5 of Blade's Superpowers We Haven’t Seen in a Movie Yet

Eventually, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will get around to rebooting Blade. Announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 with two-time Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali set to play the famous daywalker, Blade has proven to be the most difficult MCU film to get off the ground, as the film has gone through multiple writers, directors, and release dates. At this rate, the film likely won’t come out until after Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, meaning Blade might not hit theaters until 2028 at the earliest, which would be nine years after the project was announced and thirty years after Wesley Snipes played the character in his first solo movie.

Wesley Snipes’ version of Blade, who starred in his own trilogy and recently returned for a supporting role in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, redefined the character. The film reinvented the character in such a way that the comics have since remodeled the character of Blade to be more like his big-screen counterpart. With it having been over twenty years since the last Blade film, the character has appeared in many comics, including joining The Avengers, and his abilities and powers have been expanded upon.

Here are 5 powers that Blade has in the comics that the films haven’t shown, but the MCU could change that.

5

Hypnosis

Blade is part vampire, so he has many of their strengths and none of their weakness, except for the thirst. However, one famous vampire power that Blade has not shown on screen is hypnosis. From Dracula to the vampires on True Blood, a vampire’s ability to stare into a person’s eyes and manipulate them is one of the most powerful weapons they have that the Blade movies never took advantage of.

In Marvel Comics, Blade is immune to vampire hypnosis (though he is susceptible to other types of mind-control). In the Ultimate Comics universe, since Blade is part vampire, he also has the ability to hypnotize people, though maybe the reason he doesn’t as often is that he doesn’t want to take off his sunglasses. This makes Blade essentially a low-level telepath, which would make him an even more powerful character in the MCU.

4

Transformation

Another key ability of the vampire is to transform its body, be it into a bat or even mist. The ability to transform is one of the more recent additions to Blade’s powerset. In Blade #6 by Bryan Edward Hill and Lee M. Ferguson from December 2023, Dracula teaches Blade how to dodge enemy attacks by turning into mist. In 2014’s Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet, Blade threatens to leave Deadpool behind by turning into a bat…and it doesn’t appear to be a joke.

In both cases, the ability to transform was not part of Blade’s powers when the Wesley Snipes films were being made. The ability to turn into mist was just recently added after the MCU Blade was even announced, meaning there is now time for this power to possibly show up in his reboot. However, the comics have established that Blade tends to avoid the ability of transformation due to it making him feel less human, so this might be a one-and-done thing he does for a cool set-piece in a film rather than a recurring power.

3

Absorption and Immunization to Supernatural Infections

Blade’s vampire healing gives him an added edge over many heroes, as his body fights off any human infections. However, he also appears to be immune to supernatural diseases and attacks, and can even absorb them to cure others. In Avengers #18 from 2019 by Jason Aaron and David Marquez, Blade bites the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider to suck out the evil infection growing inside him, not only saving Ghost Rider, but leaving Blade unharmed.

The previous films have shown Blade giving into his vampiric urges, specifically drawing his fangs, as a dark side of his personality. He is often trying to keep the monster inside at bay, yet this shows that his vampiric ability can also be used for good and has benefits. The vampirism might be a curse for Blade, but it can be a cure for others. Meanwhile, the idea that Blade is immune to normal pathogens or toxins gives Blade an added edge in biochemical warfare settings, particularly if an enemy wants to release a virus.

2

Can Sense Other Supernatural Creatures

The original Blade trilogy kept the focus on vampires, though a deleted ending for Blade: Trinity established that werewolves existed in the franchise. Blade is a half-human, half-vampire who has dedicated his life to hunting vampires. One ability Blade possesses in the comics is the ability to sense other supernatural creatures aside from vampires, including werewolves, ghosts, demons, and even witches.

In the original films, Blade’s ability to detect vampires was more about deductive reasoning, while in the comics, it is a sixth sense and supernatural. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already established a whole host of supernatural threats. Blade’s ability to detect supernatural creatures not only widens his scope outside of vampires, but also makes for a good excuse for him to come across, fight, and eventually team up with other supernatural characters in the MCU, like Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Agatha Harkness, and potentially Ghost Rider.

1

Slow Aging

In the original Blade trilogy, it is established that Eric Brooks was born in 1967, making him 31 years old by the start of the film (star Wesley Snipes was 36 when Blade came out). Blade is a contemporary hero in his film, but in the comics, Blade is far older. The comic book version of Blade was born in 1929, and due to his half-vampire DNA, ages more slowly than most humans. Blade’s slow aging seems to operate the same rules as Wolverine’s, as they aged normally until they were about 30 and then just stopped. That longer life span (though not immortal) gives the comic Blade a greater sense of history and potentially a different outlook on life as he has lived to see many of his friends and loved ones die while he remains young, fighting an endless war.

The idea of Blade being around for more than a century appears to have been one of the main creative drives behind the MCU’s Blade, as multiple reports suggested the film was originally going to be a 1930s period piece. This was backed up when it was confirmed that many of the costumes made for the film were used for Sinners after Blade was delayed. Although Kevin Feige stated that Blade will be set in the modern day, the hope is that the reboot will delve into the character’s extensive history and establish that he has been operating in the shadows of the MCU.