Bloody Baron (Marvel Comics)

The original version first appears in Invaders # 7 (July 1976) and was created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins.

The second character first appears in Doctor Strange , Sorcerer Supreme Volume 3 # 10 (December 1989) and was created by Roy Thomas and Jackson Guis.

The final version first appears in human form in Captain America # 253 (January 1981) and was created by Roger Stern and John Byrne.

John Fallsworth

John Fallsworth first appears in Invaders as an English aristocrat . Although impersonating the son of the first John Falsworth, it is revealed in flashback that the character is actually the original, which became possible due to the fact that he is now an ageless vampire . ^[1] When marital status remains with his elder brother James, John Fallsworth leaves England to pursue an interest - knowledge of the vampire. Falsworth travels to Transylvania and encounters the ancient vampire Dracula , who, having mastered Falsworth, drinks his blood and turns him into one of the undead. Dracula orders Fallsworth to return to England and cause chaos in revenge for the acts of former rival Jonathan Harker. Accepting the pseudonym Blood Baron, the character allies with Germany during the First World War and, without any of the parties, understanding the identities of others, fights against his own brother, who is now the English hero Union Jack. Bloody wounded by Jack with a silver dagger and runs away to recover. ^[one]

The character reappears during World War II as his false persona and once again helps Germany with Nazi technology to help reduce its sensitivity to sunlight (the main weakness of a vampire). Like Bloody, Fallsworth attacks and injures his niece, Jacqueline Fallsworth, but is driven out by the original Human Torch. Almost dead due to blood loss, Jacqueline Fallsworth was saved when she received the Torch blood transfusion . Artificial blood makes the character develop superhuman abilities, and she becomes the heroine of Spitfire . Bloody captures Spitfire and takes her with him to the cave under Fallsworth Manor, where in the final battle with Union Jack, he cripples the hero by dropping a cobblestone on his feet. The superhero Invaders team, however, arrives and defeats the Bloody, leading his body to a stalagmite with silver streaks. ^[one]

Bloody Baron reappears when Japanese soldiers sent by the spy Lady Lotus find the cave and try to resurrect the character. The soldiers were driven out by Union Jack (a personality adopted by John Fallsworth's son, Brian) and Spitfire, although Bloody is accidentally resurrected. Bloody travels to the United States of America and, after a brief shootout with the Invaders, joins the Nazi Battle Axis team for the final battle against the heroes. Bloody killed again, impaled on a stake thrown by Namor Submariner . ^[2]

In Captain America , Dracula's servant, Dr. Jacob Cromwell, is sent to revive the Bloody, whose bones are preserved in the Tower of London . Although Cromwell is successful, Bloody betrays and kills him and one of his daughters, turning the other into a vampire (who becomes the Bloody Baroness ). Accepting Cromwell's identity, Bloody commits a series of murders that raise suspicion of his now very old brother James. Stary Fallsworth asks for help from Captain America, who, with the third version of Union Jack, is battling Bloody. Having been deceived into thinking that Union Jack was his older brother James, Bloody beheaded the captain of America's shield. The body of the character is burned to the ground, and the ashes are scattered. ^[3]

Bloody Baron reappears in the Avengers yearbook, having been briefly reborn to become part of the Inanimate Grandmaster Legion of the Universe Elders, ^[4] and in flashback history in the Namor: The Sub-Mariner yearbook, briefly fighting Namor for the woman’s attention. ^[5]

Bloody Baron is resurrected in the second volume of Knights of Pendragon before being killed by the third Union Jack; ^[6] and in another flashback story in Captain America's third volume, feeding on the Allied forces before capturing Captain America, Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos. Bloody tortures Fury, but when he leaves for another mission, leaves another vampire - the Allied officer, whom Bloody turned - kills the Nazi guards and frees the prisoners, breaking the bunker door so that they can get out, even though there is sunlight in the area, which kills him. ^[7]

The Bloody Baron appears to be active again and appears in Alias as a prisoner in the Raft facility. ^[8]

In time for the Infinity storyline, Blood Baron, as shown, is a teacher at the School of Science in Latvia . ^[9]

Victor Strange

The storyline of The Book of Vishanti: Curse of the Darkhold in Doctor Strange : Sorcerer Supreme shows a new version of the character. ^[10] When an inexperienced Doctor Strange tries to resurrect his dead brother Victor with a spell from the Book of Vishanti, he resurrects the character as a vampire. Taking the costume and name of the Blood Baron as a voodoo sorceress, Victor Strange tries to control his bloodlust and becomes a costumed vigilante named Chiron, trying to hunt only criminals. ^[11] From time to time, when criminals are not available, Victor uses his willing girlfriend, Morgana. However, his heroic impulses are used against him; Victor is hunted by Cagliostro, an ancient being who needs vampire blood to live. Victor barely avoids this situation. ^{[12] The} thirst for blood, however, forces the character to kill the innocent, and he ultimately commits suicide . ^[13]

Kenneth Crichton

The final version of the Blood Baron appears in the limited edition Union Jack . Kenneth Crichton, son of Jacqueline Falsworth and a medical sufferer of anemia , living separately from his family after he refused to accept Union Jack's identity, considering his close friend Joey Chapman the best choice. ^[14] Crichton encounters the Bloody Baroness, who suggests curing his anemia. The character agrees and turns into a vampire, becoming the new Blood Baron. The Bloody Baroness then directs Crichton to steal the Holy Grail from the museum and uses the artifact to become invulnerable to all the vampire's weak points. The Baroness then betrays Creighton and her vampire servants, leaving them to die when exposed to sunlight. ^[fifteen]

The First Blood Baron has all the vampire abilities, including superhuman strength (360 kg) and strength; hypnotism ; ability to command mice ; rats ; bats and wolves . The disadvantages include: vulnerability to sunlight ; garlic silver ; the presence of religious symbols; decapitation or wooden stake in the heart.

Courtesy of Nazi science, Bloody underwent a treatment that allowed him to be exposed to sunlight for at least a certain period of time, although this also interfered with traditional abilities to change the shape of a vampire (into the shape of a wolf or a bat) from work. His transformation into a vampire also somehow activated the apparently hidden psionic ability of levitation, which allowed the Bloody to fly without the need to turn into a bat shape.

Earth-3931

In this universe where everyone is a vampire, the version of Bloody Baron Kenneth Crichton was the last Union Jack before he became Bloody Baron. ^[16]

Marvel Apes

In an alternate universe , the limited-edition Marvel Apes series portrays Earth's heroes as smart monkeys along with the Bloody, posing as Captain America in Monkey Avengers (a distorted version of the Avengers superhero team). The villain opposes the true Captain of America and is ultimately defeated. ^[17]

• Bloody Baron I on the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Bloody Baron II on the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe