Baron Blood
Encyclopedia
Baron Blood is the name of several fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

s that appear in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

.

Publication fistory

The original version first appears in Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...

#7 (July 1976) and was created by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

 and Frank Robbins
Frank Robbins
Franklin "Frank" Robbins was a notable American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American...

.

The second character first appears in Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....

, Sorcerer Supreme
vol. 3, #10 (Dec. 1989) and was created by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

 and Jackson Guice
Jackson Guice
Jackson "Butch" Guice , is an American comic book artist who has worked steadily in the mainstream comics industry since the early 1980s.-Biography:...

.

The final version first appears in human guise in Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

#253 (Jan. 1981), and was created by Roger Stern
Roger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...

 and John Byrne.

John Falsworth

John Falsworth first appears in the title Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...

as an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...

. Although posing as the son of the first John Falsworth, it is revealed in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 that the character is in fact the original, made possible due to the fact that he is now an ageless vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

. When the family fortune is left to older brother James, John Falsworth leaves England to pursue an interest - vampire lore. Falsworth travels to Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 and encounters the original vampire Dracula
Dracula (Marvel Comics)
Dracula is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker, and is also influenced by Universal Studios' version of the character.-Publication history:A...

, who, after overpowering Falsworth, drains his blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

 and turns him into one of the undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...

. Dracula then commands Falsworth to return to England and cause havoc in revenge for the deeds of former opponent Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker is one of the main protagonists in the 1897 horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. His journey to Transylvania and encounter with Count Dracula and the Brides of Dracula at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.-In the...

. Adopting the alias of Baron Blood, the character allies with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and without either party realizing the identity of the other, battles his own brother, who is now the English hero Union Jack
Union Jack (comics)
Union Jack is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-James Montgomery Falsworth:The original Union Jack, James Montgomery Falsworth, first appears in comics in The Invaders #7. He was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins. He...

. Blood is wounded by Jack with a silver dagger, and flees to recover.

The character reappears during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in his false persona, and once again aids Germany, with Nazi technology helping to reduce susceptibility to sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...

 (a major vampire weakness). As Blood, Falsworth attacks and wounds his niece, Jacqueline Falsworth, but is driven off by the original Human Torch. Almost dead due to blood loss, Jacqueline Falsworth is saved when given a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...

 by the Torch. The artificial blood causes the character to develop superhuman abilities, and she becomes the heroine Spitfire
Spitfire (comics)
Spitfire is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe and was introduced as a member of the World War II era Invaders superhero team.-Fictional character biography:...

. Blood captures Spitfire and takes her to a cavern below Falsworth Manor, where in a final battle with Union Jack he cripples the hero by dropping a boulder on his legs. The superhero team the Invaders, however, arrive and defeat Blood, driving his body onto a silver-veined stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...

.

Baron Blood reappears when Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 soldiers sent by the spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...

 Lady Lotus
Lady Lotus
Lady Lotus is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Invaders #37 .-Fictional character biography:...

 find the cavern and attempt to resurrect the character. The soldiers are driven off by Union Jack (the identity having been adopted by James Falsworth's son, Brian) and Spitfire, although Blood is accidentally revived. Blood travels to the United States of America and after a brief skirmish with the Invaders joins the Nazi team the Super-Axis
Super-Axis
The Super-Axis is a group of fictional characters and supervillains that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Invaders #40 and were created by Roy Thomas and Alan Kupperberg.-Fictional team history:...

 for a final battle with the heroes. Blood is killed once again when impaled on a stake thrown by Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...

.

In the title Captain America a servant of Dracula, Dr. Jacob Cromwell, is sent to revive Blood, whose bones are stored in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. Although Cromwell is successful, Blood betrays and kills him and one of his daughters, turning the other into a vampire (who becomes Baroness Blood). Assuming Cromwell's identity, Blood commits a series of murders that arouse the suspicions of his now very elderly brother James. The older Falsworth requests the aid of Captain America, who with the third version of Union Jack
Union Jack (Joseph Chapman)
Union Jack is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe and the third person to take on the role of Union Jack...

 battles Blood. After being tricked into thinking that Union Jack was his older brother James, Blood is decapitated with Captain America's shield. The character's body is burned to ashes, with the ashes scattered.

Baron Blood reappears in an Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...

annual, being revived briefly to become part of Elder of the Universe the Grandmaster's Legion of the Unliving
Legion of the Unliving
The Legion of the Unliving is the name of five groups of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The five versions first appear in Avengers #131 ; Avengers Annual #16 ; Avengers West Coast #61 ; Avengers #353 and Avengers vol. 3, #10 respectively...

, and in a flashback story in a Namor: The Sub-Mariner annual briefly battles Namor over the affections of a female.

Baron Blood is resurrected in the second volume of Knights of Pendragon
Knights of Pendragon
The Knights of Pendragon was a superhero team published by the Marvel Comics imprint Marvel UK in a self-titled comic from 1990 to 1993, and in the anthology title Overkill. It was written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson with art by Gary Erskine...

, before being killed by the third Union Jack; and in another flashback story in the third volume of Captain America, feeding on Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 troops before capturing Captain America and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are a fictional World War II unit in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 . The main character, Sgt...

. Blood torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

s Fury, but when he leaves on another mission another vampire - an Allied officer that Blood had turned - kills the Nazis guards and frees the human prisoners, breaking down the bunker door so they can get out, even though doing so exposes the area to sunlight at the cost of his own life.

Baron Blood is apparently active again and features in the title Alias
Alias (comics)
Alias is a comic book series created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos. It was published by Marvel Comics under Marvel's MAX imprint for a total of 28 issues from 2001 to 2004....

as a prisoner in the facility the Raft
The Raft (comics)
The Raft is a fictional island prison facility in New York City for psychopathic superhuman criminals appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

.

Victor Strange

The storyline The Book of the Vishanti
Book of the Vishanti
The Book of the Vishanti is a fictional grimoire appearing in Marvel Comics, most closely associated with the character of Doctor Strange. It first appeared in Strange Tales #116 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It is the greatest known source of "white" magical knowledge on the...

: Curse of the Darkhold
in the title Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....

: Sorcerer Supreme
features a new version of the character. When a still inexperienced Doctor Strange attempts to resurrect his dead brother Victor with a spell from the Book of the Vishanti, it revives the character as a vampire. Given the costume and name of Baron Blood by a voodoo sorceress, Victor Strange attempts to control his bloodlust, and becoming a costumed vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

 called Khiron, attempts to only prey on criminals. At times when criminals are not available, Victor utilizes his willing girlfriend, Morgana. However, his heroic impulses are used against him; Victor is preyed upon by Cagliostro, an ancient entity that needs vampire blood to live. Victor barely escapes this situation. The bloodlust, however, forces the character to kill innocents and he eventually commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

.

Kenneth Chrichton

The final version of Baron Blood features in the limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

 Union Jack. Kenneth Crichton, the son of Jacqueline Falsworth and a sufferer of the medical condition anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...

, is estranged from his family after refusing to adopt the identity of Union Jack, deeming his close friend Joey Chapman to be a better choice. Crichton encounters Baroness Blood, who offers to cure his anemia. The character accepts and is turned into a vampire, becoming the new Baron Blood. Baroness Blood then directs Crichton to steal the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...

 from a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, and uses the artifact
Magic item
A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy...

 to become immune to all vampire weaknesses. The Baroness then betrays Crichton and her vampire servants, leaving them to die when exposed to sunlight.

Powers and abilities

The first Baron Blood possesses all the abilities of a vampire
Vampire (Marvel Comics)
Vampires are fictional characters found in the Marvel Universe.-History:They were created roughly 15,000 years ago when a small band of sorcerers from the legendary city of Atlantis discovered a book known as the Darkhold, an indestructible text filled with arcane lore and dark magic written...

, including superhuman strength and durability; hypnotism; the ability to command mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...

; rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

s; bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

s and wolves. Weaknesses include vulnerability to sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...

; garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

; silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

; the presence of religious symbols; decapitation and a wooden stake through the heart. Courtesy of Nazi science, the character received treatment that allows activity in sunlight.

Earth-3931

In this universe where everyone is a vampire, the Kenneth Crichton version of Baron Blood was the last Union Jack before he became Brother Blood.

Marvel Apes

Set in an alternate universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

, the limited series Marvel Apes
Marvel Apes
Marvel Apes is a four-issue limited series by comics publisher Marvel Comics which started publication in October 2008. The series is written by Karl Kesel with art by Ramon Bachs and covers by John Watson....

depicts Earth's heroes as intelligent apes with Blood posing as hero Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

in the Ape-Vengers (a distorted version of the superhero team the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...

). The villain is eventually opposed and defeated by the true Captain America.
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