Morbius the Living Vampire is a fascinating character, largely because of his dual nature: he is a “living vampire” who must drink blood to sustain himself, but because he is not a true vampire, he still has a human side, one that is repulsed by his vampiric urges. When Morbius was spun off into his own feature in the early 1970s, he was presented with a rather unique solution to his dilemma, but in the end his humanity kept him from going through with it. It all happened in Adventure into Fear #22, written by Steve Gerber, with art by Rich Buckler and L. Dominguez.
Morbius was a scientist from an aristocratic family. Born with a rare blood disease, he was transformed into a “living vampire” while trying to develop an experimental cure. Since his transformation was inspired by science rather than the supernatural, Morbius had only select vampire traits. For instance, he still had to drink blood, but he merely killed his victims rather than turning them into vampires as well. Some of the traditional vampire weaknesses, such as garlic and crucifixes, did not affect him either, and he could come out in the sunlight, but it weakened him greatly. Over time, Morbius has evolved from a villain to an anti-hero, largely because of the internal struggle that has become the character’s hallmark: he must feed on blood to live, but his humanity remains intact and is repulsed by his desire to feed. Consequently, presenting Morbius with a horrifying solution brought out everything great about his character.
In the story, Morbius is being pursused by the evil sorcerer Daemon, who summons a cat creature named Balkatar to fight the living vampire. Balkatar is able to break free of Daemon’s control, and whisks Morbius back to his homeland, called “The Land Within.” Populated by cat creatures such as himself, Balkatar explains to Morbius that their city has existed without predators or war for centuries, causing massive overpopulation. The rulers of the Land Within spared Morbius’ life so he could function as an “apex predator” - he could feed on the Land’s inhabitants to his heart’s content and trim the population while he was at it. Morbius is repulsed by this plan and rejects their offer.
For any other vampire, this would have been a godsend, but Morbius is horrified; it would have been the perfect solution to his dilemma, and yet Morbius’ humanity cannot be denied. Though the issue deals with as weird and wonderful visuals and ideas as you could find in any comic, the core of this dilemma is also the core of why Morbius still works as a character. The issue perfectly illustrates to readers why Morbius is such a compelling character: much like the Hulk, he is a scientist tormented by his darker half. Sometimes, it gets the better of him, but confronted by what he knows is right without any threat of negative consequences, Morbius can still choose to do the right thing.
That struggle has resonated with readers and made the character a fan favorite for 50 years, and while this issue is too weird to ever see a true adaptation - Jared Leto is unlikely to be tussling with cat people on the silver screen anytime soon - it's a must for fans who want to engage with what Morbius the Living Vampire is truly about.