When Sam Raimi and company were headed into production with a fourth
Spider-Man film a while back, many were hoping to see Morbius show up on screen, and with someone like Raimi behind the scenes, you know that he would be able to pull it off in a decent manner, despite the negative response of
Spider-Man 3. Well, we all know how things ended up with that film: the Vulture showing up and some made-up girl that is angry; It didn't sound good. Hence, we have our newly re-booted
Spider-Man franchise with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, with Marc Webb behind the camera. Not long ago,
Ed Gross posted that the sequel to
The Amazing Spider-Man would arrive in theaters in 2014. So, in hopes that we get to see something a bit different for the franchise, I've decided to highlight
Morbius: The Living Vampire in my latest installment of
Baddies That Need Movie Love!
Dr. Michael Morbius, a Nobel-Prize winning biochemist, discovered that he was dying from a rare disease that was destroying his blood cells. Not wanting to scare off his new fiance, Martine, he began to work on a cure in secret. Working with his assistant Emil Nikos, they attempted to use distilled fluids from bats to hold off the disease. Combined with an electric shock, the duo had an adverse effect on the doctor, transforming him into something resembling a vampire. Having a sudden urge for blood, Morbius turned on his assistant, nearly draining him of blood. Fearing that he would turn on his beloved Martine next, Morbius threw himself into the water hoping to end his life. However, his will to survive brought him out of the water.
After attacking many innocent individuals for their blood, Morbius was confronted by the likes of Spider-Man, the Lizard and the Human Torch. His adventures have taken him to other worlds and dimensions, including the world of Cat People and a planet orbiting Arcturus. His main purpose in life being to find a cure and to return to his true love, Martine, who he had left behind. She, however, had never stopped looking for Morbius, and convinced him to come home after she had recuited Jack Russell, Werewolf, to assist in finding a cure. While doing this, CIA Agent Simon Stroud was on the search for a killer, whose M.O. resembled that of a vampire and Morbius was his number one suspect. While Morbius and Stroud were out playing tag, Martine was attacked by the true vampire, turning her into a pseudo-vampire, like her fiance. Morbius, using his own blood, created an antidote, curing her of the disease. Having seen his effect on those around him, Morbius ended his relationship with Martine and joined Ghost Rider, Man-Thing and Werewolf (Jack Russell) to form the Legion of Monsters. This group was short-lived and Morbius soon went head-to-head with Spider-Man atop a Long Island mansion. Having taken down Spidey, Morbius was in the process of draining his blood when he was struck by lightening, catalyzing the radioactivity in the blood, reversing most of the effect of the vampirism. He no longer required the blood to survive, only the physiological need to drink it.
In need of money to continue his search for a full cure, he began working for She-Hulk. In turn he created a serum that reversed her degenerative disease and allowed her to control her transformations into the She-Hulk. She also served as his attorney during a trial for the murders he committed will a pseudo-vampire, for which he was sentenced 5 years. He was released early for good behavior. He also assisted the West Coast Avengers in their search for the Cat People.
Morbius' urges, however, returned and he once again reverted back to his vampiric needs, feeding on the innocent people that were brought to him by the Subhumans, with whom he was now living with in the Morlock tunnels. He fled once again, learning that Ghsot Rider and John Blaze were after him. Morbius continued the on-again-off-again pattern for some time, having conflicts with numerous Marvel characters. Most recently, after registering for the Superhuman Registration Act, assisted S.H.I.E.L.D. in trapping Blade in Long Beach, CA to use against Wolverine.
I won't lie here, I'm not a huge fan of Spider-Man and I'm not going to pretend that I know all about him and his counter-parts. After reading up on this character, as he has always intrigued me, I was surpised to see that he has had his "good streaks" and deep down, he's not a bad person. It's just that his drive for blood leads him in a direction that dark and bad, for lack of better words. Having said that, Morbius could make for an interesting rogue in a future
Spider-Man film; especially since Marc Webb looks to be taking things in a darker direction. But, one would have to be careful to to let the story get away and evolve into a teenage drama, a la
Vampire Diaries and
Twilight Films. But a character like this could also keep things from heading into a cheesy direction, which could easily happen with a character like Mysterio or Electro (both of which I'd enjoy seeing on screen as well, by the way, and will likely be featured in this series in the future).
Looking back on many fan-casts here on ComicBookMovie, it seems that a majority of fans would like to see Benicio del Toro take on the role of Morbius. And to be honest, I would be perfectly OK with seeing that come to fruition. Del Toro is an amazing actor and loves t play darker roles like this. But in looking at the cast for
The Amazing Spider-Man, I would think that Sony and Marc Webb (assuming he stays on for future films) would want to stay with the younger, up-and-coming actors for roles, so went the same direction with my choice for the role of Morbius and despite him being 40 years old now, he would be able to fit in well. I would actually like to see this actor take on the Crow, as he has a bit of a Gothic side to him. Jared Leto has been in quite a few films alongside some huge hollywood actors. He is most known for his roles in
Fight Club, Requiem for a Dream and
Alexander. Not to mention this little band called 30 Seconds to Mars. I would be very interested to see what he could do with a role like this, not to mention show off the skills that not many people know he has.
If you have suggestions or want me to highlight a Baddie you'd like to see, be sure to send me an email! I will see what I can do! Be sure to check out the past installments of
"Baddies that Need Movie Love:"
Mr. Sinister
Ultron
Kingpin
Black Tom Cassidy
Omega Red
Brainiac
The Shade
Harley Quinn
Ventriliquist & Scarface
Darkseid
Lady Deathstrike