How Morbius Could Fit Into the MCU
We are currently living in a strange and unusual time in the world of superhero movies. For every exciting and thrilling story or announcement of a plan in one franchise, we get equally strange and bewildering news in another. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) reveals a clear vision for the future with another dramatic sweeping saga equal to Avengers: Infinity Wars and Endgame at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. Discovery cancels the $90 million Batgirl, which the studio “didn’t have faith in.” However, the common thread is this: a stand-alone comic book movie is going to be a thing of the past. Like J. Jonah Jameson who is always on the lookout for bad Spider-Man press, superhero movies need to be a part of a shared universe.
A big step that led us down this path was when Sony teamed up with Marvel Studios in 2015, saying they will allow their golden goose to integrate into the MCU and use Marvel to help with the development of the web-slinger and any future projects. The deal led us to some of the successful projects surrounding Spider-Man like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Venom, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Sony decided to circle back to an old idea from before the critical and financial failure of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The thought was to bring Spidey’s rogue gallery together in their own shared universe starting with Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius, and include some upcoming projects like Kraven The Hunter, Madame Web, and El Muerto.
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If you read my non-spoiler review of Morbius, you know that I make a small case for us to drop Morbius from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and instead shift it to the larger and more robust Marvel Cinematic Universe. But how and when is the best time to bring it? We already know that Morbius is tentatively joining the MCU thanks to the post-credit scene where Morbius connects with the villain, Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. If Vulture is in another version of Earth which was introduced in Multiverse of Madness, then it shouldn’t be hard using “science” to get both characters back into Earth-616 (our universe) to try, and right the wrongs done to them by Spider-Man. However, with Morbius having almost an outsider view of Peter Parker, it is a bit of a stretch to make him the main foil to Spider-Man day-to-day.
On the other hand, Morbius has an established comic enemy in Blade. In the original Blade featuring Wesley Snipers back in 1998, there was a deleted scene where Morbius was established as the villain for the sequel before director Stephen Norrington was cut in favor of Guillermo del Toro. With a new Blade expected to be released in late 2023, it is not a stretch to the established canon to bring Morbius in
If Marvel Studios isn’t too keen on a 1v1 fight in a main film, perhaps we can bring Morbius in as part of a team with other established members from the MCU? In the 1990s, there was a brief comic series that brought together a group of anti-heroes together called The Midnight Sons. In this group, Blade, Ghost Rider, and Morbius joined forces to stop a mother demon from hell named Lilith from taking over Earth. Doctor Strange also played an important role in bringing the group together and helping the team open portals to hell. With the anticipated lead-up to Avengers: Secret Wars, team-ups will be the name of the game, and so will the Multiverse. Why don’t we bring this out now and truly give the fans what they want?
If the thought of a new team-up of anti-heroes does not appeal to you, perhaps a team-up of all of Spidey’s villains will. With enough villains from the main Spider-Man movies, in addition to the concept of Multiverses, we could get the Sinister Six together to take on the web-slinger. Jared Leto himself is down for this idea:
“I mean, I’d love to be in it. I’d love to see it, and we’ll see what the future holds,” Leto said. “But, you know, I think a more sinister take on this Marvel multiverse, it would be a lot of fun. And what incredible talents they have lined up with some of these iconic characters. It’s just… it’s amazing.”
Whatever one may think of Morbius with all the tongue-in-cheek memes and use of the phrase “Morbin’ Time,” there is truly an interesting character in Dr. Michael Morbius. The MCU has only begun to introduce the concept of mutants, and Morbius was born from science like most of the current MCU heroes. We need to keep that concept alive and utilize him to the fullest extent possible. Hopefully, Kevin Feige and the rest of the team at Marvel Studios will be able to find a spot for him.
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Source(s): IndieWire, Bloody Disgusting, CBR