Meet Elsa Bloodstone, Marvel’s Premier Monster Hunter

With its abundance of monsters, demons, and truly bad fathers, the mystical side of the Marvel Universe often explores grays areas. That’s nowhere more obvious than with the world’s premier monster hunter, Elsa Bloodstone, who was shaped into a monster-killing machine by her father. Elsa’s stories have often been defined by her difficult relationship with her family legacy and the ideals instilled in her from a young age. 

Debuting in BLOODSTONE (2001) #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Michael Lopez, Elsa is the daughter of famed monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone, who had the powerful Bloodgem embedded in his chest during prehistoric times. Millenia later, Ulysses trained his infant daughter in the ways of monster hunting, often going to extreme lengths to prepare her for future conflicts. Some of the elder Bloodstone’s methods included throwing a thirteen-year-old Elsa into water filled with great white sharks. He also once ripped off one of her hands, only to give her a magical replacement later.

Following Ulysses’ death, Elsa received the Bloodstone choker and followed in her father’s footsteps. Thanks to a combination of that powerful artifact, her unique genetic structure, and her father’s training, Elsa boasts such superhuman abilities as enhanced strength and regeneration, as well as blood that can harm vampires, making her a formidable monster hunter.

Those early experiences with her father inform a lot about Elsa’s character and her relationship with others. Elsa is often cynical, though she strives to do good and make the world a better place than the one she came into. This ties into her desire to destroy monsters, as she believes them to be a massive threat to humanity. She also swears off having any children, as she is unwilling to pass on the burden of being a monster-hunting Bloodstone to anyone else. Still, Elsa isn’t the last of the Bloodstones. Her brother, Cullen, also plays a key role in her more recent stories, and despite their conflicts, Elsa genuinely cares about him and her family.

One of Elsa’s most-noteworthy early adventures came with Nextwave, a group of heroes recruited by Dirk Anger for the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, AKA H.A.T.E.. Originally tasked with taking down Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction on Earth-63163, Nextwave turned against H.A.T.E. after learning of the connection between its sponsor, the Beyond Corporation, and a terrorist group known as S.I.L.E.N.T. Elsa played a key role in stopping the Beyond Corporation and its sinister leader: Devil Dinosaur.

Elsa’s next significant story involves Morbius the Living Vampire, after she joined his Legion of Monsters to investigate some mysterious monster attacks. Elsa and her allies soon discovered the attacks were due to a demonic, mind-controlling virus that Morbius had secretly been carrying for years, and they were ultimately able to cure it. The storyline represented something of a softening in Elsa’s relationship with monsters, as by the end of the arc, she was much more willing to accept that not all of them are evil. There was even a tease of a future romantic relationship with Jack Russell, AKA Werewolf by Night.

From there, Elsa puttered around the Earth-616, teaming up with the likes of Wolverine and joining the Fearless Defenders. She also played a key role in helping the Thunderbolts take down Doctor Stephen Strange after he went rogue and attempted to make others happy by any means necessary. Next, Elsa joined Doctor Doom’s Avengers and fought against the Scarlet Witch as the Fantastic Four villain attempted to redeem himself while protecting Latveria. 

Elsa’s next big role came in MONSTERS UNLEASHED (2017) event. In that story, the heroes of Earth attempted to stop the Leviathon Tide from invading Earth. This resulted in a young Inhuman named Kei Kawade – whose abilities allowed him to draw monsters into existence – stepping up to oppose the invaders. Elsa played a key role in helping Kei master his newfound powers, and they eventually parted ways, with the monster hunter confident he’d outgrown the need for her guidance.

Elsa later played a key role in the DAMNATION (2018) limited series, joining a new version of the Midnight Sons to oppose Mephisto’s occupation of Las Vegas. At some point following that event, Elsa ended up fighting against a Bone Beast in Prague, which gave her a life-threatening infection. This led her to team up with Deadpool, AKA Wade Wilson, so she could trick him into being the Bone Beast Queen’s new host, a difficulty she felt he could survive. In the end, Elsa and Deadpool successfully took down the Bone Beast Queen. The two also struck up a romantic relationship. 

The monster hunter’s more recent stories have focused more on her family and her relationship to them. In BLACK KNIGHT: CURSE OF THE EBONY BLADE (2021), Elsa tracked a murderer targeting historians and realized they were using Bloodstone magic for the crime. Her goal was to get the artifact from the murderer, Mordred, to resurrect her father – but not because she had any lingering affection for him. Instead, Elsa wanted to find out where Ulysses hid the family inheritance. While Elsa initially abandoned Dane Whitman, AKA Black Knight, after getting the Bloodstone, she later returned and helped stop Mordred, even though that meant she wouldn’t be able to bring her father back.  

Most recently, Elsa reunited with Cullen in England after the death of Doctor Strange, which caused magic to become unstable across the Earth. The Sorcerer Supreme’s death resulted in Lyra – one of Elsa’ long-lost siblings from prehistoric times – returning with the powerful Nullgem, a sort of counterpart to the Bloodgem. To stop an ancient villain named Krakkan, Ulysses sacrificed Lyra, leaving her in long exile. However, a zombified Krakkan returned after Doctor Strange’s death, forcing the trio to take him down once again. At the end of that story, the three Bloodstone siblings came together as a family.

Elsa’s story has, since its beginning, revolved around the complicated relationship with her family and monster hunting, which looks unlikely to change anytime soon. As for what comes next in Elsa’s story, she’s set to star in a story by writer Rebecca Roanhorse and artist Geoff Shaw in CRYPT OF SHADOWS (2022) #1. That book, which is available now for pre-order, goes on sale October 19.

Don't miss Elsa Bloodstone's return in CRYPT OF SHADOWS (2022) #1, on sale October 19!

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