Morbius has quickly become one of the most talked-about flicks in recent memory. However, the film - which is the latest in Sony's Spider-Man universe and not the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe - has not necessarily received positive attention. Instead, the vampire film is seen by many as too serious for its somewhat nonsensical story, and became the source of online memes based on various video games and other Marvel properties.
Released on April 1, 2022, Morbius stars Jared Leto as the title character, who is forced to become a "living vampire" in order to cure himself and his brother of a rare blood disease. The presence of Leto, who previously became a subject of attention for his bizarre method acting used in his performances of DC Comics' Joker, only added to the film's memetic potential. Some of the best memes regarding the film connect Morbius to video games in a variety of ways.
Morbius Streaming on Twitch
After Morbius left theaters, fans played the film practically nonstop via the Twitch streaming service. One Twitch channel, aptly named Morbius247, began streaming the film around the clock and went viral after a mere 12 hours. The bizarre channel and its Morbius-only content gained notice on Twitter and racked up thousands of concurrent viewers, many pretending to be diehard Morbius fans eager to watch the film repeatedly. Because Twitch is commonly used to stream video games, many watchers began jokingly referring to Morbius as a video game rather than a film.
The original Morbius247 channel was shut down by Twitch, citing copyright violations. However, other copycat channels have begun to host Morbius streams. Some streams of other vampire-related media, such as the Castlevania series, the vampire survival title V Rising, and even the Twilight films were called Morbius streams instead.
It's Morbin' Time
Leto's titular character never actually says the phrase 'It's Morbin' time' in the film, but fans online quickly turned the made-up phrase into Dr. Morbius' catchphrase, possibly because of the inherent silliness of the word "Morbius." The phrase comes from "it's morphin' time," commonly used in various TV shows and games based on the Power Rangers.
The actor himself ultimately acknowledge the Morbin' time meme, posting a short video on Twitter of himself saying the phrase and insisting it would appear in an upcoming sequel. However, it seems that Leto's announcement was simply a joke referencing the film's unexpected memetic popularity, and no second Morbius film is currently announced.
Castlevania as a Morbius Prequel
Because of the character Michael Morbius' vampiric nature, some video game fans have joked that he is descended from iconic literary vampire Dracula - specifically, the version appearing in Capcom's video game series Castlevania. The Castlevania games, as well as their Netflix animated series, have been facetiously referred to as prequels to Morbius. Photoshopped images have been produced showing Castlevania's Dracula shouting phrases like, "It's Morbin' time," used as evidence that Morbius is a descendant of Dracula.
Morbius Joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Although the roster of fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is complete, with Kingdom Hearts' Sora being the game's final DLC fighter, fans have jokingly insisted that Michael Morbius will be added as a playable character. "Leaked footage" of Morbius' debut trailer has been shared; though this primarily consists of edited still images. "Morbius for Smash" memes are usually accompanied by mock announcement phrases such as "Morbius Morbs Out" or "Morbius Sucks the Competition Dry." Morbius is occasionally portrayed fighting Simon or Richter Belmont, vampire hunters hailing from the Castlevania series who appear as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Connecting Morbius to Among Us
Another meme arising from the silly nature of the word "Morbius" has fans making false etymological charts claiming it has a linguistic connection to Among Us, the social deduction game that gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This meme claims that "Morbius" shares the same morphological roots as "Amongus," connecting to a previous meme in which the title of the game was rendered as one word.
This meme has spawned pictures of Jared Leto and his character drawn as Crewmates, the playable characters from Among Us. Because Michael Morbius is a vampire, he is usually depicted as a villainous Impostor killing other Crewmates. Additionally, Morbius has been jokingly connected to other words and phrases ending in -us, including various types of fungus, a memetic picture of an overweight Bugs Bunny referred to as "Big Chungus," and actor Norman Reedus - who played lead character Sam Porter Bridges in the game Death Stranding.
A Nonexistent Morbius Video Game
Fans on Twitter have taken to sharing false edited photos of a nonexistent video game based on the Morbius film, often claiming to have found it at a yard sale or thrift shop. The Morbius game is usually portrayed as having been released in the early 2000s for consoles such as the Nintendo DS or Wii. The meme continues with other fans pretending to remember the game, referring to it as a childhood favorite. It is sometimes thought of as an action-platformer, and favorably compared to the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Memes relating to Morbius eventually became so prevalent that Sony took notice, announcing Morbius would return to select theaters in the United States for a limited time, beginning on Friday, June 3. While neither Leto nor Sony have announced whether the memes will lead to a second Morbius film, a spin-off video game, or the character appearing in other games such as future Spider-Man titles, it is possible given Morbius remains one of the most talked-about pieces of media currently on the Internet.