The whole point of BLOODLINES was to inject a bunch of new characters into the DCU – as the house ad tag line read, “New Heroes. New Villains. New Blood.” Some of them would go on to star in their own series or mini-series, others would never be seen again. Here’s a quick round up of them as at December 2017, in the order they appeared in the annuals, with most of the information being pulled from the net – use the Contact Me form at the top of the page if you notice anything’s not right.
Layla
The first of the New Bloods, it looks like she had a handful of appearances in LEGION, REBELS and a couple of issues of LOBO then headed off into the great unknown.
Edge
Outside of the BLOODLINES event, it looks like he had a cameo in one issue of BLOOD PACK and then disappeared.
Joe Public
A reluctant hero (he quit at the end of his first appearance) after BLOODBATH it appears he took Batman’s advice and hung up his suit and gave up the hero gig.
Argus
Along with several appearances in FLASH, Argus had his own six issue mini-series soon after the BLOODLINES event. He was last seen working with Anima and Gunfire when they were all defeated by Prometheus.
Anima
The first of the New Bloods, working in this order at least, to get an ongoing series, Anima’s title lasted 16 issues. She also appeared in a handful of other series, including ZERO HOUR and YOUNG JUSTICE, before fighting Prometheus with Argus and Gunfire. During the battle, Prometheus killed her.
Myriad
For some reason, the concept of a personality absorbing assassin didn’t catch on with anyone and, after her initial appearance and a couple of panels in BLOODBATH, Myriad was never seen again.
Nightblade
The regenerating hero was a member of the BLOOD PACK and appeared in their four issue mini-series; he also made a handful of appearances in other series in the first years following BLOODLINES before disappearing from view. He returned in INFINITE CRISIS during the battle for Metropolis and was killed (despite his regenerative powers) by Superboy-Prime. He later appeared as a Black Lantern.
Ballistic
Another member of the BLOOD PACK, he also made several appearances in RESURRECTION MAN before, like Nightblade, he disappeared from view. Also like his Blood Pack team mate, he fought in the battle for Metropolis in INFINITE CRISIS and was killed by Superboy-Prime.
Lionheart
Following BLOODLINES, Lionheart briefly helped the Justice League International team while they were based in London but he hasn’t been seen for many years.
Razorsharp
Not only did Razorsharp appear as a member of the BLOOD PACK, but she also starred in another mini-series about her team of hackers called the PSYBA-RATS. Aside from that were a couple of other appearances before she too was killed by Superboy-Prime in the battle for Metropolis in INFINITE CRISIS.
Loose Cannon
Another hero who received his own mini-series, Loose Cannon also had a few appearances in other series over the years. He was last seen as a cameo having had his heart removed in a JSA: CLASSIFIED storyline that dealt with meta-humans being harvested for spare parts. It’s unclear what his final fate was.
Jamm
Perhaps the strongest candidate for title of “Worst Character Created In BLOODLINES” Jamm hasn’t been seen since the events of BLOODBATH. If there is any justice in the world, he will never be seen again.
Hook
Another character who simply disappeared after BLOODLINES, Hook turned up only once since then, when he was killed by Prometheus.
Geist
Geist became a member of the BLOOD PACK and appeared in the mini-series. Like many of the other members, he fought in Metropolis during INFINITE CRISIS and was killed by Superboy-Prime. He also returned briefly as a Black Lantern.
Terrorsmith
Not really a villain, Terrorsmith was a conflicted man who fled from the Justice League and played no part in the BLOODBATH event. He was not seen again for 24 years (real time) until he turned up in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, this time more clearly a villain.
Slingshot, Shadowstryke and Krag
Introduced as ready made heroes – we never saw which Parasites attacked them – these three appear to have been created to allow Justice League linked characters to have a presence in the BLOODBATH finale.
Sparx
After BLOODBATH, Sparx became a member of the BLOOD PACK but, unlike most every other member listed here, didn’t get killed by Superboy-Prime in Metropolis. She had a long run of appearances in SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS but is currently inactive.
Mongrel
The surly hero butted heads with Hawkman in his series for a few issues before becoming part of the BLOOD PACK and, like most of the members, was killed by Superboy-Prime in the battle of Metropolis in INFINITE CRISIS.
Gunfire
Gunfire starred in his own series following BLOODLINES which ran for 14 issues, then appeared in a handful of series over the years. Along with Argus and Anima, he fought Prometheus and was last seen having had his hands mutilated by the villain so that he could no longer hold anything.
Prism
After taking part in BLOODBATH, Prism later appeared in the last few issues of the ECLIPSO series but hasn’t been seen since.
Hitman
Easily the most successful character to come out of the BLOODLINES event, Hitman went on to star in issues of THE DEMON before getting his own on-going series that lasted over 60 issues. Alongside that were numerous guest appearances in other series, as well as flash back one-shots and mini-series that appeared after his death. Even some of his supporting cast had their own mini-series!
Samaritan and Cardinal Sin
Like Terrorsmith, these characters – one a villain, the other a hero – appeared in their annual but played no part in the BLOODBATH event. Unlike Terrorsmith, they’ve never been seen again which, honestly, is no bad thing. Cardinal Sin, in particular, comes close to Jamm if you’re looking for the worst character in BLOODLINES.
Chimera
After BLOODBATH, Chimera made a couple of appearances in TEAM TITANS and hasn’t been seen since.
Pax
Apparently serving as the Priest for LEGION following BLOODBATH, Pax hung around for a couple of issues but hasn’t been seen since.
And that’s it for the characters created in the annuals; in terms of whether or not the characters were successful, I guess the only real measure we have is the number of appearances they had following BLOODLINES.
To that end, I’ve used data from the Comic Book Database, the DC Database, and the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe to compile how many times each of the New Bloods showed up in one issue or another and throw them all together in a chart, with no surprise who comes out on top.
Click the image below to see the full size:
Crisis on Earth-Prime 