Issue- 2

Title- Bargains in Time

Writer- Marc Guggenheim

Art- Howard Chaykin

Summary:

Blade travels to Latveria to answer a summons from Doom. There, Doom reveals to him a memory of Blade saving his mother, Cynthia von Doom, from vampires while still in her womb. Blade has his doubts, but Doom transports him into the past anyway. Blade arrives in the thick of a vampire outbreak in a Latverian prison. Coming across a lone prisoner in his cell, Blade gives the prisoner his freedom in exchange for directions to where to find Cynthia. He arrives to find Cynthia battling vampires and rescues her as Doom remembered. After eliminating the vampires, Blade briefly ponders killing her in order to spare the world from the existence of Dr. Doom. Cynthia senses his intentions and advises him that the changes that would result could be far worse. Cynthia also warns him that he will come to regret the deal he made with the prisoner he freed, Lucas Cross. Blade returns from the past and Doom offers him a cure to his vampiric thirst. Blade accepts the cure but declines to take it after Doom explains that in order to cure his thirst he must also give up his Bloodlust, his will to hunt vampires.

Notes:

• Doom appears here dressed as he did in his first appearance in Fantastic Four #5

• After the destruction of his previous castle in Secret War, Doom has apparently equipped this new castle with a time platform.

• Although to what extent is unrevealed, Cynthia von Doom and Lucas Cross are familiar with one another.

• Cynthia von Doom was confined to a prison tower by Baron Mangegi De Sabbot, this would seem to predate events shown in Books of Doom #1

• Lucas Cross, Blade's father, was imprisoned in his own words for "political unrest." This was presumably against the Baron's regime.

• Collected in Blade: Undead Again (pictured below)
  
  

Comments:

Given Doom's uncharacteristic behavior as of late, I found this issue to be a refreshing change of pace. The story plays to all of Doom's strengths, magic and technology. Guggenheim manages to add to the Doom mythos by giving Cynthia von Doom some much needed spotlight. This issue marks one of her few significant appearances. She's a character which outside of Triumph and Torment and Books of Doom, is mostly only mentioned in passing. There is even a nod to the aforementioned Books of Doom in that Guggenheim picks up on the thread laid out by Brubaker that Doom has memories going all the way back to being in the womb. Given that this came out soon after Doom's appearance in Black Panther, it was also nice to see Doom not portrayed as a racist. Here Blade is the one that assumes that Doom thinks that all Blacks look the same. From the fantastic cover to the interiors by comics legend Howard Chaykin, the art in this issue is also a treat. Although story and continuity-wise it makes no sense that Chaykin draws Doom (initially) in his classic first appearance garb, it is nonetheless cool to see him in his old threads. The issue itself unfolds similarly to Doom's first appearance in Fantastic Four #5, perhaps this visual nod was meant to accent the nostalgic feeling. Personally I thought the issue was cool. The fact that Blade's dad is Lucas Cross I guess makes Blade half-Latverian, interesting... My only question is how the hell did Blade defeat 4 Doombots??? Bottom Line: Buy It!