Blademaster!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about a character from the original version of Wildstorm/DC's The Authority named Rush.  She was a short-lived villain who replaced one of the Authority members.

I had forgotten that she is not the only (or first) short-lived Canadian character from that line.

The Stormwatch team that would eventually morph into The Authority also had a Canadian character for a while, though he didn't really stand out as such.

Blademaster, like Rush, did not last long.  His "significant" run is from issues 28 to 33 or so of the original Stormwatch series.

I admit that at that point, the book had become so poor that I dropped it.  A whole new group of characters had been introduced along with Blademaster, none of which appeared to have a personality.  And Renato Arlem's art resembled Erik Larsen's exaggerated style, which I personally find grotesque.

I do have the first couple of issues of that less-than-memorable "era" in Stormwatch history and was able to locate #30 specifically.  Here is Blademaster's time to shine in that book (right click and open in new tab for a better look) as he battles Saladin, a member of a super-powered terrorist group named Heaven's Fist.

Looking good.

Unfortunately for Blademaster, it wouldn't be the last time he lost a sword fight.

Geez...Maybe if he was so intent on becoming a master of blades, he should have just become a chef.

Later incarnations of the team included another Blademaster but her nationality is undetermined.  I don't know who else would try to extend the six-issue legacy of greatness of the original character other than a relative, but until it is confirmed in-story, we shan't speculate.

So as we asked for Rush earlier...Is there any chance of a return of this iconic character now that DC has rebooted their entire line?

It is doubtful to the extreme.  The current DC Comics incarnation of Stormwatch includes (at least the first couple of issues did) a character referred to as "The Eminence of Blades".  He bears no resemblance to Blademaster.  I believe he leaves the team at some point but I doubt it's in order for the writers to set up an eminence-vs-master sword battle for the ages.  In a medium where deaths are rarely permanent, it's probably safe to assume that this one is among the exceptions.