COMIC BOOK HISTORY
Who is BLADE?
Blade, whose real name is Eric Brooks, is a Marvel Comics fictional character. He is a superhero/vampire hunter. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973).
BLADE's first Comicbook Appearance
Blade was born in London, England at some time in the late nineteenth century. Blade's mother a prostitute was in labor with Eric, when a vampire named Deacon Frost feasted on her. The attacked killed Blade's mother but the infant was saved when the attacker was driven off before he could prey on the young Eric. The vampire's bite passed along certain enzymes to the infant, which resulted in Blade's quasi-vampiric abilities.
Blade started his career in vampire killing when he helped an old man, Jamal Afari, killing his three vampire attackers. Afari who is a jazz trumpeter turned out to be a vampire hunter, the old man mentored blade in hunting the bloodsuckers.
After killing and hunting young and weaker vampires, Blade set off to look for his mother's attacker, Deacon Frost, as well as the lord of all vampires, Dracula. Blade had several tussles with Dracula, but it always end up with Dracula escaping the clutches of Blade.
In the case of Deacon Frost, Blade was able to caught up with him and with the help of Hannibal King, a vampire who has not yet tasted human blood, killed the old Vampire Frost.
With Dracula still lurking around, Blade and a handful of heroes teamed up and formed the Nightstalkers. The Nightstalkers not only deals with vampire threats but other supernatural cases.
Blade would later encounter Morbius, the Living Vampire, who bit him. Because of the unique characteristic of Morbius state of "vampirism" combined with that of Blade's also unique blood chemistry, the result was Blade acquiring many of the vampires' strengths while eliminating their weaknesses, most notably the weakness to sunlight. Blade began adapting the moniker Daywalker.
During Marvel's "Civil War", the Superhero Registration Act was introduced. Blade registers and begins cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. Being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent allowed Blade access to hi-tech equipments and weapons.
Blade would later return home to England and join MI:13 where he find himself working alongside Captain Britain and the vampire Spitfire.
Journeying back to the United States, in the San Francisco area, Blade would assist the X-Men during the "Curse of the Mutants" storyline, where we see the Superhero team faces off with several bloodsuckers.
BLADE The Daywalker: going where the blood leads him
ANIMATED APPEARANCE/S
1994: Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Blade appeared in several episodes of Spider-Man animated series, he was voiced by J. D. Hall. He appeared in a costume based on his appearance in the Nightstalkers comic book series.
2011: Blade Anime
Blade stars in a 12-episode Japanese Madhouse animation house anime series that premieres in 2011.
LIVE APAPTATION/S
1998: Blade - Wesley Snipes
The first Blade film starred Wesley Snipes in the title role. The film diverges almost entirely from prior comic representations of Blade, completely revamping the character's demeanor, powers and weaknesses. Traditionally, Blade was often presented as loquacious and boastful, yet in the film he is stoic and nearly silent. Rather than a normal human with immunity to vampirism and vampire hypnosis solely reliant on skill and ruthlessness, he is a superhuman with vampiric powers but none of the inherent weaknesses, with the exception of their thirst. The movie Blade is portrayed as an African American born in Detroit, Michigan, whereas the comic books placed his birth in England.
2002: Blade II - Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes reprises his role in Blade II. The sequel finds Blade joining forces with vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos to defeat a powerful new breed of vampire called Reapers.
2004: Blade Trinity - Wesley Snipes
In Blade: Trinity, Blade (Snipes) find himself working alongside a heavily modified versions of Hannibal King and the Nightstalkers. They are on the mission of hunting the first vampire, Dracula.
2006: Blade The Series - Kirk Jones
The series dealt with Blade fighting an evil vampire named Marcus Van Sciver and his House of Chthon in Detroit.
POWERS & ABILITIES
Note: Due to the nature of comicbooks being an on-going tale, the character's powers along with the character's appearance, is in a constant state of flux.
Powers
Due to the fact that his mother was bitten by a vampire while giving birth to him, Blade was born with an immunity the effects of vampire bites, the ability to "smell" supernatural creatures, a greatly prolonged lifespan, and sensitivity to bright light. However, after being bitten by Michael Morbius, The Living Vampire, Blade gained various superhuman physical capabilities similar to those of vampires.
Superhumanly Acute Senses: Blade's sense of sight and hearing are heightened to levels comparable to those possessed by true vampires. He is capable of seeing objects with perfect clarity at much greater distances than an ordinary human. He retains this same level of clarity even in near-total darkness. Blade's hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing him to detect sounds that an ordinary human can't and to be able to hear sounds an ordinary human can, but at greater distances. Blade is also able to sense the presence of supernatural beings or forces, whereas an ordinary human would be oblivious to them.
Superhuman Strength: Blade is supernaturally strong and is capable of lifting about 1 ton.
Superhuman Speed: Blade is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete.
Superhuman Agility: Blade's agility, balance and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
Superhuman Stamina: Blade's musculature generates less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair him.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Blade, like full vampires, possesses an accelerated healing ability that allows him to heal mild to moderate injuries with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Blade is capable of healing from severe slashes and puncture wounds within a matter of hours. However, he is not able to regenerate missing limbs or organs.
Immunity To Vampire Vulnerabilities: True vampires have numerous and very particular supernatural vulnerabilities, most of which Blade is totally immune to.
Limitations: Blade does possess one weakness common to all vampires: the need to ingest fresh blood in order to stay alive. However, rather than consume blood, he ingests a specially designed serum that provides the same nourishment that blood would provide. If Blade does not drink the serum for an extended period, he will rapidly weaken and his self-control will be stretched to the limit. He would be forced to attack a human and consume his or her blood. An extended period without consuming either blood or the serum will prove fatal.
Abilities
Blade is a master martial artist proficient in practically every form of weaponry known to man. His particular specialty is the use of edged weapons, be they teakwood daggers or swords. Blade is a master in the use of small bladed weapons and can hurl knives with great accuracy. Blade also shows great skill with firearms, including both automatic and semi-automatic, which he often modifies to fire hollow-point, garlic-filled silver bullets. He is also a skilled jazz trumpeter.
SOURCES: http://marvel.wikia.com/Eric_Brooks_(Earth-616) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_(comics) : http://www.comicvine.com/blade/29-7570/
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