Blade Gave Birth to the Modern Era of Comic Book Movies 20 Years Ago

The state of superhero movies in 1998 was in disarray. Fans who had felt the massive highs Tim Burton’s Batman films were now suffering from the painful one-two punch of Batman Forever (a film so bad its only redeeming quality is its soundtrack) and the laughably terrible Batman & Robin (a film so bad it’s only redeeming quality is its short runtime). But Batman movies weren’t the only franchise floundering on the big screen.

In the same year that Batman & Robin was released into the wild, a live action adaptation of Spawn came to cinemas. While the mere existence of the film could be seen as a win for independent comic book publishers, Spawn left much to be desired despite an entertaining, whacko performance by John Leguizamo and (again) a pretty good soundtrack.

The pain didn’t stop there, however. In the same year, soul-crushed fans were kicked in the ribs once again with the release of the Shaquille O'Neal vehicle Steel, a movie so bad it almost ruined a fantastic comic book character and probably urged Shaq to stay in his lane with regards to his acting chops (only cameos from now on, good sir!).

Thankfully, in the summer 1998, a movie would set in motion a wave of big screen comic book adaptions that would swell into a tsunami, a wave that continues to rise without any signs of receding today. That film is director Stephen Norrington’s phantasmagoria of hyper-kinetic action horror, Blade.

A Bit of Backstory

Prior to 1998, Blade was not exactly a top-tier hero in the Marvel Comics hierarchy. Sure he had a following, but he wasn’t exactly the most eye-pleasing character for quite some time (c'mon, look at that outfit). Blade did, however fit nicely in the niche of horror-centric characters Marvel had in its pantheon. He was right at home with characters like Morbius the Living Vampire, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and, of course, Dracula.

Blade made his first appearance in Tomb of Dracula #10 in 1973. Eric Brooks was the son of an English prostitute, who during his childbirth was attacked by vampire Deacon Frost. Before Frost could kill Eric, the vampire fled. The silver lining to this horrific moment was the fact Eric was given certain abilities that were transferred from his mother after she was bitten. He had a prolonged life span, was invulnerable to vampire bites, and had a hyper-aware sense of the supernatural. Basically, Eric Brooks was literally born to be a vampire hunter.

So hunt, he did. After training in hand-to-hand combat during his youth, Eric Brooks became Blade, and made it his mission to hunt down the creatures who took everything away from him. Blade’s backstory and early exploits are quite good and still hold up today. There’s a sense of maturity to them that a lot of superhero comics at the time were just starting to get the hang of displaying.

During the time between his first appearance on page and his debut in film, Blade went through a few different iterations, becoming grimmer and more extreme as the passage of time called for it (hey, by the time the ’90s rolled around, everyone has spiked shoulder pads). But once actor Wesley Snipes stepped into the role, Blade would become truly defined, and the superhero movie genre became a legit enterprise.

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It’s All About Style, Baby…

In 1998, British director Stephen Norrington (Death Machine, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and writer David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight trilogy, JSA) swooped in to not only revitalize the superhero movie genre, but redefine it with their film Blade. The film was hyper-stylized and, from a purely visual stance, something audiences had not seen in an American film. The action was frantic and visceral. The costume design was a mix of real-world tactical gear and comic book flare.

While critics were divided on the film in terms of its quality and story-telling, Blade resonated with audiences. The film grossed over $130 million against it $45 million budget, making it a summer hit, especially for an R-rated horror action film based on a Marvel Comics property the general public was not familiar with.

The style of Blade would go on to influence subsequent action and comic book films for years. The black tactical look Wesley Snipes made appear plausible in the real world would become a staple in the X-Men Film Franchise. Its Eastern influenced hand-to-hand combat action scenes would appear in Western films like The Matrix and Equilibrium. And the too-cool-for-the-room swagger the titular character possessed in the film would be a hallmark of modern superhero film until Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins knocked black-clad superheroes down a beg (for the best, probably). But in terms of sheer coolness factor, Blade is a cut above the rest.

A Legacy of Blood

Blade had its fair share of imitators. Film franchises like Underworld would adopt a lot of the ground work laid down by Blade in both style and story-telling devices. the same can be said for The Resident Evil franchise as well...but with zomibes. The film was followed by two sequels. The first in 2002 with Blade II, this time directed by the brilliant Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water).

The follow up was a hit with fans (turning a similar profit as the first film) and did slightly better with critics thanks to del Toro’s creative touch. To many fans of the franchise Blade II is considered the watermark of the series. It expanded on what made the first film a hit. Blade II was bigger, meaner, and gorier. Its story was denser (but not too dense), fleshed out the mythology of vampire hierarchy, and gave the enemy more nuance than just a band of self-preserving, blood-sucking jerks who turn into ash when you bifurcate them with a silver dagger.

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Unfortunately, the franchise did hit a bit of a slump in 2004 with Blade: Trinity. Directed by the franchise screenwriter David S. Goyer, the third and final installment of the series was a disaster behind the scenes and it showed in the final product. Despite having a solid cast and bringing in more characters from the comics (Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King was a highlight in this pit of despair), the film did not live up to expectations.

While it did perform fairly well at the box office, critics savaged the film. Blade: Trinity is often regarded as the red-headed step-child of the franchise, and is thus not often discussed with the exceptions of the insane behind the scenes stories from the set.

Still On the Hunt

Blade had a huge impact outside of films as well. After the trilogy wrapped up, a short-lived television show starring Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones as the titular vampire-hunter aired for one season on Spike. The show developed a bit of a cult following, but never found a wide audience. Blade was also featured in an anime series produced by the legendary animation studio Madhouse (Trigun, X) as part of a crossover with Marvel Entertainment in which classic comic book characters got the Japanese treatment... and it was kind of awesome.

The character of Blade also got a bit of a face lift in comics, getting his own Max (the adult imprint of Marvel) series in which he bared a closer resemblance to the character Wesley Snipes had made famous. While Blade still isn’t a massive cultural icon in the same capacity as say Captain America or Black Panther, thanks to a film released twenty years ago, the “Daywalker” is more recognizable than he ever has been and is part of the pop culture zeitgeist. The film’s aesthetic defined a decade of films in ways movie goers will never forget, for better or worse, and that's no small matter.

This article was originally published July 28, 2018.