Marvel Two-In-One No. 15 The Return of the the Living Eraser
The story opens with a stunning splash page.
When Marvel decided to continue Dracula's story into the 20th century the series met with remarkable success. So Marvel decided to create it's own vampire. Witness, Michael Morbius, the Living Vampire. He's a living vampire to distinguish him from the undead vampires like Dracula. Morbius never died, a scientific procedure meant to save his life went awry and changed him into the creature you see above.
With the blood cravings of the classic vampire, Morbius was about to take a bite out of Alicia when the Thing stages a timely (and explosive) arrival.
I don't care if Morbius is a vampire, he has no chance against the Fantastic Four's powerhouse.
At one point during this story, Morbius describes himself and the Thing as "too well matched". That's a load of horseshit (batshit?), if it wasn't, Morbius wouldn't be flying out the window to get away from Ben like this.
With that it's time to introduce a seriously trippy character: the Living Eraser.
This extraterrestrial's power works like this.
Okay. Now we all know what is happening right here, don't we? Let me guess. Discussion among the creative team: The artist says, "you know what would be great? If we have a character with a power that has the same visual of me using an eraser". Boom. There you go. The Living Eraser is impossible to take seriously.
Anyway, he doesn't really erase his victims - he teleports them to another planet. I like it, no one gets killed, they just get moved. The Living Eraser's last known foe was this guy.
Okay, pretty soon we've got a free for all between the Thing, Morbius and the Living Eraser and both Ben and Michael get "erased". They're on another planet and Morbius treats the aliens like they were moving soda cans - he just sticks his fangs into them and sucks away.
All this while Benjy demonstrates that he can pull the rug from under anyone even if the rug is made of metal.
The two manage to get back Earth-side for a second showdown with the Living Eraser.
This time a successful one.
Behind all the action, this tale really showcases the Thing's guest star. Michael Morbius is a truly multi-layered character. Dracula is depicted in Marvel as an unrepentant predator. Morbius does give in to his urges but there is a struggle between the man and the monster he has become. In that other world, Morbius becomes heroic enough to earn female admiration.
The effect on the once-human Morbius is striking
It points to a tremendous regret for his lost humanity. All in all, I think Morbius was showcased very effectively in this tale.
