Marvel has a surprisingly long history of turning characters into vampires, what's up with that?
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The news is out: thanks to Marvel’s big summer comic book event, Blood Hunt, Miles Morales is now a vampire — and, if you believe Marvel, he’s going to stay that way. While we’re not entirely convinced on that last part (let’s be real: he’ll be back to normal by the time Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out, right?), it’s worth pointing out that Miles is far from the first Marvel superhero to end up becoming a bloodsucker. In fact, it’s something that’s so common, that no less than three X-Men have spent time scaring dentists. While we wait to see just what’s next for one of Marvel’s leading wall-crawlers, why not prepare by checking out what happened to some of Marvel’s other vampire heroes?
Marvel hero turned vampire: Spitfire
Being turned into a vampire doesn’t seem like a good thing, but for Jacqueline Falsworth, it might have been the best thing that ever happened to her. Kidnapped by Baron Blood in World War II, she was bitten but never transformed fully, thanks to the intervention of a… blood transfusion from a robot…? (Don’t ask.) Instead, the combination of vampire influence and, I guess, robotic blood meant that she was given superpowers and a tendency to de-age when the plot demanded it of her. Even better, her vampiric tendencies didn’t actually emerge for decades, and when they finally did, it turns out that she was entirely in control of herself the whole time. Maybe everyone should consider having a robot closely at all times, just in case a vampire comes calling.
When it happened: 1976
Where it happened: Invaders #9
Where are they now?: Still running around as a superhero and super-spy for the British authorities
Marvel hero turned vampire: Storm
If nothing else, you have to admire Storm’s dedication to keeping things old school. How did everyone’s favorite X-Man become a vampire? Because Dracula himself mugged her while she was walking home one night. Before too long, she was saying things like “The change is quite wonderful,” and almost pledging her (after)life to the lord of the undead. The only thing that stopped her was her love of Kitty Pryde, which magically undid her vampiric transformation for reasons that, to this day, remain entirely unclear.
When it happened: 1982
Where it happened: Uncanny X-Men #159
Where are they now?: Having recently been the Queen of Mars, Storm is preparing to take it easy as a member of the Avengers, as well as the star of her own comic book series launching later this year
Marvel hero turned vampire: Wolverine
While Storm quickly got over being a vampire, comic fandom wasn’t so lucky; the Storm-and-Dracula issue was the basis for an issue of What If…?, based around the simple question of, “what if Storm had ended being a vampire for real after all?” Because this was the early 1990s, however, the answer to that question was somehow “Wolverine becomes a vampire too and then, because he’s so tough, ends up fighting Dracula to become the leader of all vampires and winning, before the Punisher killed Kitty Pryde, which again proved to be the key to saving Wolverine’s soul.
When it happened: 1991
Where it happened: What If? #24
Where are they now?: This version of Wolverine ascended to a higher plane having renounced his vampire self (as you do)
Marvel hero turned vampire: Captain America
As if Steve Rogers wasn’t dangerous enough normally, imagine what he can do with some vampiric abilities. Better yet, just read the two-part 'Avengers Forever' storyline in which Cap was turned into a vampire during World War II, and then went on to transform his fellow Avengers into vampire slaves just for fun. As might be expected, he became a terrifying figure who tormented his Earth elsewhere in reality before the visiting Exiles — a group of X-Men from across the multiverse who traveled around, saving the day on a regular basis — did the obvious thing: let Sunfire, whose powers mimic the sun (as her name suggests), take care of the problem in quick fashion. Sadly, Kitty Pryde was unavailable.
When it happened: 2003
Where it happened: Exiles #31
Where are they now?: Dead… well, more dead
Marvel hero turned vampire: Daredevil
The vampiric Daredevil isn’t, it’s worth pointing out, Matt Murdock, but Raymond Connor, the short-lived Daredevil of Earth-1610, who ran afoul of… well, a whole bunch of other superheroes that had already become vampires, actually. (They were being led by Vampire Iron Man. It was a whole thing.) Why are we calling out Daredevil, in that case? Well, because his sneaky attempt at being undercover ended up panning out, and let him take care of Captain America, in such a way that made it seem as if the end of the world really was nigh… at least for a short while. Blood Hunt only wishes it could go this hard.
When it happened: 2010
Where it happened: Ultimate Avengers 3 #2
Where are they now?: Burned up after Captain America recovered from being a vampire because of his super-soldier serum, apparently
Marvel hero turned vampire: Jubilee
Unlike every other entry on this list, the transformation of Jubilee into a vampire wasn’t a fake-out, or an alternate reality story; Jubilation Lee really did become a vampire as part of the ‘Curse of the Mutants’ storyline, and she stayed that way for the next eight years, until the Phoenix Force undid it with, surprisingly, absolutely no input from Kitty Pryde. (Maybe she was in the background, and we never saw.) Jubilee’s transformation was part of a plan on behalf of a vampire army to tear the X-Men apart, flawed primarily by the fact that, you know, it was Jubilee in the first place. Then again, we know what happens when you make Wolverine a vampire…
When it happened: 2010
Where it happened: X-Men #1
Where are they now?: About to be one of the core cast members of the upcoming Uncanny X-Men comic book relaunch
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