Death of Doctor Strange opens the door to a new Marvel magic legacy hero - Lyra Bloodstone

A new magical Marvel character with ties to a classic Marvel legacy is being introduced as part of the publisher's current Death of Doctor Strange event. Lyra Bloodstone, a previously-unknown daughter of the evil adventurer Ulysses Bloodstone, will debut in January 12's Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 - and we now have a first look at what she'll look in a new design variant cover shown below.

Elsa Bloodstone in the Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 main cover (Image credit: David Nakayama (Marvel Comics))

Lyra Bloodstone will debut alongside her already-established siblings Elsa and Cullen Bloodstone, a pair of monster hunters who share a bond as blood relatives but don't share much else - to the point where they don't even get along normally.

Elsa and Cullen - and the mystery sister Lyra that they didn't know about - are being brought together in the wake of the death of Doctor Strange (that happened in the on-the-nose titled Death of Doctor Strange #1). Following his murder, mystical beings from our universe and others have been coming to the main Marvel Universe - some seeing an opening in Earth's magical defenses, while others seeking refuge against whomever or whatever was able to kill someone as powerful as Doctor Strange.

Excalibur writer Tini Howard will be joining Ig Guara on the Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 one-shot, which will see the three Bloodstones brought together to fend off some of these magical threats who are targeting Lyra for some reason.

Lyra Bloodstone in Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 variant cover (Image credit: Ig Guara (Marvel Comics))

But Lyra's not defenseless; according to Marvel, she possesses a Blood gem like her siblings (and their father before them), but her's is unique somehow - and is the reason these magical beings are after her.

"Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone is a must-read for Bloodstone fans, and a great introduction to the family for curious readers," Howard told Newsarama previously. "There's even a mysterious new family member you'll get to meet right along with Elsa and Cullen, as the death of Doctor Strange breaks pacts all over the cosmos..."

Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 goes on sale on January 12, 2022.

The Bloodstones seem to be joining a crowded pool of contenders to be Earth's next Sorcerer Supreme.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)