Bloodwynd: Van Stone's Black Superhero Comics at Philadelphia Front Page News
Bloodwynd from Showcase '94 #5
art by Max Douglas
Bloodwynd is a fictional magician published by DC Comics. He first appears inJustice League America #76 (July 1993), and was created by Dan Jurgens.
Bloodwynd is the descendant of a group of African slaves of a man named Jacob Whitney. These slaves created the magical Blood Gem and used it to kill Whitney. The Blood Gem was passed down among the slaves' descendants. Unbeknownst to them, the Blood Gem was a gateway to another dimension, and the demon Rott claimed the souls of those killed by the Gem's magic.
In recent times, Rott sucked Bloodwynd into the Gem and mind controlled the Martian Manhunter into wearing Bloodwynd's gem and impersonating him. Using Bloodwynd's identity, the Manhunter joined the Justice League as one of their more mysterious members. When the JLA fought Doomsday alongside Superman, Blue Beetle realized Bloodwynd's identity when his cryptic teammate was incapacitated by fire in the comic version bloodwynd refused to be taken along with others for treatment and instead mysteriously disappears. he also blames himself for the fire incident, to which the Martian Manhunter was especially vulnerable. Once the Martian Manhunter was freed of the mental control, the Justice League battled Rott and freed Bloodwynd.
art by Max Douglas
Bloodwynd joined the League after they freed him from Rott's control. Later, he withheld information from the Justice League about an offer of alliance from the mystical villain Dreamslayer. Bloodwynd did not join Dreamslayer, though, sensing a strange kinship with him, but he would not oppose him either.
During the Overmaster storyline, Bloodwynd was also strangely inactive, refusing to take action against what he perceived to be a natural course of events. These two incidents caused Bloodwynd to question his membership in the League. He voluntarily put himself on reserve status.
He later appeared in Showcase'94 #5 (May 1994), written by Ruben Diaz and illustrated by Max Douglas. In this story, Bloodwynd reveals more about the nature of his morality and powers, and punishes a drug dealer by forcing him to experience the pain of his victims.
In JLA #27 (March 1999), Bloodwynd officially joins an emergency expansion of the Justice League in order to battle a rampaging Amazo. The battle, which takes place in the Florida Everglades, goes badly as most of the JLA are defeated and their powers copied. Amazo loses his powers when Superman officially disbands the league.
Day of Judgment. He was last seen during the Day of JudgementJLA Black Baptism serving as a member of the Sentinels of Magic. In the latter storyline, he was badly injured by the Diablos, a group of Mafia-styled demons who wished to gain revenge for demons slain during the Day of Judgement.
Powers. Bloodwynd is an accomplished necromancer. He can summon the spirits of the dead, which give him life energy and increased power, he can sense where death has occurred, and can also force murderers to experience the pain of their victims similar to Ghost Rider's "Penance Stare" (according to a story entitled Hero of Choice in Showcase '94 #5 by writer Ruben Diaz and artist Max Douglas).
The Blood Gem on his chest also grants him unspecified mystical powers, it is unknown whether the other gems on his costume confer any occult abilities. Also unknown is whether these magical gems have any connection to Doctor Mist one of whose origins stated that he created a series of magical gems.
He appears on a Death of Superman funeral poster by creator Dan Jurgens with Martian Manhunter, even though it is later revealed that at the time Martian Manhunter was posing as Bloodwynd.
