Superhero Origins: Blade

Superhero Origins: Blade

Move over twilight, this is what a daywalker should look like! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we will explore the comic book origins of Eric Brooks, otherwise known as Blade.

As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline that unfolded in 1973’s “The Tomb of Dracula #10”, which was expanded upon in 1973’s “Vampire Tales #8” and 1975’s “Marvel Preview #3.

In his debut appearance, Blade arrived just in the nick of time when a young couple came under vampire attack. Ceremoniously introducing himself as “Blade The Vampire Killer”, he appeared sporting a belt equipped with several stakes. Wasting no time, as his foes revealed that they worked for Dracula, he slayed one by stabbing it in the back, before slaying the second.

With the third transforming into bat form and attempting to flee, Blade lept into the air and killed it before it could fly away. As the giant bat turned back into a its human form, Blade showed a hint of frustration that it was not the one he was searching for. Regardless, he was pleased to reduce the amount of blood suckers on the streets.

As Blade prepared to leave the scene, a fellow vampire hunter named Harker arrived, and voiced his annoyance at Blade’s insistence to fight the vampires alone, especially since the ones he’d just killed were members of Dracula’s legion and the key to finding their leader. Harker likewise insisted that only his organization has the weapons powerful enough to slay Dracula, saving the streets once and for all.

Later in that issue, Blade confronted Dracula on a cruise ship. After a brutal showdown that destroyed the ship,Blade saved most of the passengers while Dracula made his escape.

It was only with his first full comic adventure in 1975 that readers were given a greater glimpse into the life of the jive talking steak wielder. Here, the slayer was shown to have a troubled relationship with the police chief, who was aware of the vampire problem, but had become frustrated with Blade’s inability to cooperate.

Following this, Dracula’s Legion began turning night shift police officers into vampires that began framing Blade for their killings, turning him into an outlaw. This issue also revealed that Blade’s vendetta went much deeper than a pure need to help others, when he revealed that a vampire had killed his mother during childbirth.

As a young man in Soho, he witnessed an old man come under attack by vampires. Watching, the saw the old man fight back with a silver sword cane. After the fight, young blade befriended the old man, learning everything he knew from this father figure.

Unfortunately, the old man was eventually turned into a vampire himself. Attacking Blade, the young man was forced to kill the only father figure he ever had, swearing vengeance on vampires for killing his mother, and now his only friend.

In the same issue, it was revealed that Blade was immune to vampire bites. This was due to the circumstances of his birth, meaning his was quite literally born the perfect vampire hunter. This immunity was later expanded in other issues and the film series to include vampire powers like strength and regeneration, excluding weaknesses like sensitivity to sunlight, garlic, silver etc.

A long running hero, Blade has since continued to wage war on the undead, while gaining more sophisticated tools and various allies. This struggle was eventually made into a live action movie trilogy starring Wesley Snipes, as well as an anime series.

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