How to Read Marvel’s Blood Hunt in Order

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Marvel has long been known to host some of the biggest events in comics, such as Infinity Gauntlet and Secret Wars. These events often bring Marvel’s massive roster of characters together to face a new threat that threatens everyone. In 2024, Marvel’s big event of the year was Blood Hunt, led by writer Jed Mackay.

The Blood Hunt event saw the entire Marvel Universe covered in darkness as an ancient vampire god waged war on the living, with his legions of vampires running free in the never-ending night. While running primarily through Jed Mackay’s main titles of Moon Knight, Avengers, and Doctor Strange, the Blood Hunt event affected the entire Marvel line in 2024.

8

The Prelude to Blood Hunt

Blood Hunt is the culmination of multiple stories

The road to the vampires’ eventual attack in Blood Hunt would be long and began in the pages of 2018’s The Avengers #14-17 (by Jason Aaron, David Marquez, Erick Arciniega, and Justin Ponsor). The four-issue arc sees the Avengers, including Blade, caught in a vampire civil war between the Legion of the Unliving and the rest of the world’s vampires, led by Dracula.

It concludes withDracula forming the Kingdom of Vampires known as Vampyrsk in Avengers #17 (by Jason Aaron, David Marques, and Erick Arciniega). While seemingly unrelated, this inciting event would create contention within the vampire community that Blood Hunt would later exploit.

This division of the vampires would be continued in the 2022 one-shot Blade: Vampire Nation (by Mark Russell, Dave Wachter, Dee Cunniffe, and Cory Petit), which follows Dracula as the ruler of the sovereign nation of Vampyrsk.

In a seemingly fitting twist of fate, the government and the Avengers appointed Blade as the vampire nation’s sheriff. While Jed Mackay would pick up these story threads two years later for Blood Hunt, this period of the vampire civil war was the foundation for Blood Hunt.

7

The Vampires Begin to Rebel

Beginning in Moon Knight #13, Jed Mackay began putting the pieces in place that would eventually lead to the Blood Hunt event. The five-issue arc introduced readers to The Structure, a Vampire cult led by an aspiring vampire king known as The Tutor.

The Tutor recruited and turned all the vampires in New York City to become part of his vampire army and come for Dracula’s title as King of the vampires. Moon Knight and the rest of the Midnight Mission were able to stop The Tutor from his complete takeover, but his cult ideology had already taken root among the other vampire factions.

While the Tutor wouldn’t live to see the spread of his philosophy, his plan was ultimately a success. It brought the world’s vampires together and included the ancient Varnae in their rebellion. Without The Structure, the vampires of the world would never have been able to organize and execute their global takeover.

6

Blade Sets the Stage

Marvel’s most iconic vampire doomed the world

None of the moving pieces in the Blood Hunt event are more critical than Blade. In the 2023 Blade solo series, Blade was tricked into releasing an ancient evil named Adana, who sought to rule all creation with a horde of supernatural creatures.

Blade learned of a sword powerful enough to defeat Adana from Doctor Strange, but this was another one of her tricks and was revealed to be the key to unleashing her true power. After being beaten by Adana and losing the sword, Blade teamed up with her old enemy, Draven. They finally killed her, but not before she was able to spread her corruption into the world, including Blade.

Blade’s battle with Ardana would become the most important piece in the Blood Hunt event and explains how he was able to be possessed by Varnae in Blood Hunt. If not for this initial failure by the Daywalker, Varnae wouldn’t have been able to find a vessel powerful enough for his return.

5

The Big Event Kicks Off

The vampires of the Marvel Universe take over

With all the pieces in place, Mackay would officially begin Blood Hunt in the pages of Vengeance of Moon Knight #3 (by Jed Mackay, Alessandro Cappuccio, and Rachelle Rosenberg). The Vengeance of Moon Knight series introduced readers to an all-new Moon Knight in the wake of Mark Spector’s death, which was later revealed to be The Shroud.

After being revealed, Shroud fights with Tigra and Hunters Moon before losing control of his Dark Force powers and releasing a massive explosion of darkness. Meanwhile, the same happens to all who possess Dark Force powers across the globe, covering the earth in the Darkforce Dimension. This placed the planet in an eternal night and the first step in the vampires take over of Earth.

Readers are then thrown into the event’s main title, Blood Hunt #1 (by Jed Mackay, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, and Cory Petit). The first issue shows the vampires quickly taking over the planet as the Avengers are ambushed by a group of vampires known as the Blood Coven, and they suffer a few heavy casualties. Blade then meets with Doctor Strange and reveals himself as the one behind the vampire uprising, stabbing Strange through the back. This shocking reveal in the first issue set the tone for the whole series, establishing that anyone could be killed at any moment.

After being killed in Blood Hunt #1, Strange’s story continues in Doctor Strange #15 (by Jed Mackay, Pasqual Ferry, Heather Moore, and Cory Petit); Clea fights off Blade in the Sanctum, and Doctor Strange becomes a vampire. Clea was able to separate Steven’s astral form from his body, leaving his mortal vampire body trapped. With his mortal body being left a vampire, Clea and Strange were prevented from being able to cast a spell to kill all vampires as he did in 1974’s Doctor Stange #62 (by Roger Stern and Steve Leialoha). This first act by Blade was a major move that would have massive effects on the future of the Marvel Universe. This act forced Strange to seek the help of Doctor Doom to complete the spell.

Readers then turn to Dracula: Blood Hunt #1, where the vampire king rises to meet his challenger and restore order to the vampire nation. Dracula first begins by seeking out Briella Brooks, daughter of Blade and a Daywalker like her father. After helping Briella take down a group of vampires, Dracula recruited her for the war against the vampires. In the following Blood Hunt #2, the remaining Avengers saved Dracula and Briella from the Blood Coven. As the groups of heroes come together in the Sanctum to devise a plan, they soon discover vampires in their midst.

4

Black Panther Reveals The Truth

The Vampires Invasion had been long in the making

Readers then turn to Wakanda in Black Panther Blood Hunt #1. After T’Challa was turned into a vampire, he became an unwilling servant to Blade. the former vampire hunter sends him to Wakanda to find an ancient vampire temple. T’Challa is confronted by Bast for soiling Wakanda’s sacred Earth with the vampire infection and tells him the story of how she and the other African gods banished the first vampire, Varnea, for trying to attain godhood.

Black Panther Blood Hunt gives readers essential context into the vampire god who possesses Blade and his motivations. Along with some amazing action between Black Panther and the vampires who invade Wakanda, the series also further shows how much of a threat Varnae is. Even the powers of the Black Panther, aided by the Panther god, could not fully break his influence.

In Blood Hunt #3, Dracula revealed to Briella that she was the only one who could stop Blade since she was part of his bloodline. Their story continues in Dracula Blood Hunt #2 after he and Miles find Briella in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21, and Miles goes to fight vampires in Brooklyn. The heroes in the Sanctum then separate to complete their respective missions, and Captain America broadcasts a speech worldwide to encourage people to stand up against the vampires. However, while the message is broadcast, the temple that T’Challa discovered in Wakanda is transported into the middle of New York. Blood Hunt #3 gave readers its first glimmer of hope in a run where the heroes were constantly losing but still left them dreading what was to come.

Blood Hunt #4 begins with T’Challa returning to the vampire temple in New York, where Blade reveals himself as the first vampire god, Varnea. In Asgard, the Midnight Mission frees Konshu to resurrect Marc Spector and an army of zombie Moon Knights. Meanwhile, Strange and Clea meet with Doom, who agrees to help them under the condition of gaining the title of Sorcerer Supreme. T’Challa then reassembles the Avengers after overcoming his vampiric infection.

However, using the powers of the Darkhold, Varnae merges with the Darkforce energy to become the Unliving Darkforce. The penultimate issue of the event builds off the momentum from its last issue to bring readers a sense of hope for the Marvel Universe while not undermining the threat to seem like it would be an easy win for the Avengers.

3

Additional Blood Hunt Tie-In’s

While the main story of Blood Hunt was stretched around these core titles, nearly every ongoing series at Marvel had its own tie-in issue. Most of the tie-ins don’t add much to the larger story other than showing how the event affected other heroes, but they still provide a broader context for readers who want more Marvel heroes fighting vampires.

As the vampires continued to spread blood in the streets of New York, Spider-Man worked to help keep the citizens safe in The Amazing Spider-Man #48 but quickly found it nearly impossible without killing them. Meanwhile, Captain America assembled his own group of Avengers, consisting of Kate Bishop, Hercules, Hazmat, and Quicksilver. The team also worked to clean up the streets but were abducted by a group of Nazi Vampires led by Cap’s old enemy, Baron Blood.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men

The Amazing Spider-Man #49 (2024)

The Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1-3 (2024)

Avengers #14-16 (2024)

Blood Hunters #1-4 (2024)

Doctor Strange #15-17

Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1-3 (2024)

Venom #33-34 (2024)

Blood Hunters follows a series of anthology stories featuring characters such as Elsa Bloodstone, Dagger, Clint Barton, Hulk, Silver Surfer, and more—the four-part series highlighted how the different characters of the world were infected. With the main event mainly occurring in New York, Blood Hunters showed that the vampires’ darkness stretchedacross the entire universe, not just Earth. Rather than expanding the limits of the battle, Doctor Strange kept it contained to the Sanctum as Wong was tasked with watching Strange’s vampire body. Meanwhile, the ghost dog, Bats, gets caught up in a scheme involving Strange’s brother, Victor, but was able to save the day by becoming a vessel for the dog God in Doctor Strange #17.

Outside the Sanctum, the students of Strange Academy set off on their own adventure to Madripoor to find the Darkhold and discover it has been transformed into a kid. After fighting Agatha Harkness and recruiting the Darkhold boy, Doom arrives to bring them into his plan to save the universe. Strange Academy is a fun adventure with everyone’s favorite supernatural kids and provides context for their later involvement with Doom and ending the Blood Hunt. The three-issue series may also interest fans tuning into the 2025 One World Under Doom event, which sees Doom in his new role as Sorcerer Supreme. Remaining in the supernatural side of the universe, the recently separated Venom symbiote encounters his previous host, Lee Price, as a zombie controlled by an alien symbiote vampire.

2

The Mutants Fight The Undead

Everyone became involved in the vampire takeover

Continuing to show the worldwide effects of the vampire’s attack, Union Jack takes another deviation from the story. He shows readers the effects of the attack across the pond in England. Union Jack fights a one-man war against the legions of the undead to save his partner, Bulldog, after he succumbed to the vampire infection.

As the mutated vampire Hunger takes over Manchester, Bulldog sacrifices himself to save Union Jack and all the others turned by the vampire. Union Jack’s role in the Blood Hunt event was very minor but brought in a theme of hope that the rest of the line lacked.

Union Jack The Ripper: Blood Hunt #1-3 (2024)

Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt #1-3 (2024)

Wolverine Blood Hunt #1-4 (2024)

X-Men: Blood Hunt – Jubilee #1 (2024)

Fantastic Four #21-22 (2024)

X-Men Blood Hunt- Magik #1 (2024)

X-Men: Blood Hunt-Psylocke #1 (2024)

X-Men: Blood Hunt – Laura Kinney The Wolverine #1 (2024)

Hulk: Blood Hunt #1 (2024)

Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt (2024)

The Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt tie-ins follow Blade’s former teammates, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Tulip, and Victoria Montesi, trying to find the Daywalker but get tangled up in a Chicago hospital, closing a gateway to hell. After closing the doorway and the eternal night ending in Blood Hunt #5, Tulip finds Blade in Thailand, where he had fled after being released from Varnae’s possession. The series doesn’t expand the threat of the vampire invasion but provides Blade with a jumping-off point needed to bring the Daywalker back on the path of redemption after Blood Hunt.

The various X-Men Blood Hunt tie-ins follow different mutants as they navigate the eternal night. Wolverine reunites with an old ally, Nightguard, to fight off the vampires and discover the villain, Siren Sect, looking to make Wolverine her new vampire King. In New York, Laura Kinny Wolverine fights off the vampires in upstate New York and saves Dracula’s son, Xarus, with Gabby. Meanwhile, Jubilee fights off even more vampires with members of The Forgiven, a group of vampires who helped Jubilee when she was a vampire, and Magik holds the line in Siberia. In Japan, Psylock is also roped into the event, fighting vampires and other Japanese monsters awakened by the darkness.

Continuing to show the spread of the Blood Hunt, Hulk fights a family of vampires in Arizona. At the same time, Werewolf by Night battles a demon in the desert state, summoned by a group of kids along with the vampires who come to join the party. Due to the powers of the Darkforce covering the earth, Jack loses control and kills everyone. While these tie-ins don’t directly tie into the main Blood Hunt event, all of the issues give readers a broader view of the event’s impact. Marvel events typically include tie-ins to aid in their story, but few have been as widespread as Blood Hunt and truly affected the entire world of Marvel.

1

The Sun Shines In The Marvel Universe Once More

Victory often comes at a terrible cost

Before getting to the big battle, the run diverges to Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22 (by Cody Ziglar, Travel Foreman, and Bryan Valenza), where he, Briella, and Dracula encounter another vampire god, R’ym’r. In Dracula Blood Hunt #3, Briella is transported to the vampire temple in New York, where she confronts her father.

During the Blood Hunt event, Dracula and Miles Morales’ issues gave readers essential information about Briella’s journey and highlighted the important role she would later play in Blood Hunt #5. The tie-ins also see Dracula’s story come full circle from Aaron’s Avengers as he finds a new way to lead the vampires.

These separate journeys finally culminated in its epic grand finale in Blood Hunt #5, which sees the Avengers fighting Blade in his newly evolved form while an army of Moon Knights flood the streets to protect the innocent. The issue brought the separated factions in the event together and weaved together multiple other storylines to a satisfying conclusion. Most notably, Jed Mackay’s other major title, Moon Knight, brought back Marc Spector from his honorable sacrifice in Moon Knight #30 and allowed him to continue his epic run in the following Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu.

While wrapping up Blood Hunt, these final issues also built the foundation for Marvel’s next big event, One World Under Doom (by Ryan North, R.B. Silva, & David Curiel), making it essential reading for how Doom acquired the Sorcerer Supreme title. Blood Hunt was one of Marvel’s darkest events, with the heroes losing nearly the entire time until the very end. While Mackay expertly weaved the event through multiple titles, the tie-in issues show how widespread this threat was, even if not directly impacting the main story.

“}]] Marvel’s 2024 Blood Hunt event saw the Marvel heroes fighting off a vampire invasion that was long in the works and led to very important changes.  Read More