John Falsworth (Earth-21399)

Early Life and Military Service
John Falsworth was the elder son of Lord William Falsworth, a prominent member of the British aristocracy. When he reached adulthood, John enlisted in the British army to fight in the Second Boer War, as he was appalled by the Boer republics' mistreatment of their British citizens. Under the command of his own father, John distinguished himself in battle against the Boer guerrillas.

However, the turning point for John came after the United Kingdom annexed the Boer republics in 1900. The guerrillas refused to surrender, and so the British army pursued a scorched-earth policy, destroying civilian farms and livestock and taking the survivors into concentration camps. John, already disdainful of the Boers, found himself growing increasingly sadistic and hateful towards them. He abused the prisoners of the concentration camp to which he was posted, even torturing them for information on their friends. His conduct became so appalling that eventually, Lord William stepped in had his son dishonorably discharged. Disgusted, John disavowed himself from the Falsworth family and left on a merchant ship bound back to Europe.

Becoming a Vampire
Upon returning to Europe, John fell in with a traveling circus in Austria-Hungary, fostering an intense hatred of both the British Empire and his own father, who he believed had scorned him. He developed an interest in the occult and eventually left the circus for Transylvania, inspired by his reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Once he arrived, much to his own surprise, John discovered an abandoned castle in the Carpathians, where he was indeed attacked by a vampire and transformed into one himself.

With the powers of the night at his disposal, John plotted his revenge against his family and homeland, biding his time until the British Empire would weaken before he went in for the kill. Setting himself up in the Alps just outside the Austrian town of Innsbruck, he would become a local legend known as the Baron of Blood, even serving as the inspiration for the appearance of Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau's silent film Nosferatu.

Powers

 * Vampirism: Baron Blood possesses all the standard abilities of a vampire.
 * Superhuman Strength
 * Superhuman Speed
 * Superhuman Agility
 * Regeneration
 * Superhuman Senses
 * Wall-Crawling
 * Gliding
 * Vampirism
 * Fangs & Claws
 * Vampire Creation

Abilities

 * Hand-to-Hand Combat
 * Espionage
 * Interrogation

Weaknesses
Baron Blood has all the standard weaknesses of a vampire, including:
 * Blood Thirst: All vampires need to consume human blood in order to sustain their unnatural existence. The required dosage varies depending on the individual, but all vampires need to feed at least once per evening to keep themselves in shape. Starvation causes a vampire to lose control over its human visage and predatory instincts, eventually driving them into a blood frenzy that lasts one night and drives them to feed on the closest available prey. If the night of frenzying is spent without feeding, the vampire will enter a deathlike coma.
 * Ultraviolet Radiation: The sun is the vampire's deadliest enemy. Direct exposure to ultraviolet radiation will cause severe third-degree burns within seconds, and prolonged exposure will eventually be fatal. This forces vampires to sequester themselves in lightless environments during the day.
 * Silver: Silver weapons are more damaging to vampires than normal ones.
 * Garlic: Vampires are highly allergic to garlic. Its pungent smell can help keep a vampire at bay, and any vampire who consumes garlic will enter a state of anaphylactic shock.
 * EDTA: This common anticoagulant reacts explosively with vampire blood.