Marvel's Blade: A New Orleans Born Super Hero?
Blade’s first appearance in Marvel comics (Tomb of Dracula #10, 1972)
Is Blade a New Orleans born superhero? For comic book nerds like myself, the Marvel Earth-616 comic universe is cannon to the Marvel mythos. Eric Brooks, who goes by the superhero name Blade, first appeared in Tomb of Dracula #10. His origin story and details of his birth, however, are shared in Tomb of Dracula #13 and Marvel Preview #3. Despite Blade’s celebrated comic “Crescent City Blues” (featuring Marie Laveau) and the second volume of his solo series being set in New Orleans, Blade was born in London, England.
Tomb of Dracula #13 reveals that Blade’s mother was bitten by sinister vampire Deacon Frost while in delivery. The enzymes of this fatal bite were transferred to Blade and transformed him into a half-human/half-vampire anomaly known as a Dhampir. This special status allows Blade to walk in the sun, birthing his moniker Day Walker. After his birth, Blade grew up in a brothel and was raised by sex workers. Gotta love the edge Marvel gave their characters back in the day!
The map that Blade keeps in his vest to track vampires in the first Blade film is clearly a map of New Orleans.
Blade’s most recognizable iteration in popular culture was in Marvel’s first silver screen trilogy. Portrayed by Wesley Snipes, the first movie was presumably set in New Orleans. Fans of the cult classic film conclude this because Blade uses a map of New Orleans to track vampire activity. This could possibly insinuate that Blade is from New Orleans in this universe, but it’s a fanciful conclusion at best. The filmmakers don’t even make an attempt to portray our unique architecture.
The Blade franchise is going to be rebooted in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe with Mahershala Ali in the lead role. The Marvel Cinematic Universe gives an adaptation of the comic Earth-616 universe, but there are some deviations. For example, Sam Wilson (Falcon/Captain America) is from Harlem in the comic Earth-616 universe, but in the MCU he’s from the Louisiana Bayou. This is thanks in no part to native New Orleanian Anthony Mackie who portrays the character. This same possibility exist for Blade in the MCU. It’s a long shot, but it would be ideal for Blade to be from New Orleans being that our city has the most prevailing Vampire lore in the United States.
Even if he’s not from New Orleans in the MCU, there is already an iteration of Blade being a New Orleans born superhero! He was a New Orleanian in the fan favorite 1990’s Spider-Man Animated Series. In season 2 episode 9 Abraham Whistler tells Blade’s origin story to Spiderman. In doing so he reveals that Blade is the son of a Vampire man who fell in love with a human woman. His mother was later turned into a vampire against her will, but she wanted Blade spared from her dark world. Her final act of love was placing Blade in the New Orleans Orphanage (The Blade anime is faithful to the comics. Fox Kids would have cancelled Spiderman in a heart beat if Blade was placed in a brothel). Blade would flee the orphanage eventually and ran off into the French Quarter streets. It was on our cryptic underworld that he learned he was blessed, or cursed, by being part vampire. Whistler adopted him and trained him to be the ultimate Vampire Hunter.
The first full episode of the Blade anime.
My love for my city definitely has an influence on who my favorite superhero’s are. I feel like I have a special identification with the characters that are born here. For that reason New Orleans born superhero’s Monica Rambeau and Gambit are among my favorite…with Brother Voodoo being my third. Brother Voodoo was born in Haiti, but his superhero career took off here in the Big Easy. Brother Voodoo is also the school master of Strange Academy. It’s a school for the magical arts located in the French Quarter. Of the student body, Zoe Laveau, the grand-daughter of Marie Laveau is born in New Orleans. She’s recently branched into bigger titles like Midnight Suns, so she’s certainly a New Orleans born superhero to keep an eye on.
Blade is one of my top 5 favorite superhero’s, and in the multi-verse of my own mind, the Spiderman animated series allows me to claim him as one of our own!
In the Sublimity of Multiple Earths,
In my tour guide career, I had the privilege of giving Wesley Snipes, the famed actor that popularized Blade, a tour of the French Quarter.
Eric Gabourel