Morbius the Living Vampirehas had a longsighted and peculiar history in Marvel ’s comedian . ab initio a product of hook security review rules in comedian , Morbius has now become not just one of Spider - Man ’s most ill-famed foes - rick - uneasy ally , but also , thanks to Sony desire tofranchise every angleof the Spider - Verse it can , the mavin of his ownmajor motion pic . However , the tale of his other most renowned adaptation is just as uncanny as his creation .

Morbius first hit comics in 1971 , in Amazing Spider - Man # 101 — actually also famed for the fact it was the very first event of the serial not to have been compose by Spidey ’s co - Maker , Stan Lee . Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane , the reference was n’t really a product of a finicky desire to play a supernatural scoundrel to Spider - Man ’s roster , but because … well , Marvel dead could .

https://gizmodo.com/a-documentary-about-fredric-wertham-who-nearly-destroy-5792346

Morbius takes over as the star of Adventure Into Fear in the cover for its 23rd issue.

Morbius takes over as the star of Adventure Into Fear in the cover for its 23rd issue.Image: Gil Kane, Frank Giacoia, and Gaspar Saladino (Marvel Comics)

Seeking to capitalize on the prospect to introduce a vampiric character into Marvel ’s slate , Thomas ab initio intended on unbent - up introducing the mostfamous of all lamia , Count Dracula . rather , Lee suggest a costumed villain befitting Spider - Man ’s scalawag ’ gallery . It was in the end decided to make an original character , a vampire with a twist — their vampirism would n’t be triggered by magic or supernatural means , but scientific unity . And thus , Doctor Michael Morbius was born .

Morbius developed a rarefied , debilitating profligate condition as a minor in Greece , deforming him and lead the gifted mankind to isolate himself . finally becoming a Nobel Prize - winning life scientist , Morbius fled to New York and used his expertness to devise a cure for his disease , combining DNA from a vampire squash racket and electroshock therapy . You ’ll be unsurprised to get a line that it did not go well for Michael ; instead of curing his experimental condition , he rather develop “ Pseudo - Vampirism . ”

That “ pseudo ” is important : Morbius is n’t a traditional lamia , although the traits of his disease manifest in room similar to what we ’ve come to know as traditional lamia traits — a need to consume blood to go and a potent antipathy to but not complete vulnerability to sunshine . That said , traditional supernatural weaknesses like ail or holy weewee do n’t affect him . In turning , the enhanced abilities he develop , like super strength and speed , or echo sounding and dark vision , are n’t supernatural wizardly powers , they ’re just superpowers atypical of any Marvel fictitious character .

Image: Gil Kane, John Romita, and Artie Simek

Oh right, and Spider-Man had six arms at the time. That was a thing.Image: Gil Kane, John Romita, and Artie Simek (Marvel Comics)

Morbius ’ tragic backstory and superpowered twist on the lamia mythos proved to be a winning combo . After a few more appearances in Amazing Spider - Man and Marvel Team - Up , the character was transitioned to a full - clip protagonist at Marvel ’s horror imprint , Curtis Magazine , starring in Vampire Tales throughout the mid-‘70s , before re - appearing in Marvel ’s superhero works as a backup character in Adventure Into Fear , a repulsion anthology comic serial . After that initial rush , though , Morbius faded into relative obscurity in the comics until the former 1990s . resuscitate by a major push and a transition from villain to anti - poor boy , Morbius became the lead in his own self - titled comic series in 1992 , spin off the Midnight Sons crossover result in the newspaper publisher ’s repulsion titles .

It ’s around this time that Morbius receive another big push out of doors of the funnies : He was picked up as a major character in the 2d season of Fox’sSpider - Man : The Animated Series . Morbius first appeared but as his life scientist ego in the time of year ’s first two episode , “ The Insidious Six ” and “ Battle of the Insidious Six , ” before undergoing his translation into the Living Vampire across one of the show ’s most darling storylines . The five - episode run kicked off , rather appropriately , just in prison term for Halloween , with “ Morbius ” airing on October 28 , 1995 . He shared the public eye with another Marvel character making their first show outside of a comic book , as well ; the arc officially debuted the animated interpretation of half - lamia / vampire hunterBlade , who teamed up with Spidey to take down the transformed Morbius .

https://gizmodo.com/wesley-snipes-has-a-good-idea-about-why-more-people-don-1822942705

Image: Fox Kids

Morbius ditches his bite for some…hand suckers?Image: Fox Kids

Although those episodes were his sole appearance in the series , Morbius ’ place in the cartoon perhaps became one of hismost influential interpretation , the definitive version of the Living Vampire burn into the eyes of sports fan , even at the solar apex of his mid-‘90s comic book resurgence . But the affair is , Spider - Man : TAS ’ Morbius could just be anything like his comic leger ego , thanks to strict capacity censoring rule in child ’s animation similar to the sort of rules which led to his cosmos in the first position 20 years prior .

The Animated Series ’ Morbius was n’t allowed to take in blood — that was consider too violent for a show that already had major hurdles to whelm when it come to depicting amusing Christian Bible action . Instead of prick with Fang , he was given foreign - esque suckers on the palms of his hands to assail his victims with . alive Morbius could n’t even crave blood — instead , he was addicted to “ plasma . ” Interestingly , in the mental process , Morbius picked up several trait of traditional vampires that he was defined by not having in his comic book appearance . He gained the ability to shapeshift into a batlike puppet in the show , and his weaknesses were more aligned with other fictional lamia — sun would become him back into human form , and he could be repelled by garlic . sin , even his backstory became more akin to Dracula : He was from Transylvania , and instead of experiment on himself to bring around a bloodline disease , he was researching a disease smite Transylvanians , becoming a vampire after being bitten by a at-bat he was behave tests on .

Although Spider - Man : The Animated Series ’ Morbius ’ was radically different to his comics self , his popularity from his abbreviated appearance did n’t modulation back to the cartoon strip — or into other medium as it did for Michael ’s fellow animated lamia , Blade , who went on to asterisk in his own trilogy of movies in the other days of thesuperhero cinema resurgence . Perhaps appropriate for a animate being of the night , Morbius alternatively slunk back into the shadows of the comics , where his presence in and out of the Spider - canon has also waxed and wane ever since .

Image: Fox Kids

Cartoon vampires: Allowed to look like this, not allowed to suck blood.Image: Fox Kids

perhaps now that he ’s about to get a takeon the big screenfrom Sony much more aligned to his flaming , horror comics roots ( and starring Jared Leto)—interestingly timed given that Blade himself is once againgetting a crackat the cinematic universe , with Mahershala Alitaking on the role — it ’s sentence for the Living Vampire and his midnight sons to ride once more .

https://gizmodo.com/i-cannot-believe-theres-really-going-to-be-a-morbius-mo-1841260033

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Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

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