Having existed in the Marvel mythos for over 50 years, Morbius has seen his fair share of action alongside a bunch of different characters like Spider-Man, Punisher, Blade, and so many more. In his long history as the Living Vampire, Morbius has danced the line of morality as well as any character in comics.
Although he's more recently established himself as an anti-hero – thanks to team-ups with people like Ghost Rider – Michael Morbius made his comic debut as a Spider-Man villain, and he's gone back to his villainous ways on more than one occasion. Thanks to crazy encounters with superheroes like Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, Morbius made readers realize that, when he wants to be, he's one of the most savage villains in the Marvel universe.
10 Morbius First Appeared In Amazing Spider-Man 101
Morbius made his comic debut in Amazing Spider-Man #101 in October of 1971. Introduced as the prisoner of a boat crew, Morbius was deemed to be bad luck after his arrival on the ship coincided with the disappearance of multiple sailors. When night fell – and after his skin turned a pale shade of white – Morbius slaughtered the entire crew and drained their bodies of blood. When morning arrived, Morbius hid in a local building and, shortly after, encountered a six-armed Peter Parker whose recent attempt to remove his spider powers had seriously backfired.
9 Morbius Returned In Amazing Spider-Man 141
After the conclusion of his debut storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #102, Morbius made his return to Spider-Man comics in Amazing Spider-Man #141. In a large-scale fight, Spider-Man faces off against Mysterio who uses illusions of Morbius, Vulture, and Doc Ock to overwhelm Spider-Man.
Although he wasn't physically present during this issue and only shows up in the form of an illusion, Morbius' inclusion in this group – alongside A-list villains like Doc Ock and Vulture – solidified his status as one of Spider-Man's most dangerous villains.
8 Morbius Faced Off Against Doctor Strange
Spider-Man isn't the only superhero tasked with taking on the Living Vampire, Morbius. Thanks to the strong possessive powers of Nightmare (a magic-using Doctor Strange villain), Morbius was possessed and used to attack Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #52.
In the story, Strange is quickly overwhelmed by Morbius, whose ability to catch Strange by surprise gives the Doctor zero time to use any defensive magic. With coordination by Nightmare and Morbius, Nightmare easily takes over and controls Doctor Strange's physical body. Thankfully, after Morbius is freed from his possession, he fights Nightmare in the hopes of rescuing Doctor Strange.
7 Morbius Was Compelled In Spectacular Spider-Man
Unfortunately, Nightmare isn't the only villain to take control of Morbius and use his powers as a weapon against a superhero. After exiling himself to a separate dimension in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #7, Morbius is forcibly returned to earth after being possessed by Emptahoid – an evil android created by an unknown alien group to be an emotional servant. After being compelled by Empathoid, Morbius kidnaps Glory Grant and forces Spider-Man to give chase. However, by the end of the story, Morbius refuses to keep attacking Spider-Man and is tortured by Empathoid as punishment.
6 Morbius Faced Spider-Man and Human Torch
After establishing themselves as a fan favorite duo in Marvel Team-Up issues 1 and 2, Spider-Man and Human Torch became an obvious pair to face off against a powerful villain like Morbius. In Marvel Team-Up #3, while attacking a man named Jorgeson, Morbius is stopped by Spider-Man and the Human Torch, who intervene and initiate a battle.
After complications caused by a local gang leads to another vampire being involved, the fight turns into all-out havoc. The resulting chaos allows Morbius to quietly kill his target and escape (almost) unscathed.
5 Morbius Truly Returns To Amazing Spider-Man
After Morbius made his comic debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #101, a long time passed before readers saw him make a true return (in physical form) in The Amazing Spider-Man title. After multiple solo runs and appearances in numerous other Marvel titles, Morbius and Spider-Man faced off again in Amazing Spider-Man #622. In one of the more complex Spider-Man vs Morbius stories, the two start off as adversaries until Spider-Man learns how Morbius needs help curing Werewolf By Night. Consequently, Spider-Man willingly gives Morbius a vile of his blood in the hopes its healing properties cure Werewolf.
4 Morbius Turned Dr. Strange's Brother Into A Vampire
In one of the most shocking Dr. Strange tales, Morbius turns the Doctor's brother, Vic, into a vampire. In Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #10, nearly a year after their previous encounter at the hands of Nightmare, Morbius steels the thought-to-be-deceased body of Victor Strange out of a cryogenic freezing warehouse.
Shortly before Doctor Strange can step in and rescue his brother, who he hasn't seen in over ten years, Morbius bites Victor's neck and turns him. After a short fight between Morbius and Dr. Strange, Victor awakens and runs off.
3 Morbius Returns To Spectacular Spider-Man
After the end of the previously mentioned storyline involving the Empathoid, Morbius didn't return to Spectacular Spider-Man until thirty-one issues later in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #38. While attending a costume party at a classmates' mansion, Peter Parker encounters Morbius, who turns one of the partygoers into a vampire. This causes a huge panic and results in Spider-Man and Morbius battling it out outside of the mansion. Morbius is strangely defeated when he's struck by a bolt of lightning, while the partygoer he turned escapes as he and Peter fight.
2 Morbius Bit X-Man
Nate Grey, aka X-Man is no stranger to facing off against dangerous opponents. However, when he runs into trouble with the Living Vampire, X-Man enlisted the help of Spider-Man to stop him from turning into a vampire.
While on his way to see Aunt May on Christmas day in X-Man #24, Peter Parker encounters a hurt Nate Grey, who appears to be suffering after an attack. After deducing that Nate's attacker was likely Morbius, the two set out to find him. They soon realize Nate shares an empathic bond with Morbius, which helps the duo easily track him. However, when Spider-Man and Nate catch up with the living vampire, he immediately flees.
1 Morbius Led The Subhumans
In one of the darkest and strangest stories in the entire Spider-Man mythos: Spider-Man #14, Morbius becomes the leader of an underground group called the subhumans. The subhumans, under the protection of Morbius, feast upon local homeless people that Morbius kidnaps and brings to them.
It's eventually revealed to Spider-Man that Morbius only intended to capture people who were deemed "bad" by the subhumans. However, after the oldest members of the subhumans reveal to Morbius that the only qualification for being a "bad person" is living in the city above them, Morbius is overwhelmed with guilt. Faced with incredible shame for killing dozens of innocents, Morbius flees into the sewer tunnels.