The Nightstalkers is a fictional trio in the Marvel Comics universe who had reluctantly banded together to fight occult and supernatural threats. FicTioNaL is a Gaming Legend. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden. In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

It was composed of the vampire-hunters Blade and Frank Drake (who had fought Count Dracula in the 1970s series Tomb of Dracula); and, also from that series, private detective Hannibal King, a "neo-vampire" with vampiric abilities but only a craving, not a need, for drinking blood. They were gathered by Doctor Strange in Nightstalkers #1 (Nov. 1992) to battle an immediate threat, but under his larger, hidden agenda. Vampires are fictional characters found in the Marvel Universe. ... Hunting is, in its most general sense, the pursuit of a target. ... Blade (Eric Brooks) is a fictional superhero. ... Frank Drake is a fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics, most notably the Tomb of Dracula series created by Gerry Conway. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... Hannibal King is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Doctor Strange is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer and superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. ...

On the Borderline

Before being formally gathered as Strange's Nightstalkers, the trio had founded the detective agency King, Drake, and Blade, later renamed Borderline Investigations.

After Strange manipulated the trio into forming the Nightstalkers, the team fought the many supernatural enemies that were emerging, including the Lilin; Meatmarket; HYDRA's Department of Occult Armaments (DOA) and its renegade Dracula clone, Bloodstorm, who slaughtered that division, including its chief, Lt. Belial; and, ultimately, the one-time Lord of Vampires, Varnae. Lilith is the daughter of Dracula in the Marvel Comics series Tomb of Dracula. ... Baron Strucker, retconned founder of HYDRA, wearing the HYDRA logo on his chest. ... Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of something. ... BloodStorm is a fighting game released into arcades in 1994 by Strata and developed by Incredible Technologies, the same people who created Time Killers. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ...

Tomb of Dracula threads

Nightstalkers #16 (Feb. 1994): Cover art by Bill Wylie and Frank Turner.

In the final arc (#16-18, Feb.-April 1994), King's house, including Borderline's office, was destroyed in a fire begun by a HYDRA Dreadnought (see cover at right) stealing Drake's anti-occult nanotech gun, the Exorcist. The team disbanded, and at a brief regathering at Blade's home at Strange's urging, was contacted by Domini, Dracula's "widow", who needed their help finding her and Dracula's kidnapped son, Janus (retrieving threads from Tomb of Dracula). Image File history File links Nightstalkers16. ... Image File history File links Nightstalkers16. ... A mite next to a gear chain produced using nanotechnology Nanotechnology as a collective term refers to technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ... Tomb of Dracula is a horror comic book published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. ...

Strange here finally revealed that the "Montesi Formula", which had eradicated and prevented further vampires in the Marvel universe, was weakening. In response, he had gathered the three most experienced vampire-hunters so that they could hone their skills and teamwork before Dracula, the lord of vampires, might return. Since all three Nightstalkers had been highly traumatized by their early vampiric battles, Strange held off informing them of vampires' possible return until necessary.

In a final battle, Varnae — a previous lord of vampires who had already returned — took psychic control of King and directed him to kill his comrades. King sacrificed himself instead. Drake, deep in anger and depression, then attempted to sacrifice his own life to kill Varnae, engineering an Exorcist-powered explosion. Blade in self-defense already had staked his old comrade Taj Nital, from Tomb of Dracula, who between these two series had been turned vampiric.

An anguished Blade survived, and with Domini — whose son remained missing — attended his teammates' funeral. He noted "all they found was a charred body that crumbled when they touched it, and Frank's hand, still clutchin' the Exorcist's trigger". Blade would, however, encounter King again in New Orleans, in the subsequent series Blade; there he learned that King's plunge into a metal pole (rather than silver or wood) had fortuitously not killed him, and that he had escaped the explosion. King also informed Blade that Drake was left scarred and crippled in both body and mind. Whether Varnae or Bloodstorm had survived, and whose charred body had remained, was left uncertain.

The series' initial creative team was writer Dan G. Chichester, penciler Ron Garney and inker Tom Palmer, reprising his role from Tomb of Dracula. After 11 issues, Steven Grant took over scripting, with Frank Lovece in the final three wrapping up the fates of some of the 1970s series' characters. Artists included Mark Pacella, Kirk Van Wormer and Andrew Wildman. The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Daniel G. Chichester is a comic book writer. ... In producing a comic book, the penciller (or penciler) draws the comic based on the script created by the writer. ... Ron Garney is a comic book artist. ... The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book, or graphic novel. ... Tom Palmer is the name of several notable individuals, including: Tom G. Palmer, senior fellow at the Cato Institute who holds a D.Phil. ... Steven Grant is a writer of comics who has worked for both Marvel and DC, as well as various independent companies. ... Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic-book writer. ... Andrew Wildman (often credited as Andy Wildman) is a British artist, best known for his work in the comics field in the 1980s, mainly for Marvel Comics. ...

The 1994 Blade comic series was cancelled before an important storyline would have explained why Drake and King survived the explosion. Observant readers noticed that Dracula had different color eyes (sometimes at the same time) during his appearances in this book. An unused cover illustration (printed in the letters column of that book) showed what appeared to be a creature with two different faces and hair colors. Reportedly, the intention was that Drake and King were fused with Bloodstorm into a composite creature that served as a temporary host body for Dracula. Had the comic continued, it was presumed that the host body would be destroyed and King and Drake freed. Because this story treatment never appeared, the actual explanation of their survival remains unrevealed.

Blade: Trinity

A revised version of the Nightstalkers was depicted in the 2004 movie Blade: Trinity starring Wesley Snipes as Blade, Jessica Biel as Abigail Whistler and Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King. In the movie, Blade was not a Nightstalker himself but allied with them, albeit reluctantly, as they were younger and in his eyes less experienced. In contrast to the more mature and reserved Hannibal King depicted in the comics, Reynolds revision of the character was in keeping with his history of humorous, extroverted characters such as Van Wilder. Frank Drake did not appear as a Nightstalker and descendant to Dracula, but rather as Dracula himself (but only referred to as Drake). Abigail Whistler was the ad-hoc leader of the group. Also, unlike the comic, there were several lesser members who, being unsuited for physical action, stayed at headquarters in supporting roles. Blade: Trinity is a 2004 movie, directed by David S. Goyer, which is a motion_picture directorial debut for him. ... Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. ... Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and former fashion model, and probably best known for her role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven and her roles in Hollywood feature films, most notably Summer Catch (2001), the 2003 remake of... Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian born actor. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 2002 films | Comedy films | Teen films ...

References

• The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• The Grand Comics Database