Swords, knives and Wolverine’s knuckles are all part of the fabric of our favorite super-tales… Welcome to Ten Things: Ten Super Blades!

Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with An Amateur Comics Historian and every third X-Man, Presents:

TEN THINGS: SUPER BLADES!

10) KAMEN RIDER BLADE

Centuries ago, fifty-two demons escaped the underworld, leading to a battle for supremacy that ended up seeping into our reality as the suits of a traditional deck of playing cards. In order to capture and trap those escaped undead, BOARD (the Board Of Archeological Research Department) empowered Kazumi Kenzaki with the power of the Ace of Spades. His secondary Rider and occasional antagonist is the Ace of Spades, with the demons they fight each emblemizing another card.

Points for great design, but a small deduction for BOARD having the word “board” in their acronym.

9) WARBLADE

An artist by trade, Reno Bryce was kidnapped by an organization known as Cyberdata and used as one of their disposable troopers, the SHOCs. Rescued by Lord Emp and recruited for his WildC.A.T.s team, Reno discovered that his T2-style morphing powers and green hair are not mutations, but proof of his half-alien heritage. He and his team eventually returned to their home planet and were terribly disillusioned by the truth of it, returning to Earth to fight endless battles with cyborgs and alien flame-headed fellows. He was rebooted into the DCU in 2011, but as far as I can tell, is a completely different character there.

8) THE ACE OF BLADES

Speaking of Cyberdata, their other experiments became the team known as Cyberforce, who broke out and were likewise chased by SHOC troopers, including this particulary upside-down villain. This panel is most of his publishing history, but a name like ‘The Ace of Blades’ is far too good to ignore, even if it’s attached to a one-shot cannon fodder goomer.

7) WITCHBLADE

After encountering a mystical artifact in the line of duty, NYPD detective Sara Pezzini found herself drawn into a web of intrigue and bloodshed. Over the course of 24 episodes, she clashed repeatedly with Kenneth Irons, who wanted to use the power of the Witchblade for his own ends. Sara is seemingly more powerful than her comic book counterpart, even rewinding time in Season 2. She also wears much more practical clothing, making this my favorite of the Witchblade incarnations.

6) CYBLADE

We’re in a real “90s Image Comics” realm this time around, with another Cyberforce character! Dominique Thiebaut is a super-powered teenager (who is totally NOT a mutant, you guys) who received extensive cybernetic enhancement to become a core member (and eventual leader) of the Cyberforce team. She can produce some sort of electromagnetic plasma/energy/comic book nonsense from her hands, and has been known to resemble a much more heavily-armored Psylocke, of X-Men fame.

5) HELLBLADE

Proving that the 90s “-blade” phenomenon wasn’t just an Image thing, Jefferson Kotto was transformed by an an energy eruption from Earth’s moon, known as ‘The Jumpstart.’ He initially used his speed, strength and claws as a drug trafficker, but eventually fell prey to a hit from his rivals, leaving him “dead.” Another energy blast revived him, leading to a stint with Earth-93060’s Exiles, alongside supers from two different worlds. He, like all Malibu characters, is owned by Marvel but in limbo, reputedly due to Malibu’s creator compensation contracts still being enforceable.

4) THE BLUE BLADE

Having grown up on a farm during the Great Depression, Roy Chambers wanted nothing less than fame and fortune for himself. To that end, he crafted a costumed hero persona based on Errol Flynn and took to the streets. Though only one of his Golden Age adventures is recorded, he was one of twelve heroes placed in suspended animation in 1945 and awakened in the present day, whereupon he set about trying to once again get famous and monetize his story. His murder was the straw that unraveled a blood-soaked conspiracy, some 80 years in the making.

3) JONATHAN BLADE

One of many heroes killed throughout history who were resurrect by The Eternal Champion to fight for the survival of reality itself, Jonathan Blade started out as a police officer in the year 2030. Blade is forced to fight for his survival to prove that he SHOULD have survived. Due to the nature of fighting games being dependent on the player, he both did and didn’t return home to stop a genetically-engineered plague from ravaging the planet in his native time. For those wondering, Wesley Snipes didn’t make his film debut as Marvel’s similarly-named vampire hunter for another five years after Jon’s debut.

2) SILVERBLADE

A huge star during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Jonathan Lord fell prey to typecasting and eventually ended his career with a series of whimpers, rather than the proverbial bang. Years later, having turned into the male version of Norma Desmond, Jonathan was empowered by a mysterious ancient idol with the ability to transform into any of his celluloid personas. As a real-life (there should probably be some really big air-quotes around that phrase) superhero, Lord set out to relive his golden years by punching crime innaface. He is a favorite of both Geoff Johns (who uses him extensively in ‘Doomsday Clock’) and of my college roommate, Karl.

That, by the way, is likely his ENTIRE fandom.

1) NIGHTBLADE

An average young man who was left bedridden by an acccident, Nik Mayak was attacked and bitten by an alien parasite. The infusion of alien saliva not only healed his injuries, but gave him the ability to regenerate from any injury, even when his body was bisected in combat. After his family was murdered, Nik donned a costume to honor their memories and set out to rid the world of the parasites that created him and the other New Bloods. He was one of many heroes sacrificed to make Superboy-Prime that much more evil which, whether you liked him/them or not, is a real shame.

This week’s Ten Things topic is all me, but feel free to follow along @MightyKingCobra for more Ten Things madness on Twitter.  (Or check out the full Twitter archive here!)  As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, if only because 90s nostalgia is everywhere and Wolverine’s importance to comics history means that more claw-guys and gals are inevitable. Either way, the comments section is Below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!

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