Comments on: Terra #1: Metahumans and Blood Type

By: Sean Duggan

Sean Duggan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:37:35 +0000

Huh… I don’t know the exact context of the panel in question (I get most of my comics via the trade paperbacks at the library), but my immediate impression was that he was implying that there were indeed components of the blood, whether proteins, tachyons, or magical fairy dust, that were required to be there in a transfusion and that something in the storage methods didn’t properly preserve them. Which, as you said, probably flies in the face of much of comic book history. But if they are short-lived outside of the host body, that could explain why blood tests have never become a standard.

Then, of course, there’s those classic cases of superheroes who have acid, nanites, or nuclear fire instead of blood…

I’m vaguely reminded of that piece you ran a bit ago with the magic transfusion which involved the old African witch doctor taking the blood from a young white woman and not only stealing the youth of the younger woman, but turning the witch doctor white.

By: Just Some Guy

Just Some Guy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:42:01 +0000

It occurs to me that a lot of metahumans (not carries of the metagene, actual people with powers) must have some very unusual blood chemistry as Seth mentions. Their bodies certainly are only superficially human if they go around violating the laws of thermodynamics all willy-nilly.

I suspect that appropriately typed normal blood to a metahuman would be safe in the majority of instances. There’s bound to be a few whose bodies are so different that they react to it as a mismatch or worse. It wouldn’t surprise me if normal blood coursing through their veins was actively toxic to some of them.

The real complications are going to come from metahuman blood which would be radically different. A hero could, for example, wind up poisoning their aunt and being forced to lift a massive pile of rubble off themselves in order to retrieve a treatment. Or they could accidentally cause their cousin to turn green and gain multiple short lived comic series.

Of course the implication in the comic is the first scenario taken to an extreme where the metahumans that could take normal blood are a minority.

Out of curiosity can a hospital still type match by mixing a small amount of the patient’s blood with a small amount of the different types? I recall reading that other chemical agents have taken the place of that test but I think that would be the safest way to handle Joe Random Superhero who turns up at the ER when you don’t happen to have a few pints of Asgardian type-Square Root of Q blood in the fridge.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:25:24 +0000

My interpretation was that metahuman blood was too dangerous to be held by conventional medical facilities. Considering the number of evil scientists hellbent on cloning or empowering metahumans, it seems like a solid policy. Perhaps the meta-gene is somehow associated with one of the rarer blood types?

By: Seth Finkelstein

Seth Finkelstein — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:29:19 +0000

Since it’s well-established that transfusions of Superman’s blood can give temporary super-powers, there’s obvious more to it than ordinary blood.

It’s reasonable that some super-powers also modify blood chemistry, and this is what Mid-Nite is talking about – regular physicians don’t need to know the blood chemistry specifics related to particular super-powers. It’s possible that sometimes regular blood will do, but not always, and there’s a kind of “best-match” from those with similar powers.

Also, it’s likely you can’t reliably test blood to determine if someone in metahuman because the blood modifications don’t kick in until the powers manifest themselves, and again only some metahumaness has gross blood effects.

But I could easily see a “CSI” scene with something like “the blood at the crime scene indicated a metahuman with fire-based powers”.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:46:25 +0000

I thought you’d also have something to say about the whole “not taking someone’s blood without asking” thing.