If you make a habit of biting into people’s necks and sucking their blood, you’re probably going to make a few enemies along the way. This is the situation with Michael Morbius, also known as Morbius the Living Vampire, who appears in multiple Spider-Man comics and will lead the cast of the film “Morbius” in 2022. Although he makes his first appearance in Roy Thomas and Gil Kane’s “Amazing Spider-Man” #101 as a sort of villain, Morbius quickly became an anti-hero due to his popularity at the time and his noble streak (he doesn’t actually want to hurt others and consume blood, at least most of the time). This led to him spinning off in his own adventures as an anti-hero.
When someone in the Marvel Universe becomes a hero or a quasi-hero, it is only a matter of time until villains begin to hunt them down. This is a common occurrence in the Marvel Universe. What is shocking, though, is that even early on, Morbius ends himself going up against supervillains who are significantly more strong than he is. These supervillains include dimensional rulers, other vampires, and humans armed with some really heavy-duty weaponry. It’s true that the heroes that Morbius occasionally faces off against, like as Spider-Man and Blade, are formidable opponents, but it’s the villains that a Living Vampire needs to be most wary of. Continue reading to discover out exactly how powerful Morbius’ antagonists can become.
The Rose
Even though Phillip Hayes is just as human as all of the other personalities who have assumed the guise of the Rose, this does not make him a weakling in any way. Hayes does not have any special abilities, but he does have a duplicate of the Ultimate Nullifier, which is a very dangerous weapon. The version of the Nullifier that Hayes has, which was constructed for him by Nikoleta Harrow, is not nearly as powerful as the original, which, in the hands of someone with the intelligence to use it appropriately, is capable of destroying and recreating all of creation. Hayes’ version of the Nullifier was built for him by Nikoleta Harrow. However, it has the potential to do enormous damage to property and, in the worst case scenario, kill thousands of people. In addition, the Rose is armed with a handgun that fires adamantium rounds for use in close-quarters combat.
Hayes, posing as the Rose, uses his “bootleg Nullifier” to launch an assault on the neighborhood of Brownsville in Manhattan. However, Morbius is able to partially defeat his plan, which also involves destroying several of Brownsville’s citizens, by relocating the district’s population to one of the tunnels leading to Monstropolis. His plan also involves destroying several of Brownsville’s residents (an underground city for monsters he co-founded). After that, the Rose decides to use the Nullifier on Morbius himself, but when it fails to kill the vampire, Morbius takes vengeance on the Rose by locating him on North Brother Island and slaying him there. Having said that, it is not entirely clear whether the Rose who is causing trouble for Morbius and Brownsville is in fact Hayes, or whether he is only one of the numerous incarnations of the Rose that Morbius’s father, Makariola, asserts are active in various parts of the world.
Daemond
When they discover the living vampire in Rabbi Krause’s laboratory, Reverend Daemond and Rabbi Krause make an offer to assist Morbius in curing himself of his vampirism. Krause is able to learn quite a little about Morbius’ illness because to his expertise as a scientist; however, his research is cut short when Daemond reveals that he is not a reverend at all, but rather a “demon-priest.” Morbius is hypnotized by Daemond’s grotesque mysticism into killing Krause, and Tara, a young girl with the ability to transform herself into an adult warrior version of herself, is the focus of Daemond’s attack. Daemond continues to vex Morbius in a variety of additional ways, including by teasing him with the presence of his ex-fiancée Martine, whom Daemond has also hypnotized. Morbius’s ex-fiancée Martine is currently under Daemond’s control. In the end, it comes to light that Daemond is a renegade member of the Caretakers, an extraterrestrial race that has been watching over humanity ever since it was an infant.
Because Daemond is a Caretaker as well as a sorcerer, he possesses talents that are both inherent to his species and derived from the magical traditions of his lineage. He is able to shoot bolts of lightning from his eyes and has taught himself spells to summon beings from other realms, such as Balkatar, a Cat Person hailing from a realm known as “The Land Within,” which is a strange underworld realm. He has a lifetime that is measured in millennia, and the hypnosis that was stated earlier gives him the ability to control his subjects from even a substantial distance away, provided that their free will is not powerful enough to break free of his influence. One of the more peculiar abilities that Daemond possesses is the ability to conjure out a gigantic, pink version of his head that can communicate and, yes, its eyes can also fire lightning.
Demon-Fire
Demon-Fire is the moniker given to a loose confederation of many cults. Morbius faces in the 1970s anthology series “Vampire Tales,” are far from your run-of-the-mill Devil worshippers. Instead, many of these characters possess powers thanks to sorcery or a demonic connection. Morbius faces in “Vampire Tales” were created in the 1970s. Death-Flame is a hooded, blazing skeleton that wields a barbed wire whip and rides an equally hot skeleton horse. Mayor Duke Mannery, while costumed as the conch-headed sea demon Blood-Tide, has the ability to captivate vast groups of cultists with his snake staff. Not to be confused with the antagonist from X-Men, Apocalypse is a hooded, fanged man with the ability to levitate, shape-shift, channel energy blasts from his body, resist bullets, and call forth demons through incantations. He is in charge of all of these people. Despite their tremendous power, some of Demon-members Fire’s possessed quite significant flaws, including the following: For instance, once Morbius gets a hold of the mayor’s staff that has been possessed by a demon, he is able to easily kill Blood-Tide, while all that is required to defeat Death-Flame is a significant amount of water.
When one of Demon-covens Fire’s sets its sights on a young woman by the name of Amanda Saint, Morbius has his first of many run-ins with the organization. During the decisive confrontation that takes place in a Western-themed amusement park, Morbius and Amanda are joined in the fight by the shotgun-wielding Sagebrush Robbins and the owner of the park, Howie Rivers. Howie has prepared enough explosives to end the threat posed by Apocalypse and his followers for good.
The Basilisk
Basilisk is a mental being that is said to have sprung from Wayne Gifford’s animosity and pain. Until it is fully formed, Basilisk develops inside of Gifford’s body. The adult Wayne eventually kills himself during a mystical rite in order to let the Basilisk free, despite the fact that the Basilisk continues to see his face reflected in the mirror. After a drawn-out conflict with Morbius that, at first seem, results in the creature’s demise, the Basilisk engages in combat with Morbius. However, Morbius subsequently comes back to exact his revenge. Morbius prevails over the Basilisk once more, this time by ingesting the creature’s “essence” in the same manner as he would blood. However, Morbius is forced to expel the Basilisk when it begins to attack his body from the inside.
As a being that was born from Gifford’s psyche, the Basilisk has the ability to dwell inside both his creator and others without interfering with any essential body functions (unless he chooses to). Additionally, the Basilisk draws strength from Gifford’s soul in order to continue its growth. The Basilisk sustains itself by consuming the flesh and organs of humans when it is not inside the body of another person. Even after Morbius’s own strength has been enhanced by the Lilin (a type of demon) blood, he is still able to traverse walls with his claws, leap great distances, and present a physical challenge to his opponent. The ability of the Basilisk to immobilize humans with his gaze is one of the distinguishing characteristics of this creature; yet, using this ability while Morbius is attempting to mesmerize him creates a momentary link between their consciousnesses. In the beginning, the Basilisk is susceptible to his reflection since realizing that he is a component of Gifford’s mind causes his body to crumble. However, the Basilisk is able to overcome this vulnerability and learn how to regenerate himself.
The Empathoid
Especially when it comes to his guilt after draining blood from one of his victims, Morbius is rather well-known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve. This makes him exactly the kind of guy who would attract an emotional parasite like the Empathoid. Morbius initially comes into contact with the feeling-powered android on the planet where it was created, and he is astounded when the artificial entity fuses with him. After Morbius has returned to Earth, the Empathoid manipulates the Living Vampire to provoke Spider-Man into a battle. The Empathoid does this because it has observed the tremendous emotional reaction Morbius has when he sees an advertisement poster for the Daily Bugle featuring the Wallcrawler. The Empathoid then takes over Spider-body Man’s after Morbius inadvertently overexerts himself, but the Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger tricks the Empathoid into short-circuiting itself by having it absorb the emotions of dozens of spectators at a college football game all at once.
The Empathoid is an android that has the ability to become one with a human and control the movements of their body. It does this by directing the person to engage in behaviors that provoke intense emotions, which the android then uses as a source of nourishment. Even if the host’s mind is not controlled, fighting off the Empathoid’s influence can be an excruciatingly unpleasant experience. It possesses perfect molecular control over its body and the ability to regenerate itself. Due to the fact that its body essentially phases in reaction to any attempts to physically hurt it, it previously believed that it was incapable of being destroyed. However, as Spider-Man demonstrates, the Empathoid is not capable of absorbing an excessive amount of emotion. This holds true even if the feelings are emanating from other persons in the vicinity of the android rather than the person who it is coupled with.
Vic Slaughter
Even while Morbius’ bite has successfully transformed certain individuals into vampires in the past, such individuals have never acquired all of Morbius’ abilities. That is, of course, before his body is contaminated with demon blood… and before Vic Slaughter shows around. Slaughter, a former member of the United States Marine Corps who, according to some, “kills at least one guy a day, regardless of whether he needs to or not,” and his mercenary crew, the Hardcases, have been hired to track down Morbius. Slaughter is the only one who survives the bite of the Living Vampire because Morbius determines that he is the only one who truly deserves to be buried alive. Slaughter, on the other hand, comes back to life in a very literal sense and gradually turns into a living vampire himself, inheriting many of Morbius’ abilities in the process. After that, he engages in combat with Morbius and the three supernatural protectors known as the Nightstalkers, but the battle ultimately proves to be quite disastrous for him… precisely, it takes place inside an incinerator. When they are searching for former CIA operative Randolph Simpson, Slaughter, along with Spider-Man and Simon Stroud, comes into contact with Morbius. Yet again, Slaughter manages to live. Slaughter is stabbed by Morbius, but the attack has little impact, and Vic is able to escape.
Slaughter is one of the rare few people that Morbius has turned into vampires. He is the only person to have acquired all of Michael’s physical traits, including unnaturally pale skin and claws, as opposed to merely gaining Morbius’ fangs. This makes Slaughter one of the rare few people that Morbius has turned into vampires. He is able to recover and regenerate from virtually any injury, even being shot at close range, having his body burned alive, and being struck by a subway train. The more blood that he consumes, exactly like Morbius, the greater his incredible strength will become. Slaughter has the ability to hypnotize people as well as reverse the hypnotic effects that Morbius has on other people. Slaughter continues to make regular use of firearms, including a pair of Uzi Submachine Guns, despite all of his other abilities.
Bloodthirst
After Michael is injected with blood that belonged to Fang, a demonic vampire who was a member of the group known as the Lilin, Bloodthirst initially exists as a separate consciousness within Morbius’s mind. This consciousness gradually comes into existence after Michael receives the blood transfusion. Bloodthirst makes his presence known gradually throughout Morbius’ mind, particularly after Michael appears to suffer the loss of his soul as a result of being resurrected by the Darkhold book of spells. Once Bloodthirst has been pushed to the back of Morbius’ consciousness by Doctor Strange, Michael orders his friend Jacob Weisenthal to remove every last drop of Fang’s blood from Morbius’ veins. The technique is successful and removes Bloodthirst in the process; yet, it is disturbing to see that the Lilin transforms the blood that is extracted into a corporeal body using her mysterious powers. Bloodthirst then launches an assault on Morbius’ place of employment, St. Jude’s Hospital, leaving Morbius’ girlfriend, Mandy Tyler, in a critical condition before engaging in combat with Michael himself. After a drawn-out conflict, Morbius finally defeats Bloodthirst by killing him with a lethal dose of procainamide that was injected into him against his will.
Bloodthirst is able to assume control at various periods while in Morbius’ head, and is even able to evade being discovered by Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare. Once he creates his own body, his abilities are similar to those that Morbius had while he was still infected with Lilin blood. For example, he is a super-strong vampire, but far stronger than his former host, and his skin is dense enough (or perhaps heals fast enough) to easily resist fired bullets. Once he creates his own body, his abilities are similar to those that Morbius had while he was still infected with Lilin blood. In contrast to Morbius, who has five fingers, each of his three fingers is equipped with a razor-sharp claw that can cut and dig deep into the flesh of their victims. As soon as Bloodthirst is killed by Morbius, his body starts to disintegrate and disappear.
Parasite
Martine Bancroft was mistakenly bound to the Lilin known as Parasite when Morbius attempted to resuscitate his ex-fiancée Martine Bancroft using a page from the Darkhold. Morbius was attempting to resurrect Martine. Despite the fact that Morbius instantly senses something is wrong when “Martine” demonstrates an absolute lack of concern for human suffering, he continues to believe that she is his beloved. He is unaware of the horrible monster that is hidden within Bancroft’s body. It is revealed that Parasite has been impersonating Martine throughout the entire time that Bloodthirst has been in complete control of Morbius and the two Lilin have been dating each other. Together, they devise a strategy to covertly infiltrate Doctor Strange’s headquarters, the Sanctum Sanctorum, and do so by having Bloodthirst deceive Strange and his superhero team of supernatural beings, the Midnight Sons, into believing that Bloodthirst is still Morbius. This allows them to sneak inside the building undetected. After rendering herself invisible and sneaking inside with Bloodthirst/Morbius, Parasite uses her raw mystic force to assault the Midnight Sons after it is revealed that the farce was being played on them. Later on, however, thanks to Morbius, who was able to regain control of himself, Parasite was expelled from Martine’s body, and Michael’s new ally, Embyrre, who was able to perform fire spells, was able to put an end to the demon.
Bancroft’s complexion became as white as snow, and her eyes turned a vivid shade of red and yellow once she became one with Martine. Parasite is a Lilin that resembles a green and orange lizard and has those colors in its appearance. Martine is able to levitate, fire magical lightning bolts from all over her body, generate force fields and sonic screams powerful enough to disrupt Doctor Strange’s magic, and redirect any blast that is thrown at her at up to twice its initial power when she is possessed by the parasite known as Parasite. In addition to possessing hosts, Parasite is shown to wield several incredible powers while it is within Martine.
Switchblade
Due to the fact that Blade is a vampire hunter and Morbius is, well, a vampire, the two of them frequently find themselves in conflict with one another. When Blade is transformed by the Darkhold into the Demogorge, a creature that hunts the occult and takes the abilities of each supernatural being it kills, he goes from being a mere antagonist to a full-fledged antagonist. Blade soon kills Morbius and several of his Midnight Sons allies, as well as the Spider-Man villain the Demogoblin and Werewolf by Night. He then renames himself “Switchblade.” Switchblade runs into a big roadblock, however, when he murders Ghost Rider. This is because Switchblade absorbs the Spirit of Vengeance’s Penance Stare after he kills Ghost Rider, and as a result, he is forced to experience a significantly intensified version of the misery he has given to others. Switchblade is unable to stop Midnight Sons member Louise Hastings from using the Darkhold to turn Blade back to normal and revive everyone he’s killed, including Morbius. However, as Doctor Strange later reveals, Morbius’ soul does not appear to come back with his body when he is revived. Switchblade is left dazed and unable to stop Louise Hastings from using the Darkhold to turn Blade back to normal and revive everyone he’s killed.
As Switchblade, Blade still possesses the normal powers he possessed at that time period, the most notable of which is his immunity to the effects of vampire bites (Blade’s other vampire characteristics don’t appear until later books). However, once he commits his murders, he is granted several additional talents, such as the ability to conjure weapons out of thin air like Demogoblin, to transform into a mist like the vampire Hannibal King, and to heal himself quickly like Morbius. Switchblade has gotten very close to becoming the most powerful supernatural being on Earth with his recent assassination of Ghost Rider, and he has the potential to become the most powerful supernatural being on Earth if he kills enough people. As he absorbs the powers of new people, his body goes through subtle changes that mirror those new abilities.
Lilith
Since the beginning of time, Lilith has considered herself to be the “Mother of All Demons,” having either physically given birth to or magically created her line of powerful descendants known as the Lilin. After she has been set free, she searches for some of her offspring in order to enlist their assistance in bringing Lilin from other dimensions to Earth and in vanquishing the nine entities who are predicted to face them in combat. One of those nine is Morbius, who, together with the Lilin’s other promised adversaries, travels to Greenland and kills Fang. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider vanquishes Lilith by pushing her into the portal that she created for herself. The Mother of Demons, however, makes a covert reappearance a few seconds later, and she eventually resumes her conflict with the Nine (also known as the Midnight Sons) with the assistance of massive armies of Lilin that she has called forth from the Shadowside Dimension.
Even though it is stated that Lilith once wielded power akin to that of a deity, she is not operating at her full potential when she engages in combat with Morbius and the Sons. Despite this, she is still a powerful opponent because she possesses incredible magical power, extraordinary physical strength, and the ability to replenish her energy by consuming the essence of her own progeny. In later appearances, Lilith demonstrates that she is also able to fire energy blasts from her hands and that she can kill average humans with a simple gesture.
In addition, Lilith possesses the gift of precognition, and her consciousness is able to communicate with Lilin no matter where she is on Earth. She is able to change individuals and souls into Lilin by drawing them through a rift that her kid Pilgrim produces in her chest. Each of her offspring that she has birthed possesses special abilities, and she can do this as well. She has the ability to give birth to a new body at will, so extending her already remarkable lifetime.
Helleyes
Not only is Helleyes one of the more outlandish villains that Morbius has created, but he is also one of the most powerful. Helleyes is in charge of one of the many many iterations of Hell that exist in the Marvel Universe, and he has a vast arsenal of extraordinary abilities at his disposal. With the exception of one, which serves as his weak spot, each eyeball on his body goes to a separate realm. However, the eyeball that serves as his weak spot is his Achilles’ heel. The body of Helleyes is also a sub-dimension in and of itself, guarded by a number of cyclopean creatures with fuzzy exteriors. Helleyes can create and command smaller, human-sized proxies of himself in any of the dimensions his eyes are gateways to. He can even control certain inanimate objects, such as a giant statue of himself. Although Helleyes is a giant in his primary form, he can create and command smaller, human-sized proxies of himself in any of the dimensions his eyes are gateways to.
When following one of the many-eyed being Helleyes’ more humanoid-looking cyclops minions in “Adventure Into Fear” #28-29, Morbius has the unfortunate honor of coming into contact with the many-eyed entity’s stare. Morbius and the detective Simon Stroud, who has been tasked with bringing Michael to justice, are transported to an ancient city that has since been abandoned by Helleyes. After engaging in combat with a number of smaller clones or copies of Helleyes, Morbius eventually locates the eyeball on the demon’s body that triggers the teleportation device that takes him and Stroud back to their original dimension.
Nightmare
Morbius has a hard time falling asleep at times, just like the majority of people probably wouldn’t be able to if they knew who they may see in their dreams. From the safety of his domain, Nightmare World, which is a sub-realm of a place named (surprise, surprise) the Dream Dimension, Nightmare is able to exercise complete control over the dreams of every sleeping Earthling. Due to the fact that Nightmare has a significant amount of power over the Dream Dimension as a whole, he is able to change not just the size and look of himself but also the appearance of his house in almost any way he chooses. He can also influence the dreams of anyone on Earth, draw people’s psyches into his domain for as long as he pleases, and feed off of them like a parasite. He can do this for as long as he wants. Even people who are awake aren’t necessarily safe because he’s also been known to control people through “waking dreams,” as seen when he manipulates believers of the American Dream in “Captain America” #10-12 by Mark Waid, Andy Kubert, and Jesse Delperdang. Even people who are awake aren’t necessarily safe because he’s also been known to control people through “waking dreams.” If you take him out of the Dream Dimension, you’ll find that he’s far more vulnerable because the majority of his powers only function when he’s in that dimension. This is his single most significant vulnerability.
In a crossover that takes place between two of Morbius’s series from the 1990s, “Morbius, the Living Vampire” and “Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme,” Morbius has the misfortune of coming face to face with Nightmare. There, Nightmare seizes control of the consciousness of a drugged and sleeping Morbius and torments the Living Vampire with visions of his late fiancee, Martine Bancroft, while pitting him against Doctor Strange’s astral form. Thankfully, Strange saves Morbius from the Dream Dimension, and Michael repays the favor by rescuing Strange’s body from Nightmare’s grip. Morbius is now safe and well.
