- Looking for another version of Morbius? Check out the Morbius disambiguation page.
Morbius is the sixth episode of season two. While Peter Parker's worst fears are realized Michael Morbius is transformed into a living vampire.
Plot[]
As Spider-Man web swings through New York City he says to himself that he's been fighting against his mutation but Mariah Crawford might have found a cure for him. As Spider-Man continues to web swing he hears an alarm coming from a pawn shoppe and chases after the thieves who drove off in their car. As Spider-Man catches up with them he lands on top of the car and forces the sunroof open and grabs one of the thugs. However, Spider-Man begins to feel intense pain in his side. As Spider-Man looks up he sees that the car is headed for an oncoming truck and the car swerves and hits a fire hydrant and Spider-Man falls on to the ground. The thugs notice Spider-Man lying on the ground and walk up to him to kill him. However, the police arrive and chase the thieves away. As the police follow after them Spider-Man swings off.
The next day at the Hardy Foundation, Spider-Man arrives and tells Dr. Crawford of the pain in his side he has been feeling. Mariah tells Spider-Man that her new formula might reverse his mutation process. However, Dr. Crawford says that she would like to run more tests to see if there are any side effects. Spider-Man demands she give him the cure. However, Mariah replies that the serum might take away his powers or even kill him and that she can't do that in good conscience. Spider-Man reminds Mariah that her conscience didn't stop her from using an untested serum on her boyfriend, Sergei Kravinoff, and when it turned him into the mad man, Kraven the Hunter, she was able to cure him. However, Mariah still refuses to give Spider-Man the cure so he starts to tear up the lab looking for it. Mariah then gives Spider-Man the cure. Just then two security guard who heard Spider-Man tearing up the lab barge in and start to shoot at him. However, Spider-Man jumps out a window and swings away.
Later that night at Empire State University, Michael Morbius and Debra Whitman walk to the ESU Science Hall. As Debra tells Morbius that he has already worked on his Neogenics project for twenty-four hours straight and asks if he ever sleeps. Morbius answers that he never sleeps when he competes. Debra then tells Morbius that she is going home and Morbius tells her to sleep well.
Only a few moments later Peter Parker is in the ESU science lab and decides to test the serum on a sample of his blood to see how it reacts to his DNA instead of using it on himself. However, Peter hears a noise and locks a vile of his blood in a locker. However, Peter sees that the lab mice, named Micky, accidentally knocked over its food and that's what caused the noise. Peter starts to experience more pain in his side and states that this time it hurts more than before. Peter then leaves the lab but Morbius walks in and takes his blood sample out of his locker. Morbius then studies the blood sample and learns that the blood has been genetically engineered and that it might be able to give another person power. However, Morbius believes that this was Peter's Neogenics project to win the position as Curt Connors research assistant.
The next day Felicia Hardy goes to the attic of the ESU science building and finds Michael Morbius and they kiss. Felica then sees a device and asks if it is a Neogenic Recombinator. Morbius answers that it is and reveals that he stole equipment and power from ESU to operate it. Felicia then asks why he has to be so secret about his Neogenics project. Morbius answers that if he is to win Connors' the grant money for ESU, he must have an edge. Morbius then reveals that his research is to find a cure for a strange disease that is afflicting his hometown in Europe. Just then a bat flies by Felicia and it frightens her. Morbius reveals that he is studying vampire bats because he believes they carry and spread the disease that is afflicting his people. Morbius then tells Felicia to relax because he won't let anything harm her.
Later that evening Peter follows Mary Jane Watson and thinks to himself that he feels bad for not calling her all week but he is afraid and believes that they can't have a relationship if he mutates into a creature. As Peter walks away Mary Jane sees him and calls his name. However, Peter continues to walk off. Mary Jane then tells Liz Allen that she thinks Peter has been ignoring her all week. Liz jokes around and says that if Peter is ignoring someone as beautiful as her it can only mean that he isn't human anymore.
Back in the ESU attic Morbius is determined to know how Peter created the Neogenic blood but all of his tests have revealed nothing. Morbius then turns on a tape recorder to record his experiment. Morbius then turns on the Neogenic Recombinator and exposes the blood to the Recombinators beam. However, one of Morbius' vampire bats gets lose and gets in the path of the Neogenic Recombinator's beam and brinks Peter's blood. As soon as Morbius realizes that the bat is messing up his experiment he tries to shoo off the bat. However, the vampire bat bites Morbius on the hand which causes him to pass out.
As Spider-Man's pain subsides he goes web swinging through New York City but decides not to fight any crime because the pain is to unpredictable. Spider-Man then stops at a building and asks Bruce the gargoyle if it is wrong of him to want to keep his powers.
Minutes later Morbius wakes up and says to himself that the bite from the vampire bat somehow made him feel stronger. Morbius even learns that he is able to fly. However, as Morbius looks at his reflection in a mirror he sees that he now has whit skin, and fangs. Morbius is terrified by what he sees and tells himself that he must reverse what happened to him. But a hunger comes over Morbius and he flies out the window.
A short while later Spider-Man (still talking to Bruce) realizes that he is running away from everyone that is trying to help him. Meanwhile, back at Empire State University, Morbius attacks a student and drains his blood through suckers on the palm of his hand. Some nearby students hear his screams and run over to help him. Morbius looks on from a nearby roof top and learns that the hunger he felt was for blood. Morbius then attempts to drain the blood of another student but is tackled by Spider-Man. As Morbius flies to a nearby roof top Spider-Man shoots his web and goes after him. However, when Spider-Man gets to the roof Morbius is nowhere to be found. Morbius then flies behind Spider-Man and Spider-Man's spider sense goes off right before Morbius tackles him. As they fight Spider-Man once again feels the pain in his sides. Morbius then flies at Spider-Man to drain his blood. However, Morbius realizes that he must not harm anyone else and flies past Spider-Man. As Spider-Man wonders who he was he sees a tape recorder lying on the roof and he picks it up. As Spider-Man plays the recording on the tape he learns that the vampire was Michael Morbius and that he was transformed into a vampire by the blood sample Peter left in his locker at ESU. Spider-Man then blames himself for what happened and promises to find a cure for him. Spider-Man then starts to search the ESU campus for Morbius. However, Spider-Man realizes that Morbius will go to Felicia.
Moments later Peter arrives at Felicia's apartment and tells her that something has happened to Morbius and that she needs to stay away from him. Peter then tells Felicia that Morbius is dangerous. However, Felicia believes that Peter is jealous that she is seeing Morbius and that he came to her apartment to scare her into not seeing him anymore. Felicia then kicks Peter out. As Felicia sits on her couch, she hears a soft voice call her name. As Felicia walks to the balcony, she sees Morbius as a vampire and is terrified. From outside Peter hears her screams and runs to help her. Back at the apartment Morbius is about to drain her blood but stops himself because he doesn't want to hurt Felicia. Spider-Man then jumps through an open window and tackles Morbius. Spider-Man then calls Morbius by name and tells him that he needs help. Morbius then starts to wonder how Spider-Man knows his name. As Morbius stands up he flies out the window. As Spider-Man follows Morbius he notices that he is not as strong as before and that it must be because he hasn't drunk any blood recently. Spider-Man then follows Morbius back to ESU and as he catches up to Morbius he grabs hold of him. The both of them then fall on to a roof top where Morbius attempts to drink Spider-Man's blood. However, the sun comes up and it transforms Morbius back into a human. A guard sees by Spider-Man by Morbius and believes that he harmed him. Spider-Man then runs off. Spider-Man realizes that it is because of him that Morbius turned into a vampire, so Spider-Man decides to take Dr. Crawford's formula to remove his spider powers and cure himself.
That evening as night falls Felicia goes to the hospital to visit Morbius. However, as soon as the sun goes down Morbius turns back into a vampire and flies out of his hospital room window. From another building Morbius looks at Felicia knowing that he can't be close to her without eventually harming her.
Sometime later Dr. Crawford studies the effects of the serum on Spider-Man's DNA and finds something troubling. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, the police investigate Morbius' disappearance. The nurse says that Morbius couldn’t have left alone, since he was comatose. Felicia is there as well and tells the police that no one could have abducted him without being seen except for Spider-Man. She says that he put Morbius here in the first place and wonders if he kidnapped him. The police think that Spider-Man has gone too far, and they put out an APB for Spider-Man. At that very moment Mariah calls Sergei Kravinoff who is in Africa and tells that she ran some tests on the serum she created to cure Spider-Man. However, instead of curing his mutated cells, it actually accelerated the mutation, meaning that if Spider-Man takes the serum right now, it will start to change him immediately. Meanwhile, at the Parker house, Peter takes the serum. Peter then experiences excruciating pain and grows four extra arms.
Cast[]
| Actor |
Role |
|---|---|
| Christopher Daniel Barnes | Spider-Man / Peter Parker |
| Jennifer Hale | Felicia Hardy |
| Nick Jameson | Michael Morbius |
| Susan Beaubian | Mariah Crawford |
| Sara Ballantine | Mary Jane Watson |
| Marla Rubinoff | Liz Allen |
| Gregg Berger | Sergei Kravinoff |
| Liz Georges | Debra Whitman |
| Rick Dano | Additional voices |
Cameos[]
- Wolverine (Mentioned only)
- Curt Connors (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
- North America
- America
- New York
-
- Manhattan
- Hardy Foundation
- Felicia Hardy's apartment
- Empire State University
- Morbius' lab
- Morbius' dorm room
- Hospital
- Queens
- Europe
- Romania
-
- Dracula's castle
-
Items[]
Continuity[]
- At the beginning of the episode when Spider-Man starts to feel pain in his side he mentions Wolverine. Spider-Man first met Wolverine in the last two episodes, The Mutant Agenda and Mutants' Revenge.
- Spider-Man references the events of Kraven the Hunter when he talks to Mariah Crawford.
- The lab mouse, Micky, first appeared in Night of the Lizard.
- While Spider-Man is searching the ESU campus for Morbius he remembers back to when Felicia dumped him for Morbius and learned that he would go after her. This happened at the end of the episode, Battle of the Insidious Six.
Trivia[]
- This episode and Enter the Punisher is based on Amazing Spider-Man #101 (October 1971) and Amazing Spider-Man #102 (November 1971) which is part of a story arc known as The Six Arms Saga.
- During the episode Michael Morbius mentions Bela Lugosi. Bela Lugosi played Count Dracula in the 1931 movie, Dracula.
- When Morbius talks to Felicia about the disease that is affecting his home there is a brief shot of a castle with bats flying away from it. This castle might be Count Dracula's castle.
- In the comics Morbius had the blood disease that he says all his people has. However, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Morbius appears to be healthy and is looking for a cure for his people instead of himself.
- After Morbius discovers that he has turned into a vampire he calls his white skin translucent. However, his skin actually is not translucent. Translucent means that light can pass through a solid object. A more accurate statement would be that his skin has no pigment.
- After first meeting Morbius (as a vampire), Spider-Man briefly mentions the 1975 movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- After Spider-Man learns that the vampire he fought is Michael Morbius, Spider-Man states that Morbius is in the same Neogenic nightmare that he is in. Neogenic Nightmare is the chapter title prefix that ran through the entire second season.
Episode review[]
A review by Amazing Spidey from Marvel Animation Age
This is where the censorship kicked into a ridiculous gear. Despite the fact Morbius was an interesting character, both before and after his transformation, from his origin episode up until his joining Blade to fight vampires in later seasons, it was incredibly difficult to take Morbius plasma draining seriously. He's a vampire and vampires drink blood. Any child knows this, the censors should too.
It was successful in continuing the bigger story, Spider-Man fighting his disease, in fact, the following 3 episodes were a big part of it. I always liked Spidey feeling responsible for Morbius' condition, and especially liked how Morbius was bitten by the neogenic vampire bat. I've always found Morbius to be pretty boring in the comics, but his character here was pretty interesting. It's just it's completely dragged down by his plasma sucking ways. Bloody Fox.
Some parts seemed too rush to have any lasting effect, such as Spider-Man's speech about moving away to spare his friends and family, but overall, it was an interesting episode ruined by censorship. The unfortunate part is this laughable plasma storyline took over the majority of the Neogenic Nightmare story. This 3-part tale is its high point, but this particular episode doesn't live up to the following episodes.
The ending, however, was in a class of its own. I'll never forget watching it as a child, seeing my hero scream as 4 extra arms ripped through his sides. I wasn't aware that the 6 arms were coming and seeing them on the screen just shocked me. Yo an 8-year-old, this show was wildly unpredictable. But hell, as cool as this ending was, the next episodes' finale topped it.
Quotes[]
"I've been racing for my life, racing against time. But now there's someone who can stop the mutation that's eating away at me. She's been working on the cure. Now she says she may have found it."
(An alarm at a jewelry store goes off and Spider-Man sees some men in ski masks.)
"Hu? It's possible that this is some kind of inner city midnight ski team. But I don't think so."
- -Spider-Man
"Parties over for you crash dummies."
(Spider-Man starts to feel pain in his side.)
"Feels like I'm getting a massage from Wolverine! From the inside!"
- -Spider-Man
"I can't believe it! After all the super villains I've fought in the end I'm gonna be ventilated by a bunch of street hoods!"
(The police arrive and chase after the thieves before they can kill Spider-Man.)
"Talk about dumb luck. Who says cops are never around when you need them?"
- -Spider-Man
(Spider-Man jumps through a window and scares Mariah Crawford.)
"Do you ever use a door?"
"Un un. Don't believe in 'em."
(Spider-Man feels pain in his side again.)
"Are you alright?"
"No. Pain in my side. Tell me some good news."
"Look at this. My new serum seems to reverse the mutation process. The cells in your blood sample are returning to normal."
"So you found a cure?"
"Maybe. There normal now but who knows what will happen in time. We have to wait"
"I can't wait. Doc Connors said I could mutate into some monster any day now."
"If my calculations are wrong this serum could remove your spider powers, or destroy you. Is that what you want?"
"What I want is to be my old self again. You must give me that new serum!"
"I can't! Not in good conscience."
"Conscience? Your conscience didn't keep you from using an untested formula on your boyfriend, Sergei Kravinoff. And when the toxin in the serum turned him into that mad man Kraven the Hunter you found a cure and made him normal again. If anyone can halp me you can. Now please hand me that serum or I'll find it myself!"
(Spider-Man starts to tear up the lab looking for the serum.)
"Wait your not being rational!"
"Just give me what I need!"
"Stop! Spider-Man don't! Look at yourself! Your acting like the monster you don't want to become!"
"Your right. What am I doing?"
"No more violence. Here take it."
"I'm sorry. Forgive me."
"No apologizes. Not after all you did for me and Sergei. But as your friend I'm warning you. Taking this serum could be a big mistake."
"I'll be careful. I promise."
- -Mariah Crawford & Spider-Man
"Sleep well Debra. Sleep the sleep of the dearly departed."
- -Michael Morbius
(Morbius kisses Felicia Hardy.)
"Michael!"
"You were expecting, maybe, Bela Lugosi?"
"Very funny! See if you were expecting this."
(Felicia kisses Morbius.)
- -Felicia Hardy & Michael Morbius
"But why go to all the trouble to set this up?"
"It was no trouble. I borrowed the. . ."
"You meant pilfered."
"Borrowed the equipment form Dr. Connors lab. I will return it when the time is right."
"Is this an actual Neogenic device?"
"One of them. And the school is kind enough to supply the power. Without their knowledge of course."
"Doesn't that make you feel just a little guilty?"
"Not at all. The school will benefit if we get the grant money."
"Wouldn't it be easier to work in the school's lab? Why all this secrecy Michael?"
"Because in America those who succeed must have an edge."
"I didn't realize winning that research job was so important to you."
"You are wealthy. You do not know poverty, the suffering I have seen. My village was a beautiful place before the appearance of a mysterious virus. Now it is being destroyed. It takes no one of wealth, no one of privilege to rescue it. I promised my countrymen that I would learn in America and be a success. Then one day I would return with a cure. I can not fail them."
"Michael. I had no idea."
- -Felicia Hardy & Michael Morbius
"Mary Jane. I feel like a heel for not having called her all week. But what can I say! Hi, lets hav a relationship. By the way I'm turning into a mutant! Next time you see me I might look like your last nightmare."
"Hey, isn't that Peter Parker?"
"Peter!"
"Guess he didn't hear you MJ."
"Or he didn't want to hear me. I think he's been avoiding me Liz."
"If a man avoids a major babe like you it can only mean one thing."
"What?"
"He isn't human any more."
"Ya right."
- -Peter Parker, Liz Allen, & Mary Jane
"My pains gone for the moment. How could I live without web slinging. But tonight just exercise, no crime fighting. The pains too unpredictable. Hey Bruce, what do you think? It's not wrong for met to want to keep my powers is it? Knew you'd agree."
- -Spider-Man
"Personal science log. The bite from the bat some how made me feel stronger. I feel energy surging through me. I can hear every heart beat around me. I can defy gravity. Ha ha incredible! No! My face! Skin translucent! Nasal structure distorted! I, I've got to reverse this! There is something else. . . I feel a hunger!"
- -Michael Morbius
"Dr. Crawford tries to help me. I run away. Just like I've run away from Mary Jane. Do we sense a pattern here? Bruce, I've finally figured out what I'm mutating into. . . a real jerk."
- -Spider-Man
"Thanks for listing. I know what I have to do now. I'm gonna go back to Dr. Crawford so she can finish her tests. And I'm gonna spend more time with MJ. I need her now more then ever. I wonder if she's still on campus."
- -Spider-Man
"Where'd that refugee from a The Rocky Horror Picture Show go?"
- -Spider-Man
"Michael Morbius? Messing with a stolen sample of my blood? I never should have left it at ESU! Now Morbius is in the same Neogenic Nightmare I'm in. If I can't save myself, at least I can try to save him. Why is it that every thing I touch, everything that touches me is poisoned?"
- -Spider-Man
"I'll feed on you!"
"Don't feed on me! You don't know where I've been!"
- -Michael Morbius & Spider-Man
"Don't! Spider-Man! Don't hurt me!"
"I won't hurt you Michael. I won't hurt anyone anymore. You've helped me make my decision. I'm going to take Dr. Crawford's serum."
- -Michael Morbius & Spider-Man
”Sergei? At first, the serum seemed to make the cells normal. But just now, they mutated like crazy! If Spider-Man takes it, it’ll change him almost immediately!
(Peter takes the serum.)
”I thought that the serum was going to help me. But the pain, it’s excruciating! No, noooo!”
-Mariah Crawford & Peter Parker