Morbius, the Living Vampire, real name Dr. Michael Morbius, Ph.D., M.D., is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and originally designed by penciler Gil Kane, he was at first depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (October 1971).

Despite his initial status as one of Spider-Man’s horror-based rogues and also an adversary of the vampire hunter Blade, responsible for turning Blade into a dhampir, Morbius went on to become a brooding, gritty and tragically flawed protagonist in his own series and other titles starting in the 1990s. His true identity is that of former award-winning biochemist Michael Morbius who was imbued with pseudo-vampiric superhuman abilities and physical traits after a failed biochemical experiment which was intended to cure his rare blood disease, rather than originating from supernatural means. The rest of his appearances feature his struggles with his pseudo-vampiric persona, his insatiable lust for human blood and his subsequent efforts to cure his horrific condition, along with his eventual stint as a brutal and nightmarish vigilante, occasionally returning to villainy.

The character has appeared in several media adaptations outside of comics including animated shows and video games. Jared Leto portrays Michael Morbius in the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe film Morbius (2022). IGN ranked the character as Spider-Man’s 19th-greatest villain of all time.