Man-Thing
Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis
Character profile
Elsa Bloodstone
Elsa Bloodstone
Raised to kill monsters by a father who never asked if she wanted the job.
Biography
Elsa Bloodstone is the daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone, an immortal monster hunter who spent ten thousand years killing things and raised his daughter to continue the family business whether she liked it or not. Her inheritance is the Bloodgem, a fragment of an alien artefact that grants enhanced strength, durability and longevity, plus an armoury and an accent she uses as a weapon.
She is at her best written as blackly funny. Warren Ellis' Nextwave gave her the definitive characterisation, a monster hunter with a childhood so brutal that she treats world-ending threats as mild inconveniences, and her flashbacks to her father's training are among the funniest pages Marvel published in the 2000s. Werewolf by Night brought her to screen, played by Laura Donnelly, and immediately established the same competence and the same grim inheritance.
Vital statistics
- Real name
- Elsa Bloodstone
- Also known as
- Elsa Bloodstone, The Monster Hunter
- Species
- Human, Bloodstone-empowered
- Place of origin
- England
- First appearance
- Bloodstone #1 (December 2001)
- Created by
- Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Michael Lopez
- Affiliations
- Nextwave, Midnight Sons, Legion of Monsters, A-Force
- Groups
- Heroes Midnight Sons
Power grid
Intelligence4
Strength3
Speed2
Durability3
Energy2
Fighting5
Rated 1–7 on the classic Marvel power-grid scale.
Powers
- Bloodgem Enhancement
The Bloodstone fragment grants superhuman strength, durability, stamina and greatly extended lifespan.
- Accelerated Healing
She recovers from wounds that should be fatal, a necessity in her line of work.
- Monster Hunting Expertise
She knows the anatomy, weakness and correct killing method for practically every supernatural species on record.
- Master Marksman
Shotguns, rifles and specialist ammunition are her preferred approach to negotiation.
- Expert Combatant
Trained from childhood in armed and unarmed combat by a ten-thousand-year-old hunter.
Abilities
- Cryptozoology and occult research
- Weapons maintenance and custom ammunition
- Multilingual
- Withering sarcasm
Weaknesses
- Severe unresolved childhood trauma
- The Bloodgem can be removed or drained
- Reckless disregard for her own survival
- Distrusts nearly everyone
Comics history
Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Michael Lopez created Elsa in the 2001 Bloodstone limited series, establishing her as Ulysses Bloodstone's daughter and heir to the family's monster-hunting business.
Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave in 2006 made her a star, giving her the deadpan brutality and traumatic-flashback comedy that every writer has used since. She has appeared in Marvel Zombies: Resurrection, Deadpool's Mercs for Money, A-Force and the modern Midnight Sons line-ups, generally as the person who already knows what the monster is.
MCU appearances
| Title | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Werewolf by Night | 2022 | Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone |
Allies
- Man-Thing
- Morbius
- Ghost Rider
- Blade
- Monica Rambeau
Enemies
- Dracula
- Ulysses Bloodstone's legacy
- The Beyond Corporation
Weapons & equipment
- Double-barrelled shotgun
- Silver and iron ammunition
- Machete
- The Bloodgem
- Bloodstone family armoury
Trivia
- Her father Ulysses Bloodstone hunted monsters for roughly ten thousand years before she inherited the job.
- Warren Ellis' Nextwave defined her voice and remains the character's high point.
- Her childhood training flashbacks in Nextwave are played as horror and comedy simultaneously.
- Laura Donnelly's Werewolf by Night performance was the character's first screen appearance.
Famous quotes
My father taught me two things. How to kill a werewolf, and how to not need a father.
It's a monster. I have a shotgun. This is not complicated.
Timeline
- 2001
Debuts in Bloodstone #1.
- 2006
Warren Ellis' Nextwave establishes her definitive characterisation.
- 2022
Laura Donnelly plays her in Werewolf by Night.
Gallery
Poster art is generated from each character’s signature palette. Drop official art into assets/images/ and set the img field to swap it in.
Related characters
Frequently asked
What is the Bloodgem?
A fragment of an alien artefact embedded in the Bloodstone family line. It grants superhuman strength, durability and extended lifespan, and it is the reason Elsa's father survived roughly ten thousand years of monster hunting.
Who was Ulysses Bloodstone?
Elsa's father, an immortal monster hunter empowered by the Bloodgem who spent millennia killing supernatural threats. He trained Elsa brutally from childhood, and the psychological cost of that upbringing is a running thread in every story she appears in.