Morbius Easter Eggs and References
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Morbius.The Living Vampire Michael Morbius made his comic book debut in amazing spider man #1 in 1971, and after many delays, it made its live-action debut over 50 years later. Morbiuswhich is part of Sony’s share Spider Man universe, sees the titular character trying to find a cure for his blood-borne disease which is getting a bit out of control. It’s not unlike its comic book origin story, but the film fuses modern cinematic takes with classic comic book elements to give audiences a relatively new story.
Because it pulls from Marvel Comics, there are quite a few Easter eggs and references for longtime comic book fans. However, fans looking for some of the Easter eggs spotted in the film’s early trailers might be disappointed. The Spider-Man graffiti featured in the trailers, for example, is not part of the film at all. Neither is the Oscorp logo that was seen on a building in the trailer. It’s not uncommon as cut footage often ends up in trailers, but the rest of these easter eggs all made the final cut.
When Michael Morbius shows how smart he is at a young age, the doctor who cares for him decides to send him to a “school for gifted children”. While that phrasing might be pretty innocuous, he also makes sure to mention that the school is in New York.
Anyone who’s read a comic book knows that Xavier’s School For Gifted Children, hidden away in upstate New York, is the X-Men’s training ground. He hides mutant children in plain sight. It is quite possible that the wording used in Morbius is a coincidence, but it would be a very big coincidence. It’s more likely a nod and nod to the fact that Morbius is a Marvel character.
Spider Man fans will know that daily bugle is the publication that Peter Parker has worked for as a photographer for a very long time in the original comic book series. It’s also a huge publication in Marvel Comics, and even exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, owned by J Jonah Jameson.
The diary is featured a few times in the film, and while the headlines are usually about Morbius, there are a few other titles alluding to other Spider Man characters running in the city. Rhino, Black Cat and Chameleon all have their own titles. Rhino featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2Black Cat was supposed to get its own Sony movie (and still might), and Chameleon just got cast as the next one. Kraven the hunter movie. The use of these particular villains in the diary could be a clue as to which universe Morbius exist.
Although most of Morbius’ funding comes from his friend Lucien, he is also the director of Horizon Labs, according to promotional material for the film. The company’s name is only mentioned a handful of times in the film, but its logo matches Horizon Labs where Morbius also works briefly in the comics.
In the comics, he gets the number 6 designation because he works in Lab 6. He secretly uses the resources to work on a cure for his condition, just like he does in the movie here. Oddly enough, Lab 7 is occupied by Peter Parker in the comics, and all of the room numbers listed for patients in the Horizon Lab on the floor occupied by Morbius in the movie start with a number 7. Maybe that’s just another coincidence, or it’s another wink. to his Spider Man connections in the comics.
Morbius and Lucien have maintained a friendship from the first day they meet at a medical facility as children through adulthood. Lucien is presented as more of a troublemaker than Morbius long before he was revealed as the film’s villain, and one such scene shows him having employed bodyguards because he irritated a Russian while playing cards. with him.
It may seem like a line that can be easily erased, but it’s important to note that one family that enjoys a good underground card game with other wealthy members of society is the Kravinoffs. Kraven the Hunter is a member of the Kravinoff family and his Sony movie is currently filming. Like the chameleon in the newspaper, it would tie the two films together.
When Morbius and Dr. Martine Bancroft decide to experiment at sea, the freighter they are working on is an excellent reference. In the comics there is also a ship employed by Horizon Labs, used when the lab is closed in New York, but it has a different name, the Zenith.
The name of the ship is changed here as it is another easter egg. Murnau is a nod to FW Murnau, who is credited with directing the first vampire film, Nosferatus, in 1922. Officially, the film is not an adaptation of Bram Stoker Dracula novel due to complicated copyright claims at the time, but the novel, film, and Morbius, all feature some sort of vampire that kills everyone aboard the ship. In Morbius’ case, he doesn’t kill Martine, but it’s a comic nod as he also jumps out of a ship to avoid killing her in his origin story in the comics, but there, she is his secretary instead of an equal partner in his search.
At one point, Lucien is asked to rate his pain on a scale of one to ten. He chooses an eleven. While this indicates that he regularly suffers excruciating pain from his condition, it’s also a nod to actor Matt Smith’s previous role in another franchise.
Matt Smith starred at the BBC Doctor Who For four years. The number of his particular incarnation of the Doctor? Eleven.
The bizarre case of victims drained of blood is compared to the bizarre case that FBI agents Stroud and Rodriguez saw in San Francisco. San Francisco is where Venom movies take place mainly. This makes it likely that Venom, Morbius, and Kraven all reside in the same universe.
Stroud is also a Marvel comic book character. In the comics, however, he works for the CIA, not the FBI. He also hunts Morbius, but also ends up teaming up with Morbius and Martine a few times to completely fight other entities.
Bloodlust almost gets the better of Morbius while he is in custody. He admits he’s getting hungry at Rodriguez and Stroud, saying, “you won’t like me when I’m hungry.”
This is a play on a particularly well-known Hulk line, “you won’t like me when I’m mad”. It’s a nod to the two characters who transform when their basic instincts get the better of them.
Unlike the movie diaries, the TV diaries don’t offer many Easter eggs. However, they do offer a bit of foreshadowing for one of Morbius’ most interesting abilities in the film – and one that sets him apart from Lucien.
A news report following the confrontation between Morbius and Lucien which takes them to a subway station mentions that the subway has been closed due to a bat infestation. It’s a nod to Morbius’ connection to bats. He mentions how they welcome him instead of attacking him earlier in the film, but this is the first sign that he can actually call them to him as he will later in the final battle against Lucien. The bats followed him into the subway, which is why he ended up getting infested.
Lucien uses the particularly cruel trope of capturing Martine to lure Morbius into the open. He hurts her so badly that by the time Morbius reaches him, his death is inevitable, but… not exactly. Martine opens her eyes after the fight between Morbius and Lucien and takes a deep breath despite Morbius having drained his blood at his own request before dying.
It’s important to note that Martine also had some Morbius blood in her system as it went straight into her mouth while she was talking to him, likely making him another living vampire. It’s a twist on her comic book story as she ends up becoming a more traditional vampire. Martine even attempts to bite Morbius at one point in the comics so he’ll be a traditional vampire and they can live out their immortal lives together, but that doesn’t end up happening. Presumably, if a sequel moves forward, Morbius will learn of his resurrection.
While the trailer scene featuring Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes is cut from the film, Toomes appears in both credit scenes. The first establishes that this incarnation of Toomes is the same as the MCU’s. For some reason, the events of Spider-Man: No Coming Home transport him to a whole new universe. It’s entirely possible that it’s because Sony doesn’t want to share Spider-Man with Marvel too much anymore, but it’s also possible that it’s because Sony wants to build its own Sinister Six, like they already tried to do in the amazing spider man 2 post-credit scene.
Not only does the scene indicate a loss for the MCU of the Vulture, but it also seems that this version of Toomes uses technology that the amazing spider man Vulture would have used. When he flies off to meet Morbius in the middle of nowhere, he wears wings that look remarkably like those enclosed in the amazing spider man 2 credits. It’s possible the design is just a nod to Easter Eggs, but it could also mean Sony is building its universe of villains into that of Andrew Garfield. Spider Man universe.
Only time will tell if Easter Eggs will pay off in the future or not.
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