MCU Blade Has Never Fought a Vampire and That’s Kinda Hilarious
Blade has now appeared in a number of MCU projects, but fighting vampires is the last thing on his mind.
We all love Blade, and why shouldn’t we? He’s one of Marvel’s best characters! His 1998 big-screen debut was the first major Marvel superhero film. Blade daywalked through Hollywood so that Iron Man, Black Panther, and even Eternals somehow, could run. There are nothing but good vibes in the Marvel fandom when it comes to the character of Eric Brooks, and it’s great to have seen him in so many MCU projects recently.
Blade has popped up in three different projects so far – four if you count a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot at the end of What If…? season 3. We had a good Blade tease at the end of Eternals when Mahershala Ali’s voice could be heard telling Kit Harington that there was definitely a good reason he’d been cast in a nothing Marvel role. Wesley Snipes virtually strutted into Deadpool & Wolverine after a decades-long feud with star Ryan Reynolds. And in last month’s Marvel Zombies animated series, guess who was back fighting the walking dead? Blade. As the Avatar of Khonshu, no less!
Yep, Blade is in the MCU and he’s here to stay. Well, it seems that way, despite his solo MCU movie still being stuck in development since it was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con back in 2019. In the meantime, we’ll take all the Blade we can get.
But as a fair few people have pointed out, the Blade we’re getting… isn’t doing any vampire hunting. Or vampire fighting. In fact, nothing about MCU Blade is synonymous with vampires, which is kinda hilarious but also a bit of a shame, because one of the main things people know about Blade is that he’s, y’know, half vampire. His superhuman strength, agility, heightened senses, and accelerated healing are all down to being half vamp on his mother’s side.
Blade’s comic book and movie missions, though varied, are largely focused on hunting down vampires and thwarting their various nefarious schemes. He’s known for taking on both major vampire figures and organized vampire factions, whether that’s the villainous Deacon Frost or bloody Dracula himself. Vampire armies, vampire sects, and even vampire politicians: Blade’s battled them all over the years.
As fun as it is to see Blade slay mutants and zombies, we wanna see some vamps! So, why haven’t we? Some might guess that Marvel is feeling a little reticent about introducing a swathe of bloodsuckers after Sony’s flop Morbius, while others assume that they’re saving all the good vampy stuff for that elusive solo blockbuster.
Whatever the reason, we remain seated for some eventual vampire action while we enjoy the MCU Blades we’ve got. As one Redditor astutely pointed out, “they never specified that motherfuckers ice skating uphill had to be vampires.”
True enough. True enough.
Written by
Kirsten Howard has paid their dues. Yes sir, the check is in the mail.