Nosferatu Vs Dracula: Who Is Stronger, According To The Internet?
For over a century, Dracula has persisted as one of the most iconic characters (horror or not) in all of pop culture. While there are many bizarre international versions of Dracula out there, only one other copycat has come close to matching his influence — Count Orlok of the 1922 silent film, "Nosferatu." Some might even consider Orlok to be the best version of Dracula ever conceived, seeing as the production couldn't secure the rights to adapt Bram Stoker's "Dracula," so they pretty much just plagiarized the main points. Count Orlok (Max Schreck) took the place of Count Dracula, and the original movie remains a hallmark of cinema, offering the best of what German expressionism had to offer.
Of course, as comic book fans are all too familiar with, the question ultimately comes down to which character would win in a fight — Dracula or Orlok? Who is the stronger vampire? Considering Count Orlok is literally a rip-off of Dracula, it's safe to say they'd probably be pretty evenly matched for the most part, but there are some extenuating factors to consider.
Additionally, there have been numerous adaptations and interpretations of Count Dracula over the decades. For the purposes of clarity, we're only going to look at the classic Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel for this head-to-head match-up of the undead.
What are Dracula and Nosferatu's powers?
Seeing as Orlok is a virtual copy of Dracula, they're pretty much evenly matched when it comes to strength and supernatural abilities. In Bram Stoker's "Dracula," it's stated how the vampire has the strength of 20 men, and we could safely assume Orlok is roughly as powerful. They also both possess supernatural abilities, such as shapeshifting. While people most often associate vampires with taking the form of bats, the original novel also makes it so that the Count can turn into a mist or even a large dog. Orlok can also transform into a wolf, making him something akin to a werewolf in addition to a vampire.
They both have certain supernatural powers, such as Count Dracula being able to hypnotize others and levitate to a degree. Orlok also displays a certain amount of telekinesis in his film, such as opening gates with his mind. The biggest differences between the two mostly comes down to personality and physical appearances. Dracula is well-known for looking suave and being more human-like. Orlok is a genuine creature of the night, a monstrosity of demonic proportions.
As such, one might surmise Dracula is a bit more intelligent and could strategize if going into a fight with Orlok. On the other hand, the creature from "Nosferatu" is a bit more animalistic and something Dracula may not get a good handle on. In terms of power sets, it would pretty much be a coin toss to determine who would win.
What are Dracula and Nosferatu's weaknesses?
Everyone knows what vampires are weak against: garlic, crosses, and holy water. However, above all else, they die in the sunlight. It's a well-worn trope at this point, but dying in the sun didn't originate with Bram Stoker's "Dracula." In that book, the character is merely weakened by it. But he'll live. The concept of vampires instantly dying when exposed to the sun actually started with 1922's "Nosferatu," which you can see for yourself as it's available on numerous streaming platforms, and this is the idea that could give Dracula an edge in combat.
It's not like Orlok could bring a crucifix into a battle arena because that would injure him, too. They could theoretically duke it out all night long until the sun comes up. From there, Dracula could just try to pin Orlok in one place to prevent him from retreating to the shadows. Dracula would weaken, but Orlok would die on the spot, and as long as there weren't any other vampires (or vampire hunters) in the vicinity who would want to take Dracula out while he's in a more precarious state, Dracula would take the win.
Fans online think Dracula's (slightly) stronger
Given how Dracula and Orlok have similar strength and powers but Orlok is weaker against sunlight, it's easy to see why many online think Dracula could ultimately win out. Granted, that's assuming sunlight eventually comes. If they were duking it out in a dungeon where sunlight would never be an issue, the fight could theoretically go to either one. But Dracula may still have a slight edge, as Redditor u/TyphoidLarry expounded upon when the topic came up. They wrote, "I don't see any areas in which Orlok outclasses Dracula. Considering the fact that Dracula has a pretty long book full of his feats while Orlok has a pretty short film, it's not surprising that Orlok is outclassed as far as feats go."
A similar discussion took place on Comic Vine, with user TrueMoonchilde also pointing toward Orlok's greater weakness to the sun: "We are literally talking about Dracula [versus] a weaker copy of himself." While it would be a close match and dependent on whether the combatants would ever be in view of the sun, it seems the internet has crowned Dracula as being stronger than Count Orlok. However, it's not all doom and gloom for ol' Nosferatu. His movie changed vampire lore forever to the point where every vampire project from "Near Dark" to "What We Do in the Shadows" has vampires dying from sunlight. It may be a weakness, but "Nosferatu" made a tangible bite on the legacy of vampires begun by "Dracula."
And who knows? Perhaps Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu," coming out on December 25, will give Count Orlok even more abilities to make him more of a match against Dracula.