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Blade's Mentor: A Cartoon Character First?
22 Feb
Summary
- Whistler debuted in animated Spider-Man before Blade film.
- Marvel used Whistler, created for Blade, in a cartoon.
- This led to legal disputes between Marvel and New Line.
Abraham Whistler, the mentor character to Wesley Snipes' Blade, made his initial appearance not on the big screen, but in the 1995 "Spider-Man: The Animated Series." This was three years before the "Blade" film's release in 1998.
Screenwriter David S. Goyer created Whistler specifically for the "Blade" movie. However, Marvel decided to feature the character in "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" during the film's prolonged development. This decision led to legal wrangling between Marvel and New Line Cinema, as New Line contended that Marvel did not yet own the character they were using.
Whistler, voiced by Malcolm McDowell in his animated debut, was presented as an English vampire hunter and Blade's armorer. He represented a younger version compared to Kris Kristofferson's portrayal in the film. Following the legal issues, Whistler appeared in three more "Spider-Man" episodes before Kristofferson embodied the gruff mentor in the "Blade" movie.
