Comic books have received adaptations in other media since the early days of comics, such as the Superman radio show, so movies wee a natural fit. There were movie serials and TV adaptations, and all fit neatly into their eras. When it comes to big budget Super Hero movies, there are three eras to be identified. The first is the era that kicked off with Superman in 1978 and died a painful death with Superman IV, which tanked critically and commercially. Then Tim Burton created the second era with his adaptation of Batman in 1989 and spawn more comic book movies such as The Mask, Mystery Men and Spawn before going out with a whimper with Batman and Robin.
Many point to X-Men and Spider-man as the start of the modern era of comic book movies but this is not the case. Blade was released in 1998, based on the Marvel Comics character and revolutionized the way comic book movies were done. The movie took what it needed from the comics but chucked the rest away in order to create a neat and coherent experience. Taking the best parts of the comics and translating them well, and also realizing when not to use CGI due to how awkward they would look, created a film that stood out. Add in that Blade was rated R and featured a Black male lead, and the success of the movie was even more notable at the time.
It was felt that comic book movies were simply not worth doing after the colossal failure of Batman and Robin, but Blade showed that there was still a market for those movies. Following Blade’s release, we entered a new age of comic book films such as the aforementioned X-Men and Spider-Man, but also the Nolan Batman films and the MCU. All of these films took something from Blade in some way, being the moody nature, the camera techniques, or the way the protagonists acted. Most of all however, was that Blade showed that there was a proper way to adapt comics into films.
Yes, there were other comic book movies that were a success between Batman and Robin and Blade, but one managed to help revive the genre. Some films like Men in Black were not even known to have been based off comics. Blade, an obscure property from Marvel, is what turned things around when it seems the genre was dead and it was Blade that led to films such as Black Panther being made. It was a film that came at just the right time, when it was needed the most.
Disclaimer: The above was the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of ROG or its staff