Image via Sony
As Marvel gears up to move into their Phase 4 slate of movies, Sony has revealed their next move. Capitalizing on the joint custody they have of Spider-Man, coupled with the large group of characters they are set to introduce into the Spider-Man Universe they are building, they dropped the trailer for Morbius, starring Jared Leto.
The character itself has been steeped in Spider-Man lore since his introduction in the early '70s, and Leto’s portrayal of the classic antihero appears to stick close to the comic book source material. With his solo movie set to be released this summer, here’s everything you need to know about Morbius, the living vampire.
The origin
Introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct. 1971), Michael Morbius is a brilliant biochemist who was born with a rare blood disease. Seeking a cure, he travels to international waters attempting to use electro-therapy and fuse his blood with bats to try and cure himself. He succeeds in this endeavor, however, the remedy also comes with harrowing side effects. By the sheer force of science, he accidentally transforms himself into a vampire-like creature with enhanced agility, strength, and thirst for blood.
Morbius becomes one of Spider-Man’s earliest villains, struggling to do good while (at times) submitting to his bloodthirsty urges. Judging by the teaser trailer, Sony has made sure that Leto's portrayal will play closely to Morbius' comic book origins.
The living vampire
Morbius also appears to be closely following the comics when it comes to Morbius’ powers. From what we see in the teaser trailer, this version of Morbius will have superhuman strength, the ability to utilize echolocation and the insatiable desire to consume blood, just like in the original comics. Despite having vampire-like qualities, Morbius is not a literal vampire, meaning he is not weak to common vampire tropes like garlic, sunlight or crosses.
In the comics, Morbius also has an accelerated healing factor (think Wolverine or Deadpool), allowing him to recover from things like bullets and broken bones in hours to a few days (respectively). The jury's still out on if Morbius' bite can turn those bitten into vampires; it's happened on occasion in the comics, but his bites usually kill or severely injure his enemies.
Which universe does 'Morbius' take place in?
There is a lot of confusion on whether this movie will take place in Marvel's Cinematic Universe or Sony's Marvel Universe. Sony shares joint custody of Spider-Man with Marvel Studios, allowing each studio the right to use the character in their respective universes. In the Morbius trailer, there's a reference to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man via the "MURDERER" graffiti scrawled over a Spider-Man image on a wall, referencing the post-credit scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Not only should you expect different references and Easter eggs to the now-exposed Peter Parker throughout Morbius, but hopefully we'll get a Spider-cameo.
The Sinister Six
The end of this trailer really slapped. As previously mentioned, Michael Keaton reprises his role as Vulture, making an appearance at the end of the trailer and leaving the door wide open for the Sinister Six. In the comics, the Sinister Six are a collection of Spider-Man’s most notorious enemies, with its original cast including Doctor Octopus, The Green Goblin, Electro, Mysterio, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter. With Vulture and Mysterio already established characters in the Spider-Man universe, Morbius might be the film that brings other villains into the mix. Regardless, all roads appear lead to the Sinister Six.
Another antihero
Similar to how Venom was portrayed in his solo film, Morbius appears to be more of an anti-hero than a flat out villain based on this teaser. In his original appearance in the comics, Michael Morbius did not enjoy sucking blood or killing others, initially trying to kill himself after his transformation. Morbius tows the line of hero and villain in the comics, helping others while at the same time feeding his primal urges of sucking blood to maintain power. There are shots in the trailer showing him locked in a glass box, likely of his own fruition in order to stop himself from hurting others, so this movie could follow that storyline as well.
Regardless, the introduction of characters like Morbius and Blade feels like the heralding of a new, more sci-fi-centric era of superhero films that might dominate the genre this new decade.