Who Is The Villain In Morbius?

Since the early-2000s, Sony has made the most of its ownership of Spider-Man and much of his corner of the Marvel universe, specifically in live-action at the movies. Directors Sam Raimi and Marc Webb built franchises of their own, and Jon Watts helped bring the web-slinger to the Marvel Cinematic Universe under the direction of Marvel Studios. In an interesting change of pace, after decades of success focusing predominantly on Spidey, Sony has decided to branch out and utilize some of his contemporaries. Venom (Tom Hardy) landed a solo spotlight first, and Morbius the Living Vampire (Jared Leto) is up next.

"Morbius" focuses on the titular medical practitioner as he struggles to find a cure for his rare blood disease. However, upon attempting an experimental treatment method involving live bats, he undergoes some worrying mental and physical changes. Before he knows it, he has the abilities of a vampire, including strength, speed, and, of course, a thirst for blood. This leaves Michael Morbius no choice but to go on the run as he tries to figure out his strange new abilities, though his headaches don't stop there. To make matters worse, someone else has come to possess similar powers, and they're not keen on playing nice.

To make "Morbius" a true superhero flick, it features a villain for the lead character to battle against. Here's the niche bad guy that moviegoers will get to meet on April 1, 2022.

"Morbius" will introduce viewers to a character known currently as Milo, as played by Matt Smith of "Doctor Who" and "The Crown" fame. He and Michael Morbius have a lot in common, chiefly that they suffer from the same blood disease and are eager to find a cure. Although, unlike his friend, who hopes to get a handle on the vampiric side effects of his treatment, Milo will embrace them for his own gain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's effectively a tweaked version of the little-known Marvel Comics character and one of Morbius' rivals, Loxias Crown.

Courtesy of creators Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr., Loxias Crown debuted in "Spider-Man" #76 from 1996. A power-hungry agent of HYDRA, he kidnaps Morbius the Living Vampire to run a series of experiments on him. His plan somewhat backfires when Morbius escapes and attacks him, turning him into a Living Vampire in the process. Now operating under the alias Hunger, Crown continued to wreak havoc and satiate his need for blood by any means necessary. Naturally, this made him a foe of Blade, Spider-Man, and even the Maggia crime syndicate as time went on.

Compared to villains like Thanos and Green Goblin, who are known the world over and have dominated pop culture for decades, Loxias "Hunger" Crown is hardly a comic book icon. Still, getting deep-cut characters in live-action blockbusters is always a treat, and with Matt Smith tasked with portraying him, he could very well become a highlight of "Morbius."