/Film Showdown: Morbius Or Edward Cullen
Two brooding bloodsuckers enter, but can they both survive?
Edward Cullen burst onto the scene back in Stephanie Meyer's 2005 novel "Twilight." He was turned into a vampire in 1918 after contracting a nasty case of influenza. The doctor who non-consensually sired him, treated him as a son, and taught him to survive on animal blood, but Edward wasn't so keen on a "vegetarian" lifestyle in his younger years. Forced into a life he never would've chosen, Edward rebelled, and stalked and killed bad guys to quench his vampiric thirst. Eventually, his moral compass directed him back to Carlisle, and the two men became family again. Now, Edward hates himself for being a vampire, and a murderer, so he spends a century perfecting self-pity. Meanwhile, Carlisle continues to sink his fangs into the dying, and adds two men and three women to the family. Together, they form the formidable Cullen Clan, who choose to hide what they are and live among humans.
Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Dr. Michael Morbius is a Marvel antihero, who first appeared in 1971's "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic. In his human life, Morbius suffered from a rare blood disease that severely limited his mobility and kept him in a weak, and fragile state. A passionate biochemist and hematologist, Morbius discovered a cure for his disease by combining human and bat DNA. After injecting himself with the blend, Morbius is cured of his illness, but cursed with a hunger for human blood. He fights his thirst with an artificial concoction, but it's a temporary solution. In the end, only the real thing can sustain him, but he spares the innocent, and feeds on bad guys ... most of the time.
Two of the most emo, self-loathing vampires to ever exist square up, and find out that the only thing they hate more than themselves is bloodlust. Who will win? Let's find out.
Echolocation vs. telepathy
Morbius gained an interesting hodge podge of advantages after his genetic transformation. In his vampiric form, the doctor has claws and fangs, which can be used to savagely rip open his prey and drain them of blood. Along with these physical attributes, Morbius also gains superhuman strength, reflexes, and speed. All of these things come in handy for a quick satisfying blood letting, which is why it's standard vampire stuff.
Cullen also has fangs with extraordinary strength, reflexes, and speed. In fact, among the Cullen clan, Edward is known to be the fastest. He's not equipped with claws, but he can rip his prey's head and arms off without really trying, so I call that even.
The real interesting stuff that sets these two vampires apart resides below the physical.
Thanks to his bat DNA, Morbius has the advantage of echolocation, which is essentially sonar. This would be an advantage in a fight with Cullen, who has a tendency to run or hide in order to avoid conflict. One screech could potentially reveal Cullen's position and force him out of hiding. However, because Cullen is telepathic, he might have a chance to escape from Morbius' revealing shriek by reading his thoughts. Morbius' ability to fly with wind currents makes his range pretty impressive, and it's safe to say Cullen wouldn't be able to hide forever.
When the two eventually meet, morality might play a bigger role than superhuman abilities.
Human blood vs. animal blood
The Cullens pride themselves on abstaining from human blood. They choose to quench their thirst with the life force of animals instead, but this makes them weaker than blood-drinking vampires. It seems Edward and the rest of the Cullens prefer moral superiority over physical victories, but Morbius doesn't have that luxury.
At first, Morbius attempts to survive on an artificial blood source he created, but it stops working. Without human blood, he becomes weak and frail, and will eventually die, which forces him to choose between human blood or death. Understandably, he chooses blood, but he only feeds on those he deems guilty or corrupt.
Both vamps have a moral compass about their blood drinking, but Cullen's "vegetarian" diet would put him at a disadvantage. During a battle, Morbius' abilities would be powered up by their preferred source, human blood, while Cullen's system would be wobbling around on vampire tofu. Morbius would be in peak physical condition with fine tuned senses, putting him at a significant advantage, unless he's outnumbered. One soy powered vampire might not be a match for Morbius, but he could have his hands full with a clan full of them.
Family vs. lone living vampire
The Cullens have issues — Carlisle can't seem to keep his fangs to himself, Jasper is always on the verge of massacring high school students, and Edward is one My Chemical Romance song away from stepping into the sun — but they're a family. The chances of them allowing Edward to battle Morbius alone are unlikely, which could make up for Edward's weaknesses and even put him at an advantage. While Morbius has allied with Spider-Man, Blade, and S.H.I.E.L.D., the relationships are temporary and often born from convenience instead of affection or loyalty.
Given The Cullens' more docile nature, they would try to reason with Morbius before fighting him. They might even offer to help him find another way to survive. Would Morbius find a reason to accept their offer?
Truce?
Carlisle, Edward, and Morbius are all highly educated people with medical degrees. Morbius clearly wins the intelligence battle because he's often described as a genius and even holds a Nobel prize, but the Cullens are a lot better at controlling their thirsts and animalistic urges. Without human blood, Morbius is overtaken by bloodlust and is no longer in control of himself, which often results in the murder of innocent people. While it is unlikely animal blood is a permanent answer to his problem, it's possible that the Cullens could help him find an alternative food source. After all, Morbius may be a genius, but Carlisle's been a vampire since the 1600s, and all that experience is bound to come with knowledge Morbius may not have.
Maybe, just maybe, the meeting of these two reluctant blood drinkers is the beginning of a beautiful convenient friendship. Or one of them will rip the other to shreds and find another reason to hate themselves. It could go either way.