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Jan 13, 2020 · The first trailer for Marvel and Sony Pictures’ Morbius finds Jared Leto trying to save himself from a rare blood disorder by turning himself into a vampire.
- 3 min
- Julia Alexander
- What exactly is a pseudo-vampire?
- Is Morbius a Vampire?
- Morbius' Vampire Powers
- Ultimate Morbius
By Jesse Schedeen
Posted: Jan 13, 2020 5:42 pm
Sony just dropped the first trailer for its next Spider-Man spinoff movie, Morbius. Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a man with the heart of the hero, the mind of a genius and the appearance of a horrific monster.
If you're not familiar with Morbius from Marvel's Spider-man comics or cartoons, you may be a little confused as to just who and what this character is. He certainly looks like an undead bloodsucker, but is Morbius actually a vampire or something else entirely? Read on to learn more about his origin and powers.
The short answer is, no, Morbius isn't a vampire in the classic sense. Morbius is often referred to as "The Living Vampire," reflecting the fact that he's still a human with a beating heart rather than an undead monster. His powers and appearance are derived from vampires, but much like Blade, he's a special breed of superhuman. Morbius' unique condition is actually known as "pseudo-vampirism."
To understand what makes Morbius different from regular vampires in the Marvel Universe, it helps to look at the state of the comic book industry in 1971, the year he debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #101. At the time, reader interest in traditional superhero stories was on the decline, and horror comics were surging in popularity. Even Marvel's superhero comics started to delve more into horror in the '70s, martial arts and science fiction. In fact, ASM #101 also features a mutated, six-armed Peter Parker. This is the same period that gave rise to characters like Man-Thing and Moon Knight and the popular Tomb of Dracula comic book.
Morbius' origin story (which the movie appears to be adapting) depicts him as a brilliant biochemist suffering from a rare, terminal blood disorder. That disorder already gave Dr. Michael Morbius a distinctly vampire-like appearance, right down to his bat-like nose. However, his true transformation happens when Morbius attempts to create a cure by combining vampire bat DNA and electroshock treatment. This being a Spider-Man comic, that experiment ends not in Morbius' death, but in him becoming a living vampire with many of the powers and abilities of his undead cousins.
Morbius has most of the powers you'd expect from a normal vampire, including super-strength, speed and accelerated healing, along with a few other nifty powers like gliding and echolocation. He also lacks most traditional vampire weaknesses (crosses, garlic, running water, holy water, etc.), though he does need to regularly feed on blood. Occasionally Morbius is able to repress his bloodlust through the use of serums (including one created from Spider-Man's blood), but eventually his more vampiric tendencies tend to win out.
It's also worth noting that, unlike regular vampires, Morbius only rarely turns his victims into pseudo-vampires when he bites them. Funnily enough, Blade was one of those victims. Originally, Blade had no real superhuman powers in the comics apart from his immunity to vampire bites, and it was only after being bitten by Morbius that he became more like the movie incarnation in terms of powers.
Finally, Morbius isn't as vulnerable to sunlight as normal vampires, but being in the sun still weakens him considerably. This is one area the movie seems to be diverging from the source material, as the trailer shows Morbius moving about in broad daylight seemingly unaffected.
While the traditional comic book incarnation of Morbius isn't a true vampire, the same can't be said for the one seen in Marvel's Ultimate Universe. Like many iconic characters, Morbius was re-imagined for this alternate universe setting. Ultimate Morbius actually is a true vampire, with all the strengths and weaknesses that come with the territory. What's more, he's depicted as the son of Vlad Dracul II and the brother of Dracula.
This version of Morbius is still depicted as a heroic character, however. He uses his powers to hunt his own kind. In another interesting twist, Ultimate Morbius can actually use his fangs to cure people in the process of transforming into vampires.
For more on the new Spider-man spinoff movie, see what star Jared Leto has to say about Morbius and learn what fans think of the first leaked image. Then learn even more about Morbius' comic book background.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Jan 13, 2020 · Morbius, according to the classic comic book lore, is actually a "pseudo-vampire" named Michael Morbius, who accidentally turns himself into a monster while trying to cure a rare, fatal blood...
Jan 15, 2020 · The Morbius trailer drops a big hint about the MCU's future. Marvel's "Living Vampire" heads to the big screen – but who is Morbius, and how does he connect to the MCU? With the release...
Nov 2, 2021 · The Living Vampire, Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), was first created as a Spider-Man villain and has since become a conflicted and violent anti-hero. Morbius transformed into what is called a pseudo-vampire after a failed experiment to cure his rare blood disease.
Nov 2, 2021 · The 2021 trailer heavily implies Morbius will wrestle with that very question, as it claims the film will blur the line between hero and villain. Where In The Multiverse Will It Take Place?...
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Mar 31, 2022 · Michael Morbius begins as a brilliant scientist, but he suffers from a rare blood disease. In an attempt to find a cure, vampire bat DNA is mixed into his blood, transforming him into a pseudo-vampire with a lust for blood.
