Blade (character)

Blade (birth name: Eric Cross Brooks; legal name: Frank Blade) is a fictional character and antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973) as a supporting character, but later went on to star in his own storylines. Devoting his life to ridding the world of all vampires, Blade utilizes his unique physiology to become the perfect vampire hunter; while originally depicted as a human immune to vampire bites, Blade was retroactively established to be a dhampir following his adaptation as such in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the Blade film series. He is the father of Brielle "Bri" Brooks (Bloodline).

For the film adaptations of the character, see Blade (New Line franchise character) and Blade (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Blade
Textless cover of Strange Tales: Blade #3 (January 1999).
Art by Bart Sears.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoFrank Blade
Eric Cross Brooks
SpeciesDhampir (retconned from vampire-immune human)
Team affiliations
  • Avengers
  • MI: 13
  • Nightstalkers
  • Vanguard
  • Midnight Sons
  • Mighty Avengers
Notable aliases
  • The Daywalker
  • SwitchBlade
  • Spider Hero
  • Ronin
Abilities
  • Master martial artist
  • Skilled swordsman and marksman
  • Highly knowledgeable about vampire lore
  • Superhuman strength, speed, agility and stamina
  • Enhanced senses
  • Accelerated healing
  • Immunity to both vampire bites and vampire hypnosis
  • Slowed aging
  • Ability to sense supernatural creatures

The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including films, television series, video games, and even his own animated series. Blade was portrayed by Wesley Snipes in the films Blade, Blade II and Blade: Trinity, and by Sticky Fingaz in the television series Blade: The Series. Mahershala Ali has been cast as the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, debuting with an uncredited vocal cameo in the film Eternals (2021) ahead of the character's upcoming standalone film (2025).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.