The Immortal Vampire is the tenth episode of season two. This episode follows Spider-Man and Blade as they track down Michael Morbius. This episode also wraps up Morbius' story arc this season.
Plot[]
After hours of searching Spider-Man and Blade finally locate Morbius. As they chase Morbius, Spider-Man thinks to himself that he must get the Neogenic Recombinator back from Morbius or else he will use it to turn everyone in New York City into vampires. Spider-Man and Blade follow Morbius to the docks but Morbius flies over the river to the other side of the city. Spider-Man tells Blade that he thinks he knows where Morbius is going. However, Blade argues with him. However, Blade still follows Spider-Man. As Spider-Man and Morbius go onto the George Washington Bridge they are spotted by Terri Lee who reports to that other officer that she has spotted Spider-Man. Terri then follows them in her car.
A short while later Spider-Man and Blade arrive at an electronics company called EXG Electronics. After Blade asks what they are doing there Spider-Man answers that before Morbius took the Neogenic Recombinator he removed an CBU computer chip out of the Recombinator so that it wouldn't work. Spider-Man then reveals that EXG Electronics is that only place in the city that makes the CBU chips needed to operate the Neogenic Recombinator. As they get inside Spider-Man and Blade see Morbius searching for the CBU chip. Blade attempts to shoot Morbius with his bow gun but Spider-Man swipes it out of Blade's hand causing the arrow he fired to miss and alerting Morbius of their presence. Blade is angered by this stating he should've known better than to ever team up with Spider-Man and he goes down and fight Morbius. Blade draws his energy sword to finish off Morbius. However, Spider-Man continues to stop Blade from killing Morbius. Terri Lee then arrives and Morbius takes her hostage and flies out of the skylight. Morbius then drops Terri Lee, but Blade catches her before she hits the ground. Spider-Man then goes after Morbius. As Blade sets Terri Lee on the ground, he starts to walk off. However, Terri pulls out her gun, aims it at Blade, and says she has some questions for him. Terri then orders Blade to go to the police station with her to answer some questions. However, Blade knocks the gun out of Terri's hand and walks off.
As Morbius flies off he is tackled by Spider-Man causing Morbius to drop the CBU chip. Morbius then uses his strength, and he orders Spider-Man to give him the chip. However, Spider-Man instead offers to help cure Morbius of his "curse." Although Morbius tells Spider-Man that he is blessed and not cursed by being a vampire. Morbius then grabs the CBU chip and flies away. Spider-Man attempts to follow him but his Web-Shooters are out of web fluid.
Sometime later Terri Lee is able to track Spider-Man and Blade to the theater. As Terri arrives Spider-Man finds her and introduces her to Whistler. Whistler tells Terri that vampires are real, but she has a hard time believing it. Whistler then shows Terri a new device he created. As Whistler activates it a force field is placed around Spider-Man. As Spider-Man jumps out of the way he tells Whistler to be careful. However, Whistler replies that the device only harms vampires. Spider-Man then heads home to get more web fluid. Just as Spider-Man leaves Blade starts to feel pain in his side. Whistler then hands Blade a syringe. As blade walks off Terri asks Whistler what Blade is taking. Whistler reveals that Blade is taking a serum to keep him from fully turning into a vampire. Whistler tells Terri that Blade has a really long story. However, Terri asks Whistler to tell her anyways.
As Spider-Man returns home his spider sense activates. As Spider-Man looks through a window into his room he sees Morbius tearing up his room searching for something. Spider-Man then realizes that Morbius is looking for another sample of his blood. Unable to find a sample of blood Morbius flies away without seeing Spider-Man. However, Spider-Man known that Morbius will keep coming back until he finds what he is looking for.
A short while later Morbius arrives at the Daily Bugle. As a security guard checks Joseph Robertson's office he is grabbed by Morbius and drained of his blood. As Robbie and J. Jonah Jameson walk past the office they see the guard faint and they run over to him. Morbius then steps out of the office and demands to know where Peter Parker is. As Morbius grabs J. Jonah Jameson, Jameson says that he doesn't know where Peter is. Morbius then throws Jameson on the floor and flies out a window. A short while later Peter arrives at the Daily Bugle, and he is questioned by Jameson and Robbie. Jameson asks why the vampire was after him. However, Peter answers that he doesn't know. Jameson then tells Peter that because he never got photos of the Man-Spider or the vampire he wonders why he hasn't fired him yet. However, Peter thinks quickly and says that he will get a picture of the vampire that is behind all the trouble at Empire State University. Jameson agrees but only gives Peter twenty-four hours to get him the picture. Peter then asks Jameson for "something" that will help him get the photo of the vampire. A short while later Peter drives off in an old beat-up van that is owned by the Daily Bugle.
Back at the movie theater Terri Lee finds a photograph of a woman and asks if she is Blade's mother. Whistler answers that she is Blade's mother, and that Blade has been searching for her ever since she abandoned him. Terri Lee then asks Whistler about the serum Blade took earlier and Whistler answers that the serum keeps him from needing to drink blood and it keeps him from turning into a full vampire. At that moment Blade rushes into the room and warns Terri and Whistler that someone is coming. It is Peter Parker and as he enters the room Blade grabs him and demands to know who he is. However, Peter tells Blade that Spider-Man sent him, and Blade lets him go. Peter then tells Blade that Spider-Man has a plan.
Sometime later Peter returns home and his spider sense starts to go crazy. Because of this Peter realizes that Morbius is somewhere nearby. As Peter walks to the front door Mary Jane walks out and tells Peter that she has been trying to find him. Mary Jane tells Peter that she has been trying to find him so that she can save their relationship. However, Peter knows that Morbius is close, so he tells Mary Jane that he wants to date Felicia Hardy. Angered by this Mary Jane walks away. Peter gets upset by this, but then Morbius then jumps off the roof and tells Peter that he will never have Felicia. Peter plays dumb and pretends not to know who he really is. Morbius demands that Peter give him another sample of Neogenic blood. Peter tells Morbius that he has a sample of the Neogenic blood in his van. As Morbius opens the back door of the van Blade activates the force field generator and it traps Morbius. At that moment Peter takes a picture of Morbius for J. Jonah Jameson. Just then Aunt May walks outside wondering what is going on. Morbius is able to break through the force field and flies over to May and grabs her. As Blade is about to shoot Morbius, Peter stops him and begs Morbius to release his Aunt May. Morbius demands to know where Peter kept the Neogenic blood. Peter answers that it is in his locker at Empire State University and then asks Morbius to release May. However, Morbius decides to keep May until he gets the Neogenic blood.
Back at the movie theater Terri says that she feels awful because Morbius abducted May Parker. Blade then tells Terri that they are at war with vampires and sometimes in war innocent people get hurt. This makes Terri angry, and she asks Blade if he forgot how he felt when his mother left him. Blade becomes upset after hearing that and Terri apologizes to him. Blade and Terri Lee then share a kiss. However, Spider-Man shows up and mocks Blade and Terri of having time to enjoy themselves when there's so much at stake. Blade is angered by this and yells at Spider-Man that if he had been there, he could have helped him save May. Spider-Man dismiss this by telling Blade they have no time for petty arguments and needs to think of another plan. But Blade is done with their dysfunctional teamwork and Spider-Man's unsuccessful plans and that he will finish the mission by himself. Spider-Man has had enough of Blade's arrogance and shoved him to the floor and pointed out that Blade's own plans were unsuccessful as well, knocking his weapons off the counter. An enraged Blade lunges at Spider-Man, but Spider-Man throws Blade to the side of the barrels in far more rage than before. He angrily tells Blade and Terri to go back into the caves they flew out of as he is working solo as well and leaves through the same window he entered. As Spider-Man web swings through the city, he thinks about Aunt May being held hostage by Morbius, but gets an idea as to where Morbius might be.
Meanwhile, at Morbius' hideout Morbius approaches May who is unconscious and says that luckily for her he has already fed on blood, so he doesn't need to drain hers. Morbius then says to himself that having May should keep Spider-Man out of his way. Morbius then repairs the Neogenic Recombinator and promises that he and Felicia will soon be together again.
At that moment Spider-Man arrives at Felicia Hardy's apartment because he knows that Felicia will be the first person he will want to turn into a vampire. As Spider-Man looks down to the street he sees Mary Jane and Harry Osborn together and they share a kiss. Spider-Man knows that because he has not been able to spend time with her, she went to his best friend. He is upset by this but focuses on saving Aunt May. Inside the apartment Felicia awakens to the sound of her name being called. Felicia realizes that it is Morbius and she runs over to him. However, when Felicia sees Morbius' face she screams and faints. Spider-Man hears Felicia's scream and sees Morbius flying away with her. Spider-Man then follows Morbius.
A short while later Morbius arrives at a shipyard and takes Felicia into an empty cargo ship. Blade is able to track Morbius by using the compass on his motorcycle. Blade and Terri then arrive at the shipyard to confront Morbius. Meanwhile, inside the cargo ship, Felicia discovers that Morbius was responsible for the plasma disease. Morbius tells Felicia that it was him but reveals that he is now immortal and that he is going to turn her into a vampire so they can be together forever. From outside, Terri Lee accidentally steps onto a dock where the wooden planks break, and Terri falls. However, she is caught by Blade. The sound of the breaking planks alerts Morbius to their presence. As Blade examines the wood, he sees that it was a trap, designed to break, and that Morbius is expecting them. As Blade and Terri run onto the deck of a ship Blade is attacked by Morbius. However, Blade is able to overpower Morbius and wrap a chain around him. As Blade aims his solar weapon at Morbius, Terri Lee runs up and tells Blade not to kill Morbius because she wants to take him into custody. Blade agrees, but Spider-Man arrives and tackles Blade, who retaliates by backhanding him, knocking him down. Morbius then flies into the ship and turns on the Neogenic Recombinator. Spider-Man hears this and attempts to pull a hatch open. Morbius tells Felicia that she must become a vampire to help him defeat Spider-Man and Blade. However, Felicia tells Morbius that the man she fell in love with wanted to stop a plague that was destroying his country. What little bit of humanity is left in Morbius shines through and Morbius agrees to find someone to change him back into a human.
As Spider-Man and Blade break through the hatch in the ship some debris falls and hits the Neogenic Recombinator and causes it to turn on. The beam from the Recombinator gets closer to Felicia. However, Morbius runs over and gets into the path of the Recombinator's beam. This causes Morbius to mutate into a mindless giant bat creature. Morbius then rushes over to Spider-Man and grabs him. Blade attempts to help Spider-Man, however, Morbius knocks Blade into the Neogenic Recombinator which causes its beam to move closer to May Parker. As Morbius holds Spider-Man with his legs he flies into the air. Blade grabs hold of Morbius but is knocked off. However, as Spider-Man is still being held, he knows he can’t lose Aunt May the same way he lost Uncle Ben, and then he is able to break free of Morbius' grip and saves Aunt May. As Morbius and Blade fight Blade gains the upper hand. Realizing he is beat Morbius flies away. As Felicia watches Morbius fly, away she asks Spider-Man what happened to him. Spider-Man answers that the Neogenic Recombinator completely merged Morbius’ genetic code with bat DNA, and because of that, Morbius will never be human again. As Felicia starts to cry Spider-Man embraces her and says that he is truly sorry, more than she can realize. With Morbius now defeated, Blade is about to leave. Terri asks Blade if she will ever see him again and even suggests that they could go on a date. However, Blade tells Terri that that is not a good idea because he does not want her to be harmed by the vampires he hunts. Blade kisses Terri and then drives off on his motorcycle. Peter then takes May home and places her in bed. As Peter walks out of the room May wakes up and tells him that she just had a nightmare. As Peter walks out of May's room he tells her to forget it and to sleep tight.
Spider-Man then web swings through the city and thinks about how Felicia and Morbius were so much in love, and that nobody said that true love conquers everything. Spider-Man also wonders what will happen to Morbius and where Morbius went to. As the sun rises the next day Morbius flies into a cave to sleep. Before Morbius falls into a deep sleep he says goodbye to his one true love, Felicia.
Cast[]
Cameos[]
- Miriam Brooks (Photograph and mentioned)
- Ben Parker (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
-
- Manhattan
- Docks
- George Washington Bridge
- EXG Electronics
- Movie theater
- Empire State University
- Daily Bugle
- Felicia Hardy's apartment
- Shipyard
- Cargo ship
- Queens
- Transylvania (Mentioned only)
- Cave
Items[]
Continuity[]
- This episode takes place only a few hours after Blade, the Vampire Hunter.
- Spider-Man has a flashback to when Morbius became a vampire which happened in the episode, Morbius.
- Mary Jane talks about when Harry Osborn saved her from the Man-Spider. This happened in Duel of the Hunters.
- Michael Morbius mentions the kiss that he and Felicia Hardy shared in the belltower at ESU. This happened in the episode, Morbius.
Trivia[]
- At the movie theater that Blade uses as his base the 1958 movie Horror of Dracula is playing. This is the same movie that was playing in the last episode just with a different title. The movie was called Dracula in other countries but was renamed Horror of Dracula in the United States to avoid confusion with the 1931 Dracula movie which starred Bela Lugosi.
- Spider-Man says the word blood in this episode when he catches Morbius searching his bedroom. The word blood was usually replaced with plasma because of the network censors.
- When Spider-Man catches Morbius searching his room for a sample of his Neogenic blood, Spider-Man has a flashback to when Morbius was turned into a vampire. However, Spider-Man should have no memory of this because at the time of the experiment that turned Morbius into a vampire Spider-Man was not present.
- In this episode J. Jonah Jameson calls Morbius a "Refugee from an Ann Rice novel." Ann Rice is an American author that writes gothic fiction. One of her most known stories is Interview with the Vampire.
- When Peter Parker is talking to J. Jonah Jameson, Peter calls Morbius a "living vampire." In the comics Michael Morbius is known as Morbius, the Living Vampire.
- Toward the end of the episode Spider-Man says, "Whoever said true love conquers all." This saying came from a Latin poet named Publius Vergilius Maro who was more commonly called Virgil.
Episode review[]
A review by Amazing Spidey from Marvel Animation Age
A twist in the Morbius plot, he now wanted to remain a vampire. It makes it hard to sympathize with someone who's willingly hurts people, but well. . . as evident in his first couple of appearances, he was a jerk anyway. He and Felicia were perfect for each other. Thankfully, someone at the end of the episode remembered that Morbius came to America to stop a plague. You can't say the boy wasn't ambitious.
The romantic angle between Blade and Terri Lee (another character brought in!) wasn't anything special. With the past couple of episodes all but ignoring Peter, it was nice to see him here again, even if it did beg the question, how was Peter and Spider-Man going to be at the scene to capture Morbius? Well, they didn't. Spider-Man wasn't there and Blade and co didn't care. It was odd. Especially the scene where Blade shouts, "If you had been there!" and Spidey storms out. Very odd to say the least.
This episode didn't work as well as arguably it should have. When both Felicia and Aunt May were kidnapped, we should've felt more for Peter's potential loss. After all, in the previous episode he'd just lost Mary Jane, now the other 2 important people in his life were near death. . . where's the drama? Lost in a sea of characters. Most of them unneeded. Like this whole arc, unfortunately.
The ending, in which Morbius turning into a giant bat was unexpected, but overall, this episode was a letdown. It wasn't too bad, but because of his later appearance it was basically wasted.
Quotes[]
"I might have spent all night searching for Morbius, but thanks to the vampire compass on Blade's chopper we found him in record time. Blade says we would have found him even sooner, but the compass is ancient, and it works slowly in the modern city. Question is now that we've found Morbius can we stop him? If I don't get the Neogenic Recombinator back from Morbius I'll start to mutate again into that Man-Spider monster, and Morbius will use it to create a whole new race of vampires."
- -Spider-Man
"I think I know where he's headed. Follow me."
"How would you know where he's going!"
"Alright then don't follow me!"
- -Spider-Man & Blade
(Blade saves Terri Lee from falling to her death.)
"Hey! Hey! Hold it right there!"
(Terri Lee points her gun at Blade.)
"You have an interesting way of saying thank you."
- -Terri Lee & Blade
"Please let me help lift your curse!"
"Ha ha ha! I am not cursed. I am blessed! Nothing can stop me! I am immortal!"
(Morbius grabs the CBU chip and flies away.)
"Out of webbing! Way to go Spidey. I'm sure gonna hate explaining this to Blade."
- -Spider-Man & Michael Morbius
"Ya known it's getting so you can't tell the cops from the peeping Toms in this town."
- -Spider-Man to Terri Lee
(Whistler fires a beam at Spider-Man.)
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Relax Spider-Man. It's only a force field of photo photosynthetic particles. It can't possibly harm you. But if you were a vampire you'd be trapped."
"Hey smiley. I'd like to see you fit that on your bike."
"Well perhaps I do need to make it a little more compact."
"I think I'll stick to my webbing. If you'll pardon the pun."
- -Spider-Man & Whistler
"Why does he need a serum, and where did he get those teeth?"
"All vampires have fangs."
"He's a vampire too? But how?"
"It's a long story Ms. . ."
". . .Lee, Terri Lee. Just take it slowly from the top. I'm all ears."
- -Terri Lee & Whistler
"Robbie! What the heck was that?"
- -J. Jonah Jameson after seeing Morbius
"I'm fed up with you and your secrets kid. Now I want the whole story. Why was that refugee from an Ann Rice novel looking for you?"
- -J. Jonah Jameson to Peter Parker
"Who are you! What are you doing here!"
"I'm Peter Parker. Spider-Man sent me."
"He does know Spider-Man. He's cool."
"Knowing Spider-Man does not make him cool!"
- -Blade, Peter Parker & Terri Lee
"If only that generator hadn't blown. I feel terrible about Parker's aunt."
"Don't. This is war sometimes the innocent get sacrificed."
"What's running in your veins, ice water? Have you forgotten how you felt when you lost your mother?"
"Whistler talks too much."
"Blade I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"The ability to feel seeped out of my soul years ago Terri Lee."
"Learning to feel again may not be as hard as you think."
(Blade and Terri Lee kiss.)
(Spider-Man then shows up.)
"I'm glad someone has time to enjoy themselves when there's so much as stake!"
"How dare you! If you'd been there we might have saved the Parker woman!"
"We don't have time to argue! We need to make another plan."
"I'm tired of this teamwork garbage! I'll finish this mission myself!"
"I'm sick of hearing about you and your mission! It's not like any of your brilliant weapons and schemes have worked! Why don't you all go back into the cave you flew out of! I'm working alone again too!"
- -Terri Lee, Blade & Spider-Man
"Mary Jane. I've brushed her off and right into the arms of my best friend, and Aunt May's in the arms of a vampire. What else could go wrong."
- -Spider-Man
"It feels like an eternity since we kissed in the bell tower."
- -Michael Morbius to Felicia Hardy
"Felicia! I'm too late, he's got her! Got to stay on his tail. If I lose him now I lose everything."
- -Spider-Man
"Michael it was you! Your the one responsible for the plasma disease."
"Yes, but it is also true that I am immortal. And you my love, you will be just like me. We'll be together forever."
- -Felicia Hardy & Michael Morbius
"I don't want to be with you. Your not the same man I fell in love with!"
"But I am!"
"No! Listen to me. The man I loved wanted to stop a plague and the pain and suffering it caused. You are a plague! I can't live a life that preys on innocent people. Please Michael don't make me do it."
"Aaaaaaaa! You are right! I do love you Felicia. I must get help to be changed back to my human self. Back to the man you love."
- -Felicia Hardy & Michael Morbius
"I can't lose Aunt May the same way I lost Uncle Ben! If ever my spider strength meant anything at all this is that time!'
- -Spider-Man
"Your time is finished vampire. Accept that fate."
- -Blade
"Michael! What, What happened to him?"
"This power setting completely merged his genetic code with bat DNA. He'll never be human again. I'm so sorry Ms. Hardy, more then you could ever imagine."
- -Felicia Hardy & Spider-Man
"So I guess this is good bye. Will I see you around? Maybe we could catch a movie or something."
"No. It's not a good idea. Forget what you saw tonight. Forget everything. Except this Teri Lee."
(Blade kisses Terri Lee and drives off on his motorcycle.)
"Great. Of all the men in the world I have to fall in love with a vampire. Ha, love who needs it?"
- -Terri Lee & Blade
"Peter. Peter, dear is that you?"
"You called me Aunt May?"
"Oh my. I had the most horrible dream. It all seemed so real."
"Best thing to do is try and forget. Sleep tight Aunt May."
- -May Parker & Spider-Man
"Morbius and Felicia were so much in love. Who ever said true love conquers all? I wonder what will happen to Morbius?"
- -Spider-Man
"So tired. Finally can sleep. Yes. Sleep. Goodbye Felicia."
- -Michael Morbius