“Blood Hunt” #4 and Marvel Comics Events Titles Fatigue
From Marvel Comics
Written by Jed MacKay
Art by Pepe Larraz
I realize that it is high time for me to comment on Marvel’s big summer event, Blood Hunt, as I have been keeping up with the main event title as well as the tie-ins Midnight Sons by Bryan Hill (which feels like a continuation of his Blade series) and Dracula by Danny Lore.
To be honest, I found myself initially unsatisfied with the climactic comic book event. I think that I, like other fans, have begun to feel the fatigue of world-ending upheavals in the Marvel Comics Universe that formulaically and graphically dispatch Earth’s Mightiest heroes one by one until a select number can save the day and bring everyone back to life at the last second.
The initial issues of Blood Hunt seemed to boast this typical structure which made me sad and conflicted knowing that the title featured some of Marvel’s traditionally underutilized, cult favorite characters front and center that I have been longing to see in the spotlight for years. How can you not be excited for the likes of Blade, Moon Knight, Bloodline, and even Dracula all finally emerging from the shadows of the Marvel Universe to be the stars of a hit new huge comic book series?!
Ultimately, I am happy that I followed my passion as a fan, and my faith in lead writer Jed MacKay who has also seen a rise in popularity and prominence these days. Seriously, I don’t understand how that man functions, he is writing like twelve titles at once, are there even any other writers at Marvel these days or are they all just Jed MacKay in a convincing wig?
Issue #3 of Blood Hunt really drew me back into the story with the assembly of the core team of the series comprised of an incredibly unique cast of heroes and Issue #4 sees that team cunningly unleashed upon the vampiric hordes.
I can’t talk too much about this series without giving things away, which means-
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
In Issue #4 the remaining party of heroes splits up in order to gain the upper hand on the overwhelmingly powerful primordial Bloodcoven and their new Vampiric Leader- Blade. I initially took issue with this shocking choice, to implement Blade as the villain of the series, because frankly I would rather have seen Blade shine as the only hero capable and knowledgeable enough to fight ancient Vampires as seems more fitting to his character. However, as I have read further, I do have to give credit to the worldbuilding MacKay has developed for the global vampire takeover as well as the deep sense of betrayal felt by Blade’s villainous shift.
In Issue #1 of the series, MacKay was quick to show that across the world the vampire takeover was swift and surprising, catching whole nations totally unprepared- except in Latveria. This is precisely where Clea Strange and the Ghost of Doctor Strange (who was killed by Blade by the way) must venture now in order to appeal to the man most familiar with the sinister magic of the Darkforce- Doctor Doom.
Doom explains to Clea and Strange that he knows the truth of the fate that has befallen Blade, who has been made a host for the resurrection of the first vampire- Varnae. Which is a fun possession angle, that makes this event that much more pulp horror tinged which is a plus in my book. Doctor Doom continues the reveals, showing that he has already secretly sequestered the entirety of Strange Academy in order to perform a spell to take control of the Darkforce, but in order to pull off such a Herculean task- he must first be made the Sorcerer Supreme.
This is precisely the kind of dramatic, world shifting ultimatum that makes these event comics exciting and memorable, and I wish that Marvel would make more long standing use of the decisions that arise within these culminating events. Which I am hopeful will happen in this case, because I would love to see Strange wrestling with his “in the heat of the moment” decision to bestow the Sorcerer Supreme power and title to Doom in his own solo series which just so happens to also be written by Jed MacKay. I think that the “event fatigue” I mentioned previously stems from the lack of communication and symmetry between writers across Marvel titles, but in this case, MacKay is playing with characters and themes that he has spent years developing which is a refreshing change.
Meanwhile, our heroes from the Midnight Mission, Moon Knight and Tigra, and a secret third accomplice have been magically teleported to Asgard. The clandestine heroes sneak into the inner chambers of the kingdom past the godly vaults and arrive at the holding cell of the God Khonshu. Here, our third member finally steps into the light, revealed to be the reformed villain, The Wrecker, who wields an Asgardian enchanted crowbar. This is one of the most inventive, playful, pure “comic book” moments I have seen this year and I couldn’t help but smile reading it.
Next, we cut to New York City where Blade, or Varnae in disguise, stands atop an ancient vampire temple from the days of Old Atlantis unearthed from beneath Wakanda and teleported by dark magic to the streets of New York. I hope that I’m not alone here when I say, “Fucking… what?!” All of that needs to be explored in some way, I don’t care if that is a Blade comic, a Dracula comic, or even a Namor comic- but this quickly summarized era sounds rife for exploration and cementing evocative Marvel lore. Varnae’s origins along with the introduction of “The Captive” in Al Ewing’s Venom tie-in, are too intriguing of characters to be lost to the annals of the Marvel Wikipedia.
Anyway, as Varnae communes with the unleashed Darkforce, he waxes poetically about his original evil intentions, insinuating that the entire Vampire species was basically a mistake because it was just a step along the way to becoming the living avatar of the Darkforce.
I need Dracula to beat his ass- sorry, I’m trying to make this review as objective as possible, but if that doesn’t happen, then I will be sorely disappointed. I know that this is an Avengers and Blade-centric comic, but Dracula is such a powerful mainstay character in the Marvel comics universe that they don’t utilize nearly as often as they should in my opinion, and if there isn’t a scene that screams “Dracula versus the First Vampire,” like something out of an old issue of Tomb of Dracula, in the penultimate “Vampire” event, then they will have wasted a monumental opportunity. Rant over.
As Varnae continues to consume the Darkforce he is momentarily distracted by the bright presence of the Moon and the God within that unleashes a horde of mummified previous Fists of Khonshu on the Vampire army. This bold, rebellious move allows the possessed Black Panther enough of a window to remove one of the Bloodcoven’s stakes used to spiritually imprison the most powerful Avengers, allowing Thor to break free and arrive with the rest of the Avengers to the peak of the unholy temple.
Though it was slow to develop , the finale issue of Blood Hunt has a lot of potential to be an impactful, historic moment in current Marvel comics, promising an intense, visceral battle on both temporal and magical fronts. Only time will tell if apocalyptic summer events such as these are what Marvel Comics fans want to read and collect or if it is time for a universal narrative shift. In either case, stay tuned for the next comic book event this year, Venom War coming in July.
Please support your local comic book stores and catch up on Blood Hunt on shelves now!
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
