MORBIUS
Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Dr. Michael Morbius creates a cure for his rare blood disease that turns into a curse! Attempting an experimental treatment, he transforms into Morbius–a pseudo-vampire with superhuman powers and an overwhelming bloodlust. Like a real vampire, Morbius needs to drink blood to survive. However, after drinking his victim’s blood, his mind returns to normal, and he becomes fraught with guilt, remorse, and self-loathing.
In The Blood
From a young age, Michael Morbius lives with a rare blood disease in Greece. Fearful of her son getting hurt, his mother forces him to stay inside. His father, Makaoria—a surrealist filmmaker, author, and painter—was so often absent from his life that Michael could barely remember his face. Michael’s mother keeps the family going by working in her father's bookstore. Still, Michael sneaks out of his house to play with his friend Emil Nikos. During one of these excursions, Michael falls and gets seriously injured, which pushes Emil to promise not to let anything like that happen again.
The duo goes off to college where they both study science so that they could figure out a cure for Morbius' condition. Their research into using vampire bat blood to make a cure earned a Nobel Prize. Though Michael's condition worsens to the point where he breaks a finger lifting a mug, but the prize money helps fuel the next stage of the experimentation process.
Wanting to perform the next leg of his research out on the ocean for security's sake, he sets sail with Emil and fiancée Martine Bancroft. Though he is greatly conflicted about Martine’s safety on the vessel given the dangerous nature of the experiments.
Feeling that death was imminent, Michael rushes an experiment to create new blood cells using electricity wearing an insulated suit with a high collar that would become his trademark look. The procedure turns Morbius into a living vampire. He strikes out at Nikos and kills him. Not wanting Martine to experience the same fate, he dives into the water and swims until a fishing vessel traveling towards New York City picks him up.
A Monster Marvel
Michael Morbius turns a weakness into a strength by focusing his natural intelligence towards finding a cure to the disease that ravages his body. He even gets to the point, with his experimental study into how vampire bats might be able to help his condition, where he wins the Nobel Prize! He uses his intellect and the prize money to fund the experiment that turns him into The Living Vampire.
In his vampiric state, Morbius' face changes to look more bat-like. His bones also become partially hollow which allow him to ride wind currents as if he's flying. His new form also gives him heightened senses as well as increased stamina, speed, strength and durability. He survives many a potentially deadly injury only to bounce back with barely a scratch. Unfortunately, all of these wondrous abilities come about because he needs to feed on the blood of the living!
While he possesses many traditional vampire strengths, self-regeneration, minor hypnotic powers, gliding on air, he does not have their same weaknesses towards the sun, garlic and religious artifacts. He can regenerate injured tissue, but he is not invulnerable. If he has not consumed sufficient blood, Morbius’ body has difficulty repairing itself.
His hypnotic powers enable him to control even strong-willed persons like Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, for a short time. Under certain, unspecified circumstances his bite can transform others into pseudo-vampires like himself through an enzyme deposited in their bloodstream. Such victims usually do not truly die, and they act purely on bloodlust like true vampires. They possess none of Morbius’ regenerative powers and die or even disintegrate upon being mortally wounded.
During a time when Morbius was infected with Lilin blood, Lilith’s demon children, he was temporarily granted eternal life and the ability to liquefy his body. His regenerative powers were also tripled during this period.
Blood Ties and Alies
Morbius is one of the world’s foremost experts on biochemistry and blood-related diseases. His expertise enables him to create an antidote for his victims, curing them of their pseudo-vampirism, though the cure does not work on himself. Morbius sometimes wears protective leather bodysuits.
Blood Ties and Allies
Morbius' mother does her best to support her son after his father, a surrealist artist named Makaoria, walks out on them. She also attempts to keep him safe from the increasingly devastating disease in his blood. Michael mostly stays inside, but sneaks out with his one friend, Emil. He and Emil attend college together in an effort to cure Michael's malady. There, he meets a young woman named Martine and the pair become engaged. When Morbius' experiment turns him into a vampire, he kills Emil and abandons Martine for fear of mortally injuring her as well. Though Emil later returns vampirized by John Falsworth, AKA Baron Blood, and attempts to kill Morbius, but Nikos shows mercy.
During his time as The Living Vampire, Morbius tangles with the likes of Spider-Man, Doctor Curt Connors, AKA Lizard, the Fantastic Four, Jack Russell, AKA Werewolf By Night, and Steven Strange, AKA Doctor Strange. He's been a part of various incarnations of the Legion of Monsters and the Midnight Sons. Morbius even registers as a super human with the government which leads to stints in S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.M.O.R.
Blood Feuds
After his initial time as a misunderstood villain, Morbius became more of a hero which set him against the likes of, Daemond and the Caretakers; Vlad Tepes Dracula, AKA Dracula; Marie Laveau; Lilith and her demon children the Lilin; Wayne Gifford, AKA Basilisk; and Phillip Hayes, AKA The Rose. However, he considers his bloodlust his greatest, as-yet-unconquerable foe.
Long In The Tooth
After Michael was found adrift by the fishing vessel, his thirst grew so great that he fed on too many of the crewmen, drawing unwanted attention. He re-entered the water once again, washing up on Southampton where a six-armed Spider-Man happened to be staying in Dr. Curt Connors's house. Morbius woke up later that night, saw the Wall-Crawler and tried to feed on him. He would have achieved that goal had Connors not appeared, turned into his Lizard form, and fought the blood-sucker. Morbius flew off.
During Morbius' first confrontation with Spider-Man, Lizard managed to get a sample of the creature's blood and combine it with a serum that temporarily returned him to his Curt Connors form. Spidey hoped it would also help him get rid of the four extra arms he'd sprouted, but Morbius made off with the serum, intent on ingesting it himself! Giving chase, the Web-Head managed to knock Morbius out and send him into the river. When he tried webbing his new foe out, he only managed to snatch the serum which helped return him to an average number of appendages. Of course, The Living Vampire survived the encounter only to torment the arachnid again.
Over the next few weeks, Morbius fed, but also created another pseudo-vampire named Jefferson Bolt. Meanwhile, Martine awoke to find Nikos dead and Michael's notes, which told her the story of his disease and transformation. She also discovered letters from Reed Richards, AKA Mister Fantastic, and a Professor Hans Jorgenson. While Martine went to Richards, Morbius met with Jorgenson. When the scientist went missing, his friend Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, sent the X-Men to track down Morbius. They managed to capture him and grab a very sick Spidey. With Morbius captured, Jorgenson managed to heal the Web-Head who had been infected by the vampire blood in the serum that helped get rid of his extra arms!
Eventually escaping, Morbius continued to struggle with his life as a vampire. He encountered the otherworldly Caretakers, Eric Brooks, AKA Blade, the Cat People in their own dimension, cults, possessed maniacs, a haunted old west town and a variety of other monsters. He also tried to become Werewolf By Night's master by giving him the Moon Stone again and also drinking some of his blood. Morbius paid a visit to Dr. Harold Ward who had been working on a blood machine that could have cured him, but the ensuing battle with Spider-Man destroyed it leaving the vampire even more despondent.
Later, Morbius happened upon Martine in Los Angeles. She did not remember him, but their ensuing conversation returned her memories and they embraced, but he grew concerned about his uncontrollable blood lust. A more immediate concern lied around the corner in the form of Werewolf by Night! The pair went their separate ways over a fight with Jack Russell's furry alter ego when it resulted in the loss of a theory that could have cured him.
This Monster, This Man
Morbius stoked his enmity toward Werewolf by Night and continued hunting him. Their ensuing fight led to an encounter with Theodore “Ted” Sallis, AKA Man-Thing, and Johnny Blaze, AKA Ghost Rider. This Legion of Monsters worked together first to attack Starseed, but they did not stay together. Morbius went on to fight Benjamin “Ben” Grimm, AKA The Thing, and Cutza, AKA Living Eraser. Thing and Morbius joined forces after a brief fight and used dimension-spanning palm-bands to take out the villain. Those devices swept him to another world where he found the Empathoid–a being that lived on others' emotions. Empathoid merged with Michael and made him return to Earth where he fought Spider-Man again.
During yet another battle with his wall-crawling foe, Morbius got struck by lightning which undid his vampirism, but he still thirsted for blood! With a new lease on life, he began his research once again at University of California in Los Angeles. He analyzed a sample of Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk’s blood and discovered a degenerative disease therein. However, when the students found out his true identity, they protested and some even wanted to kill him. He developed a serum to take care of the bloodlust, but also cure She-Hulk's condition.
The father of one of Morbius' victims got the drop on him and nearly killed the former vampire. He only stopped when Michael asked for mercy only so he could save Walters. The serum worked and allowed Jennifer to change into her jade alter-ego at will. Walters then defended Morbius in his criminal case, convinced the jury he wasn't responsible for his actions and got him a reduced manslaughter conviction. He was sentenced to five years in jail, but was paroled early for good behavior.
While still in his human form, Michael offered his expertise when Susan Storm Richards, AKA Invisible Woman, had trouble with her second pregnancy. When Dr. Otto Octavius, AKA Doctor Octopus's name came up as a potential expert who could help her, Morbius encouraged Reed Richards to reach out to the villain. Unfortunately, the procedure failed to save the child. Morbius then tried to help Jack Russell with his increasingly feral transformations into his werewolf form. During one transformation, the West Coast Avengers showed up in search of the Darkhold, but instead got a face full of lycan rage. Morbius then told him what he knew about getting in contact with the Cat People before the team went off on their next adventure.
Back In Black
Feeling frustrated with life, Michael took a vacation to New Orleans where he met Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen. She fed off of vampire blood to stay young and thought she could do the same if she brought his vampirism back. Marie needed him specifically because Dr. Strange banished natural vampires from the face of the Earth. However, his altered blood did not suit her needs. He then witnessed Laveau's machinations turning Dr. Strange's long-thought dead brother Victor Strange, AKA Khiron, into a vampire.
Morbius followed Vic to New York City and tracked him down where Dr. Strange interupted their brief battle. After his bloodlust dissipated, Michael pointed out that the man he attacked was a vampire. Strange was first surprised to see a vampire and further shocked to see Victor. Morbius worked with Strange, Clea and Brother Voodoo to keep Laveau from attaining the Vampire Verses from the Book of Vishanti, but failed.
Returning to New York City, Michael led a group of homeless people who lived in the sewers. They brought him people to feed upon, including Spider-Man! The ensuing fight between the pair helped The Living Vampire realize he'd forgotten himself and he left his minions behind.
Rise Of The Midnight Sons
The tortured hero began to rekindle his somewhat heroic nature when Lilith, Queen of Demons, threatened to take advantage of the thinning of walls between our world and the demonic ones. He joined with Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Blade, the other Nightstalkers, and the Darkhold Redeemers to form a loose-knit network of supernatural heroes. During this time, he reunited with Martine, but she unknowingly facilitated a mutation in him. When she uncovered the trick, she was killed, leading him to feed on her briefly. This altered version of Morbius was confronted by Ghost Rider and promised to only drink the blood of the guilty. Martine was eventually turned into a vampire to further torment Morbius.
Michael got more goth gear and took on Lilith with the others, fought Basilisk, tangled with Nightmare, met Michael Collins, AKA Deathlok, and even worked with Spider-Man and other heroes to stop Cletus Kasady, AKA Carnage's New York-based murder spree. He also collaborated with Matthew Murdock, AKA Daredevil, to stop a virus orchestrated by a group called Snakeroot, teamed with Venom to stop the Demogoblin's machinations and helped save Blade's friend's life.
During the rise of the Lilin, the children of Lilith, Morbius led a team of Midnight Sons, but had been infected by the Lilin Bloodlust. Possessed, he gained entrance into Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and let the Lilin inside. Strange helped The Living Vampire fight the infestation which eventually worked, but he'd already killed Darkhold Redeemer Louise Hastings while under its control. Back in control, he also helped take on Zarathos and The Fallen, after which he and the others became branded members of the Order of the Midnight Sons.
Down the line, Morbius began to lose control over his bloodlust, leading to run-ins with the likes of Nate Grey, AKA X-Man, Spider-Man and even Hydra! He had yet another reunion with Spider-Man, this time when he and Blade stopped Kingpin from using The Living Vampire as a weapon. Though freed, he continued to become all the more monstrous. He also learned that a group of true vampires had been following him and turning his victims—who he tried to drain, but not kill—into the undead!
A Team Player
Eventually regaining more control over his dark nature, Morbius signed the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) and worked to take in individuals like Blade. This led the scientist-monster working for the Alternate Reality Monitoring And Operational Response Agency (A.R.M.O.R.). Unbeknownst to his coworkers, he'd been replaced by the zombified version of himself from Earth-2149! The zombie even fed off Morbius to keep up appearances. Not one to remain a snack for long, the real Morbius got free and killed his doppelgänger.
Wanting to wipe the zombie threat out regardless of dimension, Morbius put together a team consisting of Werewolf By Night, Jennifer Kale, Man-Thing, and Daimon Hellstrom/Hellstorm, AKA Hellstorm, dubbed the Midnight Sons. He even developed a zombie virus vaccine that would keep them safe and came to enjoy being able to unleash on worthy victims.
At some point, Morbius and other beasties joined forces to keep their fellow monsters safe from Hunter of Monster Special Force by setting up shop in Monster Metropolis under New York City. After Norman Osborn, AKA Green Goblin,—then head of H.A.M.M.E.R.—sent Daken to kill Frank Castle, AKA Punisher, some of the monsters gathered up the pieces left behind and Morbius put him back together, creating FrankenPunisher.
Though he played dumb, The Living Vampire knew that these hunters were after them because he had a Bloodstone in his possession. For this secrecy, Morbius found himself captured by Hellsgaard. Castle lead an attack on the villain's compound to get the vampire back and sustained massive damage, so Morbius used the Bloodstone to bring him back to some semblance of life. After another run-in with Daken and some time on Monster Island, the gem turned Punisher human and he gave it back to Morbius and the others.
Morbius kept pursuing his science outside of Monster Metropolis as well. Though he left A.R.M.O.R., he absconded with some equipment that he used to create a cure for the zombie problem. While trying to cure Jack Russell once again, Morbius found out about the illegal sale of Spider-Man's blood. This led him and the Wall-Crawler to find themselves in the presence of Martine, still a vampire. Michael killed her out of mercy and then got a sample of Spidey's blood to try and cure the Werewolf by Night.
A New Horizon
Though he briefly agreed to hunt down Menace's baby for Dr. Octopus, Michael began secretly working for his old college pal Max Modell at Horizon Labs, though he was only known as Number Six and protected his identity behind a hazmat suit. There, he helped cure the spider-based virus running rampant through New York City, and also worked on an artificial plasma that would not only cure him, but also help fill blood banks around the world! However, when a bad reaction to one of the tests drew Spider-Man's attention, Modell and Morbius' secret got out. The vampire then gathered some materials and went into the sewer to work on another test subject: Lizard!
During this time, Morbius also continued to play a part in the Legion of Monsters who helped keep order in Monster Metropolis. He, Manphibian, N’Kantu, AKA Living Mummy, and Werewolf By Night worked with Elsa Bloodstone to uncover the source of a black ooze virus causing some monsters to rampage. Years prior, Michael experienced something similar while visiting the Rockhaven Vampire Community near Angel Grove, California and falling for a vampire, Susanna.
Dracula—who looked down on Morbius' science-based vampirism—later revealed that Susanna was an ancient vampire witch named Bruxal who created the virus! The current rebirth of the disease was traced back to Morbius himself who managed to come up with a cure to save the residents of Monster Metropolis. Morbius and the Legion also helped Taddeus Ross, AKA Red Hulk, rid himself of the malicious spirit of Leonard Samson, AKA Doc Samson, that had been haunting him.
While he still worked at Horizon Labs, Spider-Man barged into Michael's lab after the body of Billy Connors had been dug up. Morbius needed the boy's D.N.A. to cure the elder Curt Connors. They worked together to administer it and Curt turned human again! However, unbeknownst to everyone else, his Lizard persona was still in control! While Spider-Man fought and eventually captured Morbius, the Lizard turned several Horizon scientists into lizard-people!
No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn
That last fight with Spider-Man led to an arrest and a stay at The Raft. Morbius was there when Doctor Octopus died, but his consciousness had already entered Spider-Man's body! In the ensuing chaos, Morbius escaped the Super Villain prison and wound up in Brownsville, a rough neighborhood in Brooklyn. While there, he stopped a hood from robbing mother and son Wanda and Henry Evans, which drew the attention of gang leader Noah St. Germain and resulted in a massive gunshot wound to the chest for Morbius.
When Noah kidnapped Henry, Michael and his new friend Becky went to save the boy and Morbius ripped Noah's throat out. He died, which made his girlfriend Rochelle furious. Phillip Hayes, AKA Rose—actually one of many backed by anonymous billionaires—had planned all along to get Morbius to that particular neighborhood to turn him into a hero before disgracing him. Michael did not take kindly to the revelation of this plan, but stuck around because Rose said he had his mother, but was in reality working with his father.
With the help of his new friend Becky Barnes, Morbius became a solid protector of Brownsville until Spider-Man (still under Otto Octavius' control) got the drop on him and brought the vampire to Modell at Horizon. Max offered to help finish the vampire cure if Morbius would help them figure out what a mysterious thief stole from his old lab.
The thief, Nikoleta Harrow, worked for Rose and pieced together stolen tech to create a far less powerful Ultimate Nullifer. Rose used it to attack Brownsville, but Michael evacuated the residents to Monster Metropolis. After Morbius dispatched Rose, he spoke to his father—though he didn't know it—and found out the whole ordeal was just a matter of clearing real estate! With that he decided to lie low, but did let Becky know he was still alive.
Monster Mash
Eventually Morbius began using his genius in support of Shiklah, the monster queen. When she commanded the monsters to take over New York City, she had him working on a stolen Sandman Machine that could put the human population of the Big Apple to sleep. He succeeded and got it to his master, but also received several slugs in his chest for his efforts.
After mixing it up with Miles Morales, AKA Spider-Man, a group of real vampires wanted to feed from them and then a human to spread his disease. He refused to lead them which got him chained and put into a box that Neena Thurman, AKA Domino, Rachel Leighton, AKA Diamondback, and Outlaw were hired to find in Norway. They got him out and began working together to stop the spread of the vampire virus. With the rise of another vampire crisis led by the Shadow Colonel, Janet Van Dyne, AKA Wasp, fought vampires to bring Morbius into the Avengers fold because T’Challa, AKA Black Panther, and Odin Borson, AKA Odin, wanted to know why Dracula was after him. Though avoiding the spotlight recently, expect him to continue to struggle with his status as The Living Vampire.
