Entering a new decade means looking ahead to the upcoming slate of comic book films fans can look forward to moving forward. Most recently, Sony and Marvel released a trailer for one highly anticipated film, Morbius, starring Jared Leto in the titular role.
The film follows Michael Morbius, a man afflicted with a rare disease who inadvertently becomes a living vampire in an attempt to cure himself of the disorder. Looking ahead to Morbius and the many stories the film could focus on, fans are wondering what comics will shed light on the film itself. Here are ten comics that fans should read before seeing Morbius.
10 Ultimate Morbius
The first comic to read would be Ultimate Morbius, from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. First introduced into the Ultimate universe in 2006, this Morbius is unique in that he is the son of Vlad Dracul II and the brother of Vlad Dracula III himself, making his vampiric transformation more natural than science based.
While not the origin story fans can expect in the film, his connection to vampirism as a whole and his introduction to Spider-Man as a vampire trying to help Ben Urich from becoming a vampire makes for interesting story material that could lead to a Spider-Man cameo.
9 Origin Story
One of the more important books that one could read for the upcoming Morbius film is his origin story in Amazing Spider-Man #101-102, and the Marvel Team-Up #3-4. The first comic introduced the story “A Monster Called Morbius”, which saw Spider-Man looking to Curt Connors for a cure to his multiple arms growing on his body.
Pete went on to extract blood from Morbius in an effort to find a cure for himself. Morbius would return later in the Marvel Team-Up, which would include the Fantastic Four, Professor Xavier and of course his team of heroes, the X-Men.
8 Vampire Tales
An important aspect of Morbius as a character is that he falls into the horror genre for Marvel Comics. During the 1970’s, Morbius and his adventures didn’t hold in the mainstream Marvel universe, but instead fell into the black and white format of horror comics Marvel produced. He starred in the comic series Vampire Tales.
In this series, Marvel presented Morbius as a lonely individual who was constantly on the move and sought peace and alone time much like the Incredible Hulk did. However he was also drawn into conflict, no matter how hard he tried, exposing himself to the world as a vampire.
7 Rise of the Midnight Sons
One of the biggest turning points in Morbius’s career was when he went from a tragic villain that only wished to be left alone to a vigilante who preyed on muggers and other criminals on the streets of Manhattan. However he found himself going up against something far more powerful in Morbius #1 in the 1990’s.
In his own book, he found himself in the midst of a demonic invasion of the city, and he was overwhelmed by the demonic forces. He then went ahead and partnered up with the Midnight Sons, working alongside Blade and Ghost Rider under the direction of Doctor Strange.
6 Midnight Sons Unlimited
Morbius found himself once again a member of the Midnight Sons during the limited series Midnight Sons Unlimited, Issue 1-9, between 1993 and 1995. The series focused on Ghost Rider finds a small town, where a series of horrific crimes involving the loss of several children, turns into a much more sinister event.
Soon the entire team is called to battle a bloodthirsty monster who is preying on children, but something far more evil is lurking in the darkness. Morbius joins the team to help take down this powerful threat, making for a dramatic series for Morbius and the Midnight Sons.
5 Legion of Monsters
Sometimes the most interesting stories are not some worldwide threat to the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. Instead they are the more personal, horrifying and heartbreaking tales that delve into the heart of these characters that makes the stories really shine through. One such tale for Morbius is Legion of Monsters: Morbius the Living Vampire #1.
In this one-shot comic, Morbius is forced to go through a chilling deep dive into the world of addiction, something a vampire like Morbius is not immune to, and he must learn the terrifying cost of his curse. The comic also includes a short tale of Dracula and his daughter Lilith.
4 Maximum Carnage
Fans may not remember this, but there was a turning point in the relationship between Spider-Man and Morbius. While Spider-Man viewed Morbius as a singularly focused villain for years, it was in the 90’s that Morbius returned to Spider-Man comics, and helped the webslinger fight off the menace that is Carnage in the storyline Maximum Carnage.
The story saw Morbius return to fight side by side with Spider-Man. Fighting off the psychotic symbiote villain was a major event for both characters, and by the end of the battle both formed a bond that survived well into the future of Spider-Man comics.
3 Lizard: No Turning Back
More recent appearances in Spider-Man comics, notably Amazing Spider-Man #688-691, saw Morbius working once more to cure himself of the affliction that was his vampirism. This led to Peter Parker (while working at Horizon Labs), to realize that his new neighbor was none other than Morbius. Morbius was working on a cure not only for himself, but for Curt Connors, aka The Lizard.
In the four-part storyline Lizard: No Turning Back, Morbius with all his good intentions accidentally causes the Lizard persona to come alive inside of the human body of Curt Connors. In an act of revenge, the Lizard forced Connors’ bloodlust to come out publicly.
2 Morbius
The most modern storyline for Morbius comes in the form of the 2019 series, Morbius #1-5. The series saw Michael Morbius get closer than ever to finding a cure for his unique form of vampirism. The Noble-Prize winning biologist found the keys to a cure for his condition, yet not without a price.
The dangers faced in the series were unimaginable, and threatened to destroy the peaceful world Morbius was working so hard to achieve. Yet his desperation to cure the bloodlust inside himself led to him forging ahead, something that will most likely play out in the later half of the upcoming film.
1 The Man Called Morbius
The most popular comic book and most relevant to the story may in fact be Morbius: The Living Vampire #1-9 (and The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1), which focused on Morbius’s new journey in the new millennium. Having escaped from the supervillain prison known as the Raft, Morbius is desperate to avoid his bloodlust entirely.
However he makes new allies along the way, and when he discovers a powerful new threat is emerging in the city, he must decide whether he can avoid his bloodlust and be a hero or fail and risk exposing himself and losing his new friends.