The trailer for Sony's Morbius has been released, introducing the first live-action adaptation of Marvel's Living Vampire, with actor Jared Leto in the titular role. However, Morbius may be a mystery for some. After all, he isn't the most high-profile comics character by any means. Who is Michael Morbius? Is he a hero or villain? How did he get his abilities? Are they magic or science? Let's take a look at the comic origins for Morbius, The Living Vampire before the film comes to the big screen.
Morbius was originally created as a Spider-Man villain by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane for Amazing Spider-Man #101. However, over time he's become more of a dark vigilante. At times he's joined forces with the likes of Ghost Rider, Blade, and even Doctor Strange, fighting other vampires, the occult, and other dark forces in the Marvel Universe.
The Origin of Morbius
In the comics, Dr. Michael Morbius was a Nobel Prize-winning scientist with a rare blood disease. Essentially, his blood cells would gradually dissolve, which would have lead to his death. Desperately searching for a cure, Morbius created what he believed to be a fix by combining solutions from vampire bats and electroshock therapy. The result, while curing his disease, was horrific. His skin turned white and his eyes red, and he grew large fangs. The "cure" transformed Morbius into a pseudo-vampire: having the abilities and appearance of a vampire, though still mortal. Furthermore, his transformation was a result of scientific experimentation and not via supernatural means, the most common cause of vampiric transformation. This is what makes Morbius a "living" vampire.
Morbius' Powers and Abilities
Beyond mere appearance, Morbius gained the abilities of a vampire as well. The "cure" gave him superhuman strength and speed, as well as the ability to glide on air currents. He can also hypnotize people, bending them to his will, a common vampiric ability. Not only that, but his hearing is heightened akin to echolocation (like a bat).
Like any other vampire, Morbius finds himself with a craving for blood, turning into a mindless monster until he inevitably finds a victim. Once satiated, Morbius regains his mind and reason, but also guilt and regret. Also, his bite can turn his victims into pseudo-vampires as well. While Morbius develops a cure for them in the comics, it doesn't work on Morbius himself.
Will There Be Differences Between the Comics and Film?
It looks as though the film may tweak the concept of Morbius' transformation. At the beginning of the trailer, Morbius takes the cure and gains the abilities of a vampire. However, he still looks like his normal self. It's not until later on after bloodlust is mentioned where a close-up is featured, revealing his monstrous transformation.
This could potentially mean two things. Firstly, it could just be that the "cure" isn't instantaneous. The abilities may come first and the horrifying thirst for blood and transformation comes later. This would be interesting as Morbius might initially see his "cure" as a resounding success before the physical and horrific changes happen. What was thought to be a gift becomes a curse. It would tie in nicely to Morbius' question in the trailer: "How far are we allowed to go to fix something that's broken?" Jared Harris' character responds by saying: "Until the remedy is worse than the disease."
Secondly, it could mean that without consuming blood, Morbius transforms into a mindless monster with white skin, red eyes, and fangs until he gets blood. Perhaps after he gets blood, he then transforms back into looking like that of a normal man with his senses back. It would certainly be an interesting twist to the pseudo-vampire idea. In any case, Morbius will soon be getting more wide-spread recognition thanks to the upcoming film which looks to be another intriguing chapter for Sony's Marvel films.
Morbius comes to theatres on July 31st, 2020.