Summary
Bladeis going to have to endure his bloodiest journey yet to reclaim his hero status. Marvel is currently in the final stages of wrapping up the “Blood Hunt” storyline, the company’s summer arc that pits its superhero roster against creatures of the night led bythe head vampire in charge, Blade- or so it appeared.
Now, Marvel announces ahead of its finalBlood Huntissue that fans of the Daywalker can look forward toBlade: Red Band#1, an uncut, gory exploration into Blade’s post-villain era. Along with C.F. Villa’s main cover from thepreviously announced bloody showcase, readers below can find variant covers from E.M. Gist and Edwin Galmon. The five-part limited series is currently scheduled to premiere on shelves on October 9.
The Red Band banner and the explicit nature of these covers suggest that for Blade to earn his hero status again, he’ll need to walk down a road paved with blood.
Blade Will Be Haunted By His Evil Deeds in New Series
Blade: Red Band#1 by Bryan Hill and C.F. Villa
The start of Blood Hunt originally led fans to believe that Blade hadbetrayed The Avengers worst sinceCivil War’shappenings. As time would show, this Blade was actually possessed byVarnae, a vampire older than Dracula. The conclusion ofBlood Hunthas yet to release as of this writing, and thus, readers don’t know how Blade will recover from this ordeal, but the announcement forBlade: Red Bandconfirms that he will recover, making it out ofBlood Huntalive.
That being set, these variants suggest it won’t be a clean escape.The series' variant covers is enough to give readers an idea for what to expect as Blade tries to move on from his possession. The image of a vampiric Blade behind another version of himself, ready to slit his throat, seems symbolic that he will be haunted, maybe even overshadowed by what Varnae did in his body. That’d includeturning Miles Morales into a vampire, turning Black Panther (who’d end up curing himself),and killing Doctor Strange.
Blade Needs to Earn His Hero Status
And He Can Only Earn It With Blood
While the explicit nature of the Red Band may seem like an extreme way to follow upBlood Hunt, it’s necessary for Blade’s journey as he tries to earn his place in Marvel’s hero community again. Even though he was possessed, his flesh still committed horrendous things. Not every hero is likely to look past that. He will have to earn their trust and earn his keep all over again. To win back everyone who turned their backs on him,Blade’spath has to be paved with blood and gore, and he’d have to shed some blood for a shot of redemption.
Blade: Red Band#1will be available from Marvel on July 08, 2025.
