Blade is more than Ready for a new solo Comic Book

Will Marvel finally release a proper solo title for the Daywalker in anticipation of the Phase 5 film? The most unexpected mic drop moment of San Diego Comic Con 2019 came when Keige Feige announced Mahershala Ali in the titular role of Blade in a new solo film set for the MCU’s Phase 5. After the initial shock faded at the idea of anyone but Wesley Snipes playing the character on the big screen, one has to look at the comics themselves to see that Marvel (unified under Feige) planted the seeds for Blade’s return in the pages of the Jason Aaron’s current Avengers run.  Feige and Aaron are magicians of different mediums when it comes to the longform storytelling, so some comics-film synergy is definitely in the air.

In the same way that Robert Downey Jr. saved Iron Man from the superhero C-list, Wesley Snipes revived Blade from the dustiest back issues bins.  Before 2008, “Iron Man” was just a Black Sabbath song or Ghostface Killah album depending on who you asked. Prior to 1998, Blade was even more obscure.  While the character first appeared in Tombs of Dracula #10 by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan in 1973, he is barely recognizable compared to his modern incarnation.  Instead of the “all black everything” look, Blade wore quite colorful clothes and sported an Afro; also, unfortunately, he suffered from cringeworthy “jive-induced” dialogue that plagued other African-American characters at Marvel.  Needless to say, it was the 70’s . . .

Past Mistakes  While the character’s loo…