Vampires have been in and out of the public favor for the last few decades. As the cultural focus has shifted several times to werewolves, zombies, and unicorns, it seems to always find a way back to vampires.
With films and televisions shows coming out in the future about Blade and Morbius: The Living Vampire, it is time to look back on those heroes that have gone to the dark side of vampirism. Characters like Blade, who were born a vampire won’t be included in this list, rather anyone who became one in an alternate universe or one-shot is fair game.
10 Looker
Kicking off the list is one of the more well-known vampires of the DC Universe. Emily “Lia” Briggs was a normal human until she was kidnapped by an underground society called Abyssia. After getting her powers of looking good, and psychokinesis, she joined Batman’s Outsiders team.
During her time on the Outsiders, she became involved in an affair with Geo-Force. After they ended it, there was an attack on Markovia, Geo-Force’s home, by vampires. During the fight, she gets bitten and eventually turns into a vampire. Luckily, her powers allow her to surpass most of the weaknesses of vampirism except for the blood lust.
9 Spider-Man
During the events of Spider-Man vs Vampires, Spidey and Blade team up to take down an underground vampire-fighting ring. Spider-Man, being the friendly neighborhood man he is, attempts to stop a kidnapping, only to be met with fangs. After a little crime fighting and hideout exploration, he finds Blade tied up, only to be caught.
Spidey is bitten and begins taking on vampire tendencies, including the fangs and claws. As he is fighting Blade, he gets hit into clarity and escapes along with his new partner. Using his quick thinking, he gets into a tanning bed to flush the vampire out of his system. That works for him, so remember that trick the next time you get turned.
8 DC Earth 43
Batman has faced the dark in many ways, but when Dracula came to town, he couldn’t stay in the light. The kick-off one shot of Batman & Dracula: Red Rain was so well received it spawned two sequels. In its first sequel, Selina Kyle becomes a literal Catwoman, when she gets infected by a werewolf.
During the events of Countdown: The Hunt For Ray Palmer, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon are both turned. Though it doesn’t happen in this series, the entire Justice League, now known as the Blood League, is also turned into vampires. The members of the Blood League include Batman, Cyborg, The Flash, Green Lantern, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Ultraman.
7 Batwoman
Kate Kane is a powerful female role model in comics, but during the events of Futures End, she gets even stronger. It isn’t quite shown how she became a vampire, but what she does with her powers is the focus of the one-shot. Adding her vampire powers to her tactical mind, Batwoman is a force to be reckoned with.
It takes the conniving of her sister, Elizabeth Kane, to bring Batwoman down for good. Elizabeth uses personified relics of the pair's past to bring her down. In the end, both sisters lie to each other as Batwoman leaps for the kill, only to be pierced through the heart with a wooden stake.
6 Captain America
Captain America is the epitome of a good guy if you exclude that whole Hail Hydra bit of his history. That’s why seeing him as a vampire is a bit jarring. Add in the fact that he single-handedly turned all of the Avengers into vampires, he deserves some credit.
During the events of Exiles, the titular team travels to a parallel universe where the Vampire Avengers have taken over. Their only ally in this universes Union Jack, who has a secret motive for wanting to take down Cap. With Cap as the Immortal King, he controls all the vampires he has created and he plans on creating more. Vampire Captain America is an interesting character as his morals changed due to the bite of a neck.
5 Rachel Van Helsing
The story of Van Helsing as Dracula’s number one enemy has been told plenty of times. When it came time to give Dracula a new rival, the creators of Tomb of Dracula just looked down the family tree and laid eyes on his great-granddaughter, Rachel Van Helsing.
Rachel is not frail by any means and lives up to her name beautifully. After retiring from the hunting business, she is eventually found and turned into the one thing she despises. After assisting the X-Men with their vampire problem, including a newly vamped Storm, she asks Wolverine to kill her, ending her legacy.
4 Batman
The moniker of Batman has been used by several heroes since his debut. From Dick Grayson to Jim Gordon, they have all had their own twists on the character, outfit, and personality. When Justice League: Gods and Monsters came out, fans were introduced to a new Batman in the form of the Vampire Kirk Langstrom.
This version of Batman came after Langstrom was diagnosed with cancer and attempted to cure himself. While he technically did, he became much worse off as a vampire. Using his newfound abilities, and the death of his friend’s wife who he was in love with, he sets off to stop crime in the dark of the night, eventually joining the Superman and Wonder Woman of this world.
3 Hellcow
As an everyday cow, living life in the pasture, Bessie didn’t have much going on. Then Dracula came and drained her blood turning her into the undead. Introduced in Giant-Sized Man-Thing #5, Hellcow is a literal cow that has been turned into a vampire. She begins at odds with Howard the Duck who attempts to kill her, but she is too powerful for him.
Later on, she teams up with Deadpool, who she turns into a vampire for a brief moment, to stop an evil scientist. As a trusted friend, she becomes a member of Deadpool Inc. At some point, she evolves from being a cow to being basically a minotaur with fangs and a cape. While that is not explained, it does happen sometime after biting Deadpool, so it is probably his fault.
2 Spitfire
As The Invaders were going about their business fighting Nazis and general crime, they stumbled upon the evil plots of Baron Blood. The daughter of former Union Jack Lord James Falsworth, Jacqueline Falsworth is targeted by Baron Blood. It is learned later that Baron Blood is none other than her cousin, John Falsworth.
After her powers kick in along with the vampirism, she becomes the hero Spitfire, joining the Invaders on their Nazi stopping quest. She originally was going to take over as the new Union Jack, but the costume didn’t fit her, so she went with something more colorful. Her main power turned out to be super speed, even though that wasn’t a power associated with Baron Blood.
1 Jubilee
Jubilation Lee has had a storied past as an X-Men member. As one of the few recurring sidekick children of Wolverine, she cemented her place as a well-known and beloved character. Her abilities to create “fireworks” as she called them from her hands allowed her to act as both an offensive and defensive member of the team. Following M-Day, she was one of the many mutants who lost their powers.
Shortly after, she was bitten and became a vampire. As a vampire, she became a darker version of the character fans knew and loved, but her darkness played with the light-heartedness she was known for. With help from Wolverine, she was able to resume being a hero. Recently, Quentin Quire managed to cure her vampirism and restore her powers thanks to a shard of the Phoenix Force.