Morbius will premiere in January 2022, introducing the first live-action version of Morbius, the living vampire. The film will feature few characters from the comics other than the titular figure, but it will introduce Locias Crown into the live-action world of superheroes.
Crown, also known for his alter-ego, Hunger, is an antihero in the comics, a living vampire not unlike Morbius. Although character details are still unknown, he will undoubtedly play a crucial role in the movie, played by fan-favorite Matt Smith. Mainstream audiences might not be familiar with Loxias Crown, but Marvel Comics fans sure are.
Updated on March 30th, 2022 by David Caballero: After yet another delay, Morbius will finally hit cinemas on Friday, April 1st, 2022. The long-awaited film will feature Matt Smith in a role initially thought to be Loxias Crown; however, Sony and Smith himself revealed that the character in the film is significantly different from the Loxias Crown from the comics. Comic book movies often take creative liberties when adapting for the screen, and even though Smith's villain shares similarities with the Loxias Crown from the comics, it's clear Morbius radically reinvented the character.
Loxias Crown Was A HYDRA Agent
Most Marvel fans know about HYDRA, the terrorist organization that provokes every major betrayal in the Captain America trilogy. In the comics, HYDRA's origins go as far back as Pharaonic Egypt; throughout time, it always manages to survive against all odds.
Loxias Crown makes his debut in Spider-Man #76. He is a HYDRA agent pursuing scientist William Fields, tracking him down to Empire State University. Crown then kills Fields at his home on Christmas Eve, sparing the scientist's wife and child. The young boy, Todd Fields, swears revenge against Crown.
Loxias Crown Returned Years Later To Fight Spider-Man
Seven years after killing Fields, Crown returns to Empire State University and enters Research Building No. 3, taking a room full of scientists hostage. He turns on an unstable energy generator and demands they turn out Fields' research, else the generator will explode, killing them all.
Spider-Man and the superhero SHOC arrive at the scene, subduing Crown's goons. During the fight, and to prevent Crown from absorbing the generator's energy, SHOC receives the blast himself, gaining massive powers. Defeated, Crown flees the scene.
Loxias Crown Fought Morbius, The Living Vampire
After his battle against Spider-Man, Crown travels to Andrea Janson's private island, becoming her lover. He also meets a kidnapped Morbius and becomes fascinated with the living vampire. HYDRA then sends Crown to apprehend SHOC, aka Neil Aiken, a student at ESU and classmate of Peter Parker.
Crown kidnaps Aiken and Parker, taking them back to HYDRA representative Vincente Fortunato. After Hammerhead, one of Spider-Man's most underrated villains, slays Janson, Crown attempts to kill everyone by overloading SHOC's armor with energy. However, Morbius escapes during the struggle and drains Loxias Crown's blood. As the building around them collapses, Morbius escapes with Crown.
Loxias Crown Became A Living Vampire
Morbius' bite effectively turns Crown into a "living vampire." He adopts the name Hunger and flees to New York City's sewers. Hunger then begins abducting people, keeping them prisoner in a subterranean chamber. Among his victims are several Morlocks, including their leader, Callisto.
It soon becomes clear that Hunger doesn't want to drink these people's blood but rather collect them. He even refers to them as "cattle" and leaves most of them unharmed.
Loxias Crown Fought Spider-Man And Marrow
Peter Parker and his first-ever love interest, Betty Brant, get assigned by J. Jonah Jameson to investigate the disappearances. The two travel to the sewers, where Hunger kidnaps Betty. Peter then joins forces with the Morlock Marrow, and the two go back to the sewers to face Hunger.
Spider-Man and Marrow find and release a group of frightened but unharmed prisoners. Enraged, Hunger attacks them but gets knocked out by Flash Thompson, who had followed Spider-Man into the sewers. Weakened and frustrated, Hunger escapes in energy form.
Loxias Crown Fought The Kingpin
Comic book fans know about Kingpin, one of Spider-Man's most formidable foes. The crime boss controls much of New York City's criminal activity, crossing paths with every prominent figure in the city, friend and foe alike. During a meeting with Jimmy-Six and other prominent Maggia families, Kingpin comes face to face with Hunger, who crashed the reunion.
Hunger sets the building on fire, killing most of the families. However, Kingpin and Jimmy-Six escape and swear revenge on the living vampire.
Spider-Man And Blade Teamed Up To Bring Loxias Crown Down
Hunger begins converting several low-level criminals into his army of thugs, slowly garnering power in the city's underworld while effectively crippling the Maggia's operation.
Recognizing him as an ever-increasing threat, Spider-Man decides to bring him down for good and teams up with the vampire hunter Blade. Together with a third ally, the mobster Mutt, the trio kills most of Hunger's minions, eventually reaching the vampire. Hunger uses his powers to grab Blade and Spider-Man by the neck, attempting to turn them and add them to his army. However, Mutt kills Hunger's last servant, weakening the living vampire and forcing him to flee. This episode is Loxias Crown's last appearance in Marvel comics.
Loxias Crown Has Unique Powers And Abilities
Like Morbius, the living vampire, Hunger possesses several vampiric abilities without being a vampire himself. His mutation comes from scientific means, meaning he is immune to vampires' most common weaknesses like garlic, holy water, and crucifixes. However, he is highly vulnerable to sunlight, and while it won't kill him, it does weaken him significantly.
Hunger's many abilities include enhanced strength, stamina, durability, and speed. He has accelerated healing and acute senses, allowing him to become a dangerous predator. He also has remarkably sharp fans and claws and can create and control quasi-vampiric servants.
Morbius Radically Reinvents Loxias Crown
In 2019, The Hollywood Reporter first announced that Matt Smith would portray Loxias Crown/Hunger. Fans believed this was the case for nearly three years, especially considering the many delays Morbius endured. However, Sony made it clear via press releases and even a television teaser that Smith was playing a character named Milo, a childhood friend of Michael Morbius suffering from the same blood disease.
Smith's Milo shares many similarities with Marvel's Loxias Crown; they are both obsessed with Morbius and eventually become living vampires. Unlike Morbius, who tries to control his vampiric urges, Milo gives into them, effectively turning them against each other. Loxias Crown's storyline in the comics heavily featured Spider-Man and HYDRA, which was never going to happen on the big screen. However, Morbius creates a deep connection between their version of the character and Michael Morbius, to the point where they see each other as brothers. It's unclear if the film will ever refer to Milo as Hunger, but it's still possible.