In his five decades of existence, Michael Morbius has transitioned from brilliant scientist, to horrendous vampiric adversary of Spider-Man, and finally to a reluctant anti-hero. Morbius is now undergoing a new transformation, as he transcends the comic book page in favor of a leap to the big screen courtesy of Sony. In the interim, he's had sporadic appearances in the comic book universe, sometimes as a hero and other times as a bloodthirsty monster.
There are two eras in which Morbius enjoyed the most prominence, having his own adventures and fighting among other supernatural forces. While his biggest developments have primarily involved Spider-Man, he has also interacted with other Marvel characters such as She-Hulk, who is also slated to make the transition from comic books to a live-action interpretation in the near future.
Who Is Morbius, the Living Vampire?
Michael Morbius was born in Greece, where his single mother struggled to take care of him due to his mysterious blood ailment. Despite being ostracized by his peers, Morbius grew up to become a brilliant young scientist. After becoming a biologist, he specialized in hematology, as he hoped to find a cure for his ailment. Unfortunately, an experiment to rid himself of the disease made his life much worse. Becoming a scientific "pseudo-vampire," Morbius took on a bat-like, inhuman appearance, complete with raised ears and nose, fangs, claws and chalky white skin. As drawn in his first appearances, Morbius' features were based on actor Jack Palance, who also served as the inspiration for Marvel's Lord of Vampires in the publisher's Tomb of Dracula series before finally playing the king of the bloodsuckers on screen.
His being a "living vampire" is key to his character, as it's what separates him from everyone else in the Marvel Universe. Introduced at a time when the Comics Code Authority became more lenient on supernatural and horror elements within mainstream comics, creators Roy Thomas and Gil Kane still wanted something scientific to fit in with the word of Spider-Man. Due to his photo-sensitive skin, Morbius is weakened by direct sunlight. He does not, however. die from it, as he actually lacks many of the weaknesses of "true" vampires. Holy water, crucifixes and garlic have no effect on him due to his less than supernatural origins, although he also lacks their more extravagant powers, such as being able to transform into a bat. Other abilities gained from the experiment include flight, superhuman strength and dexterity, an advanced healing factor, and control over weak-willed individuals. Of course, his biggest "gift" is the ability to draw life energy by feeding upon the blood of others, which is really a curse due to its necessity.
When he first came to America, Morbius ran afoul of both Spider-Man and one of his villains, The Lizard. Both were undergoing their own errant mutations and actually needed Morbius' blood to cure themselves. From there, Morbius would have his own fearsome adventures, becoming a solo character in both the 1970s and 1990s while occasionally still vexing Spidey. Despite Morbius not being a traditional vampire, many of these stories would deal with more supernatural themes and concepts, with some of them becoming outright outlandish. His stories in the past few decades have returned him to the realm of superheroes, with his most recent battles bringing him back into conflict with both Spider-Man and The Lizard.
Essential Morbius Stories to Read
As mentioned, Morbius has irregular eras of prominence throughout his comic book career, with him appearing as a villain in many of these comics or a member of an ensemble cast. This has seen him portrayed an anti-hero forced to feed on blood, as well as a member of the supernatural hero group known as the Midnight Sons. This has allowed for a variety of stories that have developed Morbius in many different ways.
Debut and Origin Story of the Living Vampire - The Amazing Spider-Man (1971); Adventure into Fear (1974-1975)
The debut of Morbius in Amazing Spider-Man #101 detailed his origin, revealing how he first became such a horrendous creature. It also introduced his former fiance Martine, who would play a big part of his quest to restore his humanity in his early years. This debut, along with his following appearances fighting Spider-Man and the X-Men in Marvel Team-Up #3-4 cast him as a tragic but still fairly typical villain of the era. This made melodrama and cartoonish flights of fancy the order of the day, although his development made him closer to the pitiable protagonists of the Universal monster movie classics.
Morbius then transitioned over to Adventure Into Fear, a title by Mike Friedrich, Steve Gerber, Doug Moench and Bill Mantlo. These creators took the more anti-heroic Morbius on a wild ride of a story, with each issue adding more eccentric layers to the plot. Beginning by saving a girl from the clutches of a satanic cult leader, Morbius soon became involved in the machinations of ancient aliens who wished to protect mankind from extinction and a race of evolved cat-people who were controlled by wizards. He was also featured in bleak adventures in the black and white title Vampire Tales.
Morbius Temporarily Becomes Cured and Pays for His Crimes - Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1980); The Savage She-Hulk (1980)
During another battle against Spider-Man, Morbius was electrocuted while trying to feed on the blood of the wall-crawler. This temporarily cured him of his condition, which led to him being tried for his crimes as a living vampire. During this time, he was provided with a fully furnished laboratory where he continued his experiments in hopes of permanently curing himself.
Bruce Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters, aka the She-Hulk, served as Michael's defense attorney. Morbius, in turn, assisted her in controlling her gamma-powered alter ego. Walters helped to get his sentence reduced due to the effect his transformation had on his mental health, although his return to humanity turned out to be temporary.
Morbius' Return as Part of the Midnight Sons - Morbius the Living Vampire (1992)
After falling into obscurity for a time, the Living Vampire returned in the '90s by way of a new Morbius the Living Vampire solo title. The era's similarities to the horror trends that birthed the character made him ripe for a revival, and he wasn't the only horror-tinged character to return into the spotlight.
The motorcycle riding anti-hero Ghost Rider also made a dramatic return, and he and Morbius both took part in the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover. Kept in check by Ghost Rider to feed only on the evil, Morbius would eventually break this rule and bite Blade, the Vampire Hunter. This turned the hunter into a dhampir, making him a half-vampire like his live-action movie counterpart would be.
Morbius Fights a New Spider-Man While Creating a New Lizard - The Amazing Spider-Man BEYOND (2022)
Morbius recently faced the Ben Reilly version of Spider-Man after the revived clone once again took on the mantle. Trying to take another bite out of Spidey to fix his own devolving blood, Morbius was stopped and captured by the mysterious Beyond Corporation that serves as Reilly's sponsor.
Beyond used Morbius to create a genetic duplicate that they then merged with a duplicate of The Lizard. This resulted in a chalky white reptile/vampire hybrid, that Morbius defeated with the help of Misty Knight and Coleen Wing, the Daughters of the Dragon. Realizing the potential of their spliced DNA, Morbius then secretly sought out the Lizard, presumably in hopes of forming an alliance.
CBR's Best Morbius Features
To get even more up-to-date on the Living Vampire, readers can check out the many Morbius articles featured on CBR.com. These will lay out all of the latest developments on the character as well as his current place within the Marvel Universe.
The Amazing Spider-Man's New Team Wanted to Kill Him... For Vampire Science?
Marvel's Newest Amazing Spider-Man Throws Fists with Morbius (Preview)
How Morbius Evolved from Spider-Man Villain to a Marvel Movie Hero
Spider-Man's Clone Battles Sony's Newest Movie Stars This Winter
Spider-Man: Why Morbius Went to War Over Peter Parker's Blood
Spider-Man's Most Terrifying Scientists Are About to Start Sharing Notes