Summary

• Thor once again battles Varnae, the eldritch father of all vampires who has possessed Blade and has a centuries-old history with the Avengers.
• Blood Hunt #5 wraps up Marvel's event with the king of vampires, Varnae, itting his grudge against Thor.
• Despite Varnae's failures against other heroes like Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider, he holds Thor as his most hated.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Blood Hunt #5As Marvel’s Blood Hunt event concludes, Earth has been saved from the global vampiric threat, but in the final fight of the summer-long series, Thor. However, Thor’s thousand-year feud isn’t technically with the Daywalker, but rather the eldritch father of all vampires that’s possessed him, Varnae. In fact, Thor’s real-world history with Varnae dates back over 30 years of comic publications.

Blood Hunt #5 by Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz officially wraps up Marvel’s newest event with a fun reference for fans of the classic comics. In the final battle with the king of vampires, while the Avengers barely hold their own against the Bloodcoven, Varnae (in Blade's body) completely disregards the mortal heroes when Thor shocks into the scene.

Still bound in Blade’s enthralled flesh, Varnae its that he still holds a grudge against the God of Thunder, but with a twinge of respect for his fellow god. To Varnae, the Avengers are mere children, whereas he considers himself and Thor “eternal.”

The Eldritch Lord of Vampires Has a History with Avengers

Only the God of Thunder Can Destroy the God of Vampires

Thor and Varnae’s first encounter is recounted in the 1990 story "Norse Blood" by Len Cominski and Don Heck, which appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #63. When a frail Norse settlement in North America becomes the victim of a bloodthirsty curse, a lone girl rushes into the woods to pray to any god who can spare her people. Thunder crackles in the sky, with the God of Thunder following soon after. Thor discovers that the settlement has been infected by Varnae and the two face each other. Thor defeats Varnae, but the eldritch god of vampires flees into the darkened night before the final blow.

The vampire lord discovers and fosters a young pupil to be molded into darkness and evil.

However, Varnae’s centuries-long conflict with the Avengers technically transcends his own life. In the 1400s, needing to find an heir to release himself from his eons-old existence, the vampire lord discovers and fosters a young pupil to be molded into darkness and evil. From his blood, imbued into the veins of his successor, Vladimir Tepes Dracula becomes the new Lord of Vampires, and would later become a constant villain for Blade and his fellow Avengers.

Varnae's Failures Don't Simply End with Thor

The Elder God Has Shown Weakness to Sorcery and Vengeance

Varnae has been an infrequent villain throughout Marvel Comics and clearly holds a grudge, but Thor isn’t the only Avenger the eldritch bloodsucker has fought before the Blood Hunt. Centuries after his first death, Varnae is resurrected by the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, quickly entering the heroic radar of Doctor Strange and the Ghost Rider. While both heroes ultimately fail to subdue the vampiric threat, Varnae is forced to flee each time, as he was with Thor centuries earlier.

Despite his frequent failures against Marvel’s mightiest, Varnae still holds Thor as his most hated hero. Maybe the Darkhold spawn is so egotistical that he can’t even consider his losses against mortals. Maybe he is just jealous of Thor’s godly beauty compared to his own grotesque, troglodytic, appearance. Regardless, with the old Lord of Vampires removed from Blade's body and finally defeated, the Blood Hunt is officially over and Earth has been saved once again; but next time Thor should be more careful about which monsters he lets flee into the night.

Blood Hunt #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.