Marvel Comics’ most brutal vampire hunter, Blade has been a long-time enemy of the undead since his first appearance, and in that first appearance, it seemed as though Marvel had created a direct sequel to the original Dracula novel by Bram Stoker. Dracula has appeared in a number of comic book titles by both DC and Marvel Comics, though he is usually adapted to fit into the respective comic universe. When Blade made his Marvel Comics debut, he fell into Dracula’s established franchise rather than the other way around. 

Blade made his first appearance in The Tomb of Dracula #10 by Marvin Wolfman and Gene Colan. In the issue, Blade is immediately established as a massive threat to vampires as he is shown killing a horde of the undead in the opening pages. After the vampire slaughter, Blade is met by two hunters who were also working to take down Dracula and defeat his vampiric army once and for all, hunters that are familiar to Dracula fans. 

Related: Why Blade Replaced His Hand with a Gun

The other vampire hunters Blade joins forces with are Quincy Harker and Rachel Van Helsing. While those names may not mean much to Blade fans, those familiar with Bram Stoker’s Dracula will recognize them immediately as they are descendants of Jonathan Harker and Abraham Van Helsing respectively. Jonathan and Abraham worked to stop Dracula in the original novel, and in this Marvel Comics series, Harker’s son and Van Helsing’s great-granddaughter are picking up where they left off while adding Blade to their ranks of vampire hunters. 

The fact that the descendants of the two main characters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula are continuing their family’s work of destroying the vampire threat is evidence of Marvel Comics’ intention of creating a direct sequel to the original novel. While Marvel’s sequel to the classic Gothic Romance isn’t strictly speaking ‘official’ in terms of Dracula canon, Marvel established that the events of Dracula is Marvel canon with the same characters, or at least the family of, coming back to settle the score with the king of vampires.

Marvel Comics’ sequel story to Bram Stoker’s Dracula plays like a bad ‘80s movie franchise, but while the Dracula follow-up plan didn’t quite pan out in terms of Marvel Comics longevity, it did introduce fans to the greatest vampire hunter in Marvel Comics history. Since his debut in Marvel’s version of Dracula canon, Blade has drifted from the coattails of a world-class novel to making his own path in the Marvel Universe. Blade has been an Avenger, worked with S.H.I.E.L.D., and even fought beings from across the cosmos side-by-side with classic Marvel characters. Rather than staying in the off-shoot horror side of Marvel lore, Blade has become a main player in the wider universe, which is a huge achievement after originating in an unofficial sequel to Dracula.

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