BLADE (COMICS)

'Blade' ('Eric Brooks') is a fictional vampire-hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Gene Colan, he first appeared in the comic-book ''Tomb of Dracula'' #10 (July 1973) as a supporting character. He went on to star or co-star in several comic-book series and in a movie trilogy and a television series.

Contents

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Early life and career

Quincy Harker's vampire-hunters

The Nightstalkers

Daywalker

Powers and abilities

Comics

Film and television

Equipment

Other versions

Ultimate Blade

In other media

Blade Trilogy

Television

Animated Blade

''Blade: The Series''

Video games

Footnotes

References

External links

Publication history

Blade appeared in most issues of Marvel Comics' ''Tomb of Dracula'' from #10-21, with additional appearances in #24 & #28 (altogether ranging from July 1973 - Sept. 1974). He then fought the scientifically created vampire Morbius in the latter's series in ''Adventure into Fear'' #24 (Oct. 1974), in a story written by Steve Gerber and penciled by P. Craig Russell.
Blade appeared in his first solo story in Marvel's black-and-white horror-comics magazine ''Vampire Tales'' #8 (Dec. 1974), in an 11-page story by his writer co-creator Marv Wolfman and penciler-inker Tony DeZuniga. This feature continued in the following issue (Feb. 1975), with Wolfman and Chris Claremont co-scripting. Blade then appeared in a 56-page solo story in the black-and-white showcase magazine ''Marvel Preview'' #3 (Sept. 1975), written by Claremont, with two chapters each drawn by DeZuniga and by Rico Rival. A six-page backup story by Wolfman and Colan followed in ''Marvel Preview'' #8 (Fall 1976).

Blade next came into prominence in the 1990s, beginning with ''Ghost Rider'' #28 (Aug. 1992), in the Midnight Sons imprint that included issues of ''Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins'', ''Ghost Rider'', ''Ghost Rider / Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance'', ''Midnight Sons Unlimited'', ''Morbius: The Living Vampire'', and ''Nightstalkers''. Blade co-starred in the 18-issue ''Nightstalkers'', and appeared with that team in a story in the anthology ''Midnight Sons Unlimited'' #1 (April 1993). He appeared in two solo stories in ''Midnight Sons Unlimited'' #2 & 7 (July 1993 & Oct. 1974).
Following the cancellation of ''Nightstalkers'', Blade debuted in his first color-comics series, ''Blade: The Vampire Hunter'' #1-10 (July 1994 - April 1995), written by Ian Edginton (with the last two issues by Terry Kavanagh) and penciled by Doug Wheatley. Blade next appeared in a 12-page inventory story in the one-shot anthology ''Marvel: Shadows and Light'' #1 (Feb. 1997). He then starred again in two solo one-shots: ''Blade: Crescent City Blues'' (March 1998), by writer Christopher Golden and penciler co-creator Gene Colan, and ''Blade: Sins of the Father'' (Oct. 1998), by writer Marc Andreyko and penciler Bart Sears.
Marvel next announced a six-issue miniseries, ''Blade'' (storyline: "Blade: Blood Allies") by writer Don McGregor and penciler Brian Hagen, but only #1-3 (Nov. 1998 - Jan. 1999) were published. Later that year Marvel published a different six-issue miniseries, ''Blade: Vampire Hunter'' (storyline: "Chaos (A)"; Dec. 1999 - May 2000), written and, except the last two issues, penciled by Bart Sears.
The next ongoing series, ''Blade'' vol. 2, by writer Christopher Hinz and artist Steve Pugh, ran 10 issues. A third ''Blade'' vol. 3, by writer Marc Guggenheim and penciler-inker Howard Chaykin, ran 12 issues (Sept. 2006 - Aug. 2007). The final two pages of the last issue were drawn by character co-creator Gene Colan.
Blade also starred in two promotional comic books: ''Blade ½'' (1999) by writer-artist Sears and inker Bill Sienkiewicz, bundled with issues of ''Wizard: The Comic Magazine'' #2000; and ''Blade: Nightstalking'' (2005), a 22-page story by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and penciler Amanda Conner, based on New Line Cinema's Blade movie trilogy, and bundled with the ''Blade Trinity Deluxe Edition'' DVD. Additionally, the second ''Blade'' movie was adapted as the Marvel comic ''Blade 2: Bloodhunt - The Official Comic Adaptation'' (April 2002) by writers Steve Gerber and David Goyer and penciler-inker Alberto Ponticelli.

Fictional character biography

Early life and career

Blade once told a police inspector that he was born in a whorehouse in the Soho neighborhood of London, England in Great Britain.^[1] In his own thoughts, however, Blade, who does not speak with a British accent, remembered growing up in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City: "Man, this place brings back memories: The Cyclone — the Parachute Jump — there's only one Coney Island...." ^[2]
Blade, who elsewhere said he was born on October 24, 1929, told the police inspector¹ that his mother, Tara Brooks, was a prostitute at Madame Vanity's Brothel. When his mother experienced severe labor complications, a doctor was summoned who was in acutality Deacon Frost, a vampire who feasted on her during Blade's birth, killing her, and inadvertently passing along certain enzymes in his own blood to the infant. This resulted in Blade's quasi-vampiric abilities, including a greatly prolonged lifespan and the ability to "smell" supernatural creatures, as well as an immunity to complete vampirism. Brooks' fellow prostitutes drove off Frost before he could kill the infant as well.
Blade went on to say¹ that he grew up living at Madame Vanity's, and at age 9, returning home from school one December, he saw an old man being attacked by three vampires. Blade helped the old man, who used a silver cane to kill the vampires, fight off the attackers. The man was Jamal Afari, a jazz trumpeter and vampire-hunter who then moved into Madame Vanity's and trained the young Blade in both music and combat. Blade was soon able to defeat many of the weak, younger vampires that he and Afari found in abundance.^[3] Blade became an Olympic-level athlete and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, with an expertise in edged weapons such as knives and daggers.
However, Blade's victories made him cocky. He joined a street gang, the Bloodshadows, headed by a much older and more powerful vampire than any Blade had met before, named Lamia. Blade barely defeated Lamia, and, in doing so, lost his girlfriend Glory.
Afari himself later fell prey to Dracula, the first occurrence in an ongoing battle between Dracula and Blade. Blade slew the vampire Afari and tracked Dracula back to Europe, Asia Minor, and Asia, staking him many times, but never completely destroying him. In China, Blade joined Ogun Strong's vampire hunters, which included Azu, Orji and Musenda. Together, they staked Dracula again. Dracula survived, and killed all the hunters except Blade and Musenda (who eventually retired from vampire hunting). Orji had created a lasting impression on Blade with his use of wooden daggers to combat vampires, leading to Blade adopting that weapon as his preferred arms. Consumed by grief for his fallen comrades, Blade resumed his quest alone.

Quincy Harker's vampire-hunters

Blade eventually located Dracula in Paris, where he first encountered the vampire hunter Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan Harker), whom he knew by reptuation, and Harker's vampire hunters: Rachel van Helsing (granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing), Taj Nital, and Frank Drake. Because of his mercurial temperament, Blade had a strained but steady relationship with the group, allying himself with them on several occasions.
Later, after an unsuccessful battle with Dracula, Blade realized he was immune to turning from a vampire's bite. Armed with this knowledge, he went after Deacon Frost alone. Blade's hunt for his mother's killer led him to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where he again encountered Harker's crew, now temporarily allied with Dracula against a larger threat, Doctor Sun. Following this battle, Dracula withdrew, and Blade again set out on his own.
He eventually encountered Hannibal King, a private detective whom Deacon Frost had turned into a vampire. While initially distrusting King, Blade teamed up with him to hunt Frost. Blade and King fought together against Blade's evil doppelgänger, who absorbed the real Blade. King enlisted the help of Daimon Hellstrom, the so-called Son of Satan, who exorcised Blade from the doppelgänger and killed it with King's help. Blade and King eventually caught up with Frost, who had created an army of vampiric doppelgängers, one for each of his victims. Together, they shut down Frost for good, forging a lasting friendship.

The Nightstalkers

Main articles: Nightstalkers (comics)

In later years, Blade, along with King and Drake, became a frequent ally of the sorcerer Doctor Strange, and assisted Strange in the casting of the Montesi Formula, which for a time destroyed all vampires on Earth. Blade, King and Drake then formed the private detective agency Borderline Inc., to combat supernatural threats The agency discontinued after Drake left and Blade was committed to a psychiatric hospital following a battle with a temporarily resurrected Dracula. Doctor Strange later arranged the release of Blade so that he could join Drake and King in reforming Borderline Inc. as the Nightstalkers. Upon the eventual weakening of the Montesi Formula, and the return of vampires, Blade encountered and staked a former alley, a now-vampiric Taj Nital, and survived a battle with the vampire lord Varnae in which Drake and King appeared to have been killed.^[4]

Daywalker

A solo vampire-hunter once again, Blade briefly joined forces with the mystic Bible John Carik, and encountered a vampire impersonating Deacon Frost and a once-again resurrected Dracula. Later, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Blade discovered that Hannibal King had survived, and the two joined forces to defeat a genuinely resurrected Frost. Blade remained active in New Orleans, defeating the vampire Ulysses Sojourner and his own former ally, Morbius, the Living Vampire, who was under Sojourner's mental thrall. Blade followed Morbius to New York, where, while teamed with Spider-Man, Blade was bitten by Morbius.^[5] Blade's blood enzymes reacted unexpectedly with Morbius's unique form of vampirism to grant Blade many vampire strengths while eliminating weaknesses inherent to a vampire. It was at this time that Blade assumed the unofficial title of "Daywalker" among his prey.
The United Nations-sanctioned espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D sought to use Blade's blood for Project: Silvereye, an attempt at cloning vampire operatives. Blade and the vampire-hunting twins Mosha and Mikado shut down the project. Blade later joined Noah Van Helsing (actually Noah Tremayne, Rachel Van Helsing's adopted cousin) and several vampire hunters worldwide to stop Dracula from by becoming a genuinely god-like vampire lord. Blade then returned to the now Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
Blade reencountered Dracula, and appeared to fully destroy the vampire once again, aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier ''Pericles V''. Unbeknownst to Blade, his wealthy father, Lucas Cross, had been responsible for Dracula's most recent resurrection. Blade in exchange for undertaking a time-travel adventure for the supervillain Doctor Doom, received from Doom an elixir that would purportedly cure Blade of his post-Morbius thirst for human blood.
Later, during the events of the "Civil War" over the registration of superpowered individuals, Blade registers and begins cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.^[6]

Powers and abilities

Comics

Blade possesses superhuman strength, stamina, speed, and agility, heightened senses, and a rapid healing factor. He is immune to the effects of normal vampire bites, ages very slowly, and can sense supernatural activity. He is an extraordinary martial artist, swordsman, and marksman. He is also an accomplished jazz trumpeter.

Film and television

In the films and TV series, Blade is depicted as possessing superhuman abilities equal to those of normal vampires, but yet none of the vampire's weaknesses besides the thirst for blood. Blade has superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes and senses. He also has a healing factor, but this does not stop his aging. He can walk in sunlight, though it causes some discomfort and he must wear sunglasses. He is a master of martial arts and weaponry ranging from his acid-etched titanium sword and glaive to a MAC-10 automatic pistol. Blade can speak Czech, Russian and to a degree the Vampire language, and he has a great deal of knowledge about hunting vampires.

Equipment

Main articles: Weaponry of Blade

According to his earliest appearances in the original ''Tomb of Dracula'' comics, Blade relied on teakwood daggers which he used to impale opponents, and a variety of mahogany stakes. He was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and knife-fighter. Later comics upgraded his arsenal significantly over the years, including a variety of different bladed weapons ranging from longswords to katanas, as well as guns, flamethrowers, and UV and silver-based weapons.

Other versions

Ultimate Blade

Although he has only one appearance so far in the Ultimate Universe^[7], he has appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man in a cameo. Spider-Man stops what he thinks is a robbery but it turns out that Blade is fighting a vampire in an alley-way. Although he is victorious, Blade punches Spider-Man, warns him to never appear in his sight again, and disappears into the night.

In other media

Blade Trilogy

Main articles: Blade Trilogy


In 1998, the New Line Cinema movie ''Blade'' starred Wesley Snipes in the title role, Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler, Blade's mentor, and Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost. The film was written by David S. Goyer and directed by Stephen Norrington. The film diverges slightly from the comic Blade in the demeanor of the character. Traditionally, Blade was often presented as loquacious and boastful, yet in the film he is stoic and nearly silent. The nature of his abilities are based more on his later titles rather than his original appearances, with him having vampiric powers but none of the inherent weaknesses. The movies and spin-off television series portray Blade as an African-American born in Chicago, Illinois.
Main articles: Blade II

Written by Goyer and directed by Guillermo del Toro, a sequel followed in 2002. Blade joins forces with his vampire nemesis Eli Damaskinos to defeat a powerful new breed of vampire called Reapers.
Main articles: Blade: Trinity

The 2004 film ''Blade: Trinity'', written and directed by Goyer, introduced heavily modified versions of Hannibal King (played by Ryan Reynolds) and the Nightstalkers. Blade reluctantly joins forces with the group of vampire hunters (led by Abigail Whistler, the estranged daughter of his old mentor) to finally destroy the first vampire.

Television

Main articles: Blade: The Series

'', which ran on the U.S. cable network Spike TV in 2006, takes place in the same universe as the films, though it deviated from the movie's mythos on occasion.

Animated Blade

Blade appears in a 1996 episode of the , "Neogenic Nightmare: Chapter 9: Blade the Vampire Hunter". This episode also introduced Whistler, a character from the New Line Cinema movies not previously seen in Marvel fiction. Here Blade hunts Morbius, and in this version of his origin, he was the son of a vampire man and a human woman, whose mother left him in foster care after she was bitten by a vampire. Blade and Morbius both also appear in the following episode, "The Immortal Vampire".
In the season-four episode "", Blade hunts the Vampire Queen, who he then learns is his mother. Blade make his final appearance in the show in the season-five episode "", where he teams with Morbius and the Black Cat against the Vampire Queen.
In all these appearances, Blade was voiced by J.D. Hall, and wore a costume based on his appearance in the ''Nightstalkers'' comic-book series and subsequently.

''Blade: The Series''

Main articles: Blade: The Series

A television series based on the films airs on Spike TV and stars rapper/actor Kirk Jones as Blade. Set some time after the events of ''Blade: Trinity'', the series deals with Blade fighting an evil vampire named Marcus Van Sciver in Detroit, which is also Blade's birthplace (in the series). As was shown in the movies, Blade's birth name is Eric Brooks and his mother was named Vanessa and now it has been revealed that Blade's father is named Robert Brooks, and that he raised Blade until he was twelve and his vampiric nature became more apparent, such as with his "thirst" for human blood.
Conflicts often come up between Whistler's explanation of Blade's origin in the movie and the explanation of Blade's origin in the television series.

Video games

★ Blade is playable in the two video games based on the first two Wesley Snipes films: ''Blade'' (for the PlayStation) and ''Blade II'' (for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox).

★ Blade is a playable character in the multi-platform action-RPG '' voiced by Khary Payton. He is first playable when the other heroes rescue Blade from Arcade's Murderworld when you play the Crane Game there. His costumes include his classic, Ultimate, Nightstalker, and Daywalker. A simulation disk has Blade defending Storm from Dark Spider-Man in Mephisto's Realm.

★ Blade is also a playable character in the game based upon the movie ''Ghost Rider'' after you beat the game with Ghost Rider.

Footnotes

1. ''Marvel Preview'' #3 (Sept. 1973), with story panels at "The Origin of Blade", by Mike Rickard.
2. ''Nightstalkers'' #17 (March 1994), p. 15
3. ''Marvel Preview'' #3 (Sept. 1973)
4. ''Nightstalkers'' #18 (April 1994)
5. ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' #8
6. ''Civil War'' #5
7. Ultimate Spider-Man #94

References

★ Marvel Directory.com: Blade

★ Grand Comics Database

★ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

External links

★ Blade Fan Website

★ Comicmonsters.com: Blade Timeline

★ Marvel Universe Appendix: Jamal Afari, Bloodshadows, and Crossbow