1 Marvel Movie Hero Gets a Hilarious Rebranding After Their Notorious Box Office Flop

Summary Morbius gets a new heroic persona as Dr. Mike in Blood Hunt, helping find a cure for the vampire curse with Misty Knight.

Rebranding Morbius after the character's cinematic flop may signal a positive new direction for him, distancing the Living Vampire from jokes about his failed movie.

Dr. Mike could be the hero that the Marvel Universe needs, as he could potentially save everyone from the vampire affliction.

Warning: Contains slight spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1!

Following his cinematic disaster, the Marvel vampire anti-hero and Spider-Man villain Morbius is back in the pages of Blood Hunt. Marvel Comics’ crossover event is all about bloodsucking creatures of the night, so it makes sense for the Living Vampire to feature in one of the many tie-ins. However, with help from Misty Knight, Morbius gets a nickname that could help the character rebrand after his unsuccessful transition to film.

In Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1 by Justina Ireland and Marcelo Ferreira, Misty informs Spider-Man that "Dr. Mike" and the Lizard are working on a cure for the vampirism featured in Blood Hunt. When Spidey inquires further about this doctor, Misty confirms that Dr. Mike is the one-and-only Dr. Michael Morbius.

Spider-Man is surprised by this new moniker and continues to call him Morbius throughout the issue, but Misty Knight and Colleen Wing have seemingly settled into the Dr. Mike nickname and only refer to him as such. This rebranding could help the character move forward after his much-memed cinematic flop.

Related Morbius is The Secret To Saving Marvel's Entire Universe (Yes, Seriously) The forthcoming Blood Hunt event will give Morbius the chance to save Earth, in the process finally making him a Marvel great.

Will Marvel Comics-Based Movie Flops Impact the Comics Universe?

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With a new name in Marvel Comics so soon after his 2022 movie bombed in theaters twice, it’s possible that Morbius’ impending rebranding is a result of the film’s failure to connect with audiences. Infamously played by Jared Leto in the Sony Spider-Man Universe spin-off, Morbius quickly became a bit of a joke to fans. While some couldn’t fathom the vampiric side of the Marvel Universe, the movie’s perplexing release strategy and overall quality led the movie to be endlessly memed. Switching to Dr. Mike could be a purposeful shift away from the “It’s Morbin’ Time” jokes that followed Morbius.

With superhero movies having a noticeably harder time at the box office recently, the characters in Marvel’s under-performing movie franchises will hopefully be unaffected in Marvel Comics. This year’s Madame Web is one of Marvel’s biggest flops, and like Morbius, it was heartily roasted by audiences and critics. However, it has also garnered a sort of cult audience that enjoys the film as campy and fun. Either way, the characters in the comics are not always comparable to their movie counterparts and should be treated as different entities. Though some rebranding might be necessary, the characters should stay true to who they are.

It’s Dr. Mikein’ Time in Morbius’ Mighty Marvel Future

Dr. Mike could be a more heroic persona for Morbius, as he’s currently assisting with finding a cure for the terrifying vampire curse in Blood Hunt. Though many other Marvel heroes, including Reed Richards, are working toward a solution to stop the undead takeover, solicitations for further issues of Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt indicate that Dr. Mike could be the hero saving everyone from the bloodthirsty affliction. With a friendly new nickname and plenty of vampiric experience, Morbius aka Dr. Mike may hold the key to humanity’s survival in the Marvel Universe.

As more Marvel movies continue to under-perform both in and outside the MCU, it’s important that the comic versions of the characters aren’t negatively impacted by reception to their cinematic outings. However, in the case of Morbius the Living Vampire, the character being reestablished as Dr. Mike in Blood Hunt could be a positive defining moment after he became a sort of joke in 2022. With the much more helpful and friendly-sounding Dr. Mike being Morbius’ new nickname, this rebranding of the character could create a new status quo for his Marvel Comics future.

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1 (2024) Writer: Justina Ireland

Artist: Marcelo Ferreira

Cover Artist: Marcel Ferreira