Cullen Bloodstone

Last updated
Bloodstone
Cullen Bloodstone Avengers Arena 6.jpg
Cullen Bloodstone as depicted in Avengers Arena #6 (May 2013). Art by Kev Walker.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Avengers Arena #1 (December 2012)
Created by Dennis Hopeless
Kev Walker
In-story information
Full nameCullen Bloodstone
Species Human (empowered)
Team affiliationsBraddock Academy
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength
Healing factor
Glartrox transformation

Bloodstone (Cullen Bloodstone) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Contents

Publication history

Bloodstone first appeared in issue #1 of the Avengers Arena series as part of the Marvel NOW! event, and was created by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker. [1] [2] [3]

Cullen Bloodstone appears as one of the main characters in Avengers Undercover beginning in 2014. [4]

Fictional character biography

Cullen Bloodstone is the son of Ulysses Bloodstone and the younger brother of Elsa Bloodstone. When Cullen is 10, Ulysses takes him to another dimension and leaves him there to prove his worth as a Bloodstone. Ulysses plans to retrieve Cullen the next day, but is killed by the Conspirators, resulting in Cullen being trapped in the dimension for over two years. Cullen returns to Earth and is found by Elsa. She gives Cullen a Bloodstone ring to suppress the Glartrox, an otherdimensional creature which has possessed him, and takes him to Braddock Academy to attend high school. [5] [2] [3] [6] [7] [8]

In Avengers Arena , Cullen is one of sixteen teenagers kidnapped by Arcade, who forces them to fight to the death in Murderworld. [9] He is part of the Braddock Academy group (consisting of Apex, Kid Briton, Anachronism, and Nara) which is joined by Death Locket despite death threats from Kid Briton and Nara. Death Locket bonds with Apex as she introduces her to the rest of the Braddock Academy. [10] There is discord in the Braddock Academy's ranks as Anachronism and Kid Briton get into an argument. An earthquake separates Cullen and Anachronism from Apex, Nara, Kid Briton, and Death Locket. [11] Nara, Anachronism, and Cullen survive falling into the chasm and come to the conclusion that Apex is manipulating Death Locket and Kid Briton to her own ends. Arcade teleports the three to a supply cache at Quadrant 2 as Apex, Death Locket, and Kid Briton arrive. Nara and Apex start arguing and Apex confirms that she ordered Death Locket to attack Nara. Kid Briton tries to intervene as Nara calls him a "weak puppet". Kid Briton attempts to kill Nara for insulting him, only to be killed by Anachronism. [12]

After being injured by Apex, Nico Minoru sacrifices herself by staying behind to get the other survivors to safety. [13] The remaining teenage heroes catch up to Reptil and Hazmat and are invited to have shark steaks with them. Cullen confronts Reptil about their camping out on the beach while a war is going off elsewhere. Cammi interjects to agree with Cullen before saying she is heading out to either find Nico or avenge her. Reptil heads back to shake Hazmat out of her funk. Everyone agrees to go back out into Murderworld. [14]

Cullen, Cammi, Anachronism, and Nara soon get separated from Reptil, Hazmat, and X-23. He soon lashes out at Anachronism and Cammi. When Anachronism and Nara leave Cullen revealed his past to Cammi. Anachronism and Nara are then seen being attacked by a feral X-23, during the time when Nara reveals to Anachronism that she believes Cullen is gay and in love with him. Cullen decides to take off his ring and fight X-23 in his unstable form, leaving Anachronism, Nara and Cammi in the middle. [5] Cullen successfully defeats X-23, but is now wild and out of control. Nara retrieves the ring and returns Cullen to normal, but is mortally wounded and dies in Anachronism's arms. [15] When Cullen approaches Anachronism to offer sympathy, Anachronism attacks him in a fit of rage, with Cammi having to break up the fight. [16]

In Avengers Undercover , Cullen heads to Bagalia to infiltrate the Masters of Evil and find Arcade, and Death Locket, Chase Stein, Hazmat, Cammi, and Anachronism follow him there. [17] Once they find Cullen, he reveals that he enjoys life among the villains, and the others, minus Cammi, start to enjoy it as well. When Cammi tries to tell the others to leave, Cullen instead has Daimon Hellstrom teleport the group to Arcade's party so they can kill him. [18] While escaping Arcade's mansion, the team is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., but "rescued" by Hellstrom and return to Bagalia, where Helmut Zemo invites the teens to join the Masters of Evil. [19] Cullen willingly accepts Zemo's offer. [20] Hellstrom uses a Hellfire Halo to control Cullen's Glartrox form into fighting Anachronism. [21] However, Cullen resists Hellstrom's control and kisses Anachronism, to the latter's surprise. [22]

In the 2021 event The Death of Doctor Strange, Elsa and Lysa Bloodstone exorcise the Glartrox from Cullen, freeing him from its influence. [23]

In Excalibur (vol. 4), Cullen Bloodstone buys the Warwolves from the zoo where they were imprisoned and enlists the members of Excalibur to kill them. [8] [24] [25] The group successfully kills the Warwolves, but Betsy Braddock discovers that one of the Warwolves had a young pup, which she gives to Rachel Summers as a pet. [26] [27] [28] [29]

Powers and abilities

Cullen Bloodstone's abilities are derived from the Bloodstone ring, which gives him a healing factor and superhuman strength, durability, and agility. The ring also prevents Cullen from transforming into a Glartrox, an otherdimensional creature that feeds on its host's soul and emotions. With help from Daimon Hellstrom and Anachronism, Cullen gains the ability to suppress the Glartrox with his willpower and partially transform at will. [18] [22] [7] [8]

References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 59. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. 1 2 Adams, Tim (October 7, 2022). "Werewolf By Night: What Is the Bloodstone?". ComicBook.com . Retrieved March 19, 2025. As for Cullen Bloodstone, he was created by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker in 2012's Avengers Arena, a Hunger Games-style series that pitted several young heroes against each other in a game orchestrated by Arcade. Unlike Elsa, Cullen was cursed by his shard of the Bloodstone, which turned him into a giant monster.
  3. 1 2 Young, Kai (February 26, 2024). "10 MCU Roles Perfect For Timothée Chalamet After He Sparks Casting Rumors". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 19, 2025. First seen in 2012's Avengers Arena #1, Cullen Bloodstone is the son of Ulysses Bloodstone and younger brother of Elsa Bloodstone...At ten-years-old, Cullen was taken into another dimension by his father, in the hopes that he'd grow stronger, but he became trapped following Ulysses' death, only to return bonded to a terrifying creature.
  4. ↑ Richards, Dave (October 11, 2013). "NYCC EXCLUSIVE: HOPELESS IS SEDUCED BY EVIL IN "AVENGERS UNDERCOVER"". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Avengers Arena #14 (October 2013)
  6. ↑ Negus, M. N. (October 31, 2022). "The MCU Just Introduced a Powerful New Artifact - But What Can it Really Do?". CBR . Retrieved March 19, 2025. Cullen Bloodstone was given a ring set with a piece from his father's chest. The ring not only gives him enhanced strength, speed, an incredible healing factor, but it also subdues the parasitic monster known as a Glartrox that has bonded to his soul.
  7. 1 2 Schlesinger, Alex (November 5, 2021). "Who Are the Bloodstones? Marvel's Monster Hunting Family Explained". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2025. Cullen was brought to another dimension by his father, and was left there when Ulysses died, eventually becoming possessed by a parasitic entity called Glartrox. Cullen wears a piece of the Bloodgem in a ring on his finger, not only to give him its powers but also to help him keep the Glartrox at bay...Cullen learned how to better control Glartrox, and he can now partially release the monster to gain its powers.
  8. 1 2 3 Finley, Sean (February 14, 2020). "The X-Men Are Being Hunted By [Spoiler]". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2025. The Warwolves were sold to a private collector: the wealthy and mysterious Cullen Bloodstone...As a child, a hunting trip went awry and caused Cullen to be infected with an extradimensional monster, similar to lycanthropy except replacing the werewolf with a massive indestructible tentacle creature. Cullen wears a ring made from the family's enchanted bloodstone to control his transformation, but he retains the ability to partially transform while remaining human-shaped.
  9. ↑ Avengers Arena #1 (December 2012)
  10. ↑ Avengers Arena #2 (February 2013)
  11. ↑ Avengers Arena #5 (April 2013)
  12. ↑ Avengers Arena #6 (May 2013)
  13. ↑ Avengers Arena #10 (August 2013)
  14. ↑ Avengers Arena #11 (August 2013)
  15. ↑ Avengers Arena #15 (November 2013)
  16. ↑ Avengers Arena #16 (December 2013)
  17. ↑ Avengers Undercover #1 (May 2014)
  18. 1 2 Avengers Undercover #2 (June 2014)
  19. ↑ Avengers Undercover #4 (July 2014)
  20. ↑ Avengers Undercover #5 (August 2014)
  21. ↑ Avengers Undercover #8 (October 2014)
  22. 1 2 Avengers Undercover #9 (October 2014)
  23. ↑ Power, Darby (January 15, 2022). "The Death Of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 (Review)". The Nerdy Basement. Retrieved March 19, 2025. Lyra's effect on pre-existing marvel characters can already be felt in interactions with Cullen and Glartrox, as she has allowed Glartrox to be banished whenever Cullen wishes, showcasing Lyra's abilities and offering Cullen's character a new lease on life.
  24. ↑ Zachary, Brandon (February 19, 2020). "The X-Men Must Hunt Down Some Monstrous Excalibur Foes". CBR . Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2025. Finally deciding to put the creatures down and take their skulls, the modern version of Excalibur is surprised to find them in the custody of Cullen Bloodstone, who challenges the team to a classic hunt across his country grounds to retrieve the Warwolves.
  25. ↑ Pagella, Ryan (March 4, 2020). "Excalibur #8 Review". AIPT Comics. Retrieved March 19, 2025. Last time we left off with the team over at Excalibur, they had been tasked by Apocalypse with fetching Warwolf skulls, who were in the captivity of Cullen Bloodstone.
  26. ↑ Excalibur (vol. 4) #7 - 8 (April - May 2020)
  27. ↑ Zachary, Brandon (March 7, 2020). "An X-Men Team Just Adopted a Baby - and It Could KILL THEM ALL". CBR . Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2025. Having collected all five skulls, the group has seemingly wiped out the Warwolves in the process - until Gambit finds a pup of the species that the group refuses to kill...Apocalypse agrees to show it mercy, and Betsy ends up giving the pup to Rachel Summers to train and protect.
  28. ↑ Twining, Stephen (March 8, 2020). "Excalibur: The X-Men's New Pet is Their DEADLIEST Ever". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2025. While the mutants are successful in their objective and in their attempts to mollify Cullen Bloodstone, the gruesome bloodsport reaps unexpected rewards in the guise of a now-orphaned warwolf youngling. Sparing the fragile creature's life out of mercy — and against the wishes of the intimidating Apocalypse — Captain Britain brings the suckling warwolf to the island refuge of Krakoa and into the care of Rachel Summers.
  29. ↑ Terror, Jude (March 9, 2020). "Captain Britain Draws the Line at Killing a Puppy in Excalibur #8 [X-ual Healing 3-4-20]". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved March 19, 2025. Captian [ sic ] Britain brings the skulls and the pup back to Apocalypse, where she refuses to let him kill it. Apocalypse agrees to change his plans of exterminating the Warwolf race and use mercy in his spellmaking instead. Betsy gives the puppy to Rachel and teases the launch of X-Factor #1 in April.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.