Spider-Man’s Secret Power Makes Him The Perfect Vampire Hunter
Thanks to the fateful bite from one unique spider, Peter Parker was imbued with some truly amazing powers. And while it's common knowledge that his proportional strength and ability to stick to walls is what allows Spider-Man to catch thieves just like flies, one of the lesser-known perks provided by that spider bite is an immunity from being turned into a vampire. But despite having a genetic makeup that could rank him next to Blade as one of the greatest vampire hunters of all time, ironically, Peter has had a little trouble using that gifted power responsibly.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #96 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, Peter finds himself thrust into the haunting underworld of bloodsucking vampires. With his Daily Bugle coworker, Ben Urich, suffering from a vampire bite and on the brink of turning into a lifeless leech of the night, Peter fights to save Urich's life. Enter Morbius, who in this universe has fashioned himself as something of a vamp vigilante, looking out for victims of the night by utilizing his rare ability to cure those infected by vampire bites before they are fully turned.
The only problem is, as the son of Dracula, Morbius himself is a vampire and his healing ability can only be transmitted by way of his razor-sharp fangs. Needless to say, Peter has some reservations in trusting that Morbius' pointed tusks are the antidote Urich needs. As a result, the bulk of the narrative sees Spider-Man as the one person preventing Urich from receiving the cure, fighting off Morbius' every attempt to sink his teeth into the fading reporter. By the end, Morbius manages to finally bypass the web-head and save Urich's life. But Before taking off into the night, Morbius makes sure to point out Peter's awful handling of the situation, "If we ever bump into each other again… Let's pray that you've grown the $%#@ up."
This issue is the first in the series to reveal Spider-Man's blood is actually a disease to vampires, with a particularly nefarious one biting into Peter's neck at one point, only for it to immediately begin vomiting as a result. And with Peter's tainted blood also making it impossible for him to be turned into a vamp, Spider-Man could potentially make a formidable partner to Morbius in keeping the city streets vamp free. But as Morbius so acutely points out, Peter is still a child and nowhere near ready. And he's not wrong as Ultimate Spider-Man depicts a fifteen-year-old Peter in the very early stages of his web-slinging career. Merely a child, Peter's still coming of age and learning to navigate a world that isn't as black and white as childhood once made it seem.
Bendis' entire Ultimate Spider-Man run explores the rough waters of Peter becoming an adult, with the responsible choice becoming less clear and more muddled. When his Uncle Ben was killed, Spider-Man was created as a child's fantasy of bringing justice into an unjust world. But as any kid would assume, preventing a vampire from sinking his fangs into a helpless person's neck is obviously the "right" action to take. Only in Morbius' case, it's not so simple. Though he may have the distinct appearance of something evil, Morbius has only the best intentions, and Peter's narrow view of the situation is what nearly gets an innocent man killed. So then the question must be asked, though he possesses the strength of a spider and the immunity to the common vampire bite, is a child such as Peter truly fit for the responsibility of distinguishing the complex horrors of the world?