The Eternals could lead to Blade? Read on to learn our tinfoil hat theory!
I’ll start off saying what Marvel has achieved is unparalleled in recent cinema history. In the history of filmmaking there has never been anything like this. Sure, others have tried to build a cinematic universe. I can only think of one other filmmaker that has succeeded in doing so: Kevin Smith and his Askewniverse. Outside of Smith, there was Zack Snyder. He tried his best to bring a series of superhero films to the big screen. Too bad we never got a proper Batman solo film with Affleck as the Caped Crusader. It would have been great had we eventually gotten the big bad payoff of the villain Darkseid.
Warner Bros seems to have their own plans that do not include intertwining the hero’s stories or their villain’s stories. I mean Joker, Wonder Woman, and the upcoming The Batman are all in separate universes. So, kudos to Marvel for managing build towards the Avengers and continue to build the characters in their respective standalone films.
Excluding a few Avengers members, each has been given their own trilogy of films. There are still a couple of sequels we are still waiting on, such as the third Spider-Man and Guardians of The Galaxy. For the most part, each of the movies we saw tied in to build towards the showdown with Thanos. Great job.
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When you look at each film on its own, it is clear the best Marvel films feature great villains. For instance, let’s look at one of Marvel’s characters: Thor. His solo film did a good job delivering a conniving opposite to Thor in the form of the film’s villain Loki. But what about Thor’s sequel? How well was that one received? I think part of its poor reception has a large part to do with its weak villain. Anyone remember the Dark Elves? Can you name anyone from Thor’s Asgardian team? Now take a look at Thor: Ragnorok. It was a complete 180 from the sequel. Not only did we get the formidable villain Hella played amazingly well by Cate Blanchett, but there was also The Grandmaster, and a minor turn by Hulk.
Overall, Marvel gets the ethos that a hero is only as strong as his most powerful enemy. So, they gave us great villains like Ego, Red Skull, Killmonger, and so on. All the while, they built toward a team-up film to take down the larger villain Thanos.
The MCU’s Future
Now that Marvel has wrapped that phase, it’s time for a change. What kind of change? Think new lineup for the Avengers sort of change. We know it’s got to happen. Cap’s too old. Stark is dead. So, who do we now have left? Spider-Man, Thor, Falcon, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, The Guardians of The Galaxy, Ant-Man, Wasp, War Machine, Doctor Strange, Black Panther. That’s everyone, right? Other than the future unreleased Marvel movies, of course. Those upcoming films will introduce new heroes like The Eternals, Shang-Chi, and Blade.
Hopefully, Marvel will continue with the theme of strong villains and introduce a formidable foe for those heroes to battle. It’s likely that Marvel will continue their theme of dropping little bread crumb post-credit scenes that give us information on a larger villain. Someone that is far too powerful for any Avenger to take down in their own film alone. Someone that will need a strong lineup with capable leaders to defeat them. We had Iron Man and Captain America. But like I said, they’re out.
It’s likely that in line with all previous Marvel heroes that got their own film, Shang-Chi, and Blade will also join the Avengers lineup. I’m not ruling out The Eternals joining the Avengers. But I will say that only three members of The Eternals have ever joined The Avengers in the comic books. Those Eternals that have achieved Avenger status in the comic books are Sersi, Gilgamesh, and Starfox. Only two of those characters have been confirmed as appearing in The Eternals. Shang-Chi has pow wowed around with the Avengers in the comics already too. So has Blade.
And speaking of Blade…let’s talk about Blade and what I think his future is.
Blade Will Lead The Avengers
Not only will he join the Avengers, but Blade will also fill the leadership void on the current Avengers lineup suffers from. Right now, there is a vacuum of leadership. Could you picture Spider-Man leading the Avengers? Or Winter Soldier? Doc Strange? Captain Marvel is the remaining member with the most leadership qualities. Unfortunately, her villains all live in other galaxies. She said it herself in Avengers: Endgame when asked where she was during the climactic showdown with Thanos in Avengers Infinity War.
Blade has led the Avengers into war against vampires already. Of course, it hasn’t made its way to the big screen yet. But this moment can be found in Jason Aaron’s Avengers #14. That comic features some awesome moments so it’s worth reading. A few panels showcase Blade and Captain Marvel battling a plane full of vampires. It is an amazing moment. Anyway, in that storyline, Blade is recruited by Black Panther because he is knowledgeable about their newest threat, vampires. That says a lot about the threat of vampires. It means that Black Panther knew that The Avengers were not ready to face this threat alone. It also means that Marvel recently published a comic book written by an Eisner award winner and the storyline featured The Avengers going up against the threat of vampires.
But where would the vampires come from? Could Marvel’s most galaxy-set heroes, The Eternals, lead to Blade?
Vampire Origins
When it comes to the movies, we will, of course, have to wait and see what Marvel decides to do with Blade. But we may get a hint at a vampire threat as early as the upcoming Eternals film. It’s even possible and logical to see vampires as some sort of twisted offshoot of The Eternals line. Just look at the synopsis for The Eternals.
Marvel Studios’ The Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, The Deviants.
Ancient aliens who have been living on earth for thousands of years? Marvel better get Giorgio A. Tsoukalos. Or better yet they ought to get Blade because that sounds like vampires to me. Even these experts from the description of The Deviants sounds a bit vampire-like. “The Deviants became a race with destabilized DNA producing various mutations, who were then released and went hiding in caves.” I mean, as far as the DNA and cave-dwelling goes that sure sounds like vampires to me.
It’s possible we could be introduced to a looming vampire threat in The Eternals. We will undoubtedly learn more about the vampire threat in Blade’s solo debut. It’s also possible that when the Avengers finally assemble again, Blade will be among the leadership. Out of all the characters announced as joining the MCU, Blade has led on screen before, albeit reluctantly. Like when he had to team up and lead the Blood Pack in Guillermo del Toro’s Blade 2. There was also the time in that mishap called Blade Trinity where Blade he led a pre-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds on the Nightstalkers.
You might be thinking that vampires sound a little lackluster for Marvel villains but think twice. Doctor Strange versus Dracula was published in 2006. In that comic, Strange enlisted the help of Blade to take on the immortal vampire. At this point, only time will tell whether it all goes down similar to my theory. Until then, you can count on this. Marvel is introducing Blade, thereby introducing vampires into the MCU. And I don’t really believe those vampires are going to be a one-film sort of threat.
But what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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