Doctor Strange 2 Secretly Teases Blade’s Biggest Villain Before MCU Reboot

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opened up the door of the multiverse for many possibilities, but Marvel may have planted a subtle tease for a future Blade villain. Ten years before the MCU debuted with Iron Man, Blade sparked new life into Marvel and saved it from bankruptcy. With Wesley Snipes starring as the half-human, half-vampire anti-hero, Blade became the first successful Marvel adaptation. Mahershala Ali has taken on the role of Blade for a new generation, rebooting the character for the MCU continuity. While Blade has taken on several villains, his primary opponents have been vampires. There have been many Doctor Strange 2 Easter Eggs, but audiences may have missed a deep reference that could hint at a future Blade villain.

With the help of America Chavez’s powers, Doctor Strange (Earth-616) traveled the multiverse in hot pursuit of the Book of Vishanti. The powerful book was essentially the antithesis to the Darkhold that empowered Wanda Maximoff. Unfortunately, when Strange finally reached the enchanted book, Wanda destroyed it. While the intention may have been to mislead viewers with the apparent MacGuffin, Marvel could have teased a Blade villain for the future, and understanding the origins of the Book of Vishanti is key to seeing the connection.

According to the comics, the first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, wrote the original spells in The Book of Vishanti. The very first known possessor of the book was a sorcerer named Varnae, who existed long ago and was a citizen of Atlantis before it sank undersea. The irony was that Varnae was a follower of the ancient demon Chthon—the originator of the Darkhold. After sustaining a fatal wound, the sorcerers of the pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis used the Darkhold to transform Varnae into the very first vampire. Due to his immortality, he was the only creature to survive the ancient city’s destruction underwater. Consequently, the blood-sucking beast infected many other humans across the world, thus creating more vampires similar to himself. It would certainly be interesting to see an MCU Blade movie involving Varnae’s origin story.

The Atlantean monster has many of the typical abilities of vampires but at a higher level. His powers include super-strength, agility, speed, healing factor, telepathy, and shapeshifting. He also has a vast amount of knowledge as a sorcerer of the Dark Arts. In the early comics, the vampire even went toe-to-toe with the Mighty Thor (as pictured above). Although audiences are more familiar with the vampire Dracula, according to the comics, the mantle of Lord of Vampires was past down to him by Varnae. If Blade were to ever face off against Varnae, the Daywalker would undoubtedly have his hands full.

Whether The Book of Vishanti is revisited or not in a Doctor Strange 3 movie, it won’t matter much in the case of vampires. The fact that the book exists further supports the origin of vampires in the MCU, and that isn’t changed by the book being destroyed in Multiverse of Madness. Viewers heard Mobius specifically name vampires as a target of the TVA in Loki and heard Blade’s voice in Eternals, so the undead are coming to the MCU proper sooner or later. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gave just enough of a setup for the MCU to bring on the biggest vampire threat for Blade in the future.