Blade Fact — November 6, 2026

Today's Fact

The Daywalker reported for duty with Britain's monster-hunting squad and introduced himself to its resident vampire by driving a stake through her.

BLADE TRIED TO STAKE HIS OWN TEAMMATE — THEN FELL FOR THE VAMPIRE HE CAME TO KILL!

The Featured Fact

When Pete Wisdom recruited Blade into MI13, the British team guarding the country against magical attack, the vampire hunter's first meeting with teammate Spitfire lasted only seconds. Jacqueline Falsworth was a Second World War Invader with superhuman speed — and a vampire, turned by Baron Blood decades earlier — so in Captain Britain and MI13 Vol. 1 #5 (2008) Blade did the thing he always does to vampires: he staked her on sight, in front of the whole team.

Only Dr. Faiza Hussain's healing powers kept the introduction from becoming a fatality, and professionalism slowly did the rest. Fighting side by side through the Hell Comes to Birmingham storyline, hunter and vampire developed a wary respect that tipped over at the arc's end, when Spitfire kissed the astonished Blade. Writer Paul Cornell picked the thread up in the Vampire State arc from issue #10 (2009), with the pair openly circling an attraction neither had planned.

By the final issue, Captain Britain and MI13 Vol. 1 #15 (2009), Dracula's invasion had failed and Blade and Spitfire had officially paired up — the man who had devoted his life to destroying vampires in a relationship with one of the oldest vampires in Britain. Later writers kept the bond on the record: Al Ewing revisited the MI13 romance when Blade resurfaced in Mighty Avengers Vol. 2 #13 (2014).

Why It's Obscure

A first impression involving a wooden stake usually ends a workplace relationship; in MI13 it started one.

#5, 2008

The staking — Blade's debut in the series is an attack on his own teammate: he stakes Spitfire at their first meeting because his rule for vampires has no exceptions for colleagues.

Lady J

The target — Spitfire, born Jacqueline Falsworth, had been a hero since the Invaders; her vampirism came from Baron Blood's bite, not from any choice of hers.

#10, 2009

The turn — Vampire State opens with Blade and Spitfire dealing with their newfound attraction, one arc after she kissed him at the close of Hell Comes to Birmingham.

Dracula

The old enemy — The romance deepened while the team fought Dracula's invasion of Britain, the very war that should have put Blade and a vampire on opposite sides.

Gallery

The hunter and the vampire — Blade with his swords drawn, and Spitfire, the teammate he staked before he fell for her.

Blade on a Red Band comic cover, swords crossed and fangs bared — **The Daywalker, armed** Blade on a Red Band cover: twin swords out, fangs showing — the greeting Spitfire got in issue #5 was this man's professional reflex.

Spitfire, Jacqueline Falsworth, in her gold costume and red mask — **The vampire on the team** Spitfire in her gold costume: a War-era Invader, a speedster, and the vampire Blade staked at hello and later dated.

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against at least two independent sources before publication.

Bullpen Bulletins

Halloween Spooklight: Captain Britain and MI13 — Marvel.com Marvel's own series retrospective: Blade made a bad first impression by staking Spitfire on their first meeting, and Faiza Hussain healed her.
Bloody Hell: Cornell on Captain Britain — CBR Writer Paul Cornell discusses Vampire State in issue #10 and the newfound attraction between Blade and Spitfire after she kissed him.
Captain Britain and MI13 #8 review — CBR Notes the growing Blade–Spitfire relationship, beginning in animosity because he tried to kill her for being a vampire.