The classic Doctor Strange spell that could end Marvel\u2019s Blood Hunt \u2013 and why it won\u2019t work Marvel ComicsThe first issue of Marvel\u2019s Blood Hunt event teases the Montesi Formula as a solution to the vampire problem, but a previous event has already made it impossible. Blood Hunt has kicked off May\u2019s comics with a fang\u2014I mean a bang\u2014as vampires take over the Marvel Universe. However, the event has already kicked off with a possible solution that it hearkens back to a classic Doctor Strange story. But while The Montesi Formula did succeed in its previous appearance, there\u2019s already a written-in explanation for why it won\u2019t work this time. Warning, spoilers for Blood Hunt #1 follow. How Doctor Strange used The Montesi Formula to kill vampires The Montesi Formula itself is first formally mentioned in 1974\u2019s Dracula Lives. The formula is a Darkhold incantation discovered by a priest, Giuseppe Montesi. Though Giuseppe is able to use the incantation to destroy a vampire in the story, he\u2019s killed and the note he wrote it on is destroyed by Dracula himself. It\u2019s important to remember just how different Marvel\u2019s landscape was in the \u201970s. Vampires, werewolves, and creatures of the night were a fairly sizable chunk of their output, as the company had made its name on horror comics in its earliest days. As trends shifted, though, these books would introduce new heroes who are more familiar to readers today, like Blade and Moon Knight. But the Marvel Comics era of vampires and Dracula as an existing character would come to a close in 1982. In a four-part Doctor Strange arc, the Sorceror Supreme discovers not only the Montesi Formula but that casting it while in possession of the Darkhold will create a spell powerful enough to remove the curse of vampirism from the plane of existence. Doctor Strange #62 sees the Sorceror Supreme successfully cast that spell, and as a result, vampires are removed from the field for years. They wouldn\u2019t return until 1990\u2019s Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #18, when the Lord of Vampires, Varnae, is revived. Soon after Varnae\u2019s revival, vampires\u2014including Dracula himself\u2014start to exist throughout Marvel once again. Though they occasionally appear in books tied to the magical aspects of Marvel after their revival, they flourish in the mid-2010s when they encounter the X-Men during the Curse of the Mutants arc. Why Blood Hunt can\u2019t be stopped with The Montesi Formula It is possible the Montesi Formula could be used to some degree to aid the heroes of the Marvel Universe in Blood Hunt, but it\u2019s not a solution. That\u2019s because of the Darkhold itself\u2014or, specifically, the lack thereof. Even Doctor Strange needed the actual Darkhold to cast the spell at a high enough level to eradicate the vampirism curse. However, the 2022 event The Darkhold saw the book itself destroyed, as the Scarlet Witch consumed it and its power to prevent the return of Chthon. Since then, the Darkhold has been considered lost. Though Agatha Harkness attempted to recreate her own in 2023\u2019s Contest of Chaos event, both Harkness and the living personification of the Darkhold she created have not been seen since. Without the Darkhold, it seems impossible to use the Montesi Formula at its full power. As such, the best it could do would likely be to kill a few vampires in its immediate vicinity. Even that may be tough, though, considering the issue seemingly kicks off with Doctor Strange being impaled by Blade. Blood Hunt #1 is available now for Marvel Comics. To keep up with the event, be sure to check out Dexerto\u2019s Blood Hunt Reading Guide. Every Free Comic Book Day 2024 title: Ultimate Spider-Man, X-Men, Star Wars & More | X-Men: From the Ashes \u2013 New X-teams, costumes, & the fate of Xavier\u2019s School | X-Men Krakoa Age finale: Magneto\u2019s resurrection, Iron Man\u2019s downfall, & more | DC Comics Absolute Power reading guide: Will the Justice League return in next event? | Sabretooth War: Everyone who died so far in Wolverine\u2019s bloodiest story ever<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The classic Doctor Strange spell that could end Marvel\u2019s Blood Hunt \u2013 and why it won\u2019t work Marvel ComicsThe first issue of Marvel\u2019s Blood Hunt event teases the Montesi Formula as a solution to the vampire problem, but a previous event has already made it impossible. Blood Hunt has kicked off May\u2019s comics with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}