Have we completely forgotten or simply overlooked Spawn/Blade franchise?

[KevTravels]

what do you think? Blade seemed to be more or less a "vampire action flick where Wesley Snipes got to kick butt".

And Spawn, I remember as a kid being a film my dad would never have let me see. Supposedly, it got butchered in post-production due to the studio.

But how much of an effect do you believe those 2 had on the rise of comic book films around the turn of the century? Do they get enough credit?

what's their place in Black cinema when it comes to Black protagonists?

 

[Raiden]

Both Blade & Spawn were made back in the 90s. They might have contributed a little bit to BP, but I don't think they really helped that much considering that 20 years have passed and except for the first Blade movie, these movies weren't very well received critically and financially. BP's success has a lot more to do with MCU's brand recognition imo.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

This is A list.

BP is the first black hero to be A list like Batman, Spider-man, Iron Man and Superman.

And it's about damn time.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

Blade's contribution to the rise of modern comic book films is overrated IMO. X-Men and especially Spider-Man were more integral to establishing comic book films as viable well-made blockbusters.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

Blade is heavily overlooked because most don't know he's originally a comic book character. Spawn was just not a good film so it was easy to forget.

 

[legendkillin]

Never watched Spawn but I love Blade even the 3rd one is a guilty pleasure.

 

[hitmanyr2k]

Blade was the reason I bought by first DVD player in the late 90's....solely for the blood bath scene which I still consider the best opening scene in any comic book movie.

 

[legendkillin]

Blade was the reason I bought by first DVD player in the late 90's....solely for the blood bath scene which I still consider the best opening scene in any comic book movie.

For sure that scene is still amazing and holds up, the music just fit.

 

[Leo Zelinsky]

Blade n Spawn were like the only black ppl in them movies. It's not even comparable. Plus the fact you have to bring up movies from like 20 years ago shows the real problem

 

[TheVileOne]

Blade was a good movie. And it did come out first, but to say the X-men and Spider-Man were copying Blade's example is a huge misnomer.

Also Blade's success in 1998 was only moderate. Executives weren't looking at Blade going "Wow now we know we can make money off of these and turn them into big budget events." It only made $70 million. Plus, it was an R-rated action movie with a lot of blood and gore with vampires. It wasn't like a four quadrant blockbuster.

Blade was a really good movie at a time when no we weren't getting a lot of good major comic book movies. It was one of those rare exceptions.

But what about Men in Black? Not really a superhero film, but a movie based on a comic book property and starred Will Smith as a major action hero.

Spawn was an embarrassment and a schlocky movie. Spawn was such a big property at the time and they blew it by making a crappy CG-fest with a bunch of bad dated special FX. Not to mention dumb things like Clown turning his head into a balloon and making it pop because why?

 

[legendkillin]

Blankman and Hancock...haha

 

[Chance Jackson]

I don't think Spawn did much to help, Blade on the other hand proved Marvel characters with little public presence could still make bank even with a modest budget and ad campaign ushering thebigger budget fair

 

[LTuser]

Blade is heavily overlooked because most don't know he's originally a comic book character. Spawn was just not a good film so it was easy to forget.

THat is true.. When someone told me blade was a marvel comic, i was flabergasted, then i looked it up and was "WOW.. never new that".. And though spawn was rubbish for the most part, i DID like some of the comedy scenes in it via Leguzmo as the violator..

 

[baerrtt]

BLADE, as I've said before, was ultimately seen (then) as nothing more than a better than normal Wesley Snipes actioner. I enjoy the first 2 films but they get more credit than they deserve when it comes to the evolution of comic book movies.

 

[KevTravels]

This is A list.

BP is the first black hero to be A list like Batman, Spider-man, Iron Man and Superman.

And it's about damn time.

Is it fair to say that he was a B/C list superhero, but now due to the film he might be a top 10 popular superhero?

 

[KevTravels]

Blade was a good movie. And it did come out first, but to say the X-men and Spider-Man were copying Blade's example is a huge misnomer.

Also Blade's success in 1997 was only moderate. Executives weren't looking at Blade going "Wow now we know we can make money off of these and turn them into big budget events." It only made $70 million. Plus, it was an R-rated action movie with a lot of blood and gore with vampires. It wasn't like a four quadrant blockbuster.

Blade was a really good movie at a time when no we weren't getting a lot of good major comic book movies. It was one of those rare exceptions.

But what about Men in Black? Not really a superhero film, but a movie based on a comic book property and starred Will Smith as a major action hero.

Spawn was an embarrassment and a schlocky movie. Spawn was such a big property at the time and they blew it by making a crappy CG-fest with a bunch of bad dated special FX. Not to mention dumb things like Clown turning his head into a balloon and making it pop because why?

To be fair, I believe X-Men only made like $160 million domestically, with 300 million worldwide. SpiderMan did INSANE business with 800 million globally, half of that domestically.

Blade did $131 million on a $45 million dollar budget. The sequel did $155 million on a $55 million dollar budget. Not too shabby since it was a rated R vampire action flick. I didn't even know it was a comic book film until years ago. I thought of it simply as "that film where Wesley Snipes did kung-fu and killed vampires". And I imagine so many had the same thought.

I agree that it's effect on superhero films is overstated, but perhaps it is definitely overlooked. In the 90's, how many A-listers found success in a comic book film? Only a few.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

I may be misremembering but Blade wasn't even marketed as a superhero movie, I didn't even know he was a marvel character until I saw the character show up in the 90's spider-man cartoon.

 

[KevTravels]

I may be misremembering but Blade wasn't even marketed as a superhero movie, I didn't even know he was a marvel character until I saw the character show up in the 90's spider-man cartoon.

Which is kinda interesting as to how it was even produced since isn't Blade like a Z-list superhero? I guess Snipes must have really battled for the role and that they presented it strictly as a vampire action flick.

 

[Smurphftw]

I've always considered the Blade movies to be more World of Darkness type vampire movies rather than a Superhero franchise. In 1997 there were already a ton of vampire franchises so it wasn't exactly groundbreaking. He wasn't even the first black vampire. Blackula, Vampire In Brooklyn came before.

Spawn was more of an anti-hero and let's face it, that movie was utterly forgettable.

Hell, Halle Berry's Catwoman would qualify using those standards.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to consider Black Panther to be the first real superhero movie with a black actor in the lead role.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

Which is kinda interesting as to how it was even produced since isn't Blade like a Z-list superhero? I guess Snipes must have really battled for the role and that they presented it strictly as a vampire action flick.

I don't even remember the marvel logo being in it anywhere lol

different times lol, man how far we've come.

 

[legendkillin]

Which is kinda interesting as to how it was even produced since isn't Blade like a Z-list superhero? I guess Snipes must have really battled for the role and that they presented it strictly as a vampire action flick.

Well New Line Cinema did make live action Ninja Turtles so I wouldn't think Blade would scare them off. They seemed like a open minded take chances kind of company.

 

[KevTravels]

I don't even remember the marvel logo being in it anywhere lol

different times lol, man how far we've come.

So true.

 

[ctsketch]

The Media has forgotten that BP is not the first

 

[KevTravels]

The Media has forgotten that BP is not the first

Blankman should be erased from our memories

 

[eon001]

I don't think Spawn did much to help, Blade on the other hand proved Marvel characters with little public presence could still make bank even with a modest budget and ad campaign ushering thebigger budget fair

Spawns contribution is completely overrated due to the fact that he was burned to a crisp and didn't look like he belonged to any race. That was Todd Mcfarlanes whole point. He wanted to covertly turn everyone's favorite superhero into a black guy.

He's got stories of racist red necks saying they hate black people but love Spawn.