealed that he was going to bring fascism to America.
(Avengers IX#15) - Blood ordered his troops to kill Avengers, but not the cattle. Blood easily caught an arrow from Hawkeye and Captain America's shield, but had to drop the latter because it was laced with silver. Blood fought Captain America throughout the Helicarrier until they made it to a room filled with vampire in suspended animation. Blood explained that he only had as many troops active as he could feed, but had far more reserves. Cap contacted his teammates, who had found a hall filled with human prisoners while Blood began to awaken his reserves. Captain America tossed a few grenades at Blood and went to the Helicarrier's cockpit. Blood caught up to him, but Cap was already steering the Helicarrier...
(Avengers IX#16) - ...above the Darkforce clouds to the sunlight. Cap kept fighting against Blood, who was immune against sunlight, but Blood's troops weren't doing so well when the other Avengers used the sunlight to take them out. They vampires retreated and set Blood's backup plan in motion to crash the Helicarrier while Blood continued his battle with Cap and spouted about having no problem sacrificing his foolish followers if needed, which was recorded by Cap. Quicksilver replayed Blood's words to the vampires in charge of crashing the Helicarrier and they abandoned their position. Baron Blood fled the Helicarrier, but Hawkeye had him in her sights.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins and Vince Colletta.
Baron Blood appeared as a hallucination caused by the Interrogator in Captain America IV#16.
Knights of Pendragon II#10-11 was a pretty crummy story, bringing Blood back so that Union Jack can obtain closure by destroying him ('cause once wasn't enough). It also fudges the details of the original story, with Wychwood claiming he found Blood "decaying corpse." He didn't leave a corpse-- he was burned into ashes, remember?
Just a reminder...Lord John Falsworth is not correct. It's John Falsworth; Lord Falsworth.--Snood
Baron Blood in Invaders I#9 (10/1976), page 15, panel 6 said
"Between the wars, I buried myself in Arcane lore---". That Arcane Lore
could include Alchemy and could be responsible for his partial immunity
to sunlight (remember Nocturne was extorting Alchemical knowledge from Diablo
including how to make himself immune to sunlight). About 3 or 4 years
ago while watching the news one Halloween weekend I heard that vampires
were daywalkers and if anyone saw Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 ),
Dracula was walking around in the daylight. It looks like the movie
Nosferatu (1922) robbed vampires of their ability to walk around in the
sunlight. Perhaps in the world of Comics, Novels, TV and Movies a
vampire killed the wrong person and all vampies were cursed as a result
by a Demon, God or powerful Sorcerer or Sorceress.
--John Holstein
Thanks to Per Degaton for pointing out the info from OHotMU Deluxe Edition#16 and Amazing Fantasy II.
It was stated in Captain America I#253 that the body in the crypt
was dead for 10-12 years. This indicates when Baron
Blood killed the Baroness' sister.
--Per Degaton
It is unknown who the Baron Blood in Infinity: The Hunt#2 (December, 2013) was, but I don't see Doctor Doom employing an ex-Nazi and Kenneth Crichton was dead at the time. Maybe Doom just put a Baron Blood costume on one of his teachers to get treated with a bit of respect by the superhuman students at his Latverian School of Science. This Baron Blood could fly, but showed no other powers.
NOTE: Though Union Jack I#2's flashback might give some the impression that Cromwell's second daughter was the corpse left in Blood's place in the Tower of London, this is not what is stated, and is not the case. Baroness Blood's flashback to when she became a vampire shows Blood slaying her sister and father at the same time, but Captain America I#254's flashback confirms that Blood kept Cromwell around long enough to gain the knowledge to impersonate the doctor, something that had to take some time as Blood would have needed to learn at least a modicum of medicine to pass for a GP, only slaying Cromwell once his usefulness was at an end. Additionally, Captain America I#253's flashback shows that Blood did not kill Cromwell's daughter until the fire at Cromwell's house; since he had to have time to physically manufacture his Cromwell disguise this could not have happened immediately after his escape from the Tower, and if she was the corpse he then placed in the Tower, Blood would have taken an inordinate risk leaving his tomb empty, even if only for a few days, doubly so as he was committing obvious vampire killings near Falsworth Manor which might prompt a check on his tomb (as happened the next time he began killing). Blood's Deluxe Edition Handbook entry clarifies that Cromwell got into the Tower with the aid of vampires, replaced Blood with the skeleton of an unidentified female at that point, and that Blood stayed with the doctor for a time, preparing to impersonate the doctor, before making the doctor relocate to near Falsworth Manor; it also explains that he killed the doctor and his daughter during the fire the villagers started, which must be the attack Baroness Blood flashes back to in Union Jack I#2. Additionally, Blood would have needed to recruit another human agent and risk breaking them into the Tower, markedly increasing the risk of detection, since he personally couldn't have placed Charlotte Cromwell's remains inside the garlic and crucifix-festooned cell containing "his" coffin.
In Blade III#12 a prophecy was fulfilled that
brought back all vampires that ever died. This most likely included
William Poprycz as well. We'll have to wait if he resurfaces.
--Markus Raymond
Profile by Prime Eternal. Updates by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Baron Blood is connected to, but should not be confused with:
Colonel William Poprycz of the 5th infantry fell into the clutches of Baron Blood, and was tortured by him. All of Poprycz's men were feasted upon by the vampire. Finally, Poprycz seemed to snap, and begged Blood to transform him into a vampire. Blood complied. Once Poprycz became a vampire, he attacked Blood and his soldiers, killing many of them, then opened the doors of Blood's base, letting in the sunlight. Blood was driven off, and Poprycz was destroyed by the sun. His skeleton was found by Nick Fury, who brought the dog tags back with him.
--[Captain America III#20/2, 21/2]
images:
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#16, Baron Blood entry (main image)
Invaders I#9, p8, pan6 (head shot)
Invaders I#7, p18, pan4 (smoking with monocle)
Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual I#2, p46, pan1 (royal)
Captain America III#20/2, p6, pan2 (Nazi)
Captain America I#253, p13, pan4 (posing as Cromwell)
All-New Captain America#6, Cover (vs. Captain America/Sam Wilson)
Avengers IX#14, p20 (unending night, Blood Hunt)
Captain America III#21/2, p5, pan1 (Poprycz)
Appearances:
Invaders I#7 (July, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Robbins (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks)
Invaders I#8-9 (September-October, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Robbins (pencils), Frank Springer (inks)
Invaders I#39-40 (April-May, 1979) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks)
Invaders I#41 (September, 1979) - Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#253-254 (January-February, 1981) - John Byrne & Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Avengers Annual I#16 (1987) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Bob Hall, John Romita Jr., Keith Pollard, Marshall Rogers, Jackson Guice & Ron Frenz (pencils), Tom Palmer, Bill Sienkiewicz, Al Williamson, Bob Layton, Kevin Nowlan & Bob Wiacek (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents#42 (1990) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Kieron Dwyer (artist), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Namor Annual I#2 (1992) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Knights of Pendragon II#10 (April, 1993) - Dan Abnett & John Tomlinson (writer), Terry Clark (pencils), Terry Clark (inks), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Knights of Pendragon II#11 (May, 1993) - Dan Abnett & John Tomlinson (writer), John Royle (pencils), Martin Griffiths (inks), Stuart Bartlett (editor)
Mortigan Goth: Immortalis#2 (September, 1993) - Nick Vince (writer), Mark Buckingham (pencils), James Hodgkins (inks), Gary Russell (editor)
Union Jack I#2 (January, 1999) - Ben Raab & John Cassaday (writer), John Cassaday (pencils/inks), Tom Brevoort & Bob Harras (editor)
Captain America III#20-21 (August-September, 1999) - Bill Rosemann (writer), Vince Evans (pencils/inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Alias#26 (November, 2003) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Michael Gaydos (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America IV#31 (November, 2004) - Robert Kirkman (writer), Scot Eaton (pencils), Drew Geraci (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Amazing Fantasy II#17 (March, 2006) - Steve Niles (writer), Rafa Gares (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Captain America I#601 (September, 2009) - Ed Brubaker (writer), Gene Colan (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Invaders Now!#2 (December, 2010) - Christos Gage & Alex Ross (writers), Caio Reis (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Captain America I#616/6 (May, 2011) - Mike Benson (writer), Paul Grist (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers/Invaders#11-12 (July-August, 2009) - Alex Ross (plot), Jim Krueger (plot/script), Steve Sadowski & Patrick Berkenkotter (pencils), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Avengers 1959#2-3 (December, 2011 - January, 2012) - Howard Chaykin (writer/artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Avengers 1959#5 (March, 2012) - Howard Chaykin (writer/artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
All-New Captain America#1-2 (January-February, 2015) - Rick Remender (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New Captain America#5-6 (May-June, 2015) - Rick Remender (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega#1 (June, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer), Daniel Acuña & Angel Unzueta Galarza (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Daredevil VI#15 (March, 2017) - Charles Soule (writer), Goran Sud&zcirce;uka (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#13 (May, 2017) - Nick Spencer (writer), Ro stein & Ted Brandt (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#16 (June, 2017) - Nick Spencer (writer), Kevin Libranda, Yildiray Cinar & Jon Malin (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Secret Empire)#1 (July, 2017) - Nick Spencer (writer), Andrea Sorrentino (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Invaders III#6 (August, 2019) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Carlos Magno & Butch Guice (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula#1 (March, 2020) - Frank Tieri (writer), Angel Unzueta & Stefano Landini (artists), Devin Lewis (editor)
Ravencroft#4 (November, 2020) - Frank Tieri (writer), Angel Unzueta (artist), Danny Khazem (editor)
Avengers IX#14-16 (July-September, 2024) - Jed MacKay (writer), C.F. Villa (artist), Federico Blee (colorist), Wil Moss (editor)
First Posted: 05/29/2005
Last Updated: 09/25/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff,
you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!