Who is Morbius: The Living Vampire? Origin, Power, Cast and everything you should know about Morbius
Before the wrath of the anti-hero / “good guy” vampires, Marvel Comics defeated almost everyone by punching Morbius, the living vampire who is not a real hero or villain. Dr. Michael Morbius first debuted on Amazing Spider-Man # 101, exactly fifty years ago. In 1971, comics code censorship rules were relaxed. It allows vampires and other monsters to reappear in comics.
Thus, Stan Lee wasted no time, quickly jumping on the bandwagon. He instructed writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Cain to come up with a vampire villain to fight Peter Parker. The result was a character who would soon star in his own film and might even join MCU one day.Morbius will play Jared Leto in the upcoming movie and it will probably lean towards the bizarre. But the history of Morbius’s comic books is undoubtedly more unfamiliar than anything in Hollywood.
Origin Story of Morbius
It was Morbius’ second appearance, “Spider-Man # 102“, that gave Marvel Comics fans a chance to learn the story behind the character. Born and raised in Greece, Dr. Michael Morbius was originally inspired by the work of a Nobel Prize-winning biologist who had suffered from a rare blood disorder throughout his life, which resulted in his disfigurement. Unfortunately his desire to heal himself led him to experiment on himself and this turned him into a living vampire: technically still alive, but with an intense hatred of sunlight and an endless desire to consume blood.
Morbius’s Power
Morbius is much like the common mythological and legendary vampires, but with a fair number of exceptions. He does not possess many powers of dead vampires, such as the ability to transform into a bat, but he has supernatural powers, echoes, improved night vision, a powerful healing element and he can draw extra energy when he feeds. Unlike ordinary vampires, he is not affected by garlic, cross or holy water and he can enter the uninvited place. But he is diminished by sunlight and often remains exclusively active at night.
Is Morbius a Villain or a Hero?
Morbius was certainly a villain when he was first introduced and initially acted as an adversary of Spider-Man. But over the years, his role has changed, and he has become an antihero in comics. Clearly, it is still a serious problem that he needs human blood to survive, but he is known for teaming up with heroes and fighting for the good. This includes working with other monster characters such as Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and Ghost Rider to form the protagonist Legion of Monsters.
Cast of Morbius
Michael Keaton will join them in the role of Adrian Tooms, the villain he portrayed in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as revealed in the Morbius teaser. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the trailer. It is conceivable that he will only show this movie for a cameo to connect with the larger Spider-Verse and MCU.
- Jared Leto as Morbius
- Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft
- Matt Smith as Loxias Crown
- Al Madrigal as Agent Rodriguez
- Tyrese Gibson as Simon Stroud
- Simon Stroud as Morbius Mentor
The movie will be located in the same world as Venom, so it is possible that the events of the last film may be addressed in the first, and the upcoming Venom sequel may somehow connect the two films.
Michael Keaton aka Vulture’s role in Morbius
Although Michael Keaton’s return as the vulture is quite interesting, speculation suggests that his role will probably be a brief cameo rather than a significant addition to Morbius’ story.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the trailer, but it is unknown, but he may be trying to recruit a living vampire in a conspiracy to bring down Spider-Man.
Release Date of Morbius
Morbius will be released in theaters on April 1st, 2022. Set a reminder to get tickets.
Genre: Fantasy/Superhero
Duration: 1h 48min
Who is directing Morbius?
The director of Morbius is Daniel Espinosa. His previous films includes Safe House (with Ryan Reynolds), Easy Money (with Joel Kinnaman) and 2017’s Life.