After the cancellation of this series, various stories shifted back and forth between portraying Morbius as a conflicted and brutal anti-hero or a tragic character subject to episodes of madness and murder (once again, most often fighting Spider-Man).

Michael Morbius is depicted as a famous biochemist who contracts a rare blood disease which he then tries to cure by using a combination of experimental chemicals, electroshock therapy, and genetic samples of vampire bats.

During the "Rise of the Midnight Sons", a mixture of poison and genuine demon blood alters Morbius' physiology slightly while also restoring his mental capacity, allowing him greater control and awareness even while experiencing bloodlust.

[3][4] Concluding he now has greater control over his condition and wishing to regain some semblance of a normal life, Morbius creates a new cover identity of Dr. Morgan Michaels, while at night secretly acting as a lethal vigilante who only feeds on "the blood of the guilty."

[8] Thomas and penciller Gil Kane then discussed and created the character together, deciding it was more appropriate for the science-fiction based Spider-Man to fight a villain given pseudo-vampiric traits via scientific rather than supernatural means.

Morbius the Living Vampire #1 showed the title character being mutated further, which altered his abilities slightly, revealed he had untapped "psionic" power, and gave him a more rational, introspective nature.

This introduces an ongoing series sub-plot wherein Morbius and his trusted friend Dr. Jacob Weisenthal regularly research treatments and anti-viral serums that may put his disease and his condition as a living vampire both into remission.

Introduced as a rogue CIA agent hunting the Man-Wolf in Creatures on the Loose #37, Stroud had first encountered Morbius in Adventure into Fear #27 and was now determined to end the Living Vampire's life.

Along with this, Morbius appeared in short solo stories featured in the anthology series Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993–1995), as well as in Marvel Comics Presents #144, the one-shot Strange Tales: Dark Corners #1 (May 1998), Amazing Fantasy (vol.

As time went on, Kaminski claimed Wagner often complained about his stories to the editorial staff and left "snide margin notes [in the art] in which he made his personal opinion of my plots clear."

Wagner alleged he expressed concerns Kaminski's stories were too introspective and character-focused when a series about a violent vampire who hunted evil people needed to have more action and bloodshed.

Throughout the rest of the series, Martine shifts from supporting character to occasional antagonist as she sometimes clashes with Morbius due to resentment over the circumstances of her resurrection and the pursuit of restoring her emotions sometimes placing other in danger.

The series ends with Morbius being mutated once again by an anti-viral serum that saves his life, but results in his now once again losing his ability to reason and experiencing blackouts when his bloodlust is too strong.

[25] Michael Alexander Morbius is born and raised in Greece by his single mother, and experiences a largely isolated childhood due to a rare and fatal blood condition.

[27] Later, Morbius encounters Reverend Daemond, the Caretakers of the planet Arcturus IV, the Cat People of the Land Within and Tara the Girlchild,[28] the extra-dimensional demon known as Helleyes,[29] and the Living Eraser.

[30] He also meets other monsters, such as the Werewolf (Jack Russell),[31][32] the Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze),[32] and the Man-Thing (Ted Sallis),[32] and superhuman adventurers such as Blade,[33] the original X-Men[34] and the Human Torch[35] and the Thing,[30] both members of the Fantastic Four.

[36] After this, he befriends desperate landowner Alicia Twain (later avenging her murder)[37] and battles Morgana St. Clair, an enigmatic vampire expert living in England who is a member of a Satanic cult known as the Brotherhood of Judas.

[40] While continuing to research how to stabilize a full cure, Dr. Michael Morbius agrees to stand trial for his several crimes over the years and hires attorney Jennifer Walters (whose identity as the She-Hulk is not publicly known at the time).

[41] Working alongside several allies, the sorcerer Doctor Strange is able to use the "Montesi Formula" (a spell found in the Darkhold) to banish all undead vampires from Earth's dimension.

Years later, alongside the sorcerers Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo, Morbius battles Marie Laveau and witnesses the return of true vampires to Earth.

[42] Frustrated by his repeated failures to cure himself, Morbius takes refuge in the sewers of New York City and discovers a community of underground dwellers who offer to help him in exchange for protection.

Seeing that Morbius is one of the Midnight Sons, the Ghost Rider and Blaze track him down with the aid of Martine Bancroft and her ally Dr. David Langford, a biochemist she hopes can cure Michael at last.

The result of Langford's serum mixed with demon blood creates a new mutagenic agent, altering the Living Vampire's abilities and appearance while also largely restoring his sanity and true personality.

[46] During a battle with the dream-empowered villain Nightmare, Morbius learns that his new mutation due to demon blood has made him immortal in the traditional sense, meaning he can die from injury but no longer ages.

With newly obtained samples of Spider-Man's radioactive blood, Morbius and Weisenthal create an "anti-viral" serum that restores his human form for several hours at a time.

Now able to operate for part of the day as a normal man, Morbius creates the cover identity of Dr. Morgan Michaels and attains a job as a hematologist at St. Jude's Memorial Hospital in New York.

On rare occasion, Morbius' bite has infected a victim with a mutation similar but weaker to his own, giving them some enhanced strength and a desire for blood, but no psionic or healing abilities.

This occurred with his former fiancé Martine Bancroft, as well as the characters Jefferson Bolt (seen in Marvel Team-Up #3), Emilio (seen in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #7), Nate Grey (in X-Man #24), and a homeless woman named Roxy (Legion of Monsters: Morbius #1).

When Morbius was temporarily infected by demonic Lilin blood, his bite caused the bounty hunter Vic Slaughter to become another living vampire with near-equal powers and abilities to his.

As he is not a true undead vampire, Morbius is unaffected by religious symbols or objects considered holy and he is not affected by wood or silver more than other metals or substances that may damage his body.