Morbius, the Living Vampire
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Morbius the Living Vampire (Michael Morbius) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, intended as a tragic anti-hero with vampire-like powers that actually had a biochemical origin. Self-tormented over his nature but wanting to live, he has appeared as both a villain and an ally in various Spider-Man titles, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and in his own self-titled comic book.
Morbius was created in large part because Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee wanted to launch an indirect challenge on the ban by the Comics Code Authority on vampires. Working with writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane, they created Morbius, a living man who is given vampiric abilities via scientific means, and not the supernatural ones prohibited by the Code. Kane was instructed to specifically avoid Gothic fashion elements and design a costume for Morbius that was akin to what any other Marvel supervillain would wear, and he specifically chose the red and blue primary colors which were the staple of characters from Spider-Man to Superman.
In part because of the success of Morbius, the Comic Code was liberalized on the subject of vampires and other horror characters several months later, allowing Marvel and other publishers to use actual vampires such as Dracula.
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[edit] Publication history
Michael Morbius first appeared in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #101 (1971).
Morbius became the main feature of Marvel's bi-monthly Adventure into Fear anthology series from issues #20-31 (1972-1975).
Morbius received several serialized solo features in the pages of Vampire Tales, a black and white magazine published in the mid-1970s. The series lasted for 11 issues. An Annual was also published.
In 1992, Morbius was revived in an on-going series entitled Morbius the Living Vampire. 32 issues were published beginning in the summer of 1992. The series ended in the spring of 1995.
A one-shot special tentatively titled Spider-Man/ Venom/ Morbius by Morbius writer Len Kaminksi was scheduled for 1993, but never saw print due to editorial conflicts which eventually led to the writer's departure from the series.
A reprint series entitled Morbius Revisited was published from 1992-1993 and featured material originally presented in the pages of Adventure into Fear #27-31.
Solo stories starring Morbius also appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents #144 (1993), Midnight Sons Unlimited #2 (1993), Strange Tales: Dark Corners #1 (1998) and Amazing Fantasy, Vol.2 #18 (2005).
In April 2007, Marvel will publish a new special entitled Legion of Monsters: Morbius as part of their Legion of Monsters one-shot series.
[edit] Fictional character biography
Morbius first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct, 1971), in which he is attacked by the Lizard and defeated when Spider-Man and the Lizard join forces. A flashback in Amazing Spider-Man #102 reveals that Morbius was actually a Nobel prize-winning biochemist, who had attempted to cure himself of a rare blood disease with an experimental treatment involving vampire bats and electroshock therapy. However, he instead became afflicted with a far worse condition that mimicked the powers and bloodthirst of legendary vampirism. Morbius now had to digest blood in order to survive and had a strong aversion to light. He gained the ability to fly, as well as superhuman strength and healing abilities. His appearance became hideous—his canine teeth extended into fangs, his nose flattened to appear more like a bat's, and his skin became chalk-white. He also gained the ability to turn others into similar "living vampires" by biting them. Though he managed at one point to cure himself of his pseudo-vampirism, he eventually reverted back to his altered form.
He gained his own series with Adventure into Fear #20 in 1975, and was the lead feature of that title for the rest of its thirty-one issue run.
He later received his own self-titled comic book series (as well as somewhat of a costume update) in 1992 as part of the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover event between Marvel's supernatural/horror themed comics. These later stories add to his repertoire of powers the ability to hypnotize others and describe his ability to fly as also psionic in nature.
In the first issue, Ghost Rider and John Blaze search for Morbius to form The Nine and stop Lilith and the Lilin from taking over the world. When they found Morbius, the vampire believed they would kill him but Ghost Rider and John Blaze successfully captured him. Dr. Langford, who tried to help Morbius's wounds, was actually trying to kill him and was working for Dr. Paine. He made a serum that would prove fatal to Morbius, but unknown to Dr. Langford, Fang, one of Lilith's children was also trying to kill Morbius by adding his own demonic blood to the serum, which would also be fatal to Morbius. When Dr. Langford injected the serum to Morbius, it did not kill him, but instead mutated him. Morbius's friend, Jacob was trying to look inside of him and see what he could do about Morbius's condition. After Martine, Morbius's wife, found out Langford was trying to kill him, Langford shot her and she bled to death. Morbius found this out and was enraged to find his wife dead. He later killed Langford and took the beaker which contained the serum. Ghost Rider and John Blaze later found out Morbius's destruction. Ghost Rider confronted him and would not tolerate Morbius drinking anymore innocent blood. Morbius then vowed he would only drink the blood of the guilty. Ghost Rider accepted the vow, but warned him not to stray from it. Morbius soon became part of The Midnight Sons.
Later, a new faction of Vampires led by Hunger, the next evolution of the supervillain Crown, tried to destroy Morbius because he had been genetically manipulated to be the perfect weapon. The chest he was to be delivered in was intercepted by the Kingpin, Blade, and Spider-Man, and he attacked all three. Unfortunately, whatever unknown party manipulated him failed; he collapsed after one battle, possibly dying. With his last breath he warned Spider-Man to beware of his employer, Stuart Ward.
Most recently Morbius appeared in issue #5 of the new Blade series; there it was revealed that Morbius had signed the superhuman registration act and was cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. forces in an effort to capture Blade.
Morbius has registered as required by the Superhuman Registration Act.
[edit] Enemies and Allies
Morbius was first introduced as a villain in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. He would return to battle Spider-Man over the years in the pages of Marvel Team-Up Vol.1 #3-4, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #6-8 and #38, Morbius the Living Vampire #3-4 and #21-23, and later in Peter Parker, Spider-Man Vol.1 #77-80 and Vol.2 #8.
Spider-Man and Morbius formed an uneasy alliance during the Maximum Carnage crossover series.
Blade the Vampire Hunter and Morbius have had an on-going feud which began in Adventure into Fear #24. The two also clashed in Marvel Preview #8, Blade the Vampire Hunter #8, Blade Vol.1 #2-3, and Blade Vol.4 #5. Blade, while possessed by a demonic presence, killed Morbius in Morbius the Living Vampire #12, but Morbius was resurrected in Spirits of Vengeance #13.
Simon Stroud, a rogue CIA agent first introduced in the pages of Creatures on the Loose, has been hunting Morbius since Adventure into Fear #27. Stroud and Morbius last clashed in Morbius the Living Vampire #23.
During the run of Morbius the Living Vampire, Morbius crossed paths with a handful of brand new foes. They included: Vic Slaughter (introduced in issue #7), the Basilisk (introduced in issue #5), Dr. Paine (introduced in issue #4), and Bloodthirst (first seen in issue #20). During this same period, Morbius also battled a new villain called Bloodbath in Midnight Sons Unlimited #2.
Morbius has had a friendship with Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night) since West Coast Avengers #5, where Morbius helped Russell deal with his werewolf curse. Werewolf by Night was a frequent guest-star in the pages of Morbius the Living Vampire. Together with Man-Thing and Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) they formed the Legion of Monsters.
Morbius and Doctor Strange have teamed-up on several occasions. Morbius appeared sporadically throughout the run of Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, beginning with issue #10.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Michael Morbius possesses a variety of superhuman powers similar to those possessed by "true", supernatural vampires in the Marvel Universe. He possesses superhuman strength that varies with his feeding.
Morbius possesses an accelerated healing factor and can recover from mild to moderate injuries at a rate beyond that of ordinary humans. While not nearly as efficient as the healing powers possessed by the X-Man Wolverine, Morbius has proven able to heal from multiple gunshot wounds in less than an hour. More severe injuries, such as broken bones or severe burns, might take several days to heal, but once was shown to take minutes even though it left him as a near-mindless creature who must feed to replenish the energy that was used to do so. He is unable to regenerate missing limbs or organs, but Slaughter, another living vampire, has shown that a living vampire can reattach cut off parts of their body and survive a beheading if they have gained enough vitality from blood consumption.
Due to his vampire-like condition, Morbius is forced to ingest fresh blood on a regular basis to maintain his life and vitality. How much blood he requires and how often he must feed has not been specified in the comics. Those he bites also turn into "living vampires" if he kills them, and in more recent comics these transformed victims also gain the same full powers as Morbius possesses. Although not truly immortal like a true vampire, a living vampire may perhaps have a much longer life-span than a normal human, since blood is like an elixir to them. One interesting fact concerns the blood of Spider-Man. Apparently, the irradiated blood of the wall-crawler has a kind of reverse-effect on Morbius, causing his vampirism to go into recession. As a result, after drinking Spider-Man's blood, Morbius does not need to feed again for some time.
Morbius does not possess any of the mystical vulnerabilities that supernatural vampires are subject to, such as to garlic, holy water or silver. He is sensitive to sunlight, thanks to his photo-sensitive skin which prevents any protection from major sun burn, in contrast to "true" vampires that are incinerated by it. Morbius also lacks the shapeshifting and weather control powers of vampires, and the ability to control animals.
However, like "true" vampires, Morbius does possess the ability to hypnotize others and bring them under his control, which can only be resisted by those possessing an extremely strong will. Morbius can also fly through the air as a result of his psionic powers.
[edit] Alternate versions
[edit] Ultimate Morbius
"Ultimate" Morbius first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man #95. Unlike the original character from which he was derived, Ultimate Morbius is a "true" vampire, the son of Dracul, and brother of Vlad III Dracula himself (who was, in Ultimate Marvel continuity, the same as the historic ruler of our world, rather than a vampire), with all of the powers and abilities associated with the usual interpretation of Dracula. This Morbius, however, seems to be heroically struggling against his baser instincts, like many other vampires in film and comic books. He meets Spider-Man in a typical misunderstanding, centering around a cabal of vampires attacking Ben Urich. He is really trying to stop Urich from becoming a vampire, which he succeeds in doing despite the conflict.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Animated series
Morbius' only screen appearances to date were in several episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the 1990s, played by Nick Jameson. Morbius first appeared in his human form in "The Insidious Six" (Season #2, Ep 14) and the episode that followed his debut, Battle of the Insidious Six. In these episodes, he has a romance with Felicia Hardly (the Black Cat in the future). In the episode entitled "Morbius" he stole a vial of Peter Parker's blood in the belief this was part of Parker's entry in a science competition they were both competing in. While examining the blood in his laboratory, one of the vampire bats he was experimenting on escaped, and began to lap it up. When Morbius tried to scare the bat away, it bit him. The bite infected him with Parker's irradiated blood, transforming him into a living vampire.
He appeared as a villain in the following four episodes, Enter the Punisher, Duel of the Hunters, Blade the Vampire Hunter and The Immortal Vampire, along with "The Awakening" and "The Vampire Queen" in Season #4. At the end of "The Vampire Queen", Morbius stopped becoming an evil blood sucker and joined forces with vampire hunter Blade and superhuman Black Cat to stop Blade's evil mother, Mirium. Morbius made a cameo at the beginning and end of the second episode of the animated version of "Secret Wars," along with Blade, who were not only concerned about stopping Mirium but curious where Black Cat went (she was transported from Earth to the Secret Wars planet to fight alongside with Spider-Man as one of the heroes to help him). That was the last appearance of Morbius in the show.
His portrayal in the show is generally scorned by fans of the character,[citation needed] primarily due to fundamental changes enforced upon his depiction by Fox, who imposed a heavy level of censorship on the series. These changes included:
- Being unable to bite anyone, despite having fangs and clearly being a vampire. Instead he was rendered with suckers on his palms to drain his victims.
- Not being able to mention the word 'blood' in any capacity, instead only using 'plasma'. This resulted in the oft-derided repeated line of "I need more plasma!".
The scorn was probably increased as many episodes were devoted to the character despite the changes and despite being such a minor villain in the comics.
[edit] Film & TV
In the Bonus Features of the Blade DVD, an alternate ending can be seen where Blade; after dispatching with Deacon Frost, walks out onto the rooftop of a building only to glimpse a figure who's identity is concealed behind a cloth mask. The film's director David Goyer, has stated that he originally intended Morbius to be the primary villain should there be a follow-up sequel to Blade. This was of course scrapped in favour of the Reaper storyline.
[edit] Video games
Morbius appears as a non-playable "call-in" character in the video-game Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage. Morbius is set to appear in the Wii, PS2, and PSP versions of Spider Man 3 the video game.
[edit] Bibliography
- Adventure into Fear #20-31 (February, 1972 – December, 1975)
- Amazing Fantasy Vol.2 #18 (2005)
- Amazing Spider-Man #101 (first appearance), #102 (origin), #379-380, 500 (cameo)
- Blade: The Vampire Hunter #8 (1995)
- Blade vol. 1 #2-3 (1998; scheduled issues #4-6 were never published)
- Blade vol. 4 #5 (Civil War; 2007)
- Daredevil Vol.1 #324-325
- Darkhold #15-16 (1993)
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #10, 11, 14-18, 52-53, 60-66
- Exiles #54-56 (Alternate continuity appearance)
- Fantastic Four Vol.1 #267-269, 315-316
- Fantastic Four Roast #1 (cameo)
- Ghost Rider Vol.2 #25 (cameo), 31 (1992)
- Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13, 17-18 (1993)
- Giant-Size Superheroes #1
- Giant-Size Werewolf by Night #4
- Legion of Monsters: Morbius #1 (2007)
- Marvel Comics Presents #144-145
- Marvel Premiere #28
- Marvel Preview #8
- Marvel Team-Up Vol.1 #3-4
- Marvel Two-in-One #15
- Midnight Sons Unlimited #1-7 (1993-1994)
- Morbius the Living Vampire #1-32 (September, 1992 – April, 1995)
- Nightstalkers #7-8, 14-15
- Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol.1 #6-8, 38-39
- Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol.1 #77-80
- Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol.2 #8
- Savage She-Hulk #9, #11-12
- Spectacular Spider-Man Vol.1, #202-203 (1993)
- Spectacular Spider-Man Vol.2, #14 (2004)
- Spider-Man #13-14 (1991), #36
- Spider-Man Unlimited Vol.1, #2 (cameo)
- Strange Tales: Dark Corners One-Shot (1998)
- Supernaturals #4 (Alternate continuity cameo)
- Vampire Tales #1-11
- Vampire Tales Annual #1
- Venom: The Enemy Within #1-3
- Web of Spider-Man #102-103 (1993)
- West Coast Avengers #5-6
- What If...? Vol.2, #41 (Alternate continuity appearance)
- X-Man #24
Reprints
- Ghost Rider: Rise of the Midnight Sons Trade Paperback
- Ghost Rider Team-Up Trade Paperback
- Marvel Selects: Spider-Man #2-3
- Marvel Tales #252-253
- Morbius Revisited #1-5
- Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage Trade Paperback
- Spider-Man Megazine #3-4
Magazines
- Marvel Age #114 (cover only), 115
- Midnight Sons Magazine #1
- Wizard: The Guide to Comics #24
[edit] External links
- Morbius The Living Vampire: Spider-Man’s Anti-Villain - Photon Torpedoes
- Brief bio at Insania 1998
- Profile at SpiderFan.org
- Morbius on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Marvel Comics supervillains | Marvel Comics superheroes | Marvel Comics titles | Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength | Marvel Comics characters who can fly | Fictional vampires | Fictional scientists | Marvel Comics mutates
