Morbius director Daniel Espinosa has had plenty to say about his fascination and love for his titular character. One interesting thing he mentioned was how he used a comic book fight Morbius had against Doctor Strange to illustrate the character's uniqueness to executives. Espinosa even professed that the Living Vampire was on the verge of defeating the sorcerer, which set him apart as a villain or antihero. However, while Strange was possessed during that particular fight, it makes one wonder what would happen if both characters' cinematic iterations fought.
Morbius' Powers Make Him a Difficult Foe
Morbius, a pseudo-vampire rather than a fully-fledged undead, has several impressive gifts that give him an edge during combat, including his ability to heal. While he still requires time to recover from more serious injuries, such as being hit by a bus or crushing all his bones, gunshots, cuts and bruises heal in a matter of minutes. That ability, combined with his other vampiric gifts like flight-like gliding, super strength and hypnotism, make him a powerful foe. And that strength would far outmatch the Sorcerer Supreme, who fans haven't seen depicted as particularly strong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Doctor Strange's Speed Is a Key Factor
Doctor Strange is a step ahead of Morbius when it comes to speed, however. In addition to his sling ring, which allows him to teleport to seemingly any location, he can fully fly thanks to his cloak, which also can protect him from danger. If Strange got high enough, it would be difficult for the Living Vampire to reach him, and the sorcerer could cast spells at the antihero from a distance.
Another interesting aspect of the on-screen Doctor Strange is his use of the mirror dimension. While Morbius is certainly fast, it's uncertain if he would be able to avoid Doctor Strange casting him into the mirror dimension or one of the many other dimensions fans have seen him soar through. If Doctor Strange successfully shoved the pseudo-vampire into another point in space, he'd have all the time he needed to recover, hide and cast a more powerful spell to stop Morbius once and for all.
Doctor Strange's Magic Puts Him in a Class Above Morbius
When tallying up Morbius' strengths and weaknesses, blood lust is a bit of both. Drinking blood fuels Morbius' powers, and doing so can drain his victim completely, which is precisely how Morbius incapacitates Doctor Strange in the comic Espinosa mentions. Still, the beast-like mentality that the Living Vampire sinks into during a hunger-fueled rampage makes him little more than a brute. However, the genius intelligence he's known for goes out the window when he's hangry.
What's more, limiting his blood supply negates his strongest abilities. If Doctor Strange were to cause enough physical damage to Morbius and teleport him somewhere he can't feed, the former Sorcerer Supreme would come out on top. Furthermore, if Strange can manipulate matter as he does in the comics, he could take that important power-giving bat blood from Morbius altogether, causing him to become a mere mortal again.
While this type of magic would likely need to be performed in a ritual-like scenario similar to the spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, that spell's existence in the MCU implies that Doctor Strange can pretty much do anything if he's given enough time and space. So, at least in the case of the films, Doctor Stephen Strange has the resources to defeat Morbius.
To see the Living Vampire in action, Morbius is in theaters now. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters May 6.