Werewolf By Night: What Is the Bloodstone?

While most of the attention in Werewolf by Night will be paid to characters like Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone, and Man-Thing, an artifact called the Bloodstone is just as important to the Marvel Studios Special Presentation. While “Bloodstone” is also Ulysses and Elsa’s last name, it’s also the object many of the monster hunters assembled after Ulysses’ death are trying to obtain. Werewolf by Night is featured in black-and-white tones reminiscent of classic horror tales, which leaves the glowing red Bloodstone to have the only color on display.

If you’re curious to learn more about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Bloodstone, then the comics are a good starting point. We’ll recap some of its early history, connection to the Bloodstone Family, and much more.

What Is The Bloodstone?

The Bloodstone and Ulysses Bloodstone both made their debuts in 1975’s Marvel Presents #1 by John Werner, Mike Vosburg, Bob McLeod, Diane Buscema, Tom Orzechowski, and Len Wein. It began its Marvel Comics career as the Bloodgem, and similar to the Infinity Stones, has undergone a name change with the times. The Bloodstone fell to Earth back in the prehistoric era and was found by a random human that was granted unique abilities like increased intelligence, strength, and endurance. The human went on to be named Ulysses and was also able to detect monsters because of the Bloodstone.

An alien came to Earth also in search of the Bloodstone to gain its cosmic powers. Instead, the Bloodstone was embedded in Ulysses’ chest, and he in turn started to hunt the alien down. Their feud would continue on to the modern day, with Ulysses dying while hunting the alien.

The Bloodstone Family

After Ulysses passed away, the Bloodstone was split into two separate pieces. Ulysses’ daughter Elsa took the larger piece, while younger brother Cullen got the smaller piece of the Bloodstone. Elsa Bloodstone was created by Dan Abnett and Michael Lopez in the titular Bloodstone #1 in 2001. She’s become the resident monster hunter in the Marvel Universe and recently starred alongside Deadpool in his most recent series. Some of Elsa’s most notable appearances came as a part of the cult-favorite Nextwave series by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, and Fearless Defenders by Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney.

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.

Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 reunited the Bloodstones, who were joined by a new sister named Lyra who Ulysses had hundreds of years in the past. She was taken from Earth by the same aliens Ulysses was hunting.

The Bloodstone In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Viewers are introduced to the Bloodstone in Werewolf by Night when the hunters are told they need to find it attached to the monster they’re hunting. That monster wound up being Man-Thing, who Jack Russell was attempting to free. Jack was successful in freeing Man-Thing thanks to the help of Elsa Bloodstone, though they both wound up prisoners instead. Elsa’s stepmother, Verusa, uses the Bloodstone to force Jack to transform into the Werewolf by Night. Jack is able to control his animalistic urges to only attack Verusa’s forces, and together with Elsa they come out victorious, with a little bloodshed in the process. 

Elsa leaves Werewolf by Night with the Bloodstone, possibly hinting at their return down the line in the MCU.

You can find Werewolf by Night streaming now on Disney+.