Hunger (Marvel Comics)

Last updated
Hunger
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Spider-Man #76 (January 1997)
Created by Howard Mackie
In-story information
Alter egoLoxias Crown
Species Vampire
Team affiliations Hydra
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength, speed and durability
Flight
Genius-level intellect
Hypnotism
Accelerated healing factor
Heightened senses
Reliance on consuming human blood
Formerly:
Darkforce energy generation and projection via armor

Hunger (Loxias Crown) is a fictional character appearing in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Spider-Man #76 (January 1997) and was created by Howard Mackie. He is an enemy of Spider-Man, Blade, and Morbius, the Living Vampire.

Contents

Matt Smith portrays a composite character partially inspired by Hunger named Milo, whose birth name is Lucien, in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Morbius (2022).

Publication history

Created by Howard Mackie, the character first appeared in Spider-Man #76 (January 1997).

Fictional character biography

Loxias Crown was an agent of Hydra equipped with armor that manipulates a mysterious energy known as darkforce. After killing the armor's creator, William Fields, Crown takes Empire State University's staff and students as hostages to locate Fields' notes on his armor's technology, but is defeated by Spider-Man and S.H.O.C. [1] Crown next abducted Morbius, the Living Vampire to perform experiments alongside Dr. Andrea Janson for Don Fortunato. Crown threatened Peter Parker until Todd Fields (now known as Neil Aiken) surrendered, teleporting the two youths to his secret base. [2] But after Hammerhead killed his love and captured his three hostages, Crown took Hydra's airship to get revenge. He fought both Spider-Man and S.H.O.C. and prepared to overload the latter's armor to kill everyone, but Morbius attacked and drained him dry while disappearing in the process. [3]

Crown next lived in New York City's sewers as a "Living Vampire" known as Hunger, an enforcer of Senator Stuart Ward. [4] He abducted innocent civilians and the Morlocks' leader Callisto to his lair beneath the streets. The Daily Bugle went to investigate but Hunger knocked Parker out and took Betty Brant hostage. Spider-Man teamed up with Marrow to free the prisoners, much to Hunger's annoyance. Flash Thompson distracted Hunger, resulting in his defeat by Spider-Man and Marrow but escapes in energy form. [5] Hunger later attacked a clandestine meeting between the Kingpin and the Maggia, and turned a number of gangsters into his own small army of living vampires. Blade and Spider-Man tracked Hunger down to an abandoned Roxxon plant, fighting the two superheroes until he fled after his horde's deaths. [6]

Powers and abilities

Initially, Loxias Crown wore an armor similar to S.H.O.C. which gave him the ability to channel negative energy and fire energy blasts.

As a "Living Vampire", Hunger does not possess all the powers of a supernatural vampire, nor is he subject to all the traditional limitations and weaknesses thereof. He possesses a variety of superhuman powers, some of which are similar to supernatural vampires within the Marvel Universe, such as superhuman strength, speed and durability, as well as heightened senses including night vision and echolocation. [6] Due to his vampire-like condition, Hunger is forced to ingest fresh blood on a regular basis to sustain his life and vitality. [5] He does not possess any of the mystical vulnerabilities that supernatural vampires are subject to, such as garlic, holy water, crucifixes, or silver. He has a strong aversion to sunlight, thanks to his photo-sensitive skin which allows some protection from major sunburn, in contrast to "true" vampires that are incinerated by it, with the result that he can move in daylight, but his powers are diminished and he will stick to the shade if circumstances demand him to be active during the day. [5]

Reception

In other media

A composite character partly inspired by Hunger along with Emil Nikos, Vic Slaughter, and Michael Morbius, named Milo, [8] appears in the live-action Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Morbius (2022), portrayed by Matt Smith as an adult, [9] and Joseph Esson as a child. [10] Depicted as Michael Morbius's surrogate brother and best friend, having met under the care of Dr. Emil Nicholas as both are suffering from a rare blood disease which prevented their bodies from properly being able to create blood, and born "Lucien", Milo is renamed as-such by Morbius as a child, before being sent away to private school. As adults, Milo's family wealth is key to Morbius's research for a cure, but causes "pseudo-vampirism", with Morbius seeking to resist the resulting bloodlust while Milo embraces it. After Milo kills Nicholas and fatally injures Dr. Martine Bancroft, Morbius restrains Milo with an army of vampire bats and seemingly kills him with a vampire-antibody.

Related Research Articles

The Punisher is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129, originally depicted as an assassin and adversary of the superhero Spider-Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingpin (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Kingpin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #50. The "Kingpin" name is a reference to the crime lord title in Mafia slang nomenclature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blade (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Blade is a fictional character and antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character, but he later went on to star in his own storylines. Devoting his life to ridding the world of all vampires, Blade utilizes his unique physiology to become the perfect vampire hunter. While originally depicted as a human immune to vampire bites, Blade was retroactively established to be a dhampir following his adaptation as such in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the Blade film series. He is the father of Brielle "Bri" Brooks (Bloodline).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauron (comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Sauron is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams, and made his first appearance in The X-Men #59.

John Jonah Jameson III is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and a friend to Peter Parker. He has also been portrayed as the husband of Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werewolf by Night</span> Comics character

The Werewolf by Night is the name of two werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2. The second incarnation, Jake Gomez, first appeared in Werewolf by Night #1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morbius</span> Marvel Comics character

Morbius the Living Vampire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and originally designed by penciler Gil Kane, he debuted as a tragic, sympathetic adversary of the superhero Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #101. For years, Morbius frequently clashed with Spider-Man and other superheroes while occasionally regaining his reason and helping those that he regarded as allies. The 1992 Marvel Comics "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover event then revived and revised several horror-themed Marvel characters to present them as lead protagonists in new titles. The event launched the new series Morbius the Living Vampire, which ran from 1992 to 1995 and now presented the title character as a lethal anti-hero and vigilante. After the cancellation of this series, various stories shifted back and forth between portraying Morbius as a conflicted and brutal anti-hero or a tragic character who is subject to episodes of madness and murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doppelganger (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

The Doppelganger, also called the Spider-Doppelganger, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a near-mindless duplicate of Spider-Man with a vicious, animal-like mind who primarily acts as a servant to other villains rather than having a full will of its own. Along with Peter Parker's agility, speed, and power to cling to walls, the Spider-Doppelganger possesses greater strength, six arms, talons, and organic web-spinnerets on each forearm that fire "razor-sharp" webbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midnight Sons</span> Fictional superhero teams from Marvel Comics

The Midnight Sons are a team of supernatural superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Including Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Blade, and Morbius, the original team first formed as part of the Rise of the Midnight Sons story arc, culminating in the first full team appearance in Ghost Rider #31. Following the success of the crossovers, Marvel branded all stories involving the group with a distinct family imprint and cover treatment, which lasted from December 1993 to August 1994. The team has been revived several times with different characters, but the most frequent members include Morbius, Blade, and at least one Spirit of Vengeance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Six Arms Saga</span> Marvel Comics storyline

"The Six Arms Saga" is a story arc featuring the popular Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gil Kane. It spans the issues The Amazing Spider-Man #100–102 (1971) and features the first appearance and origin story of Morbius, the Living Vampire. The story arc is mostly remembered for Spider-Man growing four extra arms, and for a subsequent What If…? stating that keeping the arms would have allowed Spider-Man to save Gwen Stacy and defeat Thanos himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracula (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Dracula is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker. After the initial run of the series The Tomb of Dracula, the character has been depicted primarily as an antagonist to superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gremlin (comics)</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

The Gremlin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #163.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N'Kantu, the Living Mummy</span> Comic book character

N'Kantu the Living Mummy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character's first run was from 1973 to 1975, and was based on the popular undead mummy trope of horror fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Venom</span> Marvel Comics character

Anti-Venom is a fictional antihero appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #569, and was created by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The creature belongs to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial parasites known as the Symbiotes and is regarded as Venom's symbiotic brother. His physical features include white "skin", a black face, and spider symbol across his chest.

Legion of Monsters is the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<i>Morbius</i> (film) 2022 American superhero film directed by Daniel Espinosa

Morbius is a 2022 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, and Matt Tolmach Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the third film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Directed by Daniel Espinosa and written by the writing team of Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the film stars Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, alongside Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson. In the film, Michael and his surrogate brother Milo (Smith) become living vampires after curing themselves of a rare blood disease.

References

  1. ↑ Spider-Man #76 (January 1997). Marvel Comics.
  2. ↑ Spider-Man #79. Marvel Comics.
  3. ↑ Spider-Man #80. Marvel Comics.
  4. ↑ Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #8 (August 1999). Marvel Comics.
  5. 1 2 3 Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #4 (April 1999). Marvel Comics.
  6. 1 2 Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #7 (July 1999). Marvel Comics.
  7. ↑ Saffle, Ben (2022-02-10). "The 10 Most Important Marvel Vampires, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  8. ↑ Morales, Wilson (March 26, 2022). Interview: Matt Smith on playing Milo Morbius in Morbius. Blackfilmandtv. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022– via YouTube.
  9. ↑ Dominguez, Noah (February 26, 2022). "Morbius Radically Changes Matt Smith's Spider-Man Villain". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  10. ↑ Van Gelder Grant, Conway [@CVGG] (January 13, 2020). "Your first glimpse at @MorbiusMovie, with Joseph Esson as the Young Loxias" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.