Sony’s next outing in the Spider-Man spin-off verse is definitely Morbius. The Living Vampire is a classic Marvel character and has become heavily associated with the web-slinger over the years. But despite this, he’s not exactly an A-List property. Most wouldn’t have a clue who Morbius calls his enemies. Aside from Spider-Man, that is. And even then, that’s highly conditional. So it makes sense that some would be curious as to who might actually wind up playing the antagonist in the upcoming film. Despite not being a widely known name, Morbius definitely has his share of enemies. And it appears Sony may have let slip exactly who Morbius will face in his first solo outing. That Hashtag Show has reported that The Living Vampire will square off against Loxias Crown, aka Hunger.
In the comics, Crown is a mutant who forces Morbius and Spider-Man to work together, as well as Blade. However, reports suggest that the movie aims to deviate from this path. Instead, Crown will be a former friend of Morbius. Someone who has the same blood disease as the titular character. He uses Morbius’s serum to transform into a vampiric terror, going on a rampage and forcing Morbius to stop him. This is noteworthy in that it suggests Morbius would play a very straightforward heroic role, rather than being a real anti-hero. This also raises the question of the film’s rating. Like the recent Venom film, it’s likely the movie will get a PG-13 rating, despite being just as primed for some R-rated horror material.
One major criticism this will likely bring is the lack of originality, in some context. Superhero movies, and stories in general, absolutely love the dark mirror trope. One need look no further than the aforementioned Venom to see that. The titular character wound up facing off against an evil (well, eviler) version of himself in the form of Riot. But that’s not even remotely where the trend ends. Marvel did this with Ant-Man, Iron Man (and arguably Iron Man 2), The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Dr. Strange. Meanwhile, DC isn’t exactly out of the woods, given that Man of Steel pulled out this trope. And Aquaman is set to do the same. And that says nothing of the inevitable clash between SHAZAM and Black Adam in a future sequel. Or Flash and Reverse Flash.
In theory, this is something many of this films prefer to do early, as to show the audience how the hero could have gone wrong. Then get to more original characters later. But it can also easily be seen as lazy and derivative in the extreme. Morbius really is no exception. Especially considering the possibility of other characters who are nothing like Morbius. In Venom’s case, this is somewhat excusable in that many of his most famous enemies are either other Symbiotes, shared enemies of Spider-Man, or characters Sony isn’t likely to have access to. But Morbius is a vampire. It isn’t difficult to see how that can go badly for him or those around him. Still, it’s best to judge when there are actual facts in play. So far there’s no casting information or anything of the sort.
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