The similarities between Venom and Morbius are not hard to identify, despite the fact that they might not be immediately apparent. Both Morbius, a living vampire, and Venom, a symbiotic symbiote with the ability to infect humans, are fanged Spider-Man villains who have fought on both sides of the law and have peculiar appetites.
Both have starred in their own movies, proving that being Spider-antagonist Man doesn’t prevent one from becoming a movie’s main antagonist… albeit they’ve also worked together with the Wallcrawler (and even each other) on multiple occasions. As if there weren’t enough in common, they’ve both protected subterranean societies (or, in Morbius’ case, multiple).
Despite this, though, these two also have many key differences. Get ready to hone your fangs and lick your green drool off your lip as we dissect the differences between Morbius and Venom.
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Their powers
Physically, both Venom and Morbius are superior to the average human being in every way imaginable. When compared to Morbius, Venom is far superior in every way but one: the living vampire’s healing abilities. Morbius can make a full recovery from even severe wounds, such as shotgun blasts, in a remarkably short amount of time. Even so, Venom’s mending skills are on par, but the symbiote rarely has to deal with bullets (which it “catches” and subsequently expels).
Their abilities diverge greatly otherwise. Peter Parker’s web-swinging and wall-crawling powers are passed on to the Venom symbiote, which can then transform into anything from street clothing to weapons. Consuming blood provides Morbius with sustenance and power boosts, and his bite can transform some people into vampires.
Lightweight and hollow, Morbius’ bones make flying a snap, yet he (typically) needs the fake wings of his traditional outfit to get off the ground. Since Morbius became a vampire through scientific means, he is unaffected by garlic, holy water, or objects of faith. However, unlike conventional vampires, he cannot change shape, hence he cannot transform into a bat.
Each has a unique set of superpowers that come from different places. Morbius’ talents began in an experiment in which he filled his body with electricity and bat genetic material, whereas Venom’s capabilities often stem from the alien symbiote that attaches to a host. Since Morbius’ abilities are not generated by a separate creature, they cannot be “removed” from him in the way that venoms are.
I’m calling it now. Andrew’s Spider-Man vs Tom Hardy’s Venom and Morbius https://t.co/rqM6evBe9S
— The Cheese Shogun (@JarredC137) December 20, 2021
Their weaknesses
While Morbius is protected from many of the threats that would normally harm a vampire, he is nonetheless vulnerable to other forms of danger that would normally be too much for his supernatural brethren to handle.
As an example, he may not die instantly from exposure to sunlight; rather, he is allergic to it and thus experiences considerable discomfort and can be adversely affected if he is exposed to it for an extended period of time. In a similar vein, his reflection is easily apparent on shiny surfaces, rendering the supernatural vampire’s form of concealment useless (as does Venom, who can turn invisible).
To add insult to injury, Morbius is only somewhat more resilient than humans are, especially when he hasn’t feasted in a while, and can be killed by the same sharp metal items and spikes through the heart as any normal person.
Even though Venom is unaffected by regular sunlight, the symbiote nonetheless has a serious problem with flames. Even at decibel levels that wouldn’t be too much of a problem for Morbius, such as the gong of a large bell, venom is particularly sensitive to sonic vibrations. Although neither vulnerability, on its own, would be fatal to the symbiote, it might lead to the separation of the two, leaving the host vulnerable to harm that the symbiote had previously protected them against.
Their Professions
Despite the fact that alien symbiotes in the Marvel Universe aren’t often recognized for having LinkedIn pages, Venom’s hosts have held a wide variety of occupations. The first host of the alien symbiote Venom, Tel-Kar, is a Kree soldier; subsequent hosts, including Spider-Man villain Eugene
“Flash” Thompson and Spider-Man ally Lee Price, are both former members of the United States armed forces. Eddie Brock, the journalist who becomes the most well-known Venom host, ruins his reputation by believing the villain Emil Gregg’s false claims that he is the Sin-Eater. Brock’s transformation into Venom is precipitated by the consequences of Spider-arrest Man’s of the true Sin-Eater.
Michael Morbius, on the other hand, is a biochemist and hematologist who pursues a different kind of truth. When compared to Brock, though, Morbius is genuinely competent at his work; he is so clever that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discoveries and garnered the attention of prominent scientists like Mr. Fantastic, Curt Connors, and Stephen Strange.
Morbius has used his abilities to help the superhero community, including preventing the breakdown of Jennifer Walters’ cells in “Savage She-Hulk” #12 and saving the Punisher’s life in the “Frankencastle” storyline. While a random lightning strike reverses his vampirism in “Peter Parker:
In the Spectacular Spider-Man” #38, Morbius is able to permanently cure himself of his bloodlust and vampire status for some years. However, as seen in issue #12 of “Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme,” all it takes is another tremendous electric shock, this time against Morbius’ will to transform the good doctor back into a living vampire.
One of them has been historically nicer than the other
Michael Morbius’ debut set the tone for him to be presented as a troubled character. Morbius’ human side continuously battles to keep his vampiric impulses at bay, even when he is at his most famished and struggles to recall his humanity and sense of ethics and often behaves nefariously.
As an added bonus, Michael, unlike Venom, has never been able to convince himself that his acts in a powerless state are justified. However, even at his best, he can be arrogant, and he isn’t beyond manipulating others to help him get well; for example, in “Giant-Size Super-Heroes Featuring Spider-Man” #1, he uses the Moon Stone to blackmail John Jameson into becoming the Man-Wolf.
In “Spider-Man Family” #5, Morbius uses the Vaal Talisman to steal Doctor Strange’s powers in an effort to heal a close friend of Lou Gehrig’s disease, an example of the horrible judgments he makes in an attempt to help others.
But venom is more morally grey than that. The symbiote modifies the host’s morality to fit its own, but it usually just fits. Eddie Brock, in his early days as Venom, exemplifies this best by his desire to murder Spider-Man despite his generally heroic actions. Even yet, both Brock, as Venom back then (though he changes), and Mac Gargan, as the Scorpion in his host form, seem to take great pleasure in brutal behavior.
Venom can be different people
For many, Eddie Brock is the archetypical Venom, yet the truth is that Venom may take the form of anyone. Peter Parker, Eddie Brock, Anne Weying (Eddie’s ex-wife), Angelo Fortunato, Mac Gargan, Flash Thompson, Lee Price, and Eddie and Anne’s son Dylan are just a few of the many personalities on Earth who have either become Venom or spent time attached to the symbiote. Venom’s extraterrestrial hosts, such as Tel-Kar, have had their own distinct experiences with the symbiote, which can change appearance to better match its human host’s.
On the other hand, Morbius is unique and singular, much to the character’s relief. However, only a few of the people Morbius has bitten have undergone the same complete transformation into full-fledged vampires. While they develop fangs and a taste for blood, they don’t become eerily white like Morbius or get his red eyes in the process. Specifically, they don’t have Morbius’s resistance to the radiation in his blood, therefore they’ll disintegrate if they absorb enough harm.
Venom’s Popularity is Enormous
Don’t misunderstand us; Morbius does have his supporters. It’s not often easy to cheer against heroes like Spider-Man, but Michael is so nuanced and likable that it’s hard not to. Further, due to the success of his original appearances, his solo adventures were included as a key part of Marvel Comics’ “Vampire Tales” when the series premiered in 1973.
A text piece titled “Blood is Thicker…” in the first issue explains that this was done because “each time this 20th-century vampire has appeared in print, so great has been the outcry to give him his own magazine that finally nothing was to be done but to grant him a place of honor in this premiere issue of VAMPIRE TALES.”
But Venom is so well-liked that he single-handedly defined a decade of comics. Venom was a significant face (both figuratively and literally) of Marvel’s shift in the 1990s toward gritty anti-heroes like Cable, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher.
There was a time when the symbiotic alien Venom appeared in seemingly every comic book as a supporting character or even as the main attraction, and that’s without counting the many spinoffs featuring the character. The debut issue of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s “Venom” series was the estimated seventh best-selling comic of 2018, and the most recent issue (#35, which also features Phillip Kennedy Johnson and a plethora of artists) is projected to be the fifth highest selling issue in 2021.
Venom Has Many spin-off Characters
Merry Marvelites know full well that the Marvel Universe is rife with symbiotes. The fact that so many of them are Venom variations is particularly striking. For instance, the “Venom: Lethal Protector” miniseries introduces five new symbiotes developed in a lab from “seeds” within Venom; some of these symbiotes have special talents in addition to their normal symbiote skills (and some of which, like Scream, have been around ever since).
The symbiote Sleeper, who can produce chemicals from within its own body, is another of Venom’s progeny, and the crimson symbiote Carnage has been Venom’s archenemy for years. And that’s not even counting the large number of New Yorkers who become temporary symbiotes after being exposed to a virus developed from a stray fragment of the Venom symbiote.
Conversely, there have only been a few characters who have copied Morbius’ style. The only normal human to inherit a version of Morbius’ entire power set, down to the inhumanly white complexion, is mercenary and former vampire hunter Vic Slaughter, who was bitten by Morbius when Michael’s powers had been altered by demon blood in a way that made those abilities transferable, among other changes. Also, after Morbius has his demon blood drained, a red-skinned “clone” of Michael named Bloodthirst is born.
Morbius has had fewer on-screen appearances
With 2022’s “Morbius,” the Living Vampire finally gets the lead role in a movie of his own. If not for a brief cameo in a cut scene from “Blade” (released in 1998), this would have been his first appearance in a live-action film period.
Even in the animated arena, Morbius has only appeared in “Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six” and, perhaps most famously, “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” which gave the character suction cups for hands. Not only has Morbius been a playable character in games like “Marvel Avengers Alliance,” but he has also been a pivotal non-playable character in games like “Marvel’s Spider-Man.”
Meanwhile, Venom is popular with the media. Topher Grace’s portrayal of Eddie Brock, the symbiote’s most renowned host, appeared in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and the third film in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” in addition to appearing in both of the films’ respective sequels. The symbiote Venom appears frequently in animated works, though not always with Eddie.
In the “Ultimate Spider-Man” cartoon, for example, the symbiote switches hosts frequently, with Flash Thompson being a major host, while in “Avengers Assemble,” the symbiote chooses none other than Dracula as its suitably toothy other. Morbius has found a comfortable home in video games, but Venom has found an even warmer one; “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” in 2023 will hopefully continue this trend.
Morbius is 100 percent from Earth
Even in his earliest solo stories from the “Adventure Into Fear” comic series, Morbius travels to non-Earthly settings like the planet Arcturus, which may startle readers less familiar with the character. However fantastic Morbius and his abilities may appear, Michael is completely grounded in reality. Despite the occasional supernatural enhancement of his vampirism, both Morbius and the science that grants him his powers are firmly rooted on Earth, even if it would be extremely difficult to reproduce his change in reality.
While the Venom symbiote may have numerous hosts on Earth, it is not a native of the planet itself. The planet Klyntar is where Venom and his symbiote ancestors confined their ruthless creator, Knull, who sprang from the void of space. However, as “Venom” #35 of 2021 indicates, this is highly unlikely to be the case, given the Venom symbiote became an exile while Knull still ruled the rest of its species. When Venom and Spider-Man finally bond in “Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8,” the symbiote travels to Earth disguised as the friendly neighborhood webhead.
Venom has been an Avenger
It’s not unusual for Morbius and Venom to pair up with other superheroes, despite their reputations as lone wolves. The Avengers is the best example of a group when this is not the case (although Spider-ramshackle Man’s anti-Carnage team in “Maximum Carnage” is an exception).
A number of Venom’s hosts have joined the Avengers, though this has often come with a catch. For example, Spider-Man remains an Avenger even after he no longer possesses the symbiote, and Mac Gargan, who is Venom when he joins the Avengers, later joins the Dark Avengers, the villainous counterpart to the original Avengers founded by Norman Osborn. While attached to the Venom symbiote, Flash Thompson does join a heroic Avengers squad, albeit there is a catch: he joins Hawkeye’s Secret Avengers team rather than the main group.
To be fair to the crew, Morbius has a huge impediment standing in his way, namely his bloodlust, which has been known to overwhelm him to the point where even eating plasma non-lethally isn’t enough to stop him from sinking his fangs into someone’s neck. Morbius has demonstrated his reliability as a teammate in organizations like A.R.M.O.R. and the Legion of Monsters, but the Avengers might be unwilling to put their own lives in danger to safeguard the lives of others. Admittedly, the Venom symbiote has had similar appetites (more akin to cannibalism), but not nearly as frequently.
Venom’s main host has a son
Dylan Brock, Eddie Brock’s lone child, plays a significant role in the Venom mythos despite Eddie’s lack of progeny compared to the symbiote itself. Anne Weying, who was formerly married to Brock, secretly gives birth to Dylan, but she quickly hands him over to Eddie’s father Carl because she is afraid Venom will make parenting him too difficult.
Carl, who is estranged from Dylan’s father Eddie, determines he can do a better job of raising Dylan and does so under the false pretense that he is the boy’s biological father. Dylan eventually does meet Eddie, who he initially mistakes for his brother until discovers the reality. Eddie’s ascension to symbiote deity status (in place of Knull) prompts the original Venom symbiote to seek a new host, and Dylan volunteers to be that person.
However, to the best of the readers’ knowledge, Michael Morbius does not have any offspring. Considering how frequently comic book heroes are granted children they were previously unaware of (see Batman, Avalanche, and many others), it’s just a matter of time before Morbius discovers he, too, has a child who eluded his notice. It’s only natural to wonder if Morbius’s vampire tendencies run in the family.
Venom is a two-person show
Venom is all about the contrast of opposites. Like all members of its species, the Venom symbiote must initially form a relationship with another living thing in order to ensure its very survival. This parasite can become so attached to its host that it becomes quite hostile if it is rejected. For instance, when Spider-Man rejects the symbiote, it joins forces with Eddie Brock, who also has a crush on Peter, in an angry plot to bring down the Web-slinger.
It has used psychological manipulation on Eddie on multiple occasions over the years to keep them joined, and at one point it becomes so closely linked to Brock that Eddie’s separation from him is potentially fatal, or at least it would be if Brock’s experience with the symbiote hadn’t toughened him up to the point of tolerating such excruciating pain. Although the symbiote can survive without a host, it nevertheless enjoys having one and has an extremely strong emotional connection to both Eddie and its current host, Dylan.
This is not the case with Morbius. Although he has formed close relationships with a number of people over the years, including ex-fiancée Martine Bancroft and friends Max Modell and Becky Barnes, Morbius typically prefers to be on his own because he worries he will hurt them if his urge to drain the blood of others becomes overwhelming. As a result, Morbius has a hard time connecting with others because nobody else understands his particular brand of vampirism.