BLOODWRAITH
Real Name: Sean Dolan
Identity/Class: Human magic user
Occupation: Host of spirits,
formerly humanitarian worker, squire
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Black
Knight (Sir Percy), Mrs. Blackwood and Jenny, Captain Britain
(Brian Braddock), Edward Catherwood, Genevieve
Cross, Dr. Strange, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde);
formerly Victoria Bentley, Black Knight
(Dane Whitman)
Enemies: Achmed and the "Arabian wizard", Andromeda, Avengers (Black Knight (Whitman), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Crystal, Firebird, Hercules, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Photon (Monica Rambeau), Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Sersi, Swordsman (Phillip Jarvert), Vision, Wasp, Wonder Man), Balor, Victoria Bentley, Black Knight (Whitman), Crusader (Arthur Blackwood), Dreadknight, Fomor, Marrina, Mordred the Mystic, Morgan le Fay, Plug-Uglies (Flame, Foam), Peter Reilly, Triton, Wicker Man
Known Relatives: Unidentified relatives (deceased)
Aliases: Black Wraith
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Base of Operations: Slorenia,
formerly Garrett Castle, Washington DC;
formerly Ireland
First Appearance: (Sean Dolan) Black Knight
II#2 (July, 1990);
(Bloodwraith) Avengers Annual I#22 (1993);
(Black Wraith) Avengers Unplugged I#6 (August, 1996)
Extent of Education: Unrevealed
Powers/Abilities: Sean Dolan was an amateur swordsman with no special abilities. When Sean drew the ebony blade, he found himself overwhelmed and controlled by all the souls of those the sword had slain, and became the Bloodwraith. The Bloodwraith was dark black in color and appeared in costume. The sword constantly craved new blood to add, and those it slew found their souls locked in an eternal battle of good vs. evil in a dimension inside the sword. Bloodwraith rides his winged horse, Valinor, and is an expert swordsman. He can control the ebony blade rather like a telekinetic. When separated from the blade, he can sense its presence and instantaneously teleport to its location. The ebony blade could slice through anything and, previously, would curse its wielder with petrification if its wielder used the blade to draw blood. When he wielded Proctor's sword, the Bloodwraith and Valinor appeared much more skeletal and could channel powerful blasts through the sword. When powered by the Slorenian souls, Bloodwraith became composed of an energy unknown to man and grew to giant size.
Height: (Dolan) 5'11'', (giant) approx. 100'
Weight: (Dolan) 160 lbs., (giant) unrevealed
Eyes: (Dolan) Blue, (Bloodwraith) red, later white
Hair: (Dolan) Reddish-blond, (Bloodwraith) none
History: (Black
Knight II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Sean Dolan was an orphan in the Ireland
countryside.
(Black Knight II#2) - When Victoria Bentley, the Black Knight (Dane Whitman's body controlled by the spirit of Sir Percy of Scandia, the original Black Knight), and Captain Britain approached, Sean greeted them. When he recognized Captain Britain as British, he fled and accidentally fell off a cliff, leaving the Black Knight to save him on Valinor (the winged horse)'s back. After Captain Britain left, Sean pointed out nearby bizarre lights to them. Sean and Victoria watched as the Black Knight fought the attacking Dreadknight. Captain Britain intercepted a deadly blast meant for the Knight, inspiring Sean to help Victoria get the Knight's helmet placed on the Knight's almost petrified form (the Knight was succumbing to the curse of the Ebony Blade). The newly mobile Black Knight defeated Dreadknight, and Sean agreed to help the others find Morgan le Fay's castle.
(Black Knight II#3) - Sean went with the Knight and Victoria to America to seek Doctor Strange's aid. After fending off a brief trap, they entered Strange's manner and were introduced to him, and when the heroes moved to track down Morgan they opted to leave Sean behind. Sean refused, and jumped through the portal after them. They found Morgan and Mordred there before the villains summoned Balor through the Evil Eye. Sean watched as the heroes were defeated and attacked Balor himself. He would have been crushed but Valkyrie (who was possessing Victoria's form at the time) rescued him. The heroes defeated Balor by smashing the Evil Eye. The Black Knight invited Sean to be his squire, and Sean agreed. The group then traveled to America again, where Morgan le Fay was unleashing monsters from the Fomor on the world.
(Black Knight II#4) - Sean sat on Valinor with Black Knight as he, Strange, and Valkyrie battled the Fomor, Sean showing great enthusiasm during the battle. The heroes were soon all defeated and imprisoned in the large energy being, the Wicker Man, except the Black Knight who was forced to swear fealty to Morgan. After Dr. Strange and Victoria found a way to get Dane Whitman's consciousness to overshadow Sir Percy's, the Black Knight found a way to defeat the Wicker Man and to stop Morgan and Mordred's entrance into the world.
(Avengers Spotlight I#39) - After the Black Knight was arrested for murders he did not commit, Sean and Victoria bailed him out. Back at the castle, Catherwood showed them in, then they discussed who the real criminal could be. Mrs. Blackwood and her daughter, Jenny, soon showed up and told them the real culprit was the villainous Crusader. Sean rode on Valinor with the Black Knight, who battled and defeated the Crusader.
(Avengers Annual
I#22) - Sean trained with the Black Knight in swordplay, then heard the
recounting of the origins of the cursed ebony blade. The blade,
now stuck into a piece of meteor, could only be drawn by a descendant
of the house of Garrington. After the Black Knight departed,
Catherwood held off two attacking Arabian wizards (one named Achmed)
with the Black Knight's power lance until they disarmed him. They
tried to take the ebony blade, but Sean attacked with his sword until
they shot him in the shoulder. When Victoria's virtue was
threatened by the men, Sean grabbed the ebony blade and found himself
transformed into Bloodwraith, swiftly killing both the attackers.
He revealed that he was controlled by all the souls of those the sword
had slain and that the blade desired more blood. The Black Knight
and the Avengers attacked, believing Bloodwraith evil.
Bloodwraith parried with Black Knight, tossed Crystal aside, and
weakened Hercules by cutting him. He fended off attacks by Vision
(draining power from his form) and Sersi (wondering if her soul
would make him immortal), then battled Black Knight to a standstill,
claiming Sean's soul was gone. Bloodwraith soon retreated astride
Valinor.
(Avengers I#366/2) - Back in his human form, Sean wandered the streets feeling remorseful and ashamed, unwilling to go to the Black Knight for help. When he came across Flame and Foam, the Plug-Uglies, robbing a bank, he drew the blade to stop them and changed to Bloodwraith. He freed a few of their captives, murdered Foam, and almost murdered Flame, who was killed in an explosion. He gathered the disks they'd been stealing, then Deadpool arrived to claim them. The Black Knight then arrived to 'rescue' Sean, and the three swordsmen battled, Bloodwraith intending to kill them both. Bloodwraith turned to slay Deadpool but the blade was embedded in Victoria Bentley's form. Deadpool stole the ebony blade and teleported away, so Bloodwraith and Valinor teleported after it. He reclaimed the blade and found that Victoria's innocent soul was enough to quell the blade's blood-lust.
(Namor I#60) - Sean spent time living at Aran Island, hoping that a quiet life near Ireland would help belay the curse. When the temptation to draw the sword came up, he moved to throw the sword into the ocean, but it changed him into the Bloodwraith instead. Bloodwraith reveled in his power, then sensed a great and familiar evil across the seas that the blade hungered for. Astride Valinor, Bloodwraith flew to the evil's source and found Namor and Andromeda there. Bloodwraith caused a rockslide to hit the heroes before Namor knocked him off of Valinor. Bloodwraith and Namor battled with their swords until Namor lifted Bloodwraith high into the air, but Namor grew distracted when the visage of Marrina, who Namor had slain with the Ebony blade, appeared in the blade. Valinor caught Bloodwraith, and he traded blows with Namor in the air until Bloodwraith slew Namor with the Ebony blade.
(Namor I#61) - Bloodwraith attacked Andromeda, who wielded Namor's blade. Meanwhile, inside the sword, Namor joined Victoria Bentley and the first Black Knight in their battle with the evils souls inside the blade. Victoria explained to Namor that whenever Sean drew the sword, there was a battle for which side would claim Sean, the good or the evil. Marrina appeared to join them, but she was secretly a succubus from the evil side. Bloodwraith sensed this battle and was distracted. When Morgan le Fay approached (in the body of Vivian Morgan), she ensorcelled Bloodwraith and his sword, and used the sword to slay Andromeda. Sean's good side temporarily in control, Bloodwraith advised Andromeda of the succubus' intentions and told her how to free Namor. Andromeda's body then switched to Genevieve Cross' body in Bloodwraith's arms. Namor soon returned to life, seemingly freeing Marrina's soul, and Morgan le Fay took on her true form.
(Namor I#62) - Held back by Morgan, Bloodwraith watched as Triton battled Namor and Genevieve (now in Andromeda's form). When bid, Bloodwraith joined the fight, but Namor tossed the Ebony blade aside and retreated. Namor later returned, rejuvenated, as Morgan was casting a spell to raise Atlantis to the surface. Bloodwraith attacked, as bid by Morgan, but Namor seized the Ebony blade and sheathed it, changing Bloodwraith back into Sean, who was very disoriented. Sean grabbed Namor's sword and tossed it at Morgan, but Triton intercepted the blade and fell. As Atlantis rose, Namor flew Sean to safety.
(Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising I#1) - Namor grabbed Triton's body and Sean and rushed Triton to a hospital in Bristol, England. When a United Nations security force attacked Namor, Sean moved to grab the blade, but Namor snatched the blade away, disarmed the force, and flew away with the blade. Sean hoped Namor could avoid the blade's curse.
(Avengers Unplugged I#6 (fb) - BTS) - With the blade trapped in the negative zone barrier outside Attilan after Morgan le Fay's defeat, Valinor sought to keep Sean away from the blade so that Sean might be cured.
(Avengers Unplugged
I#6) - Taking sick, Sean rode Valinor to Avengers Mansion and collapsed
there. While the Avengers discussed his origins, Sean was drawn
to the sword of Proctor, an other-dimensional ebony blade that had
slain dozens of heroes. He drew it and was transformed into a new
Bloodwraith, or Black Wraith, held off the Avengers, transformed Valinor into a more
skeletal form, and flew off. He claimed the soul of Peter Reilly,
then was attacked by Swordsman before he could claim another innocent
life. When Crystal knocked Bloodwraith from Valinor, she and
Valinor teleported, retrieved the real ebony blade, then
returned. Bloodwraith battled the Avengers until she returned,
then taunted Crystal as Proctor's blade had already slain her in
another realm. When the Vision threatened to destroy the original
ebony blade, Bloodwraith tossed Proctor's blade aside and reclaimed his
own. Now back in Sean's form, the Avengers let him go and Sean
agreed to control the curse.
(Avengers III#37 (fb)) - Sean, seeking to do something positive with his life, joined a SHIELD and United Nations sponsored volunteer mission to help rebuild Slorenia, an eastern European country where millions had been murdered by Ultron. He worked hard for a time, but the blade (which he'd unsuccessfully tried to discard into the sea previously) called to him. He drew it, and the millions of restless Slorenian souls were drawn to the blade. Sean was transformed into Bloodwraith again and grew to giant size as the sky around him became red and full of swirling mists. Seeking revenge, he began tromping through the country and slaying whoever he saw, killing hundreds.
(Avengers III#36) - Bloodwraith moved through Slorenia, slaying SHIELD agents and others. Captain America called the Avengers for aid and was quickly joined by Photon.
(Avengers III#37) - Joined by Iron Man, Wonder Man, and the Scarlet Witch, the Avengers tried several tactics, including varying energy sources, to vanquish Bloodwraith. He swatted several of them from the air and allowed himself to be distracted by them until he noted the Scarlet Witch trying to magically commune with and calm the souls of the Slorenians. Using her magic, the Scarlet Witch was able to bind the Bloodwraith to Slorenian soil, not allowing him to leave. SHIELD then set up a cordon around Slorenia's borders until they knew how to handle the Bloodwraith.
(Avengers III#38 - BTS) - Black Knight and Firebird joined the SHIELD cordon, investigating ways to dispel the sword's curse for the Bloodwraith.
(Avengers III#40 - BTS) - Bloodwraith retreated far into the middle of Slorenia, causing SHIELD to wonder if he was daring them to come after him.
Comments: Created by Roy & Dann Thomas, Tony DeZuniga, and Mark Gruenwald (creators of Sean Dolan), Glenn Herdling, Mike Gustovich, and Ariane Lenshoek (creators of Bloodwraith).
Sean's height and weight in this profile come from his 'trading card' included in Avengers Annual I#22.
Bloodwraith has an entry in OHotMU 2006 A-Z#2.
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Bloodwraith has no known connections to
Achmed
and the
"Arabian wizard"
(Avengers Annual I#22) - Part of a cabal of wizards seeking power objects, the agile Achmed and the other Arabian wizard moved to take the ebony blade from Dane Whitman's castle. After knocking aside Catherwood, who'd wielded a power lance against them, they found they could not draw the blade themselves. They fought against Sean Dolan's sword until they shot him in the shoulder. When Victoria Bentley came in the room, they threatened her virtue, so Sean grabbed the blade and became the Bloodwraith, who slew them both in quick order.
Achmed and his companion were purported
to have magical abilities, but they were never shown. They were
very agile and used both a handgun and a laser gun in battle.
--Avengers Annual I#22
(Avengers Unplugged I#6) - Having
received a terminal cancer prognosis, construction worker Peter
prepared to feign his death so his family could cash in on insurance
benefits. As he jumped, Bloodwraith flew by and claimed his life
into Proctor's ebony blade.
--Avengers Unplugged I#6
images:
Avengers III#36, p22, pan1
Avengers Annual I#22, p22, pan2
Avengers Annual I#22, p26, pan3
Avengers Unplugged I#6, p8, pan2
(Achmed) Avengers Annual I#22, p21, pan2
(Peter Reilly) Avengers Unplugged I#6, p9, pan2
Appearances:
Black Knight II#2-4 (July-September, 1990) - Roy &
Dann Thomas (writers), Tony DeZuniga (penciler/inker), Mark Gruenwald
(editor)
Avengers Spotlight#39 (December, 1990) - Roy & Dann Thomas
(writers), Greg Capullo (penciler), Tom Dzon (inker), Mark Gruenwald
(editor)
Avengers Annual#22 (1993) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Mike Gustovich
(penciler), Ariane Lenshoek (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#366/2 (September, 1993) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Mike
Gustovich (penciler), Ariane Lenshoek (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Namor the Sub-Mariner I#60-62 (March-May, 1995) - Glenn Herdling (writer), Geof
Isherwood (penciler/inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising I#1 (June, 1995) - Tom Defalco &
Glenn Herdling (writers), MC Wyman (penciler), Rey Garcia, Don Hudson,
Geof Isherwood, & Kevin Yates (inkers), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Avengers Unplugged I#6 (August, 1996) - Glenn Herdling (writer), MC
Wyman (penciler), Sandu Florea (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers III#36-37 (January, February, 2001) - Kurt Busiek (writer),
Steve Epting (penciler), Al Vey (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers III#38 (March, 2001) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Alan
Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers III#40 (May, 2001) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Alan
Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 02/28/2006
Last updated: 01/30/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this
stuff, you should check out the real thing!
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