Warning: Spoilers for Blade #8!Failing to connect with other heroes before Marvel’s upcoming Blood Hunt event will set more than just Blade up for failure. Coming this May as a five-issue miniseries, Blood Hunt will see Blade and his daughter Bloodline (and presumably his new sidekick Rotha, who’s practically a daughter) work alongside the Avengers, Spider-Man, Blade’s estranged pal Doctor Strange, and his wife Clea Strange to combat a vampire apocalypse.
Yet, the Daywalker continues to compromise his role within the superhero community just when it needs him most, as illustrated in Blade #8. In this issue, he asks for help from Satana, one of Satan’s children. It seems like the role Blade has played in the pending apocalypse at the center of this series has exhausted his resources and allies within the superhero community – and Satana knows it.
Blade’s alienation from other heroes has been a recurring issue for him, and it’s all his fault. This problem for him is only intensifying at the worst time when the hero community will need him most.
It’s Blade’s Own Fault That He’s So Disconnected
Blade #8 by Bryan Hill, Elena Casagrande, KJ Diaz, and VC’s Cory Petit
Blade failing to connect with other heroes has turned into a recurring theme within the series. In Blade: First Bite, Bryan Hill’s prequel to the current Blade series, the title character is called out directly for his biggest weakness of not being able to work on teams. He admits he left the Midnight Suns, despite viewing them as a family, because he thinks he works better alone. He’s then told that his loneliness is what makes him more of a monster than a hero.
Meanwhile, his partnership with Strange is severed when Blade accidentally releases an ancient evil known as the Adana in this series. Again, Blade’s loss of an ally is his own fault. Blade is the consistent problem and thus has to create his own solution. Otherwise, only doom awaits, in more ways than one. Other stories like Marvel Zombies: Black, White, and Blood have hinted at what awaits Blade if he doesn’t reconsider his approach to the superhero community, namely regretting being so anti-social at the end of the world.
Blade Must Fix Himself Before It’s Too Late (And It Might Already Be Too Late)
The Marvel Zombies scenario is just a taste of what could happen if Blade doesn’t get his act together before Blood Hunt. With a vampire apocalypse at the forefront of that series, Blade will likely be leading the charge of heroes. However, leading the charge for several heroes he has a strained relationship with is easier said than done. Perhaps that will be one of many obstacles he’ll need to navigate during the series, but with the fate of the world on the line in the upcoming Blood Hunt event, Blade’s negligence toward the superhero community could doom the world before the vampires do.
