Because it set the stage for all the grandeur that was to come, Blade is a special franchise for Marvel. This superhero horror film grew into a thrilling and lucrative franchise following the 1998 release of the first Blade movie.
The storyline for Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II, written by David S. Goyer, and the cast, which featured Wesley Snipes, all contributed to the film’s success. The idea of the Reaper Virus was one of the story’s most intriguing elements. Because this virus was able to fix some of the genetic defects of vampires, some improved vampires known as Reapers were created.
The Reader virus was developed to strengthen and increase the lethality of vampires, and the Reaper is sort of an updated version that does away with some of the weaknesses that vampires have to contend with.
But the super-agility and power they possessed eventually became a problem for vampires as well. Due to their abnormal desire, Reapers were constantly driven to devour blood, and even vampires were vulnerable to becoming their target. In order to deal with the threat posed by the Reaper virus before it was too late, the vampires and Blade formed an uneasy alliance.
In this video, we examine the Reaper Virus in great detail, covering everything from its history to its advantages and disadvantages. Stay attentive because this is the crown for vampire aficionados and Blade facing up against an apparently unkillable mutant form of vampires is one of the most intriguing vampire-related events ever!
What Is Reaper Virus?
The Blade franchise has an interesting take on vampirism. It describes vampirism as some kind of progressive virus, which is spread through the saliva of the vampires. It then replicates in the human host, whose cells are then changed on a molecular level to turn them into something entirely different. However, the thing with viruses is that they can evolve, naturally or through experiments!
It all started when the overlord of the Vampire Nation, Eli Damaskinos decided to fix the flaws in a vampire’s genetic code. The vampires were vulnerable to sunlight, silver and garlic, and Damaskinos wanted to create a new race that could withstand these weaknesses.
Hereditary markers simulated the biological built of a Daywalker like Blade, and Damaskinos wanted to do the same with vampires. This would be the first step towards his goal of absolute vampire supremacy in the world. He tested this experiment on his own son Jared Nomak, who then became the Patient Zero.
The experiment was only partially successful. Nomak did transform into a super vampire, but he was still vulnerable to sunlight. The enzyme that brought about the changes in Nomak had transmutative effects and it was like a parasitic virus that could be carried from one vampire to another. In the process, they would be genetically altered and new parasitic organisms would be produced. This was the deadly Reaper Strain that soon started to show its adverse effects.
Reaper Physiology – How they hunt their prey
Except their super speed and agility, the Reapers did not have any distinct superpowers. What made them so powerful was their urge to feed and their differences from the normal vampires! The Reapers have a bifurcated lower jaw and it did have the traditional mandible bone.
The jaw is split and it has two fangs containing paralytic neurotoxin at the ends. This could be effective in immobilizing their prey, although there have been instances where individuals managed to fight off the paralytic effects even after getting bitten. In order to drink the blood of their victims, they have a muscular, proboscis-like tongue that ends in barbed tendrils. These barbs attach the tongue securely to the victim and also inject the deadly virus.
They are well protected against any injury to their heart because their rib cage is almost structured like a shield of solid bone with a very slight gap. They have pale, albino skin and no hair. The Reapers also have a gill-like system on their backs, which is used to secrete a pheromone that draws other Reapers to the scent of blood.
Is Nomak born as a Reaper or did he receive some sort of gene therapy as a normal Vampire?
Jared Nomak was the son of the vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos, and he was experimented upon rigorously in order to create an invincible vampire. He was not born with the Reaper strain and it was only introduced in him artificially. Once the Reaper strain was developed, Nomak was injected with it and he soon transformed into a monstrous form. The virus changed his physiology and his thinking process was also affected in the process. His bloodlust increased manifold, and his insatiable hunger did not discriminate between humans and vampires. Nomak would prey on both, and he soon became a threat to the vampires as well.
Immediately after the experiment was conducted on Nomak, Damaskinos found out that it had failed its purpose. He wanted to eliminate his son, but Nomak managed to escape. He then went on a killing spree across the Vampire Nation, and humans and vampires alike fell before his deadly attacks.
They were all transformed into Reapers and the Reaper strain started to spread at an alarming rate. Nomak was like the alpha male in the pack of Reapers and he had more self-control and brains than the others. He also had better control of his thirst for blood, and he had the ability to command the other Reapers to do his bidding. He resented his father, and the whole Vampire Nation was supposed to pay the price of his wrath!
The Unthinkable Alliance
Dire situations call for extreme measures. When Damaskinos realized that his own son had gone rogue and now threatened the entire vampire clan, he approached Blade, the vampire hunter. He bridged the gap between him and his arch-nemesis, and wanted Blade to help the Blood pack and take down Nomak. The Bloodpack was a team of vampire warriors who were formed to destroy Blade. Now, their priorities had changed and they would work alongside Blade to fight against Nomak and the Reapers.
Nomak was also aware of the threat that Blade posed, which once again points to his active intelligence. He displayed animalistic behavior, but he still had the mind to strategize. He approached Blade and offered an alliance, where they would slay vampires together. But Blade turned down his offer, and they engaged in a fierce battle. This was when Blade discovered that the Reapers were quite different from the regular vampires and a lot more difficult to defeat! ;:
The Reaper: Abilities and Weaknesses
The whole purpose behind the creation of the Reaper strain was to develop a race of vampires who would be invincible. While the experiment was not completely successful, it did accomplish some changes in the subject. For instance, Nomak was shown to be a lot more powerful than any human or other vampire. Only Blade proved to be a match for his strength, and he too had to toil hard to get the better of Nomak.
Since he was the first Reaper, he had the edge over the ones to follow. His DNA was the purest of the Reaper strain, and this probably was the secret behind his greater powers. His bloodlust was under his control to an extent, and he also had the ability to make the other Reapers fight for him. He was the only Reaper who could speak, and he could stick to solid surfaces like a spider.
In general, the Reapers have the same ability as they did before being transformed. However, the transformation gives them an added edge because of their primal instinct to feed. This extreme urge makes them desperate and they also show signs of great agility and strength. Their regenerative powers were almost magical, and they seemed to survive the worst of injuries. After Priest gets infected by the Reaper strain his head is chopped off to end his misery.
The body is exposed to sunlight and burns out, but the head stays alive for quite some time. This is just one instance that shows the extreme durability of the Reapers. It has been suggested that the Reapers probably have an enhanced sense of smell. Their agility is also considerably greater than vampires or humans because they have been shown to climb walls and ceilings effortlessly before launching a surprise attack.
The Reapers can withstand silver and garlic, but they still don’t stand a chance against ultraviolet radiation. Natural UV radiation from the Sun could burn their bodies, and even artificial sources like UV lamps and other such devices could inflict fatal damage. The Reapers, apart from Nomak, however, were not exactly great thinkers. They had a basic primal instinct to hunt for prey, and they could plan nothing more than their next meal!
They were helpless when it came to fighting the urge to feed, and in case no prey was readily available, they could also turn cannibalistic and attack each other. If they did not find a source of food in time, they would start growing weaker by the hour. Only twelve hours without food could affect them adversely, and it has been shown that even if their brains are removed, their bodies still try to feed.
The End of the Reaper Strain
It is indicated that there were somewhere around fifty to one-hundred Reapers who relentlessly attacked humans and vampires. When Blade attacked him for the first time, Nomak showed great resilience and strength. He survived even after being shot by a silver bullet, and repeatedly injecting him with EDTA blood-thinner also did not cause much damage. However, his Reaper pack was not as invincible, and Blade managed to slay most of them with the help of the Bloodpack.
We have already spoken about how Jared Nomak wanted revenge from his father, the Vampire overlord Damaskinos. Even after losing most of his Reaper pack, he single-shandedly attacked Damaskinos’s sanctum. His father’s beefed-up security was no match for his insane strength, and most of them were slaughtered while trying to protect their leader.
Nomak ripped apart Damaskinos’s throat, and proceeded to bite his sister Nysa in order to turn her into a Reaper. Blade soon caught up to him, and they fought in a fierce and intense final battle to the death. Blade finally managed to plunge his sword through the slight gap in Nomak’s protective rib cage, straight into his head. As he lay dying, his body turned into ash and this is presumably the end of the Reaper Strain. There could be a few other Reaper survivors left, but it is unlikely that they would survive much longer without Nomak to guide them.
Our Final Words
If you haven’t checked out the Blade franchise already, it is high time that you did! Blade II, in particular, will leave you stunned, and the antics of the Reapers will be a treat for all the vampire lovers out there! Besides, you get to enjoy some impactful performances from the likes of Wesley Snipes, Ron Pearlman, Luke Goss, etc., so what’s not to like! You will get a nice combination of action and horror, and Blade fighting alongside his old enemies to bring down a greater threat is not something you will want to miss out on!