Defending Dracula

Daimon Hellstrom made a curious decision in Defenders #95. To ward off a horde of vampires, he cast an ancient spell to cause the sun to rise. Dracula was among the vampires present and, a moment before the spell took affect, Hellstrom privately warned Dracula to flee.

The other Defenders understandably wondered why the Son of Satan spared the Lord of Vampires. Hellstrom explained that Dracula had negotiated a temporary truce with heroes and deserved mercy.

Hellstrom: For all his sins, Dracula is a man of his word.

The decision, however, may have had less to do with the ethics of Dracula and more to do with Hellstrom's need to find compassion within himself.

For background, Dracula was not on favorable terms with Daimon Hellstrom's father. Satan took vengeance against Dracula by ridding him of vampiric powers in Tomb of Dracula #64, forcing him to live as a normal human for several issues. To Dracula, temporarily becoming a mere mortal was far worse than the plight of a vampire.

Tomb of Dracula. Vol. 1. No. 64. May 1978. "Life After Undeath." Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Gene Colan & Tom Palmer (illustrators), Denise V. Wohl (letters), Francoise M. (colors).