What You Need to Know for 'Blood Hunt'

BLOOD HUNT (2024) will plunge Earth into darkness for this summer's monstrous Marvel event. After the sun is suddenly blotted out of the sky, covering the world in eternal darkness, vampires will carry out ambitious, coordinated attacks that put humanity on the defensive. With virtually every hero affected by the overwhelming onslaught of the undead, Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have to pull out all the stops if they hope to avoid a bloody fate.

Here is everything you need to know in preparation for BLOOD HUNT (2024)'s nocturnal war, including the current status of the Marvel Universe's vampires and how the sudden, worldwide rise of the undead has affected the world's greatest heroes.

THE VAMPIRE STATE OF THE UNION

Over the past several years, the vampires of the Marvel Universe have engaged in a vicious civil war and other power struggles. A bloody battle in AVENGERS (2018) resulted in the creation of an internationally recognized vampire nation in Chernobyl called Vampyrsk, which installed Dracula as its leader. 

While Dracula maintained control of this sovereign state, a radicalized vampire cult plotted its own agenda for humanity. Known as the Structure, this cult acted against humans with open hostility, resulting in clashes with several heroes. 

The Structure's leader was killed in MOON KNIGHT (2021) #18, and when a new head of the cult seized control, they established a better organization for the Structure—along with a more ambitiously violent agenda. With a plan in place to prevent the sun from hampering their attack, the Structure is set to unleash an all-out undead assault unlike any the Marvel Universe has seen before.

THE AVENGERS' MISSION, INTERRUPTED

With the safety of humanity at stake, Earth's Mightiest Heroes will be pulled into the vampires' attack relatively quickly as BLOOD HUNT (2024) escalates. The Avengers' current roster includes Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, and the Scarlet Witch, with the team currently operating out of the sentient Impossible City. 

In the face of the attacks orchestrated by the anti-mutant extremist group Orchis, the Avengers recently came to the aid of the X-Men. This led the Avengers to battle Orchis around the world, including a formidable fleet of advanced Sentinels that gave even Iron Man a run for his money. However, the Avengers scarcely had time to regroup before the vampires launched their attack, with the heroes watching helplessly as the planet became shrouded in darkness.

MOON KNIGHT AND THE MIDNIGHT MISSION

Moon Knight and his growing list of allies have been dealing with vampires ever since Marc Spector opened the Midnight Mission in MOON KNIGHT (2021) #1. The Midnight Mission protects those neglected and overlooked by society, which includes vampires that aren't actively hostile to humans. Though he protected several benevolent vampires at the Midnight Mission, Moon Knight killed the head of the Structure, throwing the villainous vampire cult into disarray.

Marc Spector passed the mantle of Moon Knight onto the other Fist of Khonshu, Hunter's Moon, after he died heroically defending New York from an explosive threat. The good-hearted vampire Reese also became a leading figure in the Midnight Mission as the organization faced a violent imposter posing as Moon Knight. The Midnight Mission discovered this impostor was a twisted super villain called the Shroud, whose connection to the Darkforce Dimension was used by the vampires to blot out the sun and commence their attack in VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT (2024) #5.

DOCTOR STRANGE

As the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange has a surprisingly extensive history combatting vampires, which sparked a long-standing feud with Dracula himself. In fact, in DOCTOR STRANGE (1974) #62, Strange used an ancient spell from the Darkhold called the Montesi Formula to eradicate all vampires from Earth, though this victory proved to be short-lived. More recently, Strange married his on-again/off-again lover and fellow sorcerer Clea, and the couple has continued to operate out of the Sanctum Sanctorum in Manhattan since.

Strange has worked with Hunter's Moon and the Midnight Mission with increasing frequency, teaming up most recently to stop Strange's longtime nemesis Baron Mordo in DOCTOR STRANGE (2023) #14. Strange returned home just as the vampire attack began in New York. Having triumphed over the vampires before, the question remains if Strange will repeat this victory, considering he has become familiar with multiple vampires working for the benefit of humanity.

BLADE

Blade has had to make some steep moral compromises in the past several months in order to protect the Marvel Universe from the ravenous undead. For instance, in AVENGERS (2018) #45, Blade was appointed by the United Nations as sheriff to ensure the newly recognized nation-state of vampires didn't threaten the rest of the world.

Additionally, Blade reentered his daughter Brielle Brooks' life when the spell that protected her from the undead died with Stephen Strange in BLOODLINE: DAUGHTER OF BLADE (2023). As the daughter of the Daywalker, Brielle has inherited a handful of his abilities, so Blade took her under his wing to train her. This led to a team-up with Spider-Man in MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN (2022) #10, where all three eradicated a vampire nest in Brooklyn.

Then, after the ancient evil Adana tricked Blade into releasing her from prison and giving her the mythical sword Lightbringer, Dracula convinced Blade to drink some of his blood, upgrading his powers and abilities. Though Blade successfully defeated Adana with his allies in BLADE (2023) #10, this new status quo left him visibly more violent and unstable than before, concerning those around him. Nevertheless, Blade remains positioned as the best person to stop the vampire uprising in BLOOD HUNT (2024).

DOCTOR DOOM

As always, Doctor Doom's biggest priority is ensuring his homeland of Latveria remains safe from external threats, including vampires. Thanks to Victor von Doom's mastery of magic and technology, Latverian borders remain relatively safe from vampires. However, while Doom may be confident that—through his leadership—Latveria is the safest place in the Marvel Universe from vampires, his hubris has always been his downfall.

Ready to get his hands bloody, Doom will be drawn into the vampire onslaught as it intensifies. And with Doom among the greatest sorcerers on Earth, his magical abilities may come in handy as the Master of Mystic Arts finds himself and the presumed safety of his Sanctum Sanctorum targeted by vampires.

Enter the fray with BLOOD HUNT #1, on sale now!

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