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Elsa Bloodstone Reading Order (and Ulysses Bloodstone)

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Not everyone is a superhero in the Marvel Universe. Some are Monster Hunters! This is the case of Elsa Bloodstone who, since her first appearance in Bloodstone #1 (Dec. 2001), has made a name for herself as such.

Created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Michael Lopez, Elsa Bloodstone is the daughter of another famous Monster Hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone, and the sister of Cullen Bloodstone. Her father was killing monsters with other monster hunters during the Bronze Age. He made a few appearances before meeting his maker, but Ulysses captured the public’s imagination and was after that still referenced in several issues. 

Today, his legacy in the Marvel Universe takes clearly the form of his children, especially Elsa. Introduced in the Bloodstone miniseries, Elsa Bloodstone could be perceived at the time as a mix between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the adventurer Lara Croft, and didn’t make a lasting impression on readers. A few years down the line, the character was rebooted by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen on Nextwave: Agents of HATE, where Elsa really came into her own as a foul-mouthed and violent young woman.

Though Elsa didn’t have a specific place in the Marvel Universe at this time, she became a more prominent character in the 2010s. She was a playable character in several video games, joined the Legion of Monsters, worked with the Thunderbolts and the Defenders, teamed up with Wolverine and Deadpool, and more.

Now, she is making her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the television special “Werewolf by Night,” where she is played by actress Laura Donnelly.

Following is an Elsa Bloodstone reading order (including information about her father Ulysses and her brother Cullen!) to help you become more familiar with the character and her family!

Where to start reading Elsa Bloodstone? The Recommended Reading List

If you want to become familiar with Elsa Bloodstone before seeing her on the screen, here is a selection of her most essential and/or fun stories to become acquainted with her:

  • Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. – This is Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s satirical and comedic take on the superhero genre and where Elsa Bloodstone became who she is today. Simply unmissable for her.
  • The Legion of Monsters – Despite reservations, Elsa joins Morbius the Living Vampire, Werewolf by Night, the Living Mummy and Manphibian to track a serial killer deep underground in Monster Metropolis. This is the Legion of Monsters by Dennis Hopeless and Juan Doe.
  • Marvel Zombies: Battleworld (2015) – This story features Commander Elsa Bloodstone of Earth-15513, but it’s an alternate Elsa worth reading. Written by Simon Spurrier, the story follows Elsa who is stationed on the Shield, burdened with the Sisyphean task of keeping the zombie hordes from rampaging through Battleworld. When she sees a human child caught in the middle of the zombieverse, she’ll muster every ounce of determination she has to throw herself into the zombie horde to rescue the girl.
  • Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest (novel) – For those who also like their Marvel character without images. Smart-mouthed monster hunter extraordinaire, Elsa Bloodstone isn’t easily fazed, but a shocking family revelation sends her down a bloody path, in this action-soaked Marvel Heroines adventure written by Cath Lauria.

Elsa Bloodstone, the Complete Reading Order

Before Elsa: Ulysses Bloodstone Reading Order

Optional Reading. Though Ulysses Bloodstone’s first appearance is listed as Marvel Presents (1975) #1, a little bit of retcon had revealed that two unidentified monster hunters were, in fact, Ulysses Bloodstone, in Strange Tales #73 and Tales of Suspense (1959) #9, both published in 1960.

Made immortal by the Bloodgem, a fragment of a mystic alien origin, Ulysses was born circa 8250 B.C. He took numerous pseudonyms throughout time before becoming the monster hunter and mercenary known as Ulysses Bloodstone. He has been part of the 1950s Avengers, the Covenant, and the Monster Hunters group.

For Bronze Age stories with Ulysses Bloodstone:

Elsa’s father didn’t last long in the pages of Marvel, but some of his adventures will be told later mostly through flashbacks:

  • Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998) #6-7. C-Stories. A non-flashback story set in 1781. The first story in-continuity for Ulysses.
  • X-Men: Hellfire Club (2000) #2 is set just after Sentinel of Liberty.
  • Bizarre Adventures (2019) #1 takes place in 1928.
  • Immortal Weapons (2009) #1 and Alpha Flight: True North #1 (2019) give us some flashbacks about Bloodstone and Fat Cobra teaming up in the 1930s.
  • Captain America and Namor (2012) #635.1. Bloodstone is a member of a group called Covenant and interviews Namor in the 1940s.
  • Marvel Universe (1998) #4-7, collected in Invaders: The Eve of Destruction. This story takes place around Strange Tales #73.
  • Marvel: Lost Generation (2000) #2, collected in Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 2. Set in 1958 and part of a 12-issue miniseries where John Byrne explored the Marvel Universe between the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age.
  • New Avengers (2010) #10-13. Bloodstone joined Nick Fury’s Avengers in 1959. The story continues in Avengers 1959, though Ulysses only appears in the first issue.
  • Black Cat (2019) #1. C-story where Bloodstone is used by Black Fox and his team of thieves to steal Dracula in the 1960s. After Tales of Suspense.
  • Nova (2007) #34-35. Bloodstone is one of the characters pulled through time for a story taking place before Rampaging Hulk.
  • Captain America (1968) #357-362, collected in Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt. Ulysses’s dead but he’s a major plot point in the story.

Introducing Elsa Bloodstone (2001-2013)

It’s time to meet Elsa Bloodstone. Or at least, the first version of Elsa Bloodstone, a blond-haired American who has never met her father or done any monster hunting before making her debut–and almost disappeared immediately after the conclusion of her first series!

She was reintroduced in 2006 as a member of Nextwave and as a totally different character. Now, Elsa is a British red-haired girl who has been trained by her ruthless father to be a monster hunter since birth. From then on, Elsa is this quite colorful, mouth-putty woman ready to kick-ass that readers will learn to love.

The Nexwave Team
  • Punisher: Frankencastle
    Collects Dark Reign: The List – Punisher, Punisher #11-16, Franken-Castle #17-21, Dark Wolverine #88-89. Elsa only appears in Franken-Castle (2010) #21, which serves as a prologue for the mini Legion of Monsters. But you can read the whole Franken-Castle arc, beginning with issue #11, as it features the Legion of Monsters, the Bloodstone, and some flashbacks with Ulysses in #14! Also reprinted in Punisher By Rick Remender Omnibus.
  • Bloodstone & The Legion of Monsters
    Collects Astonishing Tales: Boom Boom and Elsa, Legion of Monsters (2011) #1-4, Marvel Presents #1-2, & the Monster Hunters; material from Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2, Girl Comics (2010) #2, Rampaging Hulk (1977) #1-6, #8.
  • Wolverine: Covenant
    Collects Wolverine #314–317.

Elsa Bloodstone in Marvel Now (2013-2015)

Optional Reading. Did you know that Elsa Bloodstone has a brother? He made his debut in Avengers Arena #1, as part of a group of superhuman teens (including X-23) trapped on an island and forced to fight or die. Turns out, Cullen can turn into a monster!

For her part, Elsa Bloodstone is quite the team player in this Marvel era. She joined the all-female team Fearless Defenders, then became a member of Doctor Doom’s Avengers to take on the now-evil Scarlet Witch during AXIS. We conclude this period with an alternate tale (part of Secret Wars) where Elsa Bloodstone must keep the zombie hordes from rampaging through Battleworld 

All-New, All-Different Elsa Bloodstone (2015-2018)

Elsa joined another all-female team for a short time with A-Force, before going back to do some monster hunting where her actions could stop or hasten the apocalypse. She became the mentor of Kid Kaiju, then a member of the Midnight Sons during the Doctor Strange event called Damnation.

 

Elsa Bloodstone in Marvel Fresh Start (2018-)

Optional Reading. To continue Cullen Bloodstone’s story before seeing him reunited with his sister in England, you can find him in:

Elsa Bloodstone promises she will protect Jeff the Landshark in Marvel Comics #1000

Under Kelly Thompson’s creative input, Elsa Bloodstone teamed up with Jessica Jones for a non-essential but fun time, before joining Deadpool as he becomes the newly appointed Monster King of Staten Island. This is also the beginning of her friendship with Jeff the Landshark.

Before Elsa Bloodstone teamed up with Johnny Blaze in the “Halloween Spirit” annual of Ghost Rider, she appeared in a couple of stories, mainly “Down Came the Rain” in the anthology Crypt of Shadows (2022) #1 and Werewolf By Night (2023) #1 that have been collected in:

As a tie-in for the recent Blood Hunt event, Marvel published an anthology series titled Blood Hunters with stories featuring Elsa Bloodstone teaming up with Dagger, White Widow (Yelena Belova), and Hallows’ Eve (Elizabeth Tyne) to fight the vampires in the street of New York. Right after that, Marvel launched another book starring this new team, and it’s also titled Blood Hunters. Be aware.

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