Blade Appreciation 2018

[Jabare]

His question for conversation. Anyone have any particular ideas of where Blade learned all his combat skills? It's likely that he's been around the world quite a bit and picked use stuff along the way.

I imagine Blade has many teachers.


For the comics Jamal Afari trained Blade at an early age and helped him become the Hunter we see in Tomb of Dracula.


For the movie and Saturday cartoon series you have Whistler.


For the anime version you have Van Hellsing and Tanba Yagyu


If I wrote Blade and made an amalgamation of his best media interpretations there would be a combination of all 4. Jamal Afari for training in and close quarters combat, h2h and with knives/stakes/daggers. Whistler/Van Hellsing for firearms and gadgets. You don't need Whistler and Van Hellsing I'd pick one or the other. Than Master Tanba Yagyu as his master swordsman trainer.

[Tracks]

I think in nightstalkers he mentioned picking up his hand-to-hand fighting from watching movies. Everything vampire-related was Jamal Afari.

[snoopdogg]

I think in his 90's series he did mention he learned a lot of stuff from watching Kung-Fu movies.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Tomb of Dracula #10 July 1973
"His Name is Blade!"
On the docks of London, a young couple is trying to spirit off to America when they are attacked by
a trio of vampires who refer to themselves as part of Dracula's Legion. Before they can feed on the couple however,
they are attacked by Blade, a vampire hunter armed with wooden knives.

Blade easily over powers the vampires, stabbing them in the heart with his knives, effectively staking them and killing them instantly.
After the battle, Blade is confronted by Quincy Harker and his daughter Edith.
Quincy scolds Blade for brashly killing vampires who are part of Dracula's minions, as they could have led the vampire hunters directly to Dracula himself.
Blade simply scoffs at Quincy and departs, telling the old vampire hunter that he will hunt by his own methods and kill Dracula on his own terms.

Elsewhere on a private cruise shop that has been rented out by the rich Gabriel Trulaine, Trulaine has a special surprise for his guests: Count Dracula.
This is really Dracula, however the vampire lord leaves all present to believe that he is merely an ancestor who suffers from a rare blood disease
and requires blood transfusions. After charming his guests (especially the ladies) Dracula retires to his room with his slave, Clifton Graves.
When Graves wonders why Dracula doesn't simply destroy all aboard the ship,
Vlad angrily explains that he intends to exert his will over the wealthy and influential people aboard the ship to suit his own ends.

Spotting a woman whom he was charming earlier, and needing a quick feeding, Dracula lures the girl somewhere private and drinks some of her blood.
He then takes the girl back to his room and charges Clifton with watching her as Dracula intends
on draining her dry after he is finished his appointed task and leaves to rejoin the other guests.
First, Dracula takes control of the ship, hypnotizing it's captain and getting the passengers attention by giving the ship a quick jolt.

Confronting the guests, Dracula reveals his true vampire nature and boasts about how he will make all aboard his slaves.
When one of the guests attempts to shoot Dracula, the vampire lord laughs off the attempt on his life and throws the man overboard.
Dracula then begins ordering the passengers loyalty, totally unaware that Blade has tracked him to the ship and is now secretly boarding it.

Dracula's plan backfires when one of the passengers pulls out a crucifix and trains it on him, causing the vampire king pain,
allowing for the passengers to rush him. Meanwhile, back in his quarters, his intended victim revives -- and in a
hypnotic trance thanks to Dracula's vampire bite -- knocks Clifton out and leaves the room seeking to find her "lover", Dracula.

Topside, Dracula manage to escape the passengers by turning into mist and flying away from the cross and demands that they deliver his ultimatum or die.
Their response comes in the form of Blade, who reveals himself to Dracula and challenges him.
The two lock in battle, and Dracula finds that Blade is himself a skillful fighter.

However, Dracula manages to over-power Blade, however his attack is distracted when the woman reaches him and calls out his name, with Clifton Graves following
behind bellowing apologies over letting her go. Furious at this distraction because it allowed Blade to break free and regain his footing, Dracula throws the girl at him.
Dracula then tells all aboard that he ordered the captain to plant explosives aboard the ship and then flees leaving them all -- including Clifton Graves, to perish.

As Dracula escapes in his bat form, Blade ushers everyone to jump overboard leaving only the pathetic Clifton Graves behind begging his master to come back for him.
When the ship explodes, all the passengers are safely away from the ship except for Clifton Graves who is seemingly killed in the explosion.
Dracula departs vowing to get revenge on Blade in a battle which the vampire killer will not return from alive.

Written by Marv Wolfman. Art by Gene Colan and Jack Abel.

[Rosebunse]

Looks like he might be in Domino!

[Anthony W]

Looks like he might be in Domino!

Hopefully it's a good appearance.

[Jabare]

Looks like he might be in Domino!

link? care to elaborate?

[Rosebunse]

Morbius is in the Domino book and thus Blade seems to have been called in.

[BlackWind]

Morbius is in the Domino book and thus Blade seems to have been called in.

Hopefully they don't fight before realizing there's a bigger problem at hand. I wanna think Blade and Michael have gotten past that point in their relationship.

My naivete will likely be punished. That'll teach me to have expectations, tell ya whut.

[Rosebunse]

Hopefully they don't fight before realizing there's a bigger problem at hand. I wanna think Blade and Michael have gotten past that point in their relationship.

My naivete will likely be punished. That'll teach me to have expectations, tell ya whut.

It's pretty apparent that Morbius probably doesn't want to be a part of some vampire revolution since he was in chains and knocked out.

But Morbius and Blade always struck me as two guys who just don't like each other.

I'm sort of wondering which vampire had the idea to even use Morbius. Dracula has never wanted anything to do with him and finds him pathetic.

[BlackWind]

It's pretty apparent that Morbius probably doesn't want to be a part of some vampire revolution since he was in chains and knocked out.

But Morbius and Blade always struck me as two guys who just don't like each other.

I'm sort of wondering which vampire had the idea to even use Morbius. Dracula has never wanted anything to do with him and finds him pathetic.

Makes sense. Morbius is not a real vampire and he has made it clear literally for decades that he's a scientist who doesn't wanna be mixed up in the supernatural. So hopefully him and Blade can work together.

[Rosebunse]

Makes sense. Morbius is not a real vampire and he has made it clear literally for decades that he's a scientist who doesn't wanna be mixed up in the supernatural. So hopefully him and Blade can work together.

I imagine the other vampires want to use his unique form of vampirism to maybe cure themselves. Morbius actually has a pretty robust healing factor and his vampirism is contagious. Another thing is that Morbius is known to be helpful towards other monsters. He's treated vampires in the past and in his capacity as a doctor in the Monstertropolis, he's probably treated vampires there as well. The vampires who kidnapped him might have mistaken his normal want to help anyone as him not minding helping them in their plans for global domination.

[Hypestyle]

Morbius should be pwned by Blade easily. I don't see them as equals, not remotely.

[Rosebunse]

Morbius should be pwned by Blade easily. I don't see them as equals, not remotely.

Morbius isn't actually a trained fighter like Blade. The only way he's able to get a handle on Blade at all is because he's really strong and has sharp nails and teeth.

[BlackWind]

Anyone think the mist shifting power would be useful to Blade? I hope he gets it one day.

Morbius should be pwned by Blade easily. I don't see them as equals, not remotely.

Blade and Michael haven't fought in years. And Blade is consistently a lot stronger and faster these days then he was back in the 70s and 90s which was when the two of them fought most.