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Bleh! Tis the season where the odd creatures of the night roam the Earth. one of the oddest is Morbius, the living vampire! What is a living vampire? A psuedo-vampire? How oes one become such a thing? What has science wrought? Let’s find out!

Michael Morbius was a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work in biochemistry but he was suffering from a terrible blood disease. His quest to cure it cause him to be transformed in a being that was similar to the legendary vampire, but he was till a living being instead of undead. Craving blood to survive, Morbius would have to feed on others and found he could infect others with his psuedo-vampirism.

Due to his infectious nature, he would come across my superheroes who would try and stop him while he was often trying to seek a cure. He’d find himself frequently teaming up with The Lizard, a fellow scientist seeking to repair his human body but transformed by his cure instead. kindred spirits. Spider-Man and Blade would frequently come up against him and sometimes even help him.

Struck by lightning, Morbius would be cured of his psuedo-vampirism but then he as arrested for his crimes while transformed and Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, would defend him in court. Sadly, this cure was temporary and he’d transform back. he would team up with Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo and witness a new flood of true vampires.

Often times, supernatural superheroes would pull him into their world even though his powers came from science gone wrong. Ghost Rider would enlist his services in an denture hat would have Morbius kill he one who killed his ex-fiancée. This was when Morbius vowed he’d only feed from the guilty to protect the innocent.

When the Superhero Registration Act went into effect, Morbius signed on so he could help capture Blade, who was still unregistered. He’d help form a new supernatural super team, the Midnight Sons to help stop a zombie outbreak. This team would  help resurrect The Punisher as FrankenCastle.

Most of the time, when Morbius isn’t trying to cure himself, he’s trying to cure the malaise of many other Marvel heroes in villains trapped in some sort of hellish curse, like Jack Russel, the Werewolf by Night. Much like his own illness, he cannot ever seem to cure anyone and even if he does so, it is merely temporary. The real curse is being a comic character with a major flaw that is a major aspect of their character, i.e. Cyclops or Rogue. True horror.

When people began gaining Spider-Man powers, Morbius masquerades as the mysterious Number Six so he could help study it. While helping find the cure for it he would also find a cure for The Lizard. Unfortunately the Lizard part of Curt Connors brain had fully corrupted him into a new mind. Not wanting to be cured, he’d spread blood in Morbius’s lab while his assistants were there, this would cause Morbius to go into a panicked rage and attack his lab crew. He’d attempt o fight his vampiric urges and flee until Spider-Man caught him and had him restrained in the supervillain floating prison, the Raft.

There you have it folks! Morbius feels like a good pick for this Halloween season. Marvel’s second most popular vampire after Dracula. He was pretty much a celebration fo the Comics Code Authority dropping its ban on vampires since he came into existence shortly thereafter. Will we ever see Morbius on the big role mall creek in the MCU? Time will tell! see you next time! Bleh!

Suggested Reading
The Amazing Spider-Man #101
Marvel Team-Up #3&4
Adventure Into Fear #20-31
Morbius the Living Vampire
Midnight Sons Unlimited
Legion of Monsters: Morbius

Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net