The following contains major spoilers for Blood Hunters #1, on sale August 7 at Marvel Comics.
Over the past few months, readers have followed the Marvel Universe as it has been besieged on all sides by a vampiric threat unlike anything ever seen before. Thankfully, a new dawn has finally come to break through the clouds of Darkness that have completely darkened the skies, though even that can't make up for the lasting damage that the evil Varnae has wrought. Blood Hunt caused.
While the world will never be the same now that the vampires of the Marvel Universe have shed one of their greatest weaknesses, many heroes are willing to push the threat they pose back into the shadows, where it belongs. As seen in Blood Hunters #1 (by Erica Schulz, Robert Gill, Rain Beredo, and VC’s Joe Caramagna), however, not all members of Marvel’s new supernatural superhero team are on the same page about the best way to go about it. That particular difference of opinion could cost a fan-favorite superhero his life.
Dagger leads Marvel's latest team of supernatural superheroes
An underrated Marvel superhero gets a whole new power afterBlood Hunt
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Even though Tandy Bowen, better known as Dagger, doesn't have much experience dealing with vampires, she has still held a leadership position in the formation of the Blood Hunters. Considering that her career dates back to 1981 Peter Parker, the spectacular Spider-Man #64 (by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan), it's not all that surprising that heroes less experienced with Dagger look up to her. On the other hand, her new abilities are probably just as good a reason for her to take command for the specific battles the Blood Hunters have ahead of them.
While Tandy's Lightforce powers have long granted her many offensive and defensive capabilities, it is only in recent years that she has explored what applications they might have away from the battlefield. Previously, Dagger had used her powers to cleanse various toxins from others, but when she joined forces with the Savage Avengers, she discovered that they could also heal physical wounds. During the events of Blood HuntDagger discovered that these same healing powers could also be used to cure people of the vampiric curse placed upon them. This makes her quite possibly the greatest threat to the vampires attempting to build an empire for themselves in the wake of Varnae's defeat, assuming she can get close enough to begin chipping away at their ranks.
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Introduced as Elizabeth Tyne in 1995 Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1 (by J.M. DeMatteis and John Romita Jr.), the woman who would become Janine Godbe had a troubled life. After being forced to end her abusive father's life in self-defense, Janine set out on a journey in the hopes that wandering aimlessly would be better than what she had already experienced. Soon, she met and fell in love with Ben Reilly, who was being hunted by his fellow Spider-Clone, Kaine. When Ben talked Kaine into it, he unknowingly convinced Janine to turn herself in for her crimes, seemingly ending her romance for good.
However, once the evil Beyond Corporation chose Ben as the company's sponsored Spider-Man, they took it upon themselves to secure Janine's freedom as another bargaining chip. Tragically, this led to Janine following Ben during his downfall, becoming Chasm, and joining forces with Madelyne Pryor to literally unleash Hell, or Limbo, on Earth. Along the way, Janine was given a bag full of magical masks that transformed her into whatever face they were molded into. Rather than continue following Ben's descent into evil, Janine has used her powers as Hallow's Eve to make a difference where she can as Marvel's least experienced heroseems to have unlimited potential.
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In his first appearance in 1999 Inhumans #5 (by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee) Yelena Belova wanted to make a name for herself as both the world's foremost super spy and the rightful heir to the Black Widow mantle. After being subjected to a shocking, face-swapping and clearly traumatizing plan concocted by Natasha Romanoff, Yelena was left unsure of her place in the world, let alone her true self.
Fortunately, Yelena has had plenty of time to come to terms with the horrors she’s endured, so much so that she and Natasha have even forged a healthy relationship. Better yet, Yelena has fully embraced her anti-hero persona as Marvel’s White Widow. She may not know much about vampires, but Yelena has dealt with just about everything else the seedier parts of the world have thrown at her. To top it all off, Yelena has the empathy and understanding to carry out the Blood Hunters’ mission as Dagger envisioned.
Elsa Bloodstone is the worst teammate the Blood Hunters could ask for.
The most experienced member of the Bloodhunters is also the most problematic
At the other end of this spectrum of understanding is Elsa Bloodstone, and hers is about as far as you can get from Dagger's vision of a world where Blood Hunters restore humanity to the world's vampires. Elsa, on the other hand, has been fighting monsters since before her first appearance in 2001. Blood Stone (by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Michael Lopez) Ever since she was a baby, Elsa's father, Ulysses, forced her to fight for her life against every beast and brute he could find, which helped shape her into a cold-blooded killer.
This doesn’t mean that Elsa Bloodstone doesn’t have a heart, but rather that she no longer has any to offer anything that comes crashing down in the night. When curing vampires of their hellish affliction isn’t an option, Elsa is there to eliminate them entirely. She’s also the first to do so when curing vampires is simply inconvenient, which goes against the Blood Hunters’ established mission. Worse yet, Elsa refuses to change her plans even when the vampire in question isn’t her enemy, regardless of what her teammates say about it.
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During the events of Blood HuntMiles tragically lost his humanity. And for some reason, not even Dagger's cleansing light was enough to restore it. Luckily for Miles and everyone around him, the young Spider-Man has spent a lot of time with Blade and the Daywalker's daughter, Brielle, better known as Bloodline. As such, Miles is quite experienced in dealing with vampires on the battlefield and has some understanding when it comes to his situation.
Miles still has to deal with the likes of Elsa Bloodstone, who won't look past his fangs. It's hard to imagine Miles not surviving his current encounter with the Blood Hunters, just as it's hard to imagine him not fighting alongside them once Elsa puts down her gun.