Hybrid (Underworld)
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Hybrids are a fictional species of creatures from the Underworld movie series.
 Michael, the first Lycan turned Hybrid |
 Marcus, the first Vampire turned Hybrid |
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[edit] Description
Hybrids are half-Vampire and half-Lycan, but much stronger than both. They combine the strengths of the two species, and do away with most of the weaknesses; for example, they are neither allergic to silver or sensitive to sunlight. Their skin is a dark gray-blue colour and their eyes are solid black. In combat, they move incredibly swiftly, and display immense strength and endurance - both Michael Corvin and Marcus Corvinus are shown taking multiple bullets, punches and various other forms of punishment with no lasting damage, to the extent of Michael being impaled through the chest and regenerating, and Marcus being forced against a cliffside by a moving vehicle, and having his wings torn off in the process - he quickly regrows them.
In terms of physical strength, Hybrids have few that are equal. Michael was able to hold his own against Viktor only moments after transforming - Viktor gaining the upper hand only because he was older and more experienced and Michael was still adjusting to his new form and abilities. Marcus was able to lift a large stone doorway, pull a helicopter down and cause it to crash, and overpower Michael in physical combat. As the Hybrid strain combines characteristics from both Vampires and Lycans, there is little they cannot achieve. As Selene says to Michael - "Your powers may be limitless."
A Hybrid's appearance is greatly influenced by the first species they were bitten/infected by. As Michael was originally bitten by Lucian (the Lycan leader), his form is much more feral, combining a Lycans' physical posture, lack of speech and more animalistic attacks - becoming a Lycan-dominant hybrid, or Lycan-Vampire hybrid. Whilst transforming, Michael displays the snout, claws and fur of a Lycan but they quickly return to a much more human appearance - with the exception of his eyes, which become solid black, the musculature around his torso, his hands and fingernails, his hair becomes black in color like a Lycan's fur and his skin, which becomes dark grey-blue in appearance. In the second film, his face also displayed the beginnings of a snout.
Marcus, on the other hand, was a Vampire long before turning to a hybrid, and as such bears a markedly different appearance (although he shares the black eyes, torso musculature and the skin color of Michael). His ears flatten and retreat into his skull, his hair disappears, his nose becomes much more bat-like, and he grows two large leathery wings on his back (which he is able to take out in "normal" form). Another notable difference is that Marcus is capable of speech in his Hybrid form, something Michael has never been shown to do. It would appear that although Michael is able to return to his normal humanesque form, Marcus is only able to transform back into an obvious Vampire (sharp teeth, electric-blue eyes), although he retains his ability to withstand sunlight. In combat, a Vampire-Lycan hybrid's main weapon seems to be it's giant bat wings. The wings not only allows it to fly at great heights and speeds, but can also be used to attack and impale it's opponents with. Marcus also possesses talons on his hands. While a Vampire-Lycan hybrid can use the talons on its wings to impale and tear apart its opponents, a Lycan-Vampire hybrid possesses razor sharp claws on each fingertip that it can use to rip into its opponents with and literally tear them apart as well.
The only way to effectively kill a hybrid would appear to be complete physical dismemberment. Marcus is able to withstand being crushed, being shot in the stomach, chest and repeatedly in the neck, face and skull, and having his skull impaled with a sharp object (although he was clearly disoriented after this, no doubt as his body struggled to regenerate the brain damage he received). Selene pushed him into helicopter blades while he was stunned, completely destroying his physical body. A Lycan-Vampire hybrid (Michael) is able to withstand a similar amount of damage - being impaled, being shot at, and being repeatedly punched and kicked by an opponent of equal strength, speed and skill. The only times Michael was shown near to death were when he was shot in his Human form (he was weak after ingesting human food which is lethal to Vampires and Lycans alike) and needed to drink blood to bring his strength back up, and when Marcus impaled him on a metal pipe (although he was most likely in some kind of regenerative coma as his body repaired the damage). It would also appear that he becomes stronger after every battle since he lost against Viktor, but won against William, who was the first and strongest Lycan (though he was still adjusting to his body when he faced Viktor, and William had just awakened after spending centuries in bloodless confinement, which could have affected either outcome).
Michael's hybrid strain was created by a combination of Lucian's Lycan strain and Selene's Vampire strain. Marcus' was created by a combination of his own Vampire strain and Singe's Lycan strain. It is not known if the overall strength of a Hybrid is determined by the strength or age of the sources, however it would appear that this is not the case as Singe was not an old Lycan, yet Marcus displayed tremendous strength, speed and agility. Marcus, however, might not be the best example as he was a Vampire Elder.
[edit] Creation
There are three known ways for a Hybrid to be created:
[edit] Mortal to Immortal Hybrid
For a human to become a Hybrid, the blood of a direct mortal descendant of Alexander Corvinus (father of the first Vampire Marcus Corvinus and the first Lycan William Corvinus) must be used. The blood from this family line contains a genetic anomaly that can sustain the mortal to hybrid creation, which is known as the Corvinus Strain. Without this genetic anomaly, an attempt at a Mortal to Hybrid creation by means of a bite would instantly kill the intended subject. Michael Corvin was one such descendant who had this genetic anomaly. He was bitten first by Lucian, a powerful Lycan, then by Selene, an exceptionally skilled Vampire who was bitten by the elder Viktor, suppsedly the most powerful vampire according to Underworld. The initial bite of an immortal seems to have greater dominance over the second immortal species bite once the Hybrid transformation is complete. Hence a Lycan-Vampire Hybrid will possess greater Lycan traits (Michael), whereas a Vampire-Lycan Hybrid will have more Vampire traits (Marcus).
[edit] Immortal Procreation
The second known means of creating a Hybrid is for a Lycan and Vampire to create a child by means of copulation. As both species of immortals contain traces of the Corvinus Strain passed down from maker to maker, the genetic material for a successful hybrid are present. This was the case with the Lycan Lord, Lucian, and the Vampire Princess, Sonja, who had married in secret. Sonja's child was never allowed to live, as her father, Viktor, killed her before the child could be born. This Hybrid would have features of both bat (Sonja) and wolf (Lucian), so perhaps the offspring would be the most complete state of hybrid, unlike Marcus and Michael who has one breed more dominant.
[edit] Blood Unification
The third method of becoming a hybrid is through blood unification. This is the method that Lucian had performed, although he did not complete the fusion. According to Singe (the Lycan Scientist), it was explained that if a powerful Lycan/Vampire warrior were to inject the blood of someone who had the exact duplicate of the original virus of Alexander Corvinus and join it with the blood of another (if not, same level or powerful) Lycan/Vampire warrior, then he/she too would become a hybrid as well. eg: If Lucian were to inject Michael and Amelia's blood into his own, he would too become a hybrid. Despite being an alternative method to become a hybrid, the success of this method is not known seeing that it has not been executed. However, Lucian came ever so close to becoming a Hybrid.
[edit] Known Hybrids
Currently, only two hybrids were successfully created, apart from Lucian and Sonja's unborn child: possibly Selene could become a hybrid; she has blood of both Vampire and of Corvinus. She would only need the blood of a Lycan to complete the transformation.
On her own, however, she could be seen as a second kind of hybrid: a Vampire/True Immortal hybrid.
[edit] Michael Corvin
Michael Corvin, a human descendant of Alexander Corvinus and carrier of the original Corvinus Strain. He is transformed into a Lycan-Vampire Hybrid when his dormant Corvinus Strain fused with the Lycan and Vampire Strain, infected by Lucian and Selene. His Lycan-dominant strain caused his mutation to bring forth more Lycan traits than Vampire.
[edit] Marcus Corvinus
Marcus Corvinus, the immortal son of Alexander Corvinus, bitten by a bat, became the first true Vampire. He is exposed to Lycan blood while in a dormant state of animation, allowing the fusion of the Lycan Strain and his residual Corvinus Strain, turning him into the first Vampire-Lycan Hybrid. Marcus' Vampire-dominant strain mutates him further into the creature that is the origin of his dominant strain, bat. Marcus' intentions were likely to expose his feral and uncontrollable brother William - the first true Lycan - to Vampire blood in order to make him like himself, but a vice-versa Lycan-Vampire hybrid, in order to keep in control of his ferocity.
[edit] Lucian's Killed Child
The unborn child of Lucian and Sonja was the first actual Hybrid. Unfortunately, the child was killed while in Sonja's womb when she was exposed to sunlight.
