Blade: Unforgivable Blackness

With black television’s resurgence, shows like Black-ish, Atlanta, Insecure, Empire, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder have been blasting through the airwaves and our downloads. The next leap in black film and television naturally is the red-hot superhero genre.

2016 has given us Luke Cage (#coffee) and the promise of the blackest Disney-produced film since The Lion King, Marvel’s Black Panther. Misty Knight has captured the imaginations of millions of black women because of her complicated portrayal in Netflix’s Luke Cage, and she’ll inevitably appear in next year’s Iron Fist TV Show. It seems like a new era of the superhero is upon us.

But twenty to thirty years ago, the superhero genre appeared dead on arrival. Movies like Steel, Spawn, and often-ridiculed Batman and Robin (not even Arnold could save The Batman) were all considered box office flops. It seemed the superhero movie would die a slow and painful death. At that time, Marvel’s last big-budget film was Howard the Duck (a movie that hinted towards bestiality, good job, Marvel). It was considered a box office flop when it hit theaters in 1986. As a result, Marvel started banking its name and fortune on critically acclaimed cartoon shows like Spider-Man and The X-Men. Meanwhile, Hollywood wouldn’t touch the superhero genre. It seemed that the Avengers and Suicide Squad era would never arrive.

Then, the seemingly unthinkable happened.

In August 1998, New Line Cinema and Marvel released Blade, a film starring Wesley Snipes, N’Bushe Wright, Stephen Dorff, and Kris Kristofferson (RIP). A film produced and choreographed by Snipes himself. A movie with a male and female black lead was released for mainstream audience consumption. It was an instant success and quickly spawned a series that has made nearly a billion dollars globally.

A new dawn had arrived for the superhero genre.

Trying to Ice-skate Uphill

The Blade character was a mid-level Marvel superhero created in the 1970s during the blaxploitation era. In the 1998 movie, Blade’s background, abilities, and personality were altered and updated for a 1990s vibe. This movie was all about 90s swag, and Wesley Snipes’ portrayal of Blade is still one of his career highlights. Although Denzel Washington and Lawrence Fishburne were considered for the lead role, Wesley Snipes (who established himself as one of the few black leading men in film in the early 90s) would be tapped for the lead role.

This movie would define the action-horror genre and give birth to the superhero film renaissance of the 2000s and 2010s. Blade was the Matrix before the Matrix. Its influence was widespread. For example, Blade gave filmmakers the idea to dress some of Marvel’s greatest superheroes, like the X-Men, in all-black uniforms in their film versions. It single-handedly saved the superhero movie genre and led to Marvel’s current domination in film and television. With Disney’s unlimited bank account at their disposal and over 60 years of comic book history, the Marvel movie train doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

The Legacy of Blade

Unlike today’s big-budget Marvel flicks, Blade was made on a shoestring budget but quickly earned $131.1 million worldwide. It was an immediate success at its release, immortalized Wesley Snipes as a black superhero, and has developed a cult-like status among superhero films. Blade, simply stated, is a black superhero movie on fleek.

The film series has made nearly half a billion dollars globally and proved that black lead characters are marketable and profitable when the story and characters are well-constructed. The least financially successful of the three films was Blade Trinity, which limited Snipes’ screen time to focus on characters portrayed by white actors Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds. Notably, Reynolds would go on to star in the rated-R smash hit Deadpool. However, it’s often forgotten that Blade, not Deadpool, was the first adult-oriented superhero film that was critically and financially successful. Now that Marvel fully owns the rights to the Blade franchise, Snipes is discussing reprising his legendary role.

As we look towards the ‘All Black Everything’ superhero movie Black Panther in 2017-18, we should recognize that it owes its expected success to the Blade franchise. The entire MCU and DC film universe owe their current financial and commercial success to the Blade films. If it had bombed at the box office in 1998, there would have been no X-Men, Spider-Man, or Batman movies. Hollywood would have steered clear of any cinema dedicated to the comic book genre.

 

This is why Blade is essential, although it’s often underappreciated for what it achieved. For better (The Dark Knight) or worse (Batman v. Superman), the superhero movie is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Blade remains the unsung hero of the comic book movie franchise. Plus, he is still one badass mofo and represents 90s #blackboyjoy. Let’s hope Wesley Snipes reprises or reboots his legendary role in this new era of Luke Cage and Black Panther because he’s the only person who can deliver such a nonsensical line like this and make it sound so badass.

“Some motherfuckas are always trying to ice-skate uphill.” – Blade

 

Authors update: In the summer of 2024, Wesley Snipes reprised his iconic role of Blade in Marvel’s studios smash hit Deadpool & Wolverine. In the film, the Daywalker teams with Deadpool, Wolverine, Gambit, X23, and a returning Jennifer Garner, reprising her role as Elektra from Marvel’s 2002 Daredevil movie.

It also united Snipes and Reynolds on-screen in another Marvel film for the first time in twenty years. The first Marvel film was the 2004 Blade Trinity. Snipes pokes fun at the alleged beef between the two actors steaming from behind-the-scenes drama during the last movie of the original Blade trilogy. Obviously, whatever real-life issues between the two actors are a thing of the past. This year, Wesley’s Blade was introduced to the MCU audience, bringing a new generation into the franchise. A Marvel Studio’s film heavy on F-Bombs and nostalgia, Wesley’s Blade’s return to the big screen under the MCU banner brings the Blade movie franchise full circle. The original Blade movie started the superhero movie revolution in the late 90s, and now Blade has found a home in the movie universe; it unintentionally began the MCU.

The MCU Blade Reboot is still in production hell, and multiple reports of lead actors and directors stepping away from the cursed relaunch. Wesley’s line from Deadpool and Wolverine might stand true for Blade’s long-term presence on film.

“There’s only ever been one Blade. Only ever gonna be one Blade.” – Blade.