History Comicbook / Blade

See Characters/{{Blade}} for the character himself.

''ComicBook/BladeTheVampireHunter'' (1994) was a ten-issue ongoing series written by Ian Edginton.

''Blade'' Vol 1 (1998) was a one-shot written by Christopher Golden, with art by Gene Colan. It concerned Blade fighting against Deacon Frost, who was trying to take over as Lord of the Vampires from Dracula. It also includes Hannibal King, Safron Caulder, and Brother Voodoo.

''Blade'' Vol 2 (1998–1999) was a three-issue mini-series written by Don [=McGregor=], with art by Brian Hagen. It concerns Dominique Levant, a woman living in New Orleans who hires Blade to do a job. Things get complicated with the addition of Morbius the Living Vampire.

''ComicBook/{{Blade|2002}}'' Vol 3 (2002) was a six-issue Creator/MarvelMAX mini-series written by Christopher Hinz, with art by Steve Pugh. It concerns the Tryk, a new kind of vampiric creature that Blade encounters. The Tryk are fearless of vampires and actively hunt them, as well as the Seven, the AncientConspiracy that keeps the Tryk's numbers low.

''ComicBook/{{Blade|2006}}'' Vol 4 (2006–2007) was a twelve-issue series written by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Howard Chaykin. It follows a more case of the week structure, but it has the recurring antagonist of Lucas Cross, Blade's long-lost father, who is attempting to use his son to fulfill a prophecy.

''Wolverine vs. Blade'' (2019) is a one-shot featuring the titular heroes.

''ComicBook/BloodlineDaughterOfBlade'' (2023) is a five-issue limited series centered on Brielle, Blade's daughter, who's starting to come to terms with her heritage and powers.

''Blade: Vampire Nation'' (2022) is a one-shot exploring Blade's new role as sheriff of Dracula's titular vampire nation.

''ComicBook/{{Blade|2023}}'' Vol 5 (2023-) is an upcoming ongoing series, launching in July 2023.

See Characters/{{Blade}} for the character himself.

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''Blade the Vampire Hunter'' (1994)

‘’Wolverine vs. Blade'' (2019) is a one-shot featuring the titular heroes.

The Creator/MarvelComics character of Blade has had four self-titled comic books so far:

* CelestialBody: Plokta has one.

''Blade'' Vol 3 (2002) was a six-issue Creator/MarvelMAX mini-series written by Christopher Hinz, with art by Steve Pugh. It concerns the Tryk, a new kind of vampiric creature that Blade encounters. The Tryk are fearless of vampires and actively hunt them, as well as the Seven, the AncientConspiracy that keeps the Tryk's numbers low.

''Blade'' Vol 4 (2006–2007) was a twelve-issue series written by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Howard Chaykin. It follows a more case of the week structure, but it has the recurring antagonist of Lucas Cross, Blade's long-lost father, who is attempting to use his son to fulfill a prophecy.

* TheFairfolk: Dark Elves are one of the main antagonistic groups during the ''Strikeforce'' arc, and the ones doing the most to actively hinder the heroes since the Savage Land monsters are [[EverythingIsBetterWithDinosaurs mostly just territorial or hungry animals]]. Not just any Dark Elves either, but [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] specialists whom can [[VoluntaryShapeShifting voluntarily shape shift]]. The hope is that Comicbook/SpiderWoman can be of some use to the force, due to here experience with similar inflitrators.

* HiveQueen: How the Tryks operate -- every female Tryk is a queen, while the make Tryks fight to become her King (which she then devours after mating).

* ReverseGrip: How Hrolf, a vampire turned by Deacon Frost, holds is weapon. It looked pretty cool until Blade started cutting him up.

[[/folder]]

''Blade'' Vol 1 (1998) was a one-shot written by Creator/ChristopherGolden, with art by Gene Colan. It concerned Blade fighting against Deacon Frost, who was trying to take over as Lord of the Vampires from Dracula. It also includes Hannibal King, Safron Caulder, and Brother Voodoo.

''Blade'' Vol 4 (2006–2007) was a twelve-issue series written by Creator/MarcGuggenheim, with art by Howard Chaykin. It follows a more case of the week structure, but it has the recurring antagonist of Lucas Cross, Blade's long-lost father, who is attempting to use his son to fulfill a prophecy.

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsBlade]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blade2.jpg]]

A VampireHunter who debuted in ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' #10 (July, 1973). Blade grudgingly ended up working with the vampire detective Hannibal King against their common enemy, Deacon Frost and eventually joined up with the other surviving hunters in the book and {{Dracula}}, to defeat [[RoboticPsychopath Doctor Sun]]. From there, Blade made occasional appearances in similarly themed Marvel comics such as ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'', ''ComicBook/GhostRider'' and ''ComicBook/{{Morbius}}'' or in books like ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' whenever writers remembered him and had an excuse to use a vampire hunter. King became his best friend while Dracula remains one of his most hated foes.

Blade made regular appearances again during the "ComicBook/MidnightSons" story arc in the 1990s, which led to the character being featured on the then running [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries Spider-Man cartoon]], which gave Blade new powers. ''That'' led to a mildly successful [[Film/BladeTrilogy trilogy of movies]] based off the cartoon, best known for building enough confidence for Marvel to launch films of better named properties like ''Film/XMen1'' and ''Film/SpiderMan1.'' Attempts to reproduce that success for Blade in the comics failed but the adaptations did permanently change how the character would be used.

Initially he was tainted but mostly human, having a few of the vampire perks with drawbacks so few and negligible they were rarely mentioned at all. He's since gained more of the undead's strengths but has to deal with the issue of blood thirst. Mentally, his detachment from other people was traditionally presented as troubling and something he'd have to overcome. Now it's kind of accepted as who he is. After Marvel's ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' crossover event the character has also been prone to show up in stories dealing with government organizations, such as the Vanguard in ''ComicBook/MarvelComicsPresents'' and [=MI13=] that followed in the wake of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''.

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!! Blade appears in the following works:

[[AC:Anime]]
* ''[[Anime/MarvelAnimeBlade Blade]]''
* ''Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers''

[[AC:Comics]]
* ''Comicbook/TheTombOfDracula''
* ''Nightstalkers''
* ''ComicBook/MidnightSons Unlimited''
* ''Blade the Vampire-Hunter''
* ''Comicbook/MightyAvengers2013''
* ''ComicBook/{{Strikeforce}}''

[[AC:Live-Action Film]]
* ''Film/BladeTrilogy'' -- played by Creator/WesleySnipes
** ''Film/Blade1998''
** ''Film/BladeII''
** ''Film/BladeTrinity''
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Blade'' -- played by Creator/MahershalaAli

[[AC:Live-Action Television]]
* ''Series/{{Blade}}'', played by Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones

[[AC:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance''
** ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'' (''Curse of the Vampire'' expansion)
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManFriendOrFoe''
* ''VideoGame/UltimateMarvelVsCapcom3'' (cameo)
* ''VideoGame/SuperHeroSquadOnline''
* ''[[VideoGame/MarvelHeroes Marvel Heroes 2015]]''
* ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' (as the main team-up/reward hero of the Halloween-centric Spec Ops 22)
* ''VideoGame/MarvelFutureFight''
* ''VideoGame/LegoMarvelSuperheroes2''

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan''

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!! Blade provides examples of the following tropes:

* NinetiesAntiHero: Blade was always uptight, ruthless and demeaning on the hunt, but in the 1970s he genuninely empathized with the people minding their own business, whose lives were intruded upon by vampires. His loss of empathy, abuse of his protectorates and all around unpleasantness came in the 1980s, but since this was the 80s, this shiftt in attitude and behavior was considered a bad thing. Blade was still an example during the 1990s, but he was less manic than he was in the 80s while also being less sociophathic and more selfaware than most other 90s antiheroes. Still, he's retained the general 90s appearance and attitude well into the following millennium.
* AbnormalAmmo: Hollow points filled with garlic. His arm cannon could shoot rubber bullets.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: [[AccidentalPun Puns aside]] in Captain Britain and the [=MI13=], he claims to sharpen his stakes to ''nanopoints'' to pierce light armor.
* AccidentalMisnaming: Stacy Dolan always refers to Blade as "[[ActorAllusion Wesley]]", even when he threatens her with bodily harm for it.
* ActuallyADoomBot: Deacon Frost has the power to create clones of himself, this is why Blade, Hannibal King and the rest of his enemies have failed to kill him over the years. Blade's also fought the trope namer, Doctor Doom, but in that case the story didn't try to present the broken Doom bots as legit and he wasn't able to stop the real Doom.
* AdaptationalNationality: Every incarnation of Blade outside of the comics is African-American as opposed to Black British in the original comics.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Blade was the most recent holder of the Ronin identity. He even used the same costume that [[ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} Clint Barton]] wore during his tenure with the ''Comicbook/NewAvengers''.
* AfroAsskicker: What he started off with, though since the movies he's gone for shaved temples. A flashback in ''Mighty Avengers'' showing him in the 70s has him in his original outfit, 'fro and all.
* AndThenWhat: Blade gets a job and performs as a trumpeter on the side when all the vampires are killed in the comics. He asks this question to other people who don't seem to have an obtainable goal, such as Comicbook/ThePunisher, or just haven't thought of what they'll do when they're done.
* AntiHero: Blade not only kills supernatural being with extreme prejudice, but he is no less merciful towards humans who try to be vampires or side with them.
* ApocalypseMaiden[=/=]TheChosenOne: Blade is believed to be by some by the sheer fact he is a day walking vampire. This was Cilla's motivation for sleeping with him for example, believing it would lead to the birth of the fabled Tryk King Zukajaa (further implications of the plot have not been revealed yet)
* ArbitrarySkepticism: When he first encounters Spider-Man his introduction is summed up as "vampires are real, hero, get over it" before anything else meaningful is said, suggesting he's run into this trope a lot. He was a blood drinker himself, but Morbius initially did not believe in supernatural vampires.
* ArmCannon: He once resorted to biting off his own hand. While waiting for a replacement or a new one to grow back he hooked a gun where it used to be.
* AsteroidsMonster:The white worm summoned by Deacon Frost. The solution? KillItWithFire. TheEndOrIsIt
* BadassBiker: Ghost Rider, the vampire hunter twins Mikado and Mosha.
* BadassLongcoat: The only difference he makes when he briefly takes on the identity of Ronin is wearing a trench coat over it. The badassness is mildly offset by the fact it apparently ''[[ThePigPen stinks]]''.
-->'''Blade:''' You dream of a coat so nasty.
* BadassNormal: Initially Blade had no powers and survived with his skills, before being bitten by Morbius. After the bite, he becomes an EmpoweredBadassNormal.
* BedTrick: Cilla does this to Blade, then tries to eat him, because that's what Tryks do. They usually mate with other members of the colony who willingly become meals for their queen, Blade didn't even want to have sex before he knew he was being tricked, and Cilla fled when she realized she bit off more than she could chew.
* BigRedDevil: Deacon Frost's "god" form resembled the trope only green. It had horns and wings but no tail.
* BlessedWithSuck: Blade's initial state of tainted but not turned made even dim sources of light irritating to his eyes and others had it worse. Elliot Flanders's unsuccessful vampire turn left him an amnesiac wild man who ate animals and at times appeared to be brain dead, leading Blade to give him a MercyKill. Rank, a man who helped Blade for many years of his vampire hunting career, had to deal with his body literally rotting away as a result of not fully turning.
* BodySurf: Blade had to hunt down a body surfing criminal named Yoosef while Comicbook/SHIELD had forced him into the Vanguard program.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: After getting his new vampire powers, Blade is kidnapped by the Silver Eye division of S.H.I.E.L.D., who do use mind control in an attempt to turn him into a weapon for them.
* BreakOutCharacter: Along with Hannibal King.
* CaptainEthnic: In his early appearances.
* CelestialBody: Plokta has one.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: In a very reasonable case, almost every appearance by Blade since the movie has him looking like his live-action portrayer Creator/WesleySnipes.
* CoolShades: Always wears a pair, because of his eyes being particularly sensitive to light. [[RuleOfCool And because they make him look awesome.]]
* CostumeCopycat:
** Patriot, a super-soldier Mikado and Mosha brainwashed into believing he was Blade, they were trying to free the real thing from Silver Eye at the time and thought they were simply undoing "Blade's" reprogramming.
** Briefly, during ''Infinity'', he took to the streets as the "Splendiferous Spiderhero" (no hypen), a cheap green-and-purple knock-off of Spidey's outfit he borrowed from a costume store, mainly because it was what there was, and it covered his face.
* CulturedBadass: Blade is a jazz schooled trumpet player.
* CurbstompBattle: In his own book Blade used Union Jack as target practice for his new ArmCannon and [[AbnormalAmmo less than lethal rounds.]] When they fought in a neutral book it was a more even fight with no clear victor before being broken up.
* DatingCatWoman: Currently dating Spitfire, who while a vampire, is also a hero.
* DemonicPossession: Famously battles a demon who had possessed a mall Santa. It considers possessing Blade but decides it wants nothing to do with a vampire. The spirit of Varnae tries to possess Blade but he resists it, so it instead takes over Night Terror.
* DetectEvil: Blade has the ability to sense supernatural beings around him. A vampire's hiding in a crowd? He can find it. A spirit possessing a body? He can sense it's presence right away.
* {{Determinator}}: The people who know him personally will attest that Blade is overwhelmingly stubborn when it comes to his mission to protect humanity from the evil of the supernatural. He's been doing it for well over half a century, if not more, and he has no plans on stopping anytime soon.
* DisappearedDad
** Lucas Cross claims to be Blade's father, as he was Tara Brook's lover. Given what her profession is though, there is a good chance he isn't. His excuse for not being around is being locked up in Latveria for a crime he did not commit.
** IHateYouVampireDad: Well, Blade doesn't care for Lucas and him becoming a vampire to escape imprisonment did not improve their relationship. Blade doesn't like Deacon Frost or Morbius, the ones responsible for his own vampire state, either. He hates the latter least of the three and the middle the most.
* DodgeTheBullet: Most of the monsters can be shot but most likely will not be hit if just shot at once. Even Blade gets tagged occasionally, but it is rare.
* {{Dhampyr}}: Started as tainted by a vampire but not actually turned, was thought in fact to be impossible to turn but now Blade is a full-fledged vampire.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Taker Of Heads, a demonic entity that tries to do exactly that when he is summoned
* EvilVersusEvil
** Dracula's daughter Lilith wants to kill her dad more than Blade does, as killing Dracula will [[DeathSeeker also lead to her death]]. As detached from people as Blade is, Lilith is even more so, to the point he has to interfere with plans since she really doesn't care about the consequences beyond the end goal.
** Cyclops's reasoning in bringing back Dracula is that he won't approve of the current vampire lord Xarus and will make dealing with him easier. Blade is clearly not a fan of this, especially since he's seen it play out before with Dr. Sun.
* {{Expy}}: Blade in the original comics was an admitted {{Expy}} of {{Blaxploitation}} characters, particularly John Film/{{Shaft}} right down to the afro and brown leather jacket. He picked up the AAVE from Americans later, though--he's native to Britain.
* FastTunneling: One of Blade's best feats is {{def|iedtrope}}ying this trope when The Reaper tries to burrow to avoid the rising dawn.
* FoodChainOfEvil: There are many types of vampires and "Tryks" use other "species" to reproduce. Naturally, a colony targets Blade at one point and mostly regrets it.
* FullFrontalAssault
** Varnae's preferred method of assault. Whether he actually can or not depends on the situation but if left to his own devices he will be in the nude. This serves to contrast him to his SharpDressedMan "successor" Dracula.
** Blade's been forced to do this twice. Once after fist getting his powers and once again in his Max series when a group of vampires busts in on him as he's [[SleepsInTheNude sleeping in the nude]].
* GodhoodSeeker: Deacon Frost (or rather a clone), uses magic to become something he claims to be greater than a vampire but his new powers weren't anything Blade couldn't handle and he's only saved by the fact that Blade is more concerned with Bible John's safety at the moment. Frost's later [[FoodChainOfEvil eaten by the real thing]] in his second attempt for more power.
* GottaKillEmAll: It used to be all vampires, now its just every vampire who has given into their [[FantasyKitchenSink curse, disease or whatever]] and started killing multiple people or spreading their condition around. Vampires who aren't spreading it around and not murdering people are usually left alone, provided they can convince Blade.
* HealingFactor: Not as good as it could be, as he doesn't drink much blood Blade has to will himself to heal and manually kick-starting it is very painful. He teaches Spitfire how to.
* HellBentForLeather: His signature look, as popularized by the movies, includes a black leather trenchcoat.
* HellFire: Has a natural resistance to it as a benefit of being a partially undead vampire. {{D|emonlordsandarchdevils}}ukes of Hell like Plokta and Spirits of Vengeance like Ghost Rider can still burn him with it, lesser entities are out of luck though.
* HeroicBastard: As in the "born out of wedlock" type of bastard, but plenty think he's [[{{Jerkass}} the other kind of bastard]] too, due to being somewhat detached.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: As usual for Marvel, Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau does not get a very sympathetic depiction in Blade and Nightstalkers comics, where her attempts to extend her lifespan or kill rivals(nothing the historical figure nor the rumored daughter who took up her name her were ever noted for) often have nasty collateral damage they have to clean up.
* HiddenDepths: Besides being a badass vampire hunter, he's also a talented jazz trumpeter on the side.
* HumanityIsInfectious: The reason that Blade doesn't try to keep vampires from getting the Sun Walker Formula and the reason why most vampires would rather risk burning to death or use more complicated alternatives. It restores the natural human aversion to cannibalism but retains the vampire's insatiable thirst anyway. Lucas's plan is to give all vampires their humanity back.
* HybridPower: Blade, a classic {{dhampyr}}, has all the strengths of vampires, but none of the weaknesses, barring a much weaker [[HorrorHunger desire for blood]] which he treats with a serum.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: Apparently most vampires cannot, since after the success of sun walker serum Henry Sage said he would not be able to stop killing people until Blade "[[SuicideByCop did what he needed to do]]".
* ImmortalityImmorality: Draconis wanted to live forever, so he joined the church. Everlasting paradise wasn't good enough for him though, he wanted to live in ''this'' life forever, so he gave up being a good Christian and volunteered for a vampire's experiments. Marie Laveau also qualifies, as she abuses her talents to retain her youth.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: While he teamed with Captain Britain and [=MI13=] he cut up a spell book he found and made a papier-mâché sword out of it.
* IneptMage: Blade's attempts to use magic usually go wrong, the Word Sword being one of his few if only success stories. One case involved a spell that was supposed to give a vampire its soul back but instead returned vampires he killed back to life. To be fair he was tricked by Lucas Cross, who also thought it would work.
* ItsPersonal: Deacon Frost killed Blade's mother and is the reason he was tainted by vampire blood. Dracula killed his mentor Jamal. Vampires killed the street gang he rolled with as a kid so he has it out for them in general.
* {{Jazz}}: Blade is a very talented jazz player and it is his favorite music. Which makes sense considering he was around when jazz first got popular.
* JiveTurkey: Is from the UK but uses slang he picked up from Americans.
* JokerImmunity: InUniverse. Dracula's died a few times, Blade was involved in at least two cases but since the guy's such a popular figure with cultists, evil religions, demons, vampires and such he keeps being resurrected. One time the ComicBook/XMen were the guilty party (then again, it was an EnemyMine situation).
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Blade gets his name from a pair of teak wood daggers, but from the Nightstalkers onward they have been phased out by the badass Japanese sword he uses to kill the undead.
* KnifeNut: One of Blade's weapons of choice are knives made out of wood.
* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: For a long time Blade was, since the closest he ever was to being a main character was sharing the honor with two other guys until the 90s.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: DoubleSubverted in the nine issue ''Strikeforce'' arc, where Blade steps in to ruin an EvilPlan to frame an assembled group of oblivious superheroes to fight with and weaken The Avengers. While finding something for them to do and place for them to stay he and Winter Soldier still end up duped into a fist fight with Spider-Woman(Jessica Drew), that they lose handily.
* MistakenIdentity: A young Blade kills a man suffering from porphyria by mistake. Jamal sends him out of the country despite Blade believing he deserved prison for it. He ends up joining a gang in New York not long after.
* {{Mithridatism}}: Draconis was exposed to several vampire weakness in small amounts for a very long time until he became immune to them all and was effectively a day walker. He was also twice as strong and fast as Blade, as he was "created" to kill him.
* MonsterProgenitor
** Varnae to vampires, at least those of Dracula's line. As Blade mellows out he doesn't hold a personal grudge against him anymore. He'll still kill him on sight of course.
** Lilith to Lilim demons. She has the potential to become a MotherOfAThousandYoung but is never allowed to operate long enough to reach that point.
* MoralityChain: Bible John helped him in his goal to become less obsessed and hate filled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: A group of vampires were trying to preform a resurrection spell that required a specific day walker, Blade, to drink virgin blood. They tried to force him to eat a little girl and it didn't end well for them. Another group of vampires had created their own day walker named Draconis, to kill Blade. Draconis proves too tough for Blade to beat, so Blade decides to drink him of all his blood so he won't regenerate. Draconis dies... [[BrickJoke a virgin]]...
* KnifeNut: He preferred to use wooden knives made of teak back in the 70s.
* NotSoSimilar: He gets compared to Wolverine, both being really old guys who look younger than they are, and ComicBook/LukeCage, thanks to his relationship with Hannibal King (to Luke's with Comicbook/ImmortalIronFist), but he doesn't have much in common with either of them. Blade himself thought he was just like The Punisher but found out he was mistaken when he finally met him.
* OlderThanTheyLook: He was born in the 1920s and {{Jazz}} is still his favorite form of music. This is due to his slowed aging.
* OneSteveLimit
** Blade's a Midnight Son character so it bears mentioning that Lilith, Daughter of Dracula is distinct from Lilith, Mother of Demons. The latter being much more powerful and evil than the former.
** Blade also shares his first name with the vampire Eric Guy.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent
** Blade was a human who was immune to vampire bites. However, he was bitten by Morbius (a scientifically-created vampire) and [[RetCanon got turned into a vampire similar to his movie counterpart]]. He was mostly involved with the {{Dracula}}-descended type of vampire so it's not too outlandish for his immunity not to cover [[FantasyKitchenSink every other vampire type in Marvel.]]
** The original 70s version still had superhumanly acute night vision, [[BlessedWithSuck sensitivity to light]] (hence the goggles being part of his standard attire) and extremely retarded aging rate (his back story mentioned him being born in the late 19th century). The 90s version got upgraded with an intuitive ability to DetectEvil. Some view this as adaption induced LevelGrinding.
*** Possibly Lampshaded by Deadpool, who claims Blade is stronger than the trading cards say he is. After all, they ''do'' say vampires get stronger with age.
* ParentalSubstitute: In addition to Jamal, Blade also had Madame Vanity, who owned the brothel his mother worked at.
* PetTheDog: The nine issue ''Strikeforce'' arc sees Blade step in to sabotage a plot to frame a hodgepodge group of oblivious and innocent superheroes, then give them direction and lodging until The Avengers can take them off of his hands.
* PhysicalGod
** Lilith, Mother of Demons, was rumored to be a goddess who degenerated into a demon herself due to spawning so many.
** Deacon Frost tries to create one, and was wise to use a clone as a test subject because the experiment failed twice and wound up with said clone being eaten by the real thing.
** The demogorge was the {{Elder God|s}} responsible for killing off or chasing away all the others because they had become corrupt. Blade starts to become a second demogorge when he takes a page out of the Darkhold and set out to kill everything related to magic in the Marvel Universe. The ComicBook/MidnightSons are eventually able to reverse this, and they had to since the Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengeance, would have been his first victim. The demogorge was ''that'' powerful.
* PowerCopying: In the ComicBook/MidnightSons [[BatFamilyCrossover crossover]] ''Midnight Massacre'', Blade in his obsessive quest against all occult reads a certain page from [[TomeOfEldritchLore Darkhold]] and turns into Switchblade the Demogorge, a being who obtains powers of anyone he kills. [[spoiler:[[HoistByHisOwnPetard This power proves to be his undoing]] when kills Comicbook/GhostRider, and feels the power of his Penance Stare as he obtains it, buying enough time for Prof. Hastings of the Darkhold Redeemers to fix things up]].
* ProHumanTranshuman: Not that he is fond of many of his fellow humans, but he will do what he can to rid them of their vampire problems regardless.
* PsychicPowers: Some people get them when they become vampires. Eric Guy psychically tormented the wife of a vampire hunter into getting blood for him while he slept, giving Blade extra motivation to track him down. Freak was used by Silver Eye to help them brainwash their operatives. When Blade destroyed Jared Amundson in ''Midnight Sonss Unlimited'', he temporarily sent Blade's mind into the past as a parting shot.
* ReligiousVampire: Draconis, a vampire priest that had been immunized against all vampire weaknesses including religious artifacts, is unique in that he is genuinely devout; he is introduced praying in front of an altar before being hired to kill Blade.
* {{RetCanon}}: Blade originally had an immunity to vampire bites and hypnosis, but was otherwise a BadassNormal. After the first movie gave him superhuman strength, speed, agility, a HealingFactor, and heightened senses, Blade gained these powers in the comics thanks to a bite from Morbius. The movies also provided him with his half-vampire origin, the "Daywalker" title, and his leather-and-shades design.
* RetCon:
** The nineties saw Blade growing up in Brooklyn, when before he had been British. Because all Marvel heroes have to be somehow American. (Or, more likely, because Blade was played in movies by Wesley Snipes and not Idris Elba...)
** The Guggenheim run made a few changes to his backstory, many of which were incredibly unpopular and tend to not be acknowledged by either [[FanonDiscontinuity fans]] or writers.
* ReverseGrip: How Hrolf, a vampire turned by Deacon Frost, holds is weapon. It looked pretty cool until Blade started cutting him up.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Night Terror was originally a Ghost Rider villain.
* ScaryBlackMan
** In the comic, Blade's Mentor, Jamal, was a Jazz musician from Harlem (a far cry from Whistler), which is why someone from Britain like Blade would use American slang, that and the gang he joined was made up of New Yorkers. Orji Jones's and his vampire hunters were a group of them, especially Ogun Strong, who was big and strong enough to restrain Dracula! Also, the vampires Steppin' Razor and Night Terror count.
** Blade himself qualifies, especially towards the supernatural.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Blade refuses to admit Morbius's bite did anything to him and insists he was always the way he is when S.H.I.E.L.D. sends the latter to bring him in. In fact, Blade denies it whenever it comes up so much a reader could be forgiven for believing him. A look at an older comic where he lacks fangs and an urge to drink blood or a peep in a Marvel handbook will set them straight.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: In UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks he was a BadassLongcoat, but very much of an intellectual looking type. (The aviator glasses helped the effect.) In UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks his briefer, HellBentForLeather look reflects a more aggressive approach.
* SoleSurvivor: Blade is the only one to survive in a few groups, Orji Jones's vampire hunters in particular. In the original telling Blade survived when Dracula killed everyone else because of his immunity to vampire bites but this may or may not have been retconned as Dracula leaving him alive for a future favor.
* SonOfAWhore: Blade's mother was drained by a vampire as she gave birth but the other prostitutes eventually drove it off and took care of him.
* StoutStrength: Varnae is not the ideal picture of fitness but is stronger and faster than Dracula unless he is artificially powered up by something. Steppin' Razor too, if not to the same degree.
* SummonBiggerFish: The Reaper was a legendary creature summoned by ancient vampires Maracen and Saracen to deal with Blade's new superpowers, but proved difficult to control. If Blade hadn't defeated it, it could have easily displaced him as their problem.
* SunglassesAtNight
** Both Blade and Night Terror are known for it, Blade does because of light sensitivity and Night Terror for probably the same reason, as he didn't even go through the "not full vampire" stage.
** He can also see just fine in the dark, so his vision isn't hindered.
* SuperRegistrationAct: After this one is passed in Marvel USA, S.H.I.E.L.D. wastes little time in ''legally'' forcing Blade to work for them.
* SuperSpeed: After getting his powers, its noted that's he's uncannily quick, even among other vampires. Draconis and Spitfire are possibly even faster.
* SuperStrength: On the lower end of the scale, but still there. He can lift about one ton at his peak [[AllThereInTheManual according to Marvel's official handbook and website]]. This actually makes him weaker than his movie counterpart, who can at least double his strength by guzzling blood. It is also really {{depending on the writer}} though, as some feats of his are well above that (Pulling The Reaper out from underground and hoisting above his head so it could not avoid the rising sun) while other struggles suggest it is even lower than that (such as when he had to trick S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into shooting at him to break a pair of handcuffs).
* TeethClenchedTeamwork
** Blade respects Spider-man enough to distinguish him as "hero" on a planet full of them. That doesn't mean he ''likes'' Spider-man, since Spider-man tends to try and make Blade abide by his ThouShaltNotKill rule when they work together. Especially if the target is Morbius.
** With Comicbook/MonicaRambeau, any time they've worked together after a team-up against vampires in a post-Katrina New Orleans. On that same campaign he butted heads with Luke Cage but Brother Voodoo was indifferent to and Black Panther was amused by Blade's abrasive personality.
* TerrorHero: Type 3 and 5. Vampires whisper his name in the same way as Dracula's. Blade's mere presence, even among massive gangs of vampires is enough to send half running. The unintelligent other half usually die.
* ThatManIsDead: During his time as The Demogorge Switchblade.
* TheAssimilator: Blade was once absorbed into the body of one of Frost's creations when he tried to kill it. Daimon Hellstrom manages to exorcise him from it, then kill it properly.
* TheDreaded: Especially among New Orleans Vampires, who Blade states see him as some kind of Boogeyman. This is significant because Marvel New Orleans is home to a shapeshifter that can turn into anyform wavelength of light on the electromagnetic spectrum and move at lightspeed while doing so, while Blade is a world traveler that is mainly associated with the United Kingdom than any single state in the Union, but killed so many of them in a week he's still the thing they fear most.
* TheFairfolk: Dark Elves are one of the main antagonistic groups during the ''Strikeforce'' arc, and the ones doing the most to actively hinder the heroes since the Savage Land monsters are [[EverythingIsBetterWithDinosaurs mostly just territorial or hungry animals]]. Not just any Dark Elves either, but [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] specialists whom can [[VoluntaryShapeShifting voluntarily shape shift]]. The hope is that Comicbook/SpiderWoman can be of some use to the force, due to here experience with similar inflitrators.
* TheMusketeer: He's got UV grenades and cutting boomerangs too nowadays, but the sword and gun have been his most used weapons from Nightstalkers onward.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany : When Daimon Hellstrom, one of the few members of his Strikeforce whom Blade thinks of as more than an asset, is killed in action, he tells the surviving members to both get over it and stop worrying about the sister Daimon left behind because they have a lot more people in more immediate need of aide.
* TheNoseKnows: Of his super senses, his sense of smell is the most notable, as that's how his ability to detect supernatural activity manifests.
* TheRival: Joseph Chapman, aka Union Jack (not ''that'' Union Jack), another vampire hunter who believes Blade is a "[[MistakenForForeigner foreign amateur]]" and goes as far as to blame him for the continued existence of vampires(see nice job breaking it hero and inept mage for his reasoning).
* StickyFingers: Jamal encourages Blade to loot the vampires he fights, as many VampiresAreRich.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[AvertedTrope Not so]]. When he develops an obsessive hatred and detachment from the world in general over Dracula's inability to stay dead, Blade is committed to receive treatment. He's let out early by Dr. Strange but it does lead to him mellowing out a little.
* TimeDissonance: When [[Comicbook/BlackPanther T'challa]] was in possession of the Black Knight's Ebony Blade, our hero Blade asks him to give it to him in his will. Luke Cage tries to explain to him why that's rude but he doesn't care. Also, anyone who claims Blade can't kill all the vampires will be intimately corrected, he really doesn't care how long it takes.
* TranshumanTreachery: Not the case for the most part, feeding on humans just comes naturally to vampires. Because of this, the sunwalker formula which can give them resistance to sunlight, is not very popular among them because it also brings back their sense of humanity and brings the severe HorrorHunger that comes from eating your own kind alive and not being able to stop yourself. Using it drove Henry Sage to {{Suicide By| Cop}}Blade in ''Marvel team-up #7''.
* VampireDetective: He was a part of Borderline Investigations, but was really more involved in the Nightstalkers, what the same group was known as when hunting vampires and other occult elements.
* VampiresHateGarlic: Blade once poisoned some vampires by putting garlic in gumdrops.
* WeaponOfChoice: Two teakwood daggers were his preferred vampire-killing weapons in the beginning, as he was impressed by Orji Jones, who used them as his weapon of choice before him. Blade didn't limit himself to them though, also carrying things like crossbows. While working with the Nightstalkers, Frank Drake gets him some more dangerous weaponry and his arsenal continued to expand with S.H.I.E.L.D. and when he met the twins Mikado and Mosha.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: When Rotwrap of Comicbook/{{Hydra}}'s D.O.A. sends a swarm of stinging insects at Blade, he quickly cuts them to pieces with two knives, but laments that he really had nothing against those bugs and that he was sorry for them. He had no problem cutting Rotwrap herself to pieces though. Pyre had to save her before he could do too much damage. When 'god' Frost covers him in a swarm of insects he doesn't even attack them, stating worse things have bitten him.
* WreckedWeapon: Blade's blades tend not to be as durable as he is, as seen in his battle with Plokta, or in the case of his battle with the Taker Of Heads, can't repair themselves after being broken like he can. After a sword gets broken by Spitfire he is seen with an adamantium weapon.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: While in New York, Blade killed a gang leader named Cyrus Cutter in a knife fight. This caused Cyrus's gang, the Bloodshadows, to see Blade as their new leader, to the point of following him back to the Britain.
* {{Youkai}}: "The snow vampires of Nippon" are based on {{Yukionna}}, except they are not all female.
----

Blade is the new Ronin who debuted in Comicbook/{{Infinity}}.

[[index]]
[[AC:{{Anime}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[/index]]

* ''Anime/{{Blade}}''

!! Blade appears in:

!!Tropes featured in Blade comics:

* TheFairfolk: Dark Elves are one of the main antagonistic groups during the ''Strikeforce'' arc, and the ones doing the most to actively hinder the heroes since the Savage Land monsters are [[EverythingIsBetterWithDinosaurs mostly just territorial or hungry animals]]. Not just any Dark Elves either, but [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] specialists whom can [[VolunataryShapeShifting voluntarily shape shift]]. The hope is that Comicbook/SpiderWoman can be of some use to the force, due to here experience with similar inflitrators.

* ThinksAboutTheOtherMillion: When Daimon Hellstrom, one of the few members of his Strikeforce whom Blade thinks of as more than an asset, is killed in action, he tells the surviving members to both get over it and stop worrying about the sister Daimon left behind because they have a lot more people in more immediate need of aide.

* IneptMage: Blade's attempts to use magic usually go wrong, the word sword being one of his few if only success stories. One case involved a spell that was supposed to give a vampire its soul back but instead returned vampires he killed back to life. To be fair he was tricked by Lucas Cross, who also thought it would work.

* NamesTheSame: Blade's a Midnight Son character so it bears mentioning that Lilith, Daughter of Dracula is distinct from Lilith, Mother of Demons. The latter being much more powerful and evil than the former.

* NinetiesAntiHero: Blade was always uptight, ruthless and demeaning on the hunt, but in the 1970s he genuninely empathized with the people minding their own business, whose lives were intruded upon by vampires. His loss of emphathy, abuse of his protectorates and all around unpleasantness came in the 1980s, but since this was the 80s, this shiftt in attitude and behavior was considered a bad thing. Blade was still an example during the 1990s, but he was less manic than he was in the 80s while also being less sociophathic and more selfaware than most other 90s antiheroes. Still, he's retained the general 90s appearance and attitude well into the following millennium.

* BodySurf: Blade had to hunt down a body surfing criminal named Yoosef while S.H.I.E.L.D. had forced him into the Vanguard program.

* DodgeTheBullet: Most of the monsters can be shot but most likely will not be hit if just shot at once. Even Blade gets tagged occasionally but it is rare.

* HellFire: Has a natural resistance to it as a benefit of being a partially undead vampire. Dukes of Hell like Plokta and Spirits of Vengeance like Ghost Rider can still burn him with it, lesser entities are out of luck though.

* SummonBiggerFish: The Reaper was a legendary creature summoned by an ancient vampires Maracen and Saracen to deal with Blade's new superpowers, but proved difficult to control. If Blade hadn't defeated it, it could have easily displaced him as their problem.

* SuperStrength: On the lower end of the scale but still there. He can lift about one ton at his peak [[AllThereInTheManual according to Marvel's official handbook and website]]. This is really {{depending on the writer}} though as some feats of his are well above that (Pulling The Reaper out from underground and hoisting above his head so it could not avoid the rising sun) while at other times suggest it is even lower than that (such as when he had to trick S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into shooting at him to break a pair of handcuffs).

* TheDreaded: Especially among New Orleans Vampires, who Blade states see him as some kind of Boogeyman.
* TheFairfolk: Dark Elves are one of the main antagonistic groups during the ''Strikeforce'' arc, and the ones doing the most to actively hinder the heroes since the Savage Land monsters are [[EverythingIsBetterWithDinosaurs mostly just territorial or hungry animals]].

* TheRival: Joesph Chapman, aka Union Jack (not ''that'' Union Jack), another vampire hunter who believes Blade is a "foreign amateur" and goes as far as to blame him for the continued existence of vampires(see nice job breaking it hero and inept mage for his reasoning).

* WhatMeasureIsAMook: When Rotwrap of Hydra's D.O.A. sends a swarm of stinging insects at Blade, he quickly cuts them to pieces with two knives but laments that he really had nothing against those bugs and that he was sorry for them. He had no problem cutting Rotwrap herself to pieces though, Pyre had to save her before he could do too much damage. When 'god' Frost covers him in a swarm of insects he doesn't even attack them, stating worse things have bitten him.

* NotSoSimilar: He gets compared to Wolverine, both being really old guys who look younger than they are, and ComicBook/LukeCage, thanks to his relationship with Hannibal King (to Luke's with [[Comicbook/ImmortalIronFist), but he doesn't have much in common with either of them. Blade himself thought he was just like The Punisher but found out he was mistaken when he finally met him.