Is Werewolf By Night's Bloodstone A Conduit For Chaos Magic?
Since its premiere, True Believers have been raving about "Werewolf By Night." One of the major points of praise is that the Marvel Studios' Special Presentation feels disconnected from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as opposed to the rest of the offerings in Phase Four. In other words, it required less "homework" for those looking for a taste of the MCU rather than a whole multi-course meal that requires all the cutlery and utensils in the fine dining set.
But what if famed composer Michael Giacchino's ode to classic monster movies starring Gael Garcia Bernal was more connected than you think? After all, there was one thing throughout the whole story that was presented in color (until the very end) and that thing seemed to be incredibly important. And we're not just talking about its importance to the monster hunters gathered at Castle Bloodstone. What if the Bloodstone actually does play a part in the future of the MCU?
Previously, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said that this story will be important to the interconnected world that they've built thus far over the past decade. Based on the emphasis on how important the Bloodstone is to the monster hunter community, it's fair to say that it could also be similarly important to others as well. So while there isn't a ton of evidence in the 54-minute Disney+ special to indicate whether this is completely sound or not, consider this theory: It's possible that the coveted Bloodstone is connected to the Chaos Magic that was previously wielded by the Scarlet Witch.
The history of the Bloodstone
Before fully diving into the theory, let's look at the facts. In "Werewolf By Night," the narrator tells us that the Bloodstone is a "powerful supernatural relic" and "a weapon unlike any other." Later, when Elsa Bloodstone returns to her ancestral home, Verussa (played by the incomparable Harriet Sansom Harris) asks if the prodigal daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone only showed up to acquire the strength, protection, or longevity that the Bloodstone lends to its wielder. And in an interview with The Direct, executive producer Brian Gay confirms that the Bloodstone "has a specific ability to control the supernatural creatures," so that would explain why Man-Thing and Jack Russell are affected whenever they're near it.
But that's still not a lot to go on. According to Marvel Comics, the Bloodstone is a piece of a meteorite. Ulysses Bloodstone found it during the Hyborian Age while he was still a mortal man. But after encountering the servant of an entity known as the Hellfire Helix, a piece of the meteorite was embedded in Ulysses' chest. This piece, which would come to be known as the Bloodstone, granted him enhanced strength, agility, and healing. Plus, it made him immortal.
Following his death, Ulysses' three children Elsa, Cullen, and Lyra all had their own encounters with the gem. While Elsa also became a famed monster hunter and utilized a piece of the Bloodstone in a similar fashion to its MCU counterpart, Cullen used his piece to keep his inner monster at bay. Then, when Lyra returned to life after thousands of years, the mystical Nullgem also came back with her. Essentially the other half of the Bloodstone, the siblings used both items to rid their younger brother of his literal demons.
The mysteries of Chaos Magic
Though Brian Gay also said in that interview that they "lean into the comics lore" with the Bloodstone, all the history that I laid out in the last slide could be thrown out the window. If the next chapter of the Bloodstone's story calls for something narratively different, then the MCU has room to play with that history. Anything is possible in the multiverse.
Keeping that in mind, if you look at the Bloodstone when it's being used in "Werewolf By Night," it exhibits similar flourishes of energy as the Chaos Magic used by Wanda Maximoff in "WandaVision" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." It could be a coincidence since both energies are red. But it could also mean that the Bloodstone's power comes from Chaos Magic.
Both the Bloodstone and Chaos Magic are mysterious and supernatural in nature. Both took thousands of years to understand, as Ulysses and the writers of the Darkhold will tell you. And both have found ways to enhance the humans that adopted them. And am I basically saying this because they emit the same color? Basically, but it's a working hypothesis that will evolve over time.
What the future holds
Until then, if the Bloodstone is in fact a conduit for Chaos Magic, what could this mean for the future of the MCU? It's possible that the relic could play a part in "Agatha: Coven of Chaos." Maybe since she herself is a monster, Elsa Bloodstone needs to use her family heirloom to keep a recently freed Agatha under control (since she was likely freed from Wanda's spell when she died). Speaking of Wanda, maybe the Bloodstone is the key to bringing the Scarlet Witch back to life. And if so, it's possible that Sorcerer Supreme Wong or America Chavez or Baron Mordo or even Nico Minoru from "Runaways" might have something to say about that.
No matter how the Bloodstone factors into future phases, it's sure to come in handy since the world (and the multiverse) is full of monsters.