The MCU Can Still Utilize A Classic Concept to Better Establish its Vampires

Gen Z might think that the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Iron Man, but veteran watchers know exactly where it all began. There’s another movie that has the honor of pushing Marvel movies into the mainstream, featuring the most unconventional hero: Blade. Marvel’s most notorious vampire hunter debuted back in 1998, which made everyone think that this is where the studio’s success story begins. The fandom wasn’t wrong, and the Blade Trilogy became one of Marvel Studios’ most popular projects and a cult classic. Wesley Snipes’ portrayal of Blade became a pop culture icon, and vampires rose to popularity like never before.

However, over the years, the trilogy lost steam, and the prospect of proper vampires in future Marvel movies was only left to the fans’ imagination. Fortunately, when it was announced that the MCU was looking to reboot its most successful vampire story, it breathed fresh air into Marvel Studios’ struggling supernatural landscape and a much-needed change of pace from the studio’s good’ol “heroes fighting aliens” narrative. There’s a lot riding on Mahershala Ali’s Blade since it can be the amalgamation of everything Marvel Studios hasn’t already tried to sell the audience. The slow yet prominent saturation of the MCU’s approach to its characters and their development has recently left fans questioning the quality of stories the studio has so rapidly churned out in the past few years. Many believe that the new Blade movie could be the game changer for the studio – if done right. Thankfully, there’s still a way to tackle that concept.

Familiars Have a Long History with Vampires (Especially in Blade)

Familiars are basically servants of vampires or vampire families who offer things like protection or “turning” in return for their services. Familiars are mostly humans who want to serve a vampire master so that they can enjoy perks like protection and the opportunity of being turned into one. Most familiars start off through personal gains, like someone who is about to die can pledge loyalty to a vampire and then turn into one as a result, but being familiar means a life-long sentence. While the concept was exceptionally executed in Blade in a modern sense, the idea holds more clarity in Dracula’s lore. The most recent example is Chris McKay’s whacky twist on the titular vampire, Renfield. The movie focuses on Dracula’s familiar, who seeks to live his own life after being tired of his master’s narcissistic ways.

The concept of familiars stems from European legends as someone who assisted those practicing witchcraft. But unlike witches having familiars in the form of black cats, Blade’s take on the mythical being was more condensed and fit the modern vampire narrative. Familiars in Blade were “branded” so that different vampire houses could steer clear of killing them. Looking closely at Officer Krieger’s role in the original movie, it goes on to show just how serious the vampire epidemic may be if Marvel Studios were to indulge in the idea of normal people wanting a taste of power and then infiltrating civilian ranks.

The Blade Trilogy was exceptional in utilizing familiars to strengthen its plot. Humans loyal to certain vampire houses and entities proved how easy it was to enforce the will of these supernatural creatures. No one would notice a human lurking in daylight to do a vampire’s bidding, especially in times when the weak have an opportunity to gain powers and be like most MCU heroes. The benefit of introducing familiars in the MCU is that these are less mythical creatures to deal with compared to vampires and werewolves. Familiars can be anyone from civilians to highly skilled individuals who want to work outside the law. As whacky as it may sound, one of the best ways for Marvel Studios to ease the spotlight onto Blade is to start popping up a familiar or two in TV series and movies featuring a supernatural landscape. Blade could be the pinnacle of Marvel Studios’ entry into supernatural horror by staying true to some comic elements. For instance, Blade could open doors to a supernatural team of anti-heroes like The Midnight Sons or The Nightstalkers. Indulging in spotlighting unconventional characters and themes can offer a much-needed change of pace from mainstream stories.

What To Watch Before The Marvels

The MCU Laid the Groundwork for Familiars

The 1998 Blade movie was dark, had a well-defined lore, and showed exceptional world-building. While Marvel Studios still excels in its world-building qualities, the direction where it is going as a whole hasn’t been as well-defined lately. The MCU handled dark themes exceptionally well up to Avengers: Endgame, and even though the studio has planned a cosmic-level event in Phases 5 and 6, the audience would really like their faith restored once again. Fortunately, ever since Marvel Studios has dipped its toes in focusing on mythical stories and characters like Moon Knight and the Scarlet Witch, it wouldn’t be too hard to make Blade the starting point of something new.

Ever since the reboot’s announcement and Mahershala Ali’s deep voice at the end of Eternals, a lot has been riding on the movie to “reset” the MCU’s tone. Blade’s entry could possibly indicate the arrival of more mature anti-heroes like Ghost Rider. But for that to happen, Blade needs to be near to perfection, and the best way to do that is to not entirely override the original movie. Blade can be the “Iron Man” of the supernatural MCU, which brings together every other hero in the supernatural spectrum to fight against a common enemy. Marvel Studios has a golden window for Blade’s entry, and that’s to utilize their “Skrull approach.” Though fans may have had mixed feelings about Secret Invasion’s execution, there’s no denying that the MCU’s buildup toward a Skrull invasion was impressive. Aliens taking human forms and infiltrating deep into society so much until it’s too late is exactly what’s needed for Blade’s foundation. The original Trilogy flawlessly played on this concept by highlighting the important work familiars do for their masters. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier put the limelight onto the super soldier serum and what havoc it can wreak when such power lands in the hands of desperate people.

Normal people wanting to change their fate or fight against the devastation one or more confrontations of Avengers have left could incite the dangers of more and more familiars popping around. This means that it’s not a far-fetched possibility to create a world that’s full of distrust and invisible chaos. The MCU heroes could have a serious problem on their hands from the likes of both familiars and Skrull disguises. Daredevil, Echo, Hawkeye, and more can serve as relative stories because of their street heroism to introduce familiars and thus create a crisis that would need a hero like Blade.

The MCU Needs to Avoid This Mistake in Their X-Men Reboot

Familiars Set Up an Opportunity For Marvel Studios To Justify Blade’s Presence

Now that Marvel Studios is all geared up to formally introduce mutants to the MCU, it would be a goldmine for bringing in comic-accurate vampires and their followers, people hoping for a chance at power in their own right. Blade would be the need of the hour with a world crawling with familiars. For now, it’s hard to decipher the reason behind introducing Blade’s voice at the end of Eternals, but it may be hinting towards a prior setup for the vampire hunter before his official debut. It’s imperative that Marvel Studios does justice to Blade by producing a highly focused story that puts the spotlight on Blade and the lore related to the character. Doing this would mean setting up a world riddled with vampires and familiars. But, when audiences are made aware of this, the terror is amped up as now, trust in others is drastically low. As a result, only a hero like Blade can be trusted in a world where even an average person could connect to a horde of vampires.

Marvel Studios’ introduction of Blade and his mission could also set up a future collaboration with characters like Moon Knight, Dane Whiteman, and Werewolf by Night without overriding Blade’s place in the universe. The simple concept of humans driven by desire and desperation siding with powerful beings to carry out their plans could jolt the MCU into a new era of horror and supernatural. Just like how the Blade Trilogy and even the Iron Man Trilogy were standalone experiences, the MCU can focus briefly on something other than their cosmic-level stories and let it get back to basics for a new generation.