Blade is a Marvel Comics character who has undergone numerous changes since his introduction. He made his first appearance in The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character, but one that needed serious work to make him not talk like the cliche Black characters that comics were known for in the 70s. Things changed drastically when he got his solo series, which mainly were horror comics, and then in the 90s when the character morphed into a similar style to Wesley Snipes’ portrayal of him in the movies. Since then, Blade has become an A-list Marvel hero and even got an event series centered on his character in 2025.
Videos by ComicBook.com
From that special event series to his appearances on Tomb of Dracula and his solo series, here is a look at Blade’s best stories in Marvel Comics.
10) Blood Hunt (2024)
In 2024, Marvel Comics created an event series based on Blade called Blood Hunt. However, this series did not have Blade as the hero, but instead, he became Marvel’s deadliest villain. The series started when the Darkforce Dimension empties onto Earth, blocking out the sun. Soon, the heroes learn that Blade is leading the vampires in an all-out attack on Earth. The twist is that Varnae, one of Blade’s most dangerous villains, had possessed the hero and set him against the Marvel Universe. This series crossed over with Avengers, Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Strange Academy comics with Doctor Strange, and more. While this made Blade a major player in Marvel Comics, the overall series was hit and miss, and it failed to live up to other recent event series.
9) Tomb of Dracula #10 (1973)
The first appearance of Blade in Marvel Comics came in Tomb of Dracula #10 in 1973. The comic book series itself was one of Marvel’s first horror comics after the Comics Code Authority relaxed its rules on horror, and the company decided to use Dracula himself in the book. Blade first appeared after Marv Wolfman joined the series and began exploring what direction would work best for the book. His introduction was great, with him showing up in his leather jacket and sunglasses and easily dispatching a pair of vampires with his wooden stakes. Blade is a great nemesis for Dracula here and proved from the start that he could go toe-to-toe with the world’s most powerful vampire. This also showed that Blade had no concern for other vampire hunters, preferring to work alone.
8) Tomb of Dracula #53 (1977)
Marv Wolfman chose not to let Blade return to Tomb of Dracula until he could figure out a way to make the character unique while not giving in to stereotypical writing. By the time Blade returned, he was stronger than ever and proved to be one of Dracula’s most persistent enemies. In Tomb of Dracula #53, Blade was dead, and Hannibal King went to Daimon Hellstrom to help bring him back. This succeeds in bringing Blade back from the dead and eliminating a doppleganger who had replaced him. With that done, Hannibal and Blade go after Deacon Frost, all three characters who would become famous in the Blade movies two decades later. It is a great story that also offers a nice look at how these characters appeared before entering the movie world.
7) Avengers (Vol. 8) #45 (2021)
In the 2020s, Blade was an official part of the Avengers. While he had worked with the team before (he was Ronin at one point in the New Avengers), here he was part of the main team with names like Black Panther, Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor. However, his position with the team put him in an awkward situation after the King in Black storyline. With Knull defeated, Black Panther knew he had to deal with a new threat, this time from Dracula, who led his vampires to help the heroes defeat Knull. After the battle, Blade began killing the vampires who helped in the war, and this put the Avengers in a challenging situation. This issue was a brilliant look at how the Avengers handled it and how Blade became the sheriff of Dracula’s newly made sovereign nation.
6) Wolverine vs. Blade #1 (2019)
Wolverine vs. Blade was a 2019 one-shot special issue that saw the vampire hunter go head-to-head with the X-Men’s most dangerous member. One thing to note about this issue is that it is one of Marvel’s adult books, and it is very bloody and violent, opening with Blade and Wolverine slaughtering a temple full of vampire cultists. Six months later, both heroes are drawn back into the cult, where they discover the main enemy is Varkis, a messiah to the vampires, and a former mutant turned vampire. They also learn of a prophecy that involves the two heroes fighting each other to beat Varkis. The issue is a smart story with some nice Wolverine vs. Blade action and incredible artwork by Dave Wilkins.
5) Spirits of Vengeance #1-5 (2017-2018)
Spirits of Vengeance sees Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider searching for the killer of an undercover angel, which threatens to topple the balance in the war between Heaven and Hell. However, he isn’t fighting this battle alone as he forms a new team to go after the killers. These allies include Blade, Daimon Hellstrom, and Satana. The goal of the villain, Necrodamus, is to kill the archangel Michael during the Covenant, which would turn the balance in Hell’s favor by closing the door to Heaven forever. This was a nice supernatural series, with the four demonic heroes stepping up against Hell and Satan himself to protect the world from imminent destruction. This easily took Blade to a level he usually doesn’t reach.
4) Marvel Preview #3 (1975)
While some of Blade’s better early appearances came in Tomb of Dracula, it was the series Marvel Premiere that offered up his origin story for the first time. When he accidentally kills a human girl during a fight with vampires, he crosses a line he believes he can never return from, and makes him a wanted man. However, Blade is trying to save the only woman he cares about, while also willing to turn himself in when he is finished. Luckily, he had a psychic named Kate Fraser who learned the truth, and he told her the truth about how he became a vampire hunter (this was before his origin was retconned into a Daywalker, but his mother’s death remains the same). This is a giant-sized comic book, a novel-length story written by Chris Claremont, making it one of Blade’s best epic tales.
3) Blade: The Vampire-Hunter #1-10 (1994-1995)
Blade: The Vampire Hunter was a 1994 series that followed Blade’s work in the Nightstalkers series for Marvel Comics. This was a 10-issue series that helped pave the way for the Blade movie franchise, which arrived just four years later. In this, Blade’s first-ever ongoing series, several elements made their way to the movies, including Hannibal King, Deacon Frost, and Dracula. Blade wanted to retire in peace here, but then Dracula and Deacon Frost came back, and he realized he would never rest. After this series, which ended on a cliffhanger, Blade in the comics changed into his movie version, and this showed that he was going to be a star in Marvel Comics for the foreseeable future.
2) Blade (Vol. 5) #1-12 (2006)
The best Blade series in Marvel Comics history arrived in 2006 with its fifth volume. This series delved deep into Blade’s identity, uncovering more about his past and introducing his father, the vampire Lucas Cross. It also had Blade meet several superheroes he had never crossed paths with before. The big moments include attacks on the Helicarrier and even a time-traveling plot where Blade has to save Cynthia Von Doom, who is pregnant at the time with Doctor Doom. Each issue of the series features flashback scenes to Blade’s past that mirror the current day plot, offering more information about Blade than any other series he has been in, before or after the series.
1) Blade: Crescent City Blues (1998)
While the 2006 Blade series is his best ongoing solo series in Marvel Comics’ history, his best overall story was a one-shot from 1998 called Blade: Crescent City Blues. This followed his acclaimed 1996 series, but made one significant change to the character. This was the book where Marvel Comics changed Blade into the Wesley Snipes version as a slight reboot to the character. Christopher Golden teamed with Blade co-creator Gene Colan to deliver the story, and it brought back a resurrected Deacon Frost, a surprisingly alive Hannibal King, and even Blade’s former love interest, Safron Caulder. What resulted was a love letter to Blade, as a character, and a new direction that made him more popular than ever.
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Paramount -
Amazon Prime Video -
Image courtesy of Marvel Studios.
