Marvel's vampire hunter supreme is coming soon to the MCU, as depicted by Mahershala Ali, but it turns out that Blade was originally based on another actor and sportsman when he initially graced the pages of Marvel Comics.
Introduced during the height of Marvel Comics' venture into "modern" horror, seasoned vampire hunter Eric Brooks - aka Blade - made his debut in 1973's Marvel vampire comic Tomb of Dracula by writer Marv Wolfman (Amazing Spider-Man) and artist Gene Colan (Doctor Strange). Late retconned as a vampiric Daywalker himself, Blade began his comic career as a lone mercenary on the hunt for the most infamous vampire of them all - Dracula. Carrying a bandolier of blades and a wooden stake, the mysterious character quickly rose in popularity, with Blade later joining the likes of fellow Marvel horror/supernatural-based characters Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, Man-Thing, and Ghost Rider.
In settling on the original design for Blade, Gene Colan took specific inspiration from several black actors, including Jim Brown. Playing a variety of sports in high school, Jim Brown rose to the ranks of a football all-star. With induction into both the NCAA Hall of Fame as well as the NFL Hall of Fame, Brown retains a reputation as one of the all-time great football running backs. Following his lengthy football career, Jim Brown went on to star in some of the greatest films that the '60s & '70s had to offer, including hits Ice Station Zebra, The Dirty Dozen,100 Rifles, and Fingers. During a 2001 interview with Comic Artist Magazine, Colan discusses his influences, saying:
Marv told me Blade was a black man, and we talked about how he should dress, and how he should look (very heroic looking). That was my input. Marv might've said "Put boots on him," I don't know. The bandolier of blades - that was Marv's idea. But, I dressed him up. I put the leather jacket on him, and so on. ... [He was] A composite of black actors. Jim Brown was one of them
Blade's Original Design Draws on Jim Brown
After decades of comic book and animated exposure, Blade would make his way to the big screen in 1998 with director Stephen Norrington's critically acclaimed solo film starring Wesley Snipes as the heroic Daywalker. Snipes' Blade retained the leather jacket of his earliest comic appearances - switched from green to a more stylish black - but also came further equipped with a bulletproof vest, a pair of machine guns, and a katana sword replacing the classic stake. Paying homage to the classic yet adding a modern spin, the cinematic portrayal of Blade gave the character even more of a tactical edge against the vampires he takes on every night. Marvel embraced this portrayal in future comics, and even retconned Blade to be a vampire himself, rather than just a human hunter.
As comic superheroes have become more intertwined with their cinematic portrayals, the original Blade designed by Colan/Wolfman has all but faded into obscurity in favor of evoking Wesley Snipes' cinematic take on the character. However, the character started life drawing on a number of black actors including Jim Brown, further enhancing Blade's cultural legacy and lineage as an iconic black superhero.
Source: Comic Book Artist #13