There is no way fans can argue that out of all the panels and announcements that came out of San Diego Comic Con 2019, it was Marvel that reigned supreme. From the highly anticipated announcement for The Eternals to the shocking revelations of Thor’s 4th film, there were lots of major moments from the conference. The biggest one however had to be for Blade.
Coming to the MCU, the fan favorite vampire hunter and Daywalker, Blade is being played by Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali. Let’s take a look at Blade’s ten best storylines that should appear in the MCU.
10 Tomb Of Dracula
One of the best storylines the MCU can draw from for Blade has to be Tomb of Dracula. The pop culture icon for vampire lore makes a major impact on the Marvel supernatural universe, and is Blades most well known adversary in his mission to exterminate all vampires from the world.
Blade’s first major arc came in the pages of Tomb of Dracula, with Blade attempting to destroy the powerful vampire many times after his mentor Afari lost his life to Dracula. Although Blade managed to stake the immortal being many times, it was never enough to stop him permanently.
9 Undead By Daylight
Continuing from the pages of Tomb of Dracula came the Undead by Midnight storyline, which included Blade partnering up with Quincy Harker’s vampire hunters. The son of Jonathan Harker, Quincy led a team alongside Blade, the great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing himself, Rachel van Helsing, and others.
The story led to many confrontations with Dracula, and even after seemingly defeating the immortal vampire, a group of Dracula’s followers resurrected him. Later Blade’s girlfriend nearly fell to a vampire in their shared apartment, and Dracula battled Blade across London until the immortal vampire fled, leaving Blade dealing with Scotland Yard.
8 Blade And The Midnight Sons
One of the biggest storylines that would easily fit into Blade’s place in the MCU has to be his tenure with the Midnight Sons. Secretly formed behind the scenes by Doctor Strange, the team consisted of the Nightstalkers, (Blade, Hannibal King and Frank Drake), the Spirits of Vengeance (Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Riders and Michael Badillino as Vengeance), Morbius the Living Vampire and the Darkhold Redeemers.
The biggest meeting of this group involved the mother of all demons, Lilith, who attempted to use Blade and his comrades to stop the Ghost Riders so she could unleash her demons.
7 Nightstalkers
The Nightstalkers didn’t stop at the Midnight Sons. After the battle with Lilith, the Nightstalkers took on many adventures in their efforts to stop supernatural threats around the world. One adventure included Blade being possessed and taken over by a page out of the all powerful grimoire known as the Darkhold, and became Switchblade, taking the lives and powers of many allies until he was returned to normal and everything was reset.
They also fought HYDRA’s Department of Occult Armaments and former allies turned vampires, until they finally came upon the supposed first vampire, Varnae, sacrificing all to stop him.
6 Undead Again
Undead Again is a unique storyline, as it involves Blade teaming up with a character named Bible John when Marie Laveau joined forces with Deacon Frost, the vampire who ended the life of Blade’s mother while giving birth to him, in an attempt to take over the organized crime in New Orleans.
During this time he battled Marie and Dracula, as they attempted to resurrect the defeated Varnae. Frost captured Blade alongside Hannibal King and Doctor Voodoo in an attempt to give himself more stature within the criminal underworld, but they escaped and Frost fled, making him Blade’s target again.
5 Sins Of The Father
An interesting story that could be fascinating to see unfold if you are interested in getting fans reacquainted with the vampire hunter is Sins of the Father, which involved a vampire seeking vengeance against her father for turning her into one of the undead. However this proved to be false, as she and her love interest wanted to destroy Blade and gain power for themselves, hoping Blade and her father would wipe each other out.
Instead she ended up slaying her own father, and Blade arrived in time to end her and her love interest for good in the process.
4 Captain Britain And MI13-Vol. 3: Vampire State
One thing fans might not know is that one storyline involved Blade returning to his home in Europe and joining MI:13. This included joining forces with heroes like Captain Britain and the part vampiric hero Spitfire. This happened after the Skrull Invasion of the U.K., which led to a resurgence of evil supernatural forces in the area.
However Blade had a difficult time with the team, as he ended up staking Spitfire in a confrontation. The hero survived, and the two butted heads often until Blade finally apologized. Later the two somehow surprisingly began a romantic relationship together.
3 X-Men: Curse Of The Mutants-Mutants Vs. Vampires
One storyline that would be amazing to see unfold for Blade would be the Curse of the Mutants storyline. During this time, Blade reveals that Dracula has finally been defeated for good, but in his absence his son Xarus has taken control and united the vampires under one banner.
Xarus targets the mutant population, turning Jubilee into a vampire faithful to him and also capturing Wolverine in the process. Blade works with the X-Men to stop Xarus and rescue the mutant vampires, but clashes when Cyclops resurrects Dracula to stop his son and his son’s army of the undead.
2 Ultimate Comics Avengers: Blade Vs. The Avengers
One thing that is on everyone’s mind now that Blade is joining the MCU is how he’ll interact with the other MCU heroes like Captain Marvel or Black Panther. Well one way we saw Blade introduced to the larger Marvel world happened in the pages of the Ultimate universe.
In this world, the Avengers and major heroes around the world became infected by vampirism and Blade had to battle many of them until they could be cured or stopped for good. The MCU has been known to borrow many elements of the Ultimate universe for their films, making this possible.
1 Spirits Of Vengeance: War At The Gates Of Hell
One of the best storylines in recent years for Blade has to be his involvement in Spirits of Vengeance: War at the Gates of Hell. This storyline involved an annual meeting between the representative of Hell and the representative of Heaven, on a single day where the two armies had a ceasefire.
After discovering an angel destroyed by a silver bullet, Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider, joins forces with Blade, along with Hellstorm and his sister Satana, to stop a plot that would send the universe into chaos and bring Hell on Earth and give Blade his biggest challenge yet.