- Y'know, I was going along all happy about to take over the world. Probably going to score with Batman... and now I've got a primordial evil co-opting my army... A bunch of mystical morons all around me... and Andrew's 'boyfriend' and his stupid kid...
I, Vampire #7 is an issue of the series I, Vampire (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2012. It was published on March 28, 2012.
Synopsis for "Rise of the Vampires, Part 2: Blame It On Cain"
Andrew Bennett wakes up in a vast empty space. All that greets him is a mysterious voice which informs him that rather than Heaven or Hell, Andrew is simply Nowhere.
Meanwhile, the powerful Cain, father of all vampires has risen again. His seal was broken when Tig Rafelson killed Andrew, and now he has taken control of the army of vampires that Mary, Queen of Blood had raised. In fact, this point is becoming aggravating for Mary, and she tries to confront Cain. His power proves to be too much for her.
The voice tells Andrew that his work is not yet finished. It goes on to tell a tale of how before light, dark, heaven or earth there was merely blackness. That blackness took the form of the man Cain. He came upon a woman who was cast out of God's kingdom, and fed on her. From that moment, he grew stronger each time he fed, and the curse of vampirism was born. Cain was true evil, but he finally met his match at the hands of an army of great mystical warriors - including Andrew himself. The seal placed over Cain was of a special kind. Andrew's immortal life was the key, and when he was killed, the seal was broken. Andrew wonders what made him so special that he could be the seal, but the voice will not tell him.
On the roof of the Gotham City Courthouse, Batman, Tig, and Prof. John Troughton struggle to survive the oncoming horde. They are surprised by the sudden appearances of Zatanna, Shade, and Madame Xanadu, courtesy of the M-Vest. Zatanna explains what she knows of the situation to Batman, attempting to be of what little help they can, with Cain absorbing their magic abilities.
Eager to get back to protecting his city, Batman begs Zatanna to look after Tig and Troughton. Given the occultists' seeming ineffectiveness against the vampires, Tig and John would prefer to stay with the Batman, but when Robin fails to respond to a call, Batman leaves without them. Without him, the assembled begin to get worn out as their magic and physical attacks become less and less effective. Suddenly, though, Mary appears and offers to help. Though she had originally been their enemy, they now share a common goal in stopping Cain from taking over the world.
Mary transforms into her monstrous form, ripping the vampires to pieces, but her efforts are rendered pointless when Cain rises above the horde and uses his powers to remove the vampires' weaknesses.
Across the city, Batman's cohorts are struggling to stay alive, and Zatanna is left wondering whether Madame Xanadu's efforts are going to bring any help. Meanwhile, John Constantine and Deadman's mission to bring Andrew back from the afterlife may be their only hope.
Appearing in "Rise of the Vampires, Part 2: Blame It On Cain"
Featured Characters:
- Andrew Bennett (As a spirit)
Supporting Characters:
- Batman
- "The Dark Team"
- Prof. John Troughton
- Mary, Queen of Blood (Also in a vision)
- Tig Rafelson
- Unknown Extradimensional Entity (Unnamed) (Voice)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Batgirl (Cameo)
- Catwoman (Cameo)
- Demon Knights (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Etrigan (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Nightwing (Cameo)
- Robin (Damian Wayne) (Cameo)
- Deadman (Mentioned only)
- God (Mentioned only)
- John Constantine (Mentioned only)
- "The Light" (Mentioned only)
- The Snake of Eden (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
- "In The Between"
- Prime Earth
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
- United States of America
- Gotham City
- Gotham City Courthouse
- Gotham City
- United States of America
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
- Astral Plane (Mentioned only)
- Sphere of the Gods (Unnamed)
- Heaven/"God's Kingdom" (Mentioned only)
- "The Blackness" (Mentioned only)
Items:
Concepts:
- Madness (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
- Magic
Notes
- The Rise of the Vampires storyline continues from Justice League Dark #7 and is continued in Justice League Dark #8.
- The real identity of the omniscient entity has never been revealed: however, the use of black dialogue boxes, the reference to the void before existence ("Blackness") and the extradimensional nature of the entity suggest that it's the ever-lasting Great Darkness.