Dracula (Marvel)
Dracula is a male undead comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
He allegedly ousted his half-brother Alexandru Aldea from the throne of Wallachia. (Bizarre Adventures v1 #33) The young Vlad rode to Turkey alongside his father and his younger brother, Radu, to discuss policies of peace between the Magyars and the Ottoman Empire. They were ambushed and captured by soldiers of Sultan Murad II, who then took the two sons hostage, to force Vlad the Elder to adopt policies which favored Turkey. For five years, they remained prisoners, suffering much torture and humiliation, during which time Radu died, and Vlad the Elder along with his eldest son, Mircea were killed by his own advisors led by John Hunyadi for his support of Turkey. It was in the Turkish prison that Vlad learned his lessons in cruelty. Vlad escaped imprisonment and returned to his home, taking the title as Voivode of Wallachia after ousting the Danestis. (Tomb of Dracula v2 #2) Fearing the Transylvanians who had slain his father, Vlad fled to Moldavia. Vlad returned to Transylvania, throwing himself on the mercy of John Hunyadi-- who schooled him in the arts of war. (Tomb of Dracula v2 #3) In 1451, Dracula who was finally tired of running threw himself on Hunyadi's mercy. Hoping to add legitimacy to his regency, Hunyadi took Dracula under his wing, teaching him the art of war, and overseeing Vlad's pre-arranged marriage to Zofia whom he despised. After a year of marriage, Dracula with Hunyadi having died in the meantime considered all his obligations fulfilled, and expelled his wife and their daughter, Lilith. Lilith was left in the care of a Romani woman named Gretchin, while Zofia decided to take her own life rather than live as a peasant. (Giant-Size Chillers Featuring Curse of Dracula v1 #1) Vlad expressed his hatred for Zofia, both physically and mentally abusing her--even going so far as to romance other women while Zofia was locked in the closet of the same room. (Tomb of Dracula v1 #60) Vlad then forced Zofia, and the infant Lilith, to dine with him, overlooking the scene of a recent impaling. (Tomb of Dracula v2 #5) With Hunyadi's help, Dracula again became Prince of Wallachia. Dracula was opposed by the unfriendly new Sultan, Mohammed the Conqueror. (Tomb of Dracula v2 #3) There he ordered the impalement of all those involved in his father's assassination--earning him the title of Vlad the Impaler. His second act was ordering a massed assault on the hordes of Turkey. (Tomb of Dracula v2 #2) Frank von Frankenstein who was one of the fanatical band known as the Teutonic knights converted the 'heathens' of eastern Europe at the point of a crimsoned sword. He had many such 'triumphs' of religious frenzy over reason but he was most fiercely resisted by Vlad Tepes. Ultimately the Transylvanian tasted the sweet wine of victory, and Frank and the German knights were impaled on stakes, as was Vlad Tepes. (Doctor Strange v3 #37)
Originally Vlad Dracula, who became a vampire, and lord of Castle Dracula. Dracula was the lord of all vampires, having gained that title by slaying the previous leader, Nimrod and one of the first vampires, Varnae, drinking both their blood. As a result, Dracula had greater powers than any other vampire. He eventually crossed the ocean to England, only to be chased back to Castle Dracula by Dr. Abraham van Helsing and company, then slain.
He attended a club where a band known as the Russoff Trio were playing with him attending as Count Orlok. Whilst there, he met a woman named Eveline O'Reilly who was a widow with him being attracted to her. Whilst dancing with her, she revealed that she knew he was Dracula and stated that her family name was Van Helsing with her father being Abraham Van Helsing. Initially, Dracula believed she had come to kill him but she showed that she was actually hunting werewolves as the Russoff Trio revealed their true nature as the savage beasts. This led to Eveline and Dracula working together where they slew the beasts before the two parted ways. Dracula had come to admire te woman but never pursued her and let her live a peaceful life. (Bizarre Adventures v2 #1)
However, when his servant Madame Marguerita manipulated the recently revived Frankenstein's Monster into freeing Dracula's body after he was "slain" by Helsing's team, she was able to restore him to unlife. Dracula's first goal after his resurrection was vengeance- he slew van Helsing and his ally Jonathan Harker, though not before Harker had married Mina (one of Dracula's targets) and fathered a son, Quincy Harker.
During the first World War, Dracula transformed an Englishman named Lord John Falsworth into Baron Blood, and sent him to wreak havoc in Britain during that crucial era. After World War II, an adult Quincy organized a large task force to hunt down and destroy Dracula, prompting retaliation from the Count in the form of an attack on Quincy and his wife Elizabeth Harker. Both survived, but Elizabeth, tormented by nightmares of Dracula, committed suicide four years later.
Over the next several decades, Dracula made many more enemies, including the Indian Taj Nital, Vlad Dracula's only living descendant Frank Drake, Hannibal King, Rachel van Helsing, and Blade. These enemies joined a wheelchair-bound Quincy Harker in a war on Dracula, a war they finally won with his apparent destruction- at the cost of Quincy Harker's life.
Even so, Dracula was revived yet again, taking his revenge on Rachel van Helsing by transforming her into a vampire. Soon after, he began to find himself against mightier foes- including the X-Men and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. A cult of Darkholders equalized the playing field, removing all of Dracula's vampiric weaknesses except for one- to the Montesi Formula. That magical formula was capable of destroying every vampire on Earth, and despite Dracula's attempts to stop them, Strange and the surviving enemies of Dracula were able to use the incantation. Dracula and every other vampire on Earth were annihilated.
Despite this seeming final death, Dracula was later resurrected by dark magics, in a new and terrifying form.
With the new Civil War raging and the M-Pox Crisis, Dracula sought to use the chaos to build his army in secret to conquer the world. This led to a battle with Old Man Logan and the Howling Commandos from the S.T.A.K.E. division. (Old Man Logan v2 #15)
Whilst among the Russians, he was brought before the Red Widow where he stated his desire that he would give them all the knowledge he possessed in exchange for living a quiet peaceful life. Dracula confessed that he had no desire to retake the throne of the vampires and had grown tired of the burden of leading his kind. Thus, he wanted the Russians to accommodate him by providing him a safe haven according to his terms. However, Red Widow decided to break his will by gathering his vampire concubines and executing them before him as she intended to extract this information forcibly from him with her government not intending to offer any deals with him. (Avengers v8 #16)
Within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, many vampires gathered to be added into the new shadow nation. However, Dracula refused to allow them entry with only those that stayed outside and allowed themselves to be suffer pain from sunlight being allowed entry into his kingdom. He was then offered advice from Baroness Blood who suggested that they seek allies to battle the Avengers. (Avengers v8 #32) In the aftermath, he began to have the vampires grow in numbers as humanity and challenge the newly formed Mutant nation of Krakoa. This saw him hiring Omega Red by offering him the Carbonadium Synthesizer in exchange for being spying on the Mutants. (Wolverine v7 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He had stated that he was known by many names including Wallach, the Dragon and even as the Devil himself. Ultimately, he was the Nosferatu Wampir and as the Lord of the Vampires. (Generation X Annual v1 #1998)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Dracula was created by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan where he made his first appearance in Tomb of Dracula v1 #1 (April, 1972).
- The character was an adaptation and based on Dracula.
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Woman, Dracula appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was in the episode "Dracula's Revenge" though it was not credited which actor voiced the character.
- In Avengers Assemble, Dracula appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Corey Burton.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, Dracula appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was once again voiced by actor Corey Burton.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Dracula appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was once more voiced by actor Corey Burton.
Video games
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Dracula appeared as an antagonist in the setting of the Facebook video game. During the Special Operations - Eclipse Phase mission, its revealed that he had formed an alliance with Mephisto with the pair creating a mystical Eclipse that darkened the world allowing them to strike London and New York.
Appearances
- Tomb of Dracula v1: (1972)
- Dracula Lives v1:
- Giant-Size Dracula v1:
- Uncanny X-Men Annual v1:
- Generation X Annual v1:
- X-Men: Apocalypse/Dracula v1:
- Doctor Strange:
- Captain Britain and MI-13 v1:
- X-Men v3:
- Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula v1:
- Deadpool:
- Old Man Logan v3:
- Avengers v8: (2019)
- Wolverine v7: (2020)
