Yesterday I received a great question from "Scythe" that's an opinion question. As such, I figured it'd be great to post it here and get everybody's take on it. His question is about Steppin' Razor and you can read it below:
Scythe writes:
I'm curious as to what you think of the character Steppin' Razor (Bokeem Woodbine) and his relationship with Blade. Do you feel that he's a worthy rival for the Daywalker? Or does he just not "cut it"? Much thanks, Scythe.
Well, we've only seen Steppin' Razor once so far, back in
Episode 5: Bloodlines, but he managed to do a lot with his short time onscreen. He captured Blade, nearly handed him over to Marcus, killed Reverend Carlyle, and gave us the origins of Blade's tatoos along with a lot of other backstory. He impacted the story quite a bit for only being in part of one episode, but does that make him a worthy adversary?

If the show was just Blade vs Steppin', I'd have to say it would suck (pardon the pun). I believe Marcus is a much better
main villain. However, Steppin's role is definitely interesting and I do believe he adds a lot to the table that nobody else can.
For starters, he has a whole lot of history with Blade. Nobody else in the show can claim to have been there when Blade was starving as a young half vampire and nobody else in the show can claim to have been turned by Blade. These two things give Steppin' both great motivation (revenge for being turned) and unique insight (knowing a lot about Blade's past). As such, he's a villain with a different perspective on Blade, a perspective that allowed him to fairly easily capture Blade and nearly kill him.
Steppin' also has something in common with Boone as they are both vampire outcasts. Like Boone, Steppin' is unwelcome in the vampire Houses and also like Boone, he's hunted by fellow vampires. As such, Steppin' has an air of desparation about him, though he hides it well. The similarities between Steppin' and Blade's relationship and Boone and Krista's relationship are interesting and may come up in the future. They each have a problem that they created, problems they will eventually have to deal with.
So, is he worthy? I say yes. His unique ability to provide us with more backstory and his personal vendetta against Blade are both worthy additions to the show. Alone, he wouldn't be enough of a villain, but alongside the current developments and other factions, his occasional presence is definitely felt and appreciated. I say he's worthy, but do you? Weigh in on the topic in the comments below.
For those interested,
Bokeem Woodbine is the actor that plays Steppin' Razor.
[tags]Steppin' Razor, Bokeem Woodbine, Blade villain[/tags]