Blood Hunt #4 reaches the penultimate chapter of Marvel's big summer event in which vampires have taken over the Earth, threatening to conquer and enslave all of humanity. And though things are looking somewhat hopeless, the heroes of the Marvel Universe are looking in some unlikely directions for aid.
And while there are a few big moments in Blood Hunt #4 that could change the game, there's also a big return that's now been made official: the resurrection of Marc Spector. Here's how it all goes down.
Spoilers ahead for Blood Hunt #4
Blood Hunt #4 by writer Jed MacKay, artist Pepe Larraz, color artist Marte Gracia, and letterer Cory Petit kicks off where the previous issue left off, with the Atlantean "Temple of the First Blasphemy" appearing in New York to solidify the conquest of Blade and his vampire army.
And though things look increasingly desperate for the heroes of the Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange and his wife Clea are turning to another of Marvel's most powerful mages, Doctor Doom, entreating him to aid in dispelling the Darkforce barrier that has blocked out the sun.
As Doom and Strange go back and forth over whether Doom will offer any help, we cut back to Blade at the Temple of the First Blasphemy, where we learn that Blade's body has been taken over by none other than Varnae, the first vampire in the Marvel Universe (who gets his name from the 1847 serialized novel Varney the Vampire, which introduced many of our modern vampire tropes). This explains why Blade has gone off the rails, but leaves a lot of questions that still remain to be answered.
There in the Temple, we learn that Black Panther's vampirism has been all but cured by the Heart-Shaped Herb which gives him his powers, allowing him to break Thor free to help confront Blade and his forces directly.
Meanwhile, in Asgard, Tigra and Hunter's Moon have broken into the prison where Khonshu is being held, using the help of the Wrecker and his Asgardian enchanted crowbar to break the Egyptian moon god out of jail, allowing him to bring the moon forth through the Darkforce - the first step in freeing the Earth.
Back in Latveria, Doom agrees to help Strange and Clea destroy the Darkforce barrier, having already enlisted the help of the students of the Strange Academy to do so. But Doom's help comes with a price - he insists that Doctor Strange hand over the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to him, something Doom has been after for some time as one of the most powerful magic users in the Marvel Universe.
And while giving one of Marvel's most powerful villains that kind of power seems like a potentially bad idea, there's a counterbalance on the side of the heroes who arrives in the last moments of Blood Hunt #4: Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, who is resurrected from death through the power of Khonshu, now freed from his magical prison.
While in some cases we may have to wait to learn what's next for Marc, who has been dead for about 6 months or so and who has been replaced by a new Moon Knight (the Shroud), we already know that July 3 will bring the arrival of Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0, a special prelude issue that will establish Marc's status quo ahead of the launch of his new ongoing title with October's Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #1.
Here's a gallery of covers for Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0 and #1, along with a design sheet for Marc Spector's new costume by Alessandro Capuccio:
As for how Marc's presence affects the end of Blood Hunt, we'll find out in July 31's big finale, Blood Hunt #5.
Moon Knight is one of the best supernatural superheroes of all time.
