10 Villains Perfect For The New Marvel’s Blade Game

Marvel’s Blade is Arkane Lyon’s upcoming title focusing on Marvel’s famous vampire hunter. Although the game’s story seems to be a new one for the character, the studio may still incorporate some of the Daywalker’s major adversaries from the comics throughout the main campaign.

The trailer for Marvel’s Blade was revealed at The Game Awards 2023 but reveal much about the game’s story other than its location and the first glimpse at its protagonist, showing the Daywalker at a barber shop before being called into action and preparing for battle. However, a following interview with Arkane Lyon’s co-creative director Dinga Bakaba and Marvel Games’ vice president and creative director Bill Rosemann confirmed that the M-rated, third-person action-adventure title will take place during what appears to be a vampire apocalypse in France.

1 Draconis

A Vampiric Priest Raised To Kill Blade

Despite not taking place in a church or cathedral, religious iconography such as crosses was shown frequently in the background of Marvel’s Blade‘s reveal trailer, with the barbershop’s window creating one that sprawls across the floor with its light, and the barber himself was wearing a priest’s attire. While this may have just been protective measures against vampires built upon stereotypes – Blade has stated that these don’t work in some media – it could also be alluding to the arrival of Draconis in Arkane Lyon’s game.

Draconis is a vampiric priest who has been raised with the intent of killing Blade after being approached by a vampire while working as an acolyte in the church as a young boy, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him travel to Paris in his pursuit of the Daywalker. Over time, Draconis developed an immunity to most weapons used to eradicate vampires, making him a worthy threat.

2 Dracula

Marvel’s Version Of The Iconic Vampire

Marvel’s version of Bram Stoker’s iconic vampire, Dracula has had several crossovers with its other historical characters and other horror icons such as Frankenstein’s Monster over the years. However, much of the character’s backstory before The Tomb of Dracula mirrors Stoker’s novel, with the vampire’s Transylvanian origins and his defeat at the hands of Abraham Van Helsing and Jonathan Harker in 1897, which was ultimately short-lived in the Marvel Universe.

Since his return in the latter half of the 20th Century, Dracula has often come to blows with Blade in the comics, with the vampire hunter first appearing as a supporting character in The Tomb of Dracula #10 in 1973 before going on to helm his own stories. Considering Dracula commands the largest legion of the undead, it would make sense for him to play some part in Marvel’s Blade‘s vampire apocalypse.

3 Lilith Drake

Daughter Of Dracula

If Dracula were to appear in Marvel’s Blade, there is a strong likelihood that his children would be in tow. Dracula’s eldest daughter, Lilith Drake is one of the more popular Blade villains in the comics due to her and Blade sharing the same goal in many ways.

Lilith is also intent on ending her father’s life and has even fought the Daywalker for this right. Unfortunately, while a curse put upon her by a grieving mother named Gretchen made her a vampire who couldn’t be hurt by sunlight or symbols much like Blade, it also forbade her from killing Dracula herself, resulting in some uneasy alliances with other vampire hunters.

4 Xarus

The Shadow Colonel

Dracula’s son Xarus has played a major part as an elder member of the Marvel Universe’s Vampire Council. Xarus clashed with his father’s ideologies and successfully organized a coup in which he killed Dracula and became the leader of the vampires in the comics, uniting most of the sects around the world and later commanding the Legion of the Unliving. While he later appeared as The Shadow Colonel for the Vampire Civil War, it’s possible that Marvel’s Blade could cover Xarus’ uniting of the clans as part of Paris’ vampire apocalypse and would be an interesting way to show the hierarchy within the vampiric order.

5 Sarge

The Legion of the Unliving’s Hellhound

Sarge is a Hellhound who may appear dog-like with superhuman strength and durability, but actually has human-level intelligence and is fluent in English. Sarge was recruited into Xarus’ Legion of the Unliving and assisted in its plan to start the vampire kingdom anew.

The Hellhound was used to destroy Castle Dracula and at one point used his knowledge of dark magic to take control of powerful beings such as Ghost Rider. If Xarus and the Legion of the Unliving appear in some capacity in Marvel’s Blade, it’s likely that Sarge would be at his side, and would make for an impressive boss battle.

6 The Rat Bomber

Rat Bomber’s Rodents Could Help Spread The Vampire Outbreak

The Rat Bomber is another member of Xarus’ Legion of the Unliving who possesses all of the typical vampire strengths and weaknesses. However, he can also control rodents. The Rat Bomber has used his rodent control powers to equip rats with bombs full of vampire blood, which was a quick way to transform large groups of people into vampires. This could explain the fast-spreading vampire outbreak sweeping France in Marvel’s Blade, and would be a callback to Arkane Lyon’s Dishonored, which also saw rats spreading a plague across its land.

7 Baron Blood

John Falsworth Was Turned Into A Vampire By Dracula

The first incarnation of Baron Blood, John Falsworth, was initially part of Captain America’s rogues gallery, having appeared in Europe during the World Wars. Falsworth was, however, turned by Dracula on a trip to Transylvania prior to joining the German forces in these wars. While Falsworth was killed by Captain America and Union Jack, he has returned from the dead on several occasions, and may also appear in flashbacks of some sort considering Marvel’s Blade‘s European setting.

8 Baroness Blood

Baroness Blood Could Purge The Weaker Vampires

Village doctor Jacob Cromwell was sent to revive Baron Blood, and upon doing so, was slain alongside one of his daughters by the vampire. Before being killed again, Falsworth transformed Cromwell’s surviving daughter, Lily into a vampire, and the young Cromwell took on the mantle of Baroness Blood and founded a cult in his name.

Baroness Blood also served as a member of the Legion of the Unliving during the Vampire Civil War, during which time she assisted in weeding out and destroying the weakest members of the vampire race. With so many new vampires emerging in Marvel’s Blade, there’s the possibility that this kind of arc could take place, with Cromwell seeking to make the vampire order stronger than ever.

9 Lilith

The Mother Of Demons

Not to be confused with Dracula’s daughter, Lilith Drake, another of Blade’s adversaries is the mother of demons herself. Lilith did align herself with the vampire nation at one point in the comics and could offer plenty of minions for Blade to slay during a supernatural apocalypse. Lilith has also been one of the major adversaries in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, leading a group of demonic forces known as the Lilin. With the character having this moment in the spotlight in gaming recently, Arkane Lyon could opt to include her as a recognizable villain for players to face in Marvel’s Blade.

10 Morbius

The Living Vampire

Dr. Michael Morbius is one of the most popular vampires in Marvel Comics and has clashed with Blade on several occasions, so there is a chance Arkane Lyon will include him in Marvel’s Blade‘s story in some capacity. Morbius grew up with a rare blood disease in Greece, and after attempting an experimental treatment with vampire bats as an attempt to cure this, he transformed himself into a pseudo-vampire with superhuman powers and an overwhelming bloodlust.

Like a real vampire, Morbius needs to drink blood to survive, which is what puts him in Blade’s crosshairs. However, after doing so, his mind returns to normal, and he becomes fraught with guilt, remorse, and self-loathing, which has made him more of an ally in some depictions as he has also faced Dracula and other supernatural foes. With a full vampire outbreak sweeping France, it’s possible that Morbius could offer his expertise in biochemistry to try to help find a cure.

11 Deacon Frost

A Key Part In Blade’s Backstory

Deacon Frost was the vampire who bit Blade’s mother when she was pregnant and inadvertently granted Blade the abilities needed to make him a powerful vampire hunter. It’s unlikely that Frost will appear in Marvel’s Blade as the game seems to be telling a fresh new story some time into Blade’s career.

However, the character is so intrinsically tied to the Daywalker, and has been made popular by his appearance in the first Blade movie in 1998. Therefore, it’s possible that Arkane Lyon could use flashbacks to cover Blade’s origin and show him avenging his mother during a showdown with Frost as a way of including the character in some capacity in Marvel’s Blade.