With his upcoming solo movie, it's only a matter of time before a lot of people will learn more about Michael Morbius, AKA the living vampire Morbius. However, just like many characters who remain mostly obscure to the wider audience, Morbius has a rich history in the comics, dating back to his first comic book appearance from January 1971.
Despite that, he has still flown under the radar to a certain degree, and is not as well-known as Spider-Man's other iconic villains. Those who want to learn more about Morbius luckily have a lot of comic book stories to choose from. In the 50 years of his existence, Morbius has appeared in some truly excellent tales — here are some of the best.
10 His Origin Story
Every hero has to start somewhere, and the same goes for villains. Morbius's origin story allows the readers to get to know the character better and is enough to pique anyone's interest in Morbius and his fate.
Morbius first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101, but his origin story followed in the next issue. He was so desperate to find a cure for his rare blood illness that it led to him becoming a living vampire. The story is both intense and it sets the tone for Morbius's later comic-book adventures.
9 Becoming Human Again
Some vampires enjoy having special powers, even if it means they have to drink blood. However, Michael Morbius isn't one of them, and detests his vampirism. This led to an interesting moment in the comics when Morbius drank some of Spider-Man's blood during one of their fights, which turned him back into a human for a short time.
As a result, Morbius was then able to create a serum based on Spider-Man's blood that would allow him to turn human, albeit always only for a brief time. Seeing him experiment and become human again was a deep moment for both Morbius and the readers.
8 His Complicated Relationship With Vic Slaughter
As Vic's name suggests, he's not exactly a very friendly person. Originally a marine, he became an assassin later on, and was hired by agent Simon Stroud to find and kill Morbius. Unsurprisingly, that didn't work out so well for Vic, since Morbius defeated him and bit him.
As a result of the bite, Vic became a vampire as well. He was unhinged, determined to take down Morbius. Vic was a thorn in Morbius's side multiple times, and while Morbius wasn't happy about it, the fans can enjoy the storyline since every comic book character needs a dangerous enemy to fight.
7 Fighting Carnage
Vic Slaughter isn't the only villain Morbius was ever forced to fight. He also took on a much better-known figure: Carnage himself. This story will be interesting for all fans of the MCU, since it's possible a similar story could appear in this universe one day.
This story also showed that Morbius isn't as villainous as many people believe him to be; rather, he's more of an antihero. During the comic book event Maximum Carnage, Morbius proved this by teaming up with Spider-Man, Captain America, Venom, and several other heroes in order to stop Carnage from committing further...carnage.
6 Joining The Midnight Sons
Considering his condition and thirst for blood, it makes sense that Morbius prefers to fly solo — most of the time. However, that's not always the case. Occasionally, he teams up with superheroes if necessary, and his most remarkable storyline in this area is joining the Midnight Sons.
The Midnight Sons is a team led by Doctor Strange who asked Blade, Morbius, and others to fight alongside him against the demonic Lilith. Considering how powerful Lilith is, it was a challenge to deal with her even in a team.
5 Facing Nightmare
Some of the best storylines in the comics happened when Morbius faced enemies who were well out of his league. Nightmare is one of them. The ruler of the Dream Dimension, Nightmare helped establish the Fear Lords and proved a powerful foe.
Morbius unexpectedly met Nightmare when he fed on an addict. He entered Nightmare's realm and took him on in a battle, with both Morbius and the readers unsure how it would turn out. Both story and art-wise, this fight is spectacular.
4 Morbius As The Relative Of Dracula
The Ultimate Marvel comic book series managed to take established characters and present them in a new, fun way. For fans who want to see a version of Morbius different from the classic one, check out his adventure in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.
In this story, Morbius's father is none other than Vlad Dracula II, and his brother is Vlad Dracula III. That means he's even more connected to vampires than in his previous version. Dracula is one of the best vampire villains in the Marvel comics, and connecting him to Morbius of all people is a stroke of brilliance from the creators.
3 Morbius's Addiction
One of the strongest aspects of Morbius's stories is his desire to drink blood and how he approaches it. Throughout most of the comics, Morbius manages to battle these desires more or less successfully.
However, the comic book storyline Legion of Monsters: Morbius the Living Vampire shows what happens when Morbius falls off the wagon and succumbs to his blood addiction. It's an excellent way how to explore Morbius's psyche as well as the attitude of other people toward him, those who witness his struggle.
2 Dealing With The Lizard
The Lizard and Morbius have a lot more in common than some fans might believe. They're both brilliant scientists who unfortunately transformed themselves into something they weren't ready to deal with, while looking for a cure for their conditions.
Thanks to this similarity as well as their other connection — Spider-Man — it's fascinating to see them interact. In Lizard: No Turning Back, Morbius tries to come up with a cure for both of them, but his good intentions eventually turn against him and the consequences aren't pretty.
1 His Modern Look
These days, it's common for superheroes and villains alike to get rebooted with a new modern series and a brand new look. This happened to Morbius as well thanks to the 2019 series named simply Morbius. Once again, Morbius is trying to cure himself, but it only gets him into further trouble.
For fans who truly want to get to know Morbius, this story contains all the necessary elements readers need to know in order to fully enjoy Morbius's upcoming solo movie with Jared Leto. Plus, it's beautifully drawn and a joy to read.