Blade has a deep-seated hatred for the supernatural ever since he found out his mother was murdered by a vampire. Despite being one of the Nine who are destined to stop Lilith as well as being an ally of vampire Hannibal King in the Nightstalkers, Blade’s contempt for the occult has a tendency to get the better of him.
When he learns of the existence of a page of the Darkhold that will end the existence of all supernatural beings on Earth, Blade breaks with destiny and turns his back on his friends in favour of ending the threat once and for all….
Crossover: This is a five-part crossover event running through the ‘Midnight Sons’ titles, with one additional epilogue issue.
Must-Reads: Issues marked with a ✔are essential to the story.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS (1992) – Formation of the Nine
- DEAD LETTER OFFICE (1993) – Blade learns of the Darkhold page
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- ✔ Nightstalkers #10
- ✔ Ghost Rider #40
- ✔ Darkhold #11
- ✔ Morbius: The Living Vampire #12
- ✔ Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13
- Nightstalkers #11 (tie-in)
| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Nightstalkers #10 Blade takes on a new client without the other Nightstalkers, but ends up pursuing his own agenda. Hannibal King and Frank Drake get help from John Blaze in the race to find an incredibly potent page of the Darkhold before Blade can get hold of it. Blade gets there first and discovers his newfound power as the demogorge Switchblade. This power gives him the means to wipe out all supernatural beings, though only one at at time. He starts by beheading Hannibal King and tearing up John Blaze, absorbing their powers in the process. Drake calls on Ghost Rider to take Switchblade down… |
| ✔ | Ghost Rider #40 The demonic Demogoblin seeks out Switchblade as an ally to help him kill supernaturals. Ghost Rider and Frank Drake catch up with Switchblade while he’s hunting a young woman called Seer, sensing her link to the occult. Demogoblin assists Switchblade against the Ghost Rider, but ends up running them both through with his sword. Demogoblin’s powers are absorbed into Switchblade, transforming him further. Drake helps Ghost Rider escape in order to seek out Darkhold expert Louise Hastings… |
| ✔ | Darkhold #11 On his last legs, Ghost Rider tracks down the Darkhold Redeemers who’ve been seeking out the book’s missing pages. Frank Drake and Switchblade quickly follow. Modred the Mystic arrives on the scene having freed himself from Maui by carrying sand from the island with him (see WAR OF THE SEVEN SPHERES). Modred drops a building on Switchblade before teleporting himself a Jinx to Central Park. Vicky Montesi steps in front of Modred to block Switchblade’s killing blow, but he slaughters them both. In his final moments, Modred scatters the Maui sand to trigger Switchblade’s absorption of Doctor Strange‘s curse, buying the remaining Midnight Sons some time… |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Morbius: The Living Vampire #12 Just as Jack Russell comes back into Morbius‘ life to help him gain control of his vampiric curse (just like jack did as the Werewolf by Night), Switchblade arrives and blows up the Werewolf by forcing him to swallow one of Demogoblin’s pumpkin bombs. Switchblade then burns Morbius alive with Modred’s magic. Louise Hastings, Frank Drake and Ghost Rider catch up with Switchblade but are too late to save their allies… |
| ✔ | Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13 Louise Hastings warns the remaining members of the Nine to stop Switchblade from breaking into Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and obtaining the Darkhold as it contains the only spell capable of restoring Blade to normal. Switchblade proves too powerful and breaks through Strange’s protective magic to obtain the book. Ghost Rider grabs it with his chain, but Switchblade shatters him. In his dying moments, Ghost Rider sees a vision of the future. Hastings obtains the Darkhold and uses the spell to restore Blade and resurrect the Werewolf By Night, Demogoblin and the members of the Midnight Sons he’d murdered, but at great cost to herself. In Greenland, Lilith prepares to give birth… |
| Nightstalkers #11 (tie-in) Blade struggles to deal with his actions as Switchblade but finds new purpose when he obtains the Edge of Intrados, a magical blade them tells him the truth about himself. Hannibal King struggles to forgive Blade for killing him and the scars he now carries, but focuses on his humanity. Frank Drake’s wife tries to convince him to leave the Nightstalkers. On the Mason-Dixon line, Hydra‘s supernatural team DOA and Gregory Belial plan to weaponize Dracula‘s genetic material… |
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | Darkhold #12 (1993) The Dwarf continues to taunt the Darkhold Redeemers; Louise Hastings is revealed to have sacrificed her soul in order to resurrect the murdered supernaturals. | |
| ✔ | Morbius: The Living Vampire #13-14 (1993) Doctor Strange mystically examines Morbius following his death and resurrection, discovering he had no heartbeat and no soul; Werewolf by Night continues to try to help Morbius control his vampirism; despite his experience with Switchblade, Morbius accepts a page of the Darkhold that allows him to resurrect Martine Bancroft, only for her to return as a vampire; despite the Werewolf by Night’s best intentions, Morbius’ actions become increasingly erratic. | |
| ✔ | Ghost Rider #41 (1993) Johnny Blaze’s old nemesis Centurious finally emerges and allies himself with Lilith (as per Ghost Rider’s vision); Lilith gives birth to more Lilin. | ROAD TO VENGEANCE: THE MISSING LINK |
| ✔ | Morbius: The Living Vampire #15 (1993) As Morbius loses even more self-control, the Werewolf by Night turns to the Ghost Rider for help; Mandy Tyler reveals to ‘Dr Morgan Michaels‘ that she knows he’s secretly Morbius; Mandy lets Morbius drink her blood. | |
| Ghost Rider #42-43 (1993) Seer explains the origin of the Blood and their connection to the Medallion of Power; Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch (Ghost Rider’s host) are revealed to be brothers. | ROAD TO VENGEANCE: THE MISSING LINK | |
| Marvel Comics Presents #143 (1993) Without his soul, Morbius’ Lilin aspect begins to take greater control of him. | SIEGE OF DARKNESS | |
| ✔ | Darkhold #15-16 (1993) Louise Hastings is killed by the Lilin-controlled Morbius; Victoria Montesi is revealed to have been ‘fathered’ by Chthon (hence Switchblade killing her); Vicky is revealed to be pregnant with Chthon himself; Doctor Strange puts Vicky into mystical stasis to prevent her from coming to term. Midnight Sons Unlimited #4 (1994) As per Ghost Rider’s vision, Vengeance allies with Ghost Rider and John Blaze against Zarathos. | SIEGE OF DARKNESS |
| Nightstalkers #16-18 (1994) Belial uses Dracula’s genetic information to create Hydra’s first vampire shocktrooper, Bloodstorm One; the ancient vampire Varnae takes control of Bloodstorm One and forces him to murder his Hydra masters, including Belial; Hannibal King and Frank Drake sacrifice themselves to destroy Varnae and Bloodstorm. | ||
| Morbius: The Living Vampire #21 (1994) The resurrected Martine Bancroft warns Mandy Tyler to stay away from Morbius. | ||
| Blade: The Vampire Hunter #1 (1994) Bloodstorm returns in the guide of ‘Dracula‘. | ||
| Doctor Strange #90 (1996) Vicki Montesi is brought out of stasis by agents of Chthon, but Strange proves her overwhelming goodness and prevents the baby from becoming a host for Chthon on the Earthly plane. | ||
| Spider-Man Team-Up #6 (1997) The true Dracula is revealed to have returned. | ||
| Blade: Crescent City Blues #1 (1998) Hannibal King and Frank Drake are revealed to have survived the explosion, though Drake remains hospitalised and uncommunicative. | ||
| Amazing Spider-Man #622 (2010) Martine Bancroft is revealed to have become a true vampire and tries to find a way to turn Morbius into a true vampire, too, so they can live together forever; Morbius stakes Martine, killing her. | THE GAUNTLET | |
| Darkhold: Blade #1 (2021) A page from the Darkhold changes history, creating a world where vampires rule the Earth with Blade as their lord. | DARKHOLD |
See how this story fits into the wider Marvel Universe with these reading orders:
- GHOST RIDER, 1990-1993: Danny Ketch
- MIDNIGHT SONS, 1992-1993: The Rise
- WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, 1972-Present: Jack Russell
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2024
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