Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973) as a supporting character, but he later went on to star in his own storylines.

[7][8] Blade was introduced as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' The Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973), written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Gene Colan.

Blade co-starred in the 18-issue series Nightstalkers, and appeared with that team in a story in the anthology issue Midnight Sons Unlimited #1 (April 1993).

Marvel published a different six-issue miniseries later that year, Blade: Vampire Hunter (storyline: "Chaos (A)"; Dec. 1999 – May 2000), written and, except the last two issues, pencilled by Bart Sears.

In 2015, it was announced that Tim Seeley and Logan Faerber would be launching a new Blade series, starting in October 2015, as part of Marvel's post-Secret Wars relaunch, focusing on his and daughter Fallon Grey.

[19] Due to his father Lucas Cross being falsely imprisoned in his native Latveria, Eric was raised in the brothel, believing his mother to have been an employee there, and at age 9, returning home from school one day, he saw an old man being attacked by three vampires.

Afari, posing as a jazz musician, soon became a father figure to Eric, teaching him music and training him in the ways of fighting vampires.

[17] Over time, the young man became an Olympic-level athlete and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant; his skill with knives and daggers was such that it earned him the nickname "Blade" among both his fellow hunters and the vampires they opposed, who began to fear him.

[23] Because of his mercurial temperament, Blade had a strained but steady relationship with the group, allying himself with them on several occasions but always parting ways with them in the end.

Blade, King, and Drake were hired by Lilith the Mother of All Demons to kill the second Ghost Rider and the non-infernally powered John Blaze.

[40] The Nightstalkers then teamed with the Ghost Rider, Blaze, Morbius, Doctor Strange, and the Darkhold Redeemers to battle Lilith and her Lilin.

[43] A solo vampire-hunter once again, Blade briefly joined forces with the mystic Bible John Carik, and encountered a vampire impersonating Deacon Frost and a once-again resurrected Dracula.

Later, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Blade discovered that Hannibal King had survived, and the two joined forces to defeat a genuinely resurrected Frost.

During the Civil War storyline, in which the superheroes of the Marvel Universe were split over the Superhuman Registration Act, Blade registers and begins cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.

The squad disbands after their cover is compromised, and Blade returns home to the United Kingdom to join MI-13 in its fight against supernatural evil.

[51] During the "Curse of the Mutants" storyline, Blade appears in San Francisco to assist the X-Men in capturing a vampire specimen for the X-Club.

He immediately objects to Cyclops' plan to resurrect Dracula, stating "You don't dig up Hitler to get rid of Saddam Hussein".

[56] To prepare for his next TV program, Mojo paired Blade up with Doctor Strange, the Ghost Rider, the Manphibian, the Man-Thing, and Satana the Devil's Daughter, where he formed the Avengers of the Supernatural.

Both groups managed to break free from the mind-control and returned to their world after preventing the Ghost Rider from using his Penance Stare on the inhabitants of Mojoworld.

[65] During the "Blood Hunt" storyline, Blade visits Miles Morales in Brooklyn stating that he has a plan to deal with the vampire invasion.

Blade later visits Doctor Strange and Clea at the Sanctum Sanctorum to mention that the Structure is behind this and the Avengers have been defeated by the Bloodcoven who he describes as ultra-vampires who drink superhuman blood.

Blade possesses superhuman strength, stamina, speed, agility, heightened senses, and a rapid healing factor that attacks any alien substances (chemicals/viruses) in his body.

According to his earliest appearances in the original The Tomb of Dracula comics, Blade relied on teakwood daggers which he used to impale opponents, and a variety of mahogany stakes.

He would replace this with a new machine gun-esque firearm used in place of his missing hand, which responds to different muscle twitches as an indication of reloading and firing, among other functions (including a grappling hook, which Blade describes as his "favorite feature").

Much in the same way as in the comics,[69] in the movie series, Blade employs a stylized double-edged sword as one of his main offense and defense tools.

The movies also depict him wielding varieties of throwable "glaives" (boomerang- or chakram-like weapons which return when thrown), different knives, silver stakes, and firearms.

The first technique, "The First Blade: Residual Moon", draws a small circle with the tip of his sword, producing a perfectly tangible after-image of himself for diversions.

Believing Blade to be a crazed gunman, Spider-Man webbed him and tended to a person who he thought was an ordinary civilian, until the vampire attacked.

[75] Nick Fury managed to convince Blade to join a black ops group by promising to deliver to him the recently captured vampire who is responsible for his condition.

[76] After being arrested by the New Ultimates, Blade and the rest of the Avengers take Cash's serum and they gain massive strength and bulk bodies.