Vampires

Origin[]

The race of vampires first appeared in the Pre-Cataclysmic era (before the sinking of Atlantis and Lemuria) circa 18,500 B.C., when the Atlantean cult of the Darkholders used the power of the Chthon Scrolls in order to oppose King Kull, who had slain their leader, Thulsa Doom. The result was Varnae, one of their own who was raised as the world's first vampire (Varnae had willingly allowed this to happen so that he could cheat death and live forever). Varnae quickly slew the other Darkholders and used them to found the vampire race, with himself as Lord of the Vampires.^[11][12]

According to legend, the evil and beautiful Stygian Princess Akivasha reveled in the black halls of Luxor circa 20,000 B.C. and became a vampire at some point.^[13]

It can be presumed that the datation is approximative and hyperbolic, considering that true vampires only appear circa 18,500 BC, and that Stygians came to inhabit the area known as Stygia during the Hyborian Age only thousands of years later.

Other races of vampires - the Adze, Ancient, Charniputra, Huskies, Jumlin, Nosferati, Purebloods, Tryks, and Yiki Onna - either diverged from this original Varnaean line, or else arose out of other circumstances.^[14][15]

Somewhere near the land that would become Wakanda, Varnae built a large temple which he used to imprison and sacrifice countless locals as part of his ascension rituals. From his killings, some of his victims were turned into vampires who began guarding the temple to allow Varnae to continue working on the ritual uninterrupted and unopposed. As the victims included worshippers of the Moon God Khonshu and the Orishas, the gods formed an alliance to not only get revenge on Varnae but also stop him from completing his ritual. The coalition of gods managed to repel the vampires and rescue the surviving prisoners but, although the cursed temple was washed away, they failed to properly take Varnae down.^[16] From then on the vampires became Khonshu's mortal enemies due to them hunting in the night which was his domain and, as a result, the Cult of Khonshu would often battle any vampire that it came across.^[17]

When Atlantis sank, Varnae went into hibernation, emerging from time to time to confront threats such as when he battled against Conan, Red Sonja, and Zula, but they were able to fend him off.^[18]

Hyborian Age of Conan[]

Princess Akivasha came to dwell in Khemi before or during the Age of Conan.^[13]

Conan and Red Sonja on different occasions fought off either individual vampires or groups of vampires.^[7][19]

In 10,000 B.C., a Corinthian city was attacked by vampires, leading the fleeing survivors to secure the city in order to trap the undead inside. Nearly a century later, the city was visited by Conan and a group of mercenaries, who were able to fend them off before striking a deal with them in order to escape.^[20]

2000 B.C.[]

In 2000 B.C. in the region known as Sumeria, Varnae forced a mystic named Aamshed to create a ritual which would make the vampire lord into a god. However, he could not complete the ritual as it must be performed in one's homeland, and Atlantis had long ago sunk beneath the ocean.^[21] The vampires also plagued Ancient Egypt, where they were believed to be humans who turned away from Osiris to worship Set.^[4]

A.D. 1000[]

During the age of the Vikings, Varnae traveled to the New World and attacked a Norse colony in North America, turning the settlers into vampires. A young girl escaped and prayed to the gods for help; Thor answered the call, battled the hordes of vampires and eventually faced the first vampire himself. He was able to drive off Varnae and destroyed the vampire settlers by directing sunlight at them, leaving only the young girl alive.^[22]

14th to 16th centuries[]

In 1459, finally tired of his ages-long existence, Varnae chose Dracula as his successor as Lord of the Vampires, and imparted much of his supernatural power to him by forcing Dracula to drink his blood. Varnae then committed suicide by exposing himself to direct sunlight.^[11]

In 1591, the young girl who had summoned Thor 591 years before arrived at the English colony of Roanoke which would one day be part of North Carolina. She was revealed to be a vampire and turned all 121 of the settlers into vampires, leaving behind only one word that was carved into a tree: "Croatoan".^[22]

World War II[]

In an effort to create a super-soldier to be used against the Nazis, Weapon Plus seized control of Ravencroft Institute in order to experiment on its inmates. These experiments were secretly conducted by Dracula and Baron Blood, who wished to remove the vampires' traditional weaknesses by turning the institute's patients into mutated vampires; however, all of these experiments ended in failure, leaving the test subjects, who were labelled the Unwanted, to be imprisoned. Finally, Dr. Jonas Ravencroft decided that he had had enough of these sick experiments and unleashed the Unwanted on the Weapon Plus personnel,^[23] although later the mutated vampires would all be captured and confined in a secret vault.^[24]

Modern Era[]

Dracula retained his title in a nearly unbroken reign until Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephen Strange, uncovered a mystical spell called the Montesi Formula that would banish all vampires from this dimension. Ironically, this spell was found within the Darkhold, the same mystical text that also contained the spell that was used to create vampires in the first place.^[25] Like most spells, the Montesi Formula contained within it a counter-spell and within a few short years, vampires began to appear across the world once again.^[26][27] Dracula himself rose from the grave and reclaimed his title as Lord of the Vampires.^[28]

A prophecy arose detailing how the vampires would regain their souls, which meant that they would be freed of their weaknesses. Lucas Cross, seeing that he and his son Blade the Vampire-Slayer were part of the prophecy, sought to fullfil it, forcing Blade to abide to its instructions. Cross worked together with Dracula to complete the prophecy and, despite Blade's best efforts, their plan was a success. To Cross's dismay, the prophecy did not return the vampires' souls to them; instead, it resurrected all of the ancient vampires that had been slain in the past, some of which Dracula knew personally.^[29]

Vampire Nation[]

Dracula met with Doctor Doom on Earth's Moon. He proposed a non-aggression treaty with Doom, which enabled him to coordinate plans for an attack on England without encroaching upon any of Doom's prospective interests. Using the scientific wizardry at his coven's disposal, he genetically mutated vampire assassins with specific targets in mind, notably members of MI13.^[30]

War of Vampires[]

Growing concerned over the rising human population, the various vampire leaders held a gathering where they questioned Dracula's governance. His son Xarus took the opportunity to usurp Dracula's position by appealing to those who thought like him. As the new Lord of the Vampires, Xarus planned to take over the entire Earth. His rule was opposed by a couple of sects and his half-brother Janus, but Xarus made quick work of them, ensuring his position.^[15]

A group of vampires captured Morbius the Living Vampire in order to use his blood to create a fatal virus that would spread throughout humanity. Luckily they were stopped by his new allies, the Posse.^[31]

Since then Dracula was again the Lord of the Vampires, forcing Xarus to try to kill him again in order to retake his father's position.^[32] He and his legion attacked Dracula's castle which caused the vampires to spread worldwide to feed on humans.^[33] Xarus proceeded to kill several vampire groups in order to forcefully unify them and become stronger, but was opposed by the Avengers.^[34] However, this turned out to be all an elaborate plan for the unification and empowerment of the vampires formed between Dracula and Xarus. With the events going as planned, Dracula made a deal with the Russian government to be granted some land around Chernobyl, which he intended to turn into a new nation for the vampires.^[35]

After the founding of the nation of Krakoa, the vampires began to secretly increase their numbers, which led to the vampire-hunters the Nightguard to fight back.^[36] Eventually, Dracula's plan to form a nation solely for the vampires was accomplished, founding the independent nation of Vampyrsk after he was allowed to take over Chernobyl.^[37]

Blood Hunt[]

Believing that vampires were the next step in human evolution,^[38] the Tutor founded the Structure to turn as many people as possible into vampires and amass an army large enough to take over the world.^[39] The Tutor was eventually stopped by the Moon Knight and his Midnight Mission in order to prevent the vampires from rising.^[40]

Unfortunately, the Structure did not dissolve as it was taken over by Blade, who had become possessed by the First vampire lord Varnae ever since drinking Dracula's blood and failing to stop the Adana's forces from reaching Earth.^[41] Through the Structure Varnae, impersonating Blade, began organizing a worldwide takeover of vampires, rallying up the vampires from all over the world and planning for a way to prevent the heroes from immediately retaliating. When the day of the invasion came, Varnae used Atlantean rituals to transform all of the Darkforce users into portals in the sky that covered the entire Earth, completely blocking off the Sun. Free to roam indefinitely, the vampires struck, attacking countless innocent humans allover the world while Varnae and the Bloodcoven took down Doctor Strange and the Avengers.^[42]

The vampires proceeded to massacre countless innocent people from all over the world,^{[43][44][45][46]} with some influential vampires taking the opportunity to establish their own groups independent of Varnae,^[47][48][49] but still faced opposition from Earth's heroes who did their best to kill every vampire that they came across and protect the innocents.^{[50][51][52][53][54][55]} Dracula himself was against this reckless attack, having worked hard to keep his people safe, and fearing that his country would fall with the rest of the world, he personally went to assist the remaining Avengers in squashing the invasion.^[56][57]

At the height of the invasion, Varnae had his long-lost temple teleported to Central Park where he sought to finish his ritual and ascend to godhood by imbuing himself with the powers of the Darkforce.^[58] Unfortunately for him and his minions, the Avengers regrouped and joined by the Fists of Khonshu, Dracula, Blade's daughter Bloodline and Spider-Man, went to fight them. Despite his best efforts, Varnae was defeated, his astral form being exorcised from Blade's body, which weakened his hold over the Darkforce field. This gave Doctor Doom, who had just recently claimed the title of Sorcerer Supreme, the chance to undo Varnae's ritual and disperse the Darkforce from the sky, allowing the Sun to shine again on Earth. Miraculously, the vampires did not crumble into dust upon being exposed to the sun, instead regaining the ability to walk under sunlight, which Dracula attributed as a reward for having saved the world.^[59]

The vampires began living in public, but faced ostracization from humans who saw them as ruthless, bloodthirsty monsters.^[60] The Nightstalkers attempted to exterminate a colony of vampires in North Brother Island, which was thwarted by the AVENG.E.R.S.. They took down the disgraced vampire hunters and deported them to Vampyrsk to be judged for their crimes.^[61] Meanwhile, the Structure lingered on despite Varnae's imprisonment, going back to the shadows to evade persecution and plan for a comeback, which forced the newly-formed Blood Hunters to go after them.^[62]

Classifications[]

Sects[]

The vampire sects are as diverse as human religions and vampires from different sects might have different characteristics or abilities:

• Kreiger Sect: Western European-type warriors, one of the strongest sects.^[15]
• Claw Sect: Middle Eastern-type warriors, rivals of the Krieger.^[15]
• Mystikos Sect: American vampires who have embraced the modern world. They are businessmen with skills in technology.^[15]
• Anchorite Sect: American rural outcasts who prefer to hide from humanity and live in peace, similar to the lifestyle of the Amish.^[15]
• Purebloods: Born as vampires, a rarity since vampires normally are unable to reproduce in the traditional sense.^[15]
• Nosferati: Eastern European vampires that are similar to Count Orlok; their need for powerful blood sometimes drives them to attack other vampires.^[63]
• Moksha Sect: Seers who gain their powers by feeding as little as possible.^[15]
• Siren Sect: All-beautiful female vampires with powers of seduction.^[15]
• Adze: African vampires who are able to survive the usually instantaneous methods of vampire destruction for 10 minutes.^[64]
• Ancient: Italian vampires with superior superhuman speed and healing factor compared to that of other vampires.^[8]
• Yiki Onna: Japanese vampires with the power to turn into ice storms rather than fog as most vampires can.^[14]
• Jumlin: Native American vampires,^[14] although the name was actually used by Native Americans to refer to common vampires.^[8]
• Mortuus Invitus: A sect of vampires who refuse to feed on humans, instead feeding on vampires that go after humans.^[21]

Subspecies[]

• Ekimmu: Ghostly vampires who haunt and devour their victims. They can kill an entire family by their mere appearance.^[65]
• Rakshasa: Hindu vampires and malevolent spirits which can reanimate the dead and mostly feed on horses, though humans can still fall victims to them.^[66]
• Huskies: Vampires who are brought back brain dead and are basically human husks. They only follow their baser instincts and feed on small animals. They will not rest until they have completed a task from their human lives.^[67]
• Charniputra: Gargoyle-like vampires that live in the Himalayas.^[68]
• Tryks: A powerful, parasitic race that prefers the blood of other vampires.^[69]
• Sasabonsam: A race of vampires from Africa.^[70]
• Jiangshi: Deceased people who are brought back to life through Chinese occultism with a craving for blood.^[71][70]
• Vetala: A race of vampires from India.^[70]
• Ciuateteo: A race of Mexican vampires that is comprised of undead women who feast on the blood of children.^[72] Although they are considered a vampire race,^[70] they are not derived from Varnae.^[73]

The Aqueos are often believed to be Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) that were converted into vampires. They are in fact a distinct species of vampire created by ancient beings from the stars, and include not only Atlanteans and Lemurians, but also Faceless Ones, another type of Aqueos tied to their creators, and various sea animals such as giant squids, sharks, eels, etc.^[74]

Non-Human Vampires[]

• Other species such as animals have also been turned into vampires, including Bessie the Hellcow,^[75] Lucy Stone's entire herd,^[76] Redwing^[77] and a cat.^[78]
• Aliens could also be turned into vampires, including the Badoon, Skrulls, Shi'ar, Shadow People and Mightusians.^[79]

Pseudo-Vampires[]

Baalists[]

The Baalists, followers of Ba'al, exhibited many of the same properties as traditional vampires but were not, in fact, true vampires. They wore false fangs and were not inhibited by ultraviolet radiation, but they did partake in the consumption of human blood. Ba'al bestowed power to his underlings, making them stronger, faster and more durable, but they did not possess characteristics that could be defined as superhuman. The Baalists originate from the region known as Gehenna and have followed the edicts of Ba'al since about 13,000 B.C.^[80]

Brylukas[]

Brylukas were a race of bat-like beings that closely resembled vampires, but were not derived from Varnae.^[81][73]

Living Vampires[]

Living Vampires were a race of pseudo-vampires accidentally created by Dr. Michael Morbius who for the most part resembled vampires, but lacked their more mystical aspects, since they were created purely through science.^[82]

Dhampirs[]

Dhampir is a term used to refer to individuals born of a union between a human and a vampire or who have had their vampirism halted, basically human-vampire hybrids.^[9] Blade the Vampire-Slayer is one of the more famous dhampirs who possessed characteristics of both humans and vampires, originally only being immune to vampire bites. After being bitten by Morbius, Blade gained some of the vampires' powers while not gaining any of their weaknesses.^[83]

Level Classification[]

Class-2 Vampires[]

Morg was stated to be a "standard Class-2 Vampire",^[84] without clear explanation of the classification.

Also see the list of confirmed Class-2 Vampires.

Alternate Realities[]

Earth-235[]

The Earth of this reality was inhabited by vampire Eternals.^[85]

Marvel 2099 (Earth-928)[]

An ancient holy order of vampires known as the Sisterhood of Tears still persisted to the year 2099. Sister Lucia was a member of the Sisterhood and turned Becka McBride into a vampire to save her life.^[86]

Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)[]

On Earth-1610, the vampires are allegedly people infected with porphyria, a virus causing a disorder of the hemoglobin,^[87] although they have powers like other universes' vampires and are sensible to the same weaknesses.^[88] Morbius' bite could cure those who were about to be turned into vampires.^[89]

Earth-2010[]

The entire human population of Earth was turned into vampires. Left with no humans to feed on, the vampires were forced to feed on each other's blood. They were all inevitably killed when Earth was destroyed by Reed Richards in order to keep the vampires from spreading throughout outer space.^[90]

Earth-2099[]

The vampires formed their own sovereign nation within The Hague, the vampire capital of Terra Rubra which was under the governance of Dracula. Unfortunately, Terra Rubra was attacked by zealots from Prussland and directed immense solar lights on the vampire citizens, killing almost all of the vampires. Dracula did his best to save as many of his citizens as possible, but Terra Rubra was soon decimated of all life. The remaining survivors put Dracula inside his coffin to save him from the disaster and sent him to space. After Dracula's departure and the terrorists' punishment, the Free Nations helped the vampires regroup themselves and provided them with the means to feed without preying on humans, by converting water into blood through nanotechnology and Blade's formula.^[91]

The vampire race, now reformed, decided to leave Earth and find a new home on another planet. Led by their captain Lilith Drake, the vampires established the vampire planet of Domus Draconum where they turned the planet's waters into blood thanks to the means provided to them, and soon formed a thriving civilization with a governing body and schools for children to learn.^[91] Not all vampires went to space, as some decided to remain on Earth on the condition that they abided to local laws.^[92]

Sadly, the peaceful life on Domus Draconum was not meant to be, as the vampires became the next target of the savage Araneons. The Araneons saw the vampires as useful for being strong slaves, and attacked the population with the use of weapons filled with solar energy. Despite their best efforts, the vampires lost, with the surviving members being taken by the Araneons, leaving Domus Draconum in ruins. Meanwhile, on his way to the vampire planet, Dracula himself converted a few space pirates and the entire population of Mightus into vampires to aid him in his journey. After finding what had transpired to his people on Domus Draconum, Dracula prepared his Legions of the Night to exact revenge on the Araneons and liberate the survivors.^[93]

Earth-8772[]

By the year 2021, the HIV virus had mutated into a dozen incurable airborne strains, forcing humanity into lockdowns. When Blade, the first known vampire, was captured, his blood promised a cure not just for HIV but for every virus known to man. Humans then initiated a worldwide hunt for other surviving vampires.^[94]

Blade Movie Universe (Earth-26320)[]

In the Blade movie universe, vampires (Homines nocturnae) are a sub-offshoot of humanity with their progenitor being the entity Dracula (a.k.a. Drake and Dagon), a Sumerian who was worshiped as a god. His progeny are the Pure-Bloods, while those who are bitten by Dracula or his descendants are byproducts of vampirism.^{[citation needed]}

Vampirism is a virus that can be transmitted through the saliva of the vampire through incisions in the neck made by their fangs when feeding. Once infected it takes approximately 72 hours for the virus to mutate, transforming them into a vampire.^{[citation needed]}

A vampire feeds on the blood of humans in order to replenish their hemoglobin, which is not produced in their body. Vampires can eat human food, but it has little to no nutritional value. Along with "the Thirst", vampirism also endows someone with an improved metabolism and biological functions that grant it a much increased longevity, superhuman physical and mental capabilities, and the ability to recover from injury in a relatively short amount of time, all of which are directly granted via new specialized organs.^{[citation needed]}

The vampires have their own language, which all of them can speak. Although most vampires shown in the films and TV series are bilingual, able to speak both the English and vampire languages, some are only capable of speaking the vampire language.^{[citation needed]}

Vampires are also much stronger and faster than humans, displaying impressive strength to jump and leap great distances and deliver blows and strikes that can knock a full grown man across a room and moving fast enough to side-step bullets. Their pounces and throws can make concrete crack. They possess impressive physical resilience, shrugging off injuries that would kill a normal human, with the wound only slowing them down. Injuries they receive recover quickly, taking less time than it would for humans or even regenerating lost body parts, a process which is sped up by the consumption of blood.^{[citation needed]}

Vampires can perform amazing feats of superhuman agility. Vampire senses are also heightened to very great levels. Vampires can perceive things in the ultraviolet spectrum. Depending on what sect they come from, vampires will possess specific strengths and drawbacks in addition to their inherent abilities. These vampires, especially the Reapers, have also been shown to be able to scale almost any surface in the same manner as spiders.^{[citation needed]}

Earth-42222[]

In this reality, Deacon Frost offered himself as La Magra's host, unleashing the V-Wave which instantly turned billions of humans into vampires, with the millions who turned under daylight burning to death. Superhumans were also affected, being randomly converted into either humans or vampires. Two years after this event, which became known as V-Day, Blade killed the Vampire King of New York City and took his place.^[95]

Earth-74924[]

In the 14th century, the Latvian noble Haasen Family raised an army and conquered a territory, hitherto owned by the land barons of Transylvania, which they renamed Latveria, with a Haasen leader becoming the first King of Latveria. Many of the soldiers recruited by the Haasens, and the settlers, were of Transylvanian origin, and they had immigrated to the fledgling country bringing with them legends of vampires and werewolves. In 1447, the ascent of Vlad Draasen to the throne led to 90 years of intermittent civil war called the Haasen/Draasen Wars. During that time, rumors about vampires in the southern Latverian region of Bolgorad grew, but few people believed them. Then the Battle of Boars' Vale took place for three days in 1548. It was one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of Latveria, in which almost 400 men died. Additionally, some survivors spoke of mysterious figures moving through the evening mist, bending over the bodies of the dead to drink their blood. After the battle, there was a growing number of missing people, including many soldiers who did not return dead nor alive, and later other people close to them vanishing too. That led to a panic about vampire activity, which in turn led to a family of self-proclaimed vampire hunters, the Kroft Family (Wilhelm and his four sons Leo, Oscar, Pietro, and Stefan), who killed 27 vampires, 19 of these directly related to the Battle of Boars' Vale, in the following three years. The war ended soon after in 1544^[96] with the signing of the Bolgorad Treaties.^[96][97]

In the 19th century, Kurt and Pietro Kroft were the last two surviving sons of the seventh generation descended from the 14th-century vampire hunter Wilhelm Kroft, and were active vampire hunters in Latveria. When Pietro was 18 years old, he and Kurt tracked down Count Dracula of Transylvania, Lord of the Vampires, through the uninhabited parts of Latveria. Finally, the Krofts surrounded Dracula at Dark Falls, where Dracula managed to kill Pietro before seeing his own heart pierced by a stake. Dracula fell over the falls, and Kurt mistakenly left him for dead. Dracula survived, emerged from the pool and killed an innocent shepherd. This skirmish was wrongly attributed to Darkoth, the monster of a local legend. Kurt mysteriously disappeared in 1871 at the age of 57. He was the last known vampire slayer of the Kroft family.^[96]

Earth-97143[]

The alternate reality of Dracula's greatest desire; his Vampire Nation succeeded in conquering Great Britain. Jacqueline Falsworth succumbed to his control and engaged her former MI13 teammates as the local commander of the vampire horde. As the result, key MI13 agents were either killed or otherwise neutralized and a magical barrier was raised around the British Isles that prevented other superheroes from entering them. Blade survived somewhere in the yet-to-be-conquered Northern Britain. Having devoured the entire British Parliament, Dracula was informed on his ultimate victory.^[98]

Earth-199999[]

In Earth-199999, a dhampir known as Blade visited British aristocrat Dane Whitman, before assuming his family title of the "Black Knight".^[99]

A member of the Monster Hunting Cabal hunted down and killed a vampire and placed its head on a pedestal as decoration.^[100]

Earth-931113[]

The vampires managed to take over the world and came to be ruled by Hannibal King. He killed Blade to eliminate any threat to his reign. Unfortunately for him, he was eventually killed by Earth-616's Blade and Hannibal King.^[101]

A.D. 2084 (Earth-TRN659)[]

In Earth-TRN659, vampires were the only sentient beings that survived the apocalypse. They started building a tolerance to sunlight.^[102]

Earth-TRN994[]

In this reality, Captain Marvel commented to Blade that in the state of New York it was illegal for vampires to use their powers on another person.

Vlad Dracula, with the assistance of Sin, organized a vampire outbreak to purge humanity, which he saw as a infestation. To make themselves immune to the Sun, Dracula stole Morbius' formula, but messed up its composition, causing his vampires to only last a hour in the Sun.^[103]

Otherworld[]

The vampiric denizens of the eternally dark kingdom of Sevalith, which was part of the Fair Court, were not called vampires, but instead were known as Sevalithi. Sevalith was one of the longest-running kingdoms of Otherworld, where the Sevalithi lived like aristocrats; their law was comprised of curses and bonds, honor was a form of currency, and nourishing blood was never-ending. The Sevalithi also had a long-running rivalry with Avalon due to having opposite characteristics.^[10][104]

Unknown Reality[]

In an Unknown Reality, Blade started a war against vampires in A.D. 2022. Stryfe brought a group of them back to A.D. 2016 and unleashed them upon New York City. One of them infected a dinosaur and in turn, that dinosaur infected Deadpool.^[105]

A vampire is a human being who has died but has been resurrected by specific supernatural means and possesses a variety of supernatural abilities and specific limitations, most notably to frequently ingest fresh blood in order to maintain their own existence. Vampires have often been referred to as "the undead" throughout the centuries since, even when active, they were not truly alive in the same sense as ordinary human beings. Technically, however, they can be classified as actually being dead.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Their worldwide attack under the leadership of the Structure was considered by the Avengers as an Extinction-Level Event.^[114]

Sustenance[]

Vampires require the fresh blood of living beings, preferably the blood of humans, in order to sustain their physical existence and usually obtain it by biting their victims and draining their blood. The bite of a vampire transfers a very mysterious enzyme found only within the saliva of a vampire into the bloodstream of the victim. If the vampire drinks enough blood to cause the death of the victim, this enzyme will trigger an unusual metabolic change within the victim's body, beginning with the production of an unusual green liquid referred to as ichor into the bloodstream.^[115]

After roughly three days and three nights after the victim's death,^[106] there is enough of this liquid in the victim's body that it will begin to course through the victims' veins in the same way that their blood once did. The victim then returns to "life" as a vampire and is capable of all the basic capabilities of ordinary humans, with the exception of being able to have children, plus a number of superhuman abilities. However, if the victim retains sufficient blood to survive the vampire's attack, he or she will begin to show signs of anemia because of the presence of the enzyme in his or her bloodstream. The victim will not die under such circumstances. Until a newly created vampire's body metabolizes the enzyme, a process that might take as long as several months in some cases, he or she will be extremely weak and highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestions, verbally or through long range mental contact, by the vampire responsible for the attack. There is also a distinct possibility of the newly-turned vampire developing a perverse sexual attraction for the vampire who is responsible for his or her transformation.^{[citation needed]}

A new vampire is not created unless the attacking vampire wishes to do so, or loses control and injects too much enzyme.^{[citation needed]} The attacking vampire can free its victim from becoming a vampire before the final transformation.^[106]

Vampires that drink the blood of superpowered individuals, including mutates, mutants and races like the Asgardians, can gain some of their victims' powers or enhance their own abilities. However, they are required to constantly drink this type of blood to maintain their new properties, or else they will soon lose them.^{[36][116][117]}

Summoning and Shapeshifting[]

Vampires can summon and control certain creatures such as bats, wolves, dogs, rats, and mice.^{[citation needed]} Vampires can also transform themselves into bats and, in the case of some vampires, wolves while retaining their human intelligence and speech in these forms. Some vampires can even become human-sized bats. Vampires can also transform themselves into mist at will, either completely or partially, while still retaining their normal consciousnesses in that form.^[118]

Hypnosis[]

A vampire can control the will of those it bites, even before the victim fully transforms into a vampire, although those with great willpower can defy control; Dracula was amazed when Storm did so twice.^[106] A vampire can make most human beings into its temporary slaves if he or she can catch their gaze for a sufficient amount of time, usually only in at least three seconds; more time will be needed to hypnotize especially strong human minds. The exact length of time needed to mesmerize the victim depends on both the strength of will of the vampire and that of his or her victim.^[119]

Health[]

Vampires are rendered immune to the ravages of disease and of aging. However, if deprived of blood for a lengthy period of time, a vampire will begin to show distinct signs of aging, such as his or her hair turning gray. Upon ingesting fresh blood, the vampire will revert to the age in which he or she had been at the time of death.^{[citation needed]}

In most cases, vampires are able to heal themselves from minor injuries within a very brief period of time. Some vampires such as Dracula can heal from severe burns or broken bones within the span of a few hours, whereas most other vampires might require several days to heal from the exact same injury. Vampires are not able to regenerate missing organs or severed portions of their anatomy, with the exception of hair. Apart from periodic inconveniences, injuries like these will not critically impair a vampire's effectiveness. Because ichor is similar in function to blood, poisons and other toxic substances that were circulated in its bloodstream will adversely affect a vampire, although no dosage is large enough to cause death.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

• Will Power: The overall extent of a vampire's abilities depends upon the strength of the vampire's will. Exceptional vampires with powerful wills such as Dracula or Varnae are capable of summoning and controlling thunderstorms, even though the mystical concentration required to do so leaves them extremely weak for a certain period of time. The vampire's will power can also determine the extent to which he or she can master their craving for blood and retain the same personality that they had in life. However, most people that become vampires quickly find themselves unable to resist the all-consuming craving for blood. They quickly degenerate into cruel and animalistic hunters of ordinary human beings, even if these new vampires had been kind and sensitive people in their mortal lives.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Most vampires possess superhuman physical strength anywhere from 10 to 20 times greater than they possessed in their mortal lives. The vast majority of known and recorded vampires are capable of lifting from 1,000 lbs to 4,000 lbs, with only Count Dracula and his predecessor Varnae being known to lift more at 4 and 7 tons, respectively, due to their special stance as rulers of Earth's vampires.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Vampires have many limitations imposed upon their supernatural abilities and even upon their very existence. Below are a listing of weaknesses common to supernatural vampires. Popular fiction depicting vampires often causes others to be skeptical of their reality. Once convinced of their existence, however, the same media provides an education on basic anti-vampire tools, such as religious symbols, sunlight, wooden stakes, and holy water, although those using them may not fully understand the details of the tools' requirements.^[106][120]

Blood Consumption[]

Vampires are regularly required to consume a few pints (liters) of blood every other night. Failing to do so will cause the vampire to weaken, fall comatose and, after an extended period without blood, seemingly perish. Vampires' ability to metabolize blood and their frequency of feeding usually varies, however, depending on a number of factors: length of time between feedings, damage or injury to the body, resurrection from a near-death state, and excessive use of their supernatural abilities and strength. Some vampires of great power, like Dracula, are able to withstand their bloodlust for up to one week before their hunger becomes completely unbearable.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Native Soil[]

Typically, vampires cannot travel more than 100 miles (160 km) from their land of birth unless they bring at least one pound (500 g) of their native soil wherever they choose to sleep during the day. For example, Dracula typically has coffins with soil from his native Transylvania shipped to his various hideouts all over Europe and the United States so that he can have a place to rest unharmed from the Sun.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

However, in many instances vampires (including Dracula) have been depicted being able to travel to far off places and sleep in locations that do not have their native soil on hand.^{[citation needed]}

What happens to a vampire who does not do this remains unknown but, given the instances that a vampire has slept without being around soil from their native land, this suggests that this is not a lethal weakness.^{[citation needed]}

Sunlight[]

A vampire's greatest weakness is sunlight, due to their altered metabolism, vampires are unable to withstand direct sunlight. Sunlight somehow causes the ichor to congeal within the vampire's veins and the skin to rapidly decay. Direct exposure to sunlight causes the vampire to dehydrate completely and turn into dust,^{[citation needed]} or even explode in certain cases.^[121] Artificial sunlight can also hurt vampires, although not as effectively; when Monica Rambeau) attacked Dracula with ultraviolet light, he was hurt but not destroyed.^[120] Apollo's power proved to be devastating to the vampires, though it is unknown exactly if it was due to his power of the Sun, his divinity, or a combination of the two.^[50] The Lightforce could also hurt vampires, and Dagger could use her Lightforce daggers to kill them.^[122]

Some vampires such as Dracula have been able to reform their bodies following being turned into dust from the Sun, while others have been completely obliterated from contact with the Sun. The conditions in which a vampire can come back from the dead may be particular to one who is rightfully the Lord of the Vampires.^{[citation needed]} After Doctor Doom, as the new Sorcerer Supreme, undid Varnae's Atlantean magic ritual to uncover Earth from the Darkforce, all vampires became immune to sunlight, purging them of this traditional weakness and allowing them to walk during the daytime without the threat of crumbling into dust.^[59]

Religious Symbols[]

Vampires have an aversion to any religious symbol (such as a crucifix/cross (including objects that can be assembled into a cross, like two wooden branches), a Star of David, or holy water)^[106][123] wielded or placed by anyone who truly believes in the religious significance of the symbol. A cross held by a Jew or non-believer would have no effect, but a believing Christian holding two sticks perpendicular to each other could both repel a vampire and even sear the vampire's flesh simply by touching him or her with it.^[106]

However, the deity must be one that was believed in at the time of the vampire's original death; a cross had no effect on Varnae, for example, since he died approximately 16,000 years before the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.^[124]

Another consideration is if the vampire in question worshiped the faith whose religious symbol is being used against them. For example, when David Eshocl used the Star of David against Dracula, Dracula was weakened by its sight, but stated that because he followed Christianity and not Judaism before becoming a vampire, the Star had a lesser effect on him.^[125] He was hurt by a silver Star of David (whether it was the silver or the star which affected him is unclear) that was worn by a Jew.^[106] On Earth-1610, a cross wielded by Blade against a Jewish vampire was completely ineffective.^[87]

If a worshipper of a god is turned into a vampire, he or she will burst into flames when touched by the god in question. Thor realized this when an entire Viking settlement was turned into vampires.^[22]

Further, there may be an element of belief by proxy or a vampires' own belief that a symbol may harm them, as there have been instances where a crucifix has been used by someone who is not holding the item. For example, Quincy Harker^[126] and Elainne Turac^[127] have both utilized weapons that would project the symbol of the cross against Dracula while not actually holding the religious symbol. Furthermore, Quincy's faithful dog Saint has a collar lined with silver crosses that were able to harm Dracula.^[126] It is highly improbable that Saint understands the symbolism, let alone has faith in Christianity; however, either Quincy's faith or Dracula's belief that the crosses could harm him caused the vampire lord pain.^{[citation needed]}

Lastly, a religious symbol can lose its power over a vampire if the vampire is capable of making the believer's faith falter. In such situations, the strength of the religious symbol's ability to repel a vampire would weaken.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Invitations Only[]

Vampires have a mystical aversion to entering any human dwelling place to which they were not verbally invited. A human bitten by a vampire but not fully transformed can invite a vampire into a human dwelling place.^[106] This appears to only be the case with personal dwellings, as vampires have been seen entering public buildings without the need of being invited inside. Vampires have been shown to burst into flames if they enter a private residence without being invited in first.^[128]

Impaling the Heart with Wood[]

Another weakness of vampires is to impale them through the heart with wood, which will cause them to eventually decompose into a skeleton. Originally, it was thought that a wooden stake would be the only means of doing so; however, advancement in vampire hunting techniques have indicated that any wooden object that can break through a vampire's chest and pierce the heart is sufficient in killing a vampire.^{[citation needed]} The vampire Nocturne survived a stake stabbing through the heart and stated that such stabbing did not slay a vampire but merely served to trap him into his coffin, stating that it was a common misconception spread by movies.^[129] For example, Blade learned that wooden daggers proved to be just as effective,^[130] while Frank Drake and Rachel van Helsing have both used wooden bullets.^[131]

However, very powerful vampires such as Dracula can reanimate if the stake (or other object) is removed, so long as their skeleton is not destroyed.^{[132][133][134]}

Silver[]

Silver is highly harmful for vampires to the point that even Dracula himself can be crippled if impaled through the heart with a silver wheelchair spoke as Quincy Harker did before his death. Silver weapons can kill vampires in a similar fashion to wooden ones, though very powerful vampires such as Dracula are resistant enough so they cannot be killed by such.^[135]

Garlic[]

The scent of garlic can sap the strength of a vampire. It has been used as a rope to bind vampires, sapping their strength sufficiently enough to prevent them from breaking the rope. Garlic is not lethal to vampires, but it can make them more vulnerable to other means of attack. The wearing of at least one garlic clove around one's neck is sufficient enough to repel a vampire. Also, a vampire cannot change his or her form if within about 20 feet of a garlic clove.^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}

Magic[]

Magic wielders such as Doctor Strange and Topaz have been able to harm vampires with magic, and some spells have the effect to kill a vampire. The most lethal spell of all is the Montesi Formula, a spell from the Darkhold which can destroy all vampires (the spell was named after Brother Montesi, the late monk who both discovered it and first realized what it was). Doctor Strange invoked the spell which destroyed all vampires on Earth (save Hannibal King, who he and his allies were able to restore to human life), but when the spell was broken all of the vampires that were destroyed were restored to undead life.^{[citation needed]} Vampires had also an aversion to the use of magic.^[136]

Contaminated Blood[]

Radioactive blood has proved harmful to vampires that consume it.^[137] Also, individuals with it that have been bitten have reverted back to normal once the radiation kills the enzymes that are responsible for their transformation.^[115] On Earth-12041 in the case of gamma radiation, the individual returns to normal when the blood cells super heat, burning the vampire cells like micro-suns. A sanitized sample of the Hulk's blood was used to cure the Black Widow when she was on the early states of the transformation.^[137]

Every cell of a Majesdanian (an alien race that lives inside a star) can absorb solar radiation. If a vampire drinks the blood of a fully-powered Majesdanian, this is the equivalent of consuming liquid sunlight, immediately turning the vampire into dust. It is unknown what would happen if a Majesdanian were to be fed upon after completely draining their solar reserves at night.^[138] The Heart-Shaped Herb could cleanse people of vampirism.^[58]

Other Limitations[]

Vampires cast no reflections,^[139] and their images cannot not be captured on film.^[14][140] According to Blade, this is due to vampires not having souls.^[115]

Newly turned vampires can be cured of their vampirism if the original vampire who bit and turned them is killed.^[141]

Night without any sunlight^[106]

Same as Earth

Same as Earth

The vampires encompass the Vampire Nation.^[36] They are divided into various different sects located in different parts of the world. These sects are all governed by the most powerful vampire of them all, that being Dracula after he inherited the position from Varnae,^[11] although his position could be usurped.^[15]

The vampires' cultures differ from sect to sect.^[15] They practice an underground fighting ring know as the Darkside Dance.^[142] Another widely practiced tradition of vampires is hunting. They would release captured victims into large enclosures so that they could feel the thrill of the hunt. Usually their prey would be killed but, if they proved to be capable of holding their own against the vampires, then they may have a chance to be spared and then turned into vampires themselves.^[45]

The vampire cult named the Creed believed in a messiah who would unify all of the vampires. They believed that this messiah was to be of mutant origin and created a clone of Wolverine named Varkis, but it was killed by the hero and Blade.^[143] The Temple of the Shifting Sun was said to worship the Demiurge.^[144]

Dracula, Baron Blood, Lilith, Varnae, Hannibal King, Amber, see Vampires

• Only true vampires possess the listed vulnerabilities, since their supernatural nature originated within the pages of the Darkhold. Individuals such as the vigilante Michael Morbius, often referred to as "the Living Vampire", and the undead mercenary known as Bloodscream are immune to them since they are referred to as pseudo-vampires. They possess many vampiric qualities, including appearance and many similar superhuman abilities, but have none of the special vulnerabilities because the origins of these abilities had nothing to do with the magic found within the Darkhold.
• The vampires in the Blade film series and TV series are very different from the vampires in the traditional Marvel Universe, considering they are based on semi-scientific premises that is based around a virus, and how this virus has mutated the infected into another species of humanoid. The progenitor of the vampire race is Drake, a.k.a. Dracula, as stated in Blade: Trinity. Most of his descendants can be grouped into two classes; the "Pure-Bloods", those who were born a vampire, and the "Turned", who began life as humans, but were later turned by infection from a vampire's bite. Also depicted was a rare anomaly where a vampire became a ghoulish being without any regenerative capability, and a mutated albino off-shoot race known as the Reapers.
• The term "vampire" was also used to describe a race of blood-drinking plants that lived in the continent of Lemuria half a million years ago.^[145] It is unknown if they have any relation to the traditional vampires that we know.

• Doctor Nemesis once stated that he could cure vampirism with 10 years and a billion dollars in funds.^[121]
• Ian McNee found out that vampires are one of the four main mystical threats that could be traced back to Chthon, the other three being werewolves, zombies, and the N'Garai.^[146]