MIDNIGHT SON
THE MAKERS OF MORBIUS – the third franchise in Sony’s everexpanding Spider-Man Universe – want everyone to know that the title character, a brilliant scientist turned bloodsucker, isn’t a vampire. Well, not in the strict sense of the word, anyway. Rather, he is a living vampire, whose vampirism originates from biological, not supernatural, means.
Dr Michael Morbius, as played by Jared Leto, is afflicted with pseudo-vampirism, which imbues him with bloodlust and superhuman abilities, but almost none of the mystical weaknesses that have long plagued traditional vampires: crucifixes, garlic, holy water, stakes, silver… none of these cause him any problems.
That leaves sunlight, the bane of every true vampire’s existence. While Morbius indeed has a strong aversion to it, due to the photosensitive skin that accompanies his mutation, unlike true vampires which typically burst into flames at sunlight’s touch, he can move around in the daytime – although his powers are diminished whenever
