Spider-Man Unlimited #20
A Long Way Until Dawn
The Zombie known as Simon Garth is forced to go to New York’s Greenwich Village under the command of the person who possesses the twin to the Amulet of Damballa that Garth wears around his neck. His master commands that he kidnaps a boy from a group of people hanging around in an alley.
Meanwhile, in Times Square, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are enjoying a night out, something they need after all their recent trials and tribulations.[1] Mary Jane is glad to finally have an evening together but knows that Peter is concerned about the rash of missing street youths. When an ambulance speeds by, Mary Jane knows the fun is over and tells Peter to be careful and not to stay out too late. As Peter leaves to change into Spider-Man, Mary Jane hails a cab to get home. When the previous passenger exits the vehicle, Mary Jane finds something odd about him, unaware that this is Hannibal King, the vampire detective. He is also investigating the missing youths and goes to Club Jugular to ask around even though he hates the goths that frequent the bar. When the bouncer tries to stop him at the door, Hannibal bares his fangs, frightening the bouncer enough that he lets King in without further question. Inside he begins asking around about the Amulet of Damballa. One of the patrons, a cultist named Morning Star, says he might know who has it.
Uptown in the secret lab of Doctor Jacob Weisenthal, the scientist continues his tireless efforts to develop a cure for his friend, Michael Morbius, also known as the Living Vampire.[2] His work is interrupted by Lilith — the daughter of Dracula — who grabs Weisenthal by the throat. She asks where she can find Michael Morbius.[3] Weisenthal says he doesn’t know where Morbius is, but he believes he has developed a cure for him.[4] This angers her, saying that the only thing wrong with Morbius is that he is a living vampire, something she intends to fix soon. With that she drops a heavy device on Jacob’s head, it’s weight crushing him to death.
Later, Spider-Man has just finished saving people from a burning building when she is approached by a woman calling herself Lily Drake. Spider-Man’s spider-sense is giving a strange signal that’s not kind of a warning. He also finds himself completely drawn in by how attractive Drake is. She says she works for Now Magazine and is doing an article about Michael Morbius. Spider-Man tells her that he hasn’t seen Morbius in a while.[5] That’s when she asks him if he knows that the disappearances of local youths has been tied to some of the local vampire clubs. Spider-Man takes off to investigate this lead, chastising himself for not thinking of it earlier. As he swings away, the web-slinger can’t get the thought of Lily Drake off of his mind. By this time, Hannibal King’s investigation has brought him to the Voodoo Lounge where he meets with the mystic named Topaz. He asks her to help him track down the Amulet of Damballa. Topaz agrees to help Hannibal only because Doctor Strange speaks very highly of him.[6] He is then introduced to Collette Drumm, the niece of Brother Voodoo, who tells him that the Amulet of Damballa is still in New York and is being used by a vampire named Lilith.[7] She offers to give Hannibal the name of her regular hangout for a price, but he still gets people to talk to him about Morbius.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker has done his best to go undercover at Club Juggular in the hopes of learning what he can about Morbius.[8] He sticks out like a sore thumb.[9] That’s when he sees an alluring woman dressed in black and thinks he’s met her somewhere before but can’t quite place it. This is Lilith, who also senses that she has met Peter Parker before, unaware that she met with him earlier that day when he was dressed as Spider-Man. That’s when Hannibal King interrupts asking her where she got the Amulet of Damballa.[10] Lilith says it was given to her as a present. When Peter tells Hannibal to back off, King uses his vampiric strength to shove Parker away. As the two come to blows, Peter changes into Spider-Man and tries to stop the fight. Hannibal manages to convince the wall-crawler that Lilith is the real foe but it comes to late as Lilith manages to escape.
Lilith has retreated to her hideout to recover Simon Garth. Liking the fact that Garth doesn’t talk back she expresses her concerns that her father, Dracula, is still alive and it will only be a matter of time before he reclaims his role as king of the vampires.[11] This will undoubtedly lead to a war between the various factions of the undead.[12] Her original intention was to recruit Morbius as a concubine in the coming battle but has decided that Hannibal King would make a more suitable thrall. By this point, Spider-Man and Hannibal King have compared notes and realize that they are seeking the same thing. King reveals that the person kidnapping youths was Simon Garth, who had been capturing victims for Lilith.[13] They then begin looking for Lilith but Lilith has expected this. Sending the Zombie to Times Square on a rampage, Spider-Man tries to stop him but is captured. Meanwhile, Hannibal King is ambushed by Lilith’s loyal army and taken prisoner as well. Both men are taken to Lilith’s hideout where she asks Hannibal to join him. Surprisingly he agrees and she orders him to kill Spider-Man. However, this was all a ruse to get close enough to take back the Amulet of Damballa. With the rising sun, Lilith’s vampires are quickly destroyed. Lilith soon finds herself alone against Spider-Man, the Zombie, and Hannibal King and escapes by changing into mist. With the battle over, Spider-Man hands over the Amulet to Hannibal so he can return it to his client.
That afternoon, Peter and Mary Jane are enjoying their afternoon in Central Park where he tells her all about his encounter with the vampires. When she asks him if he believes that he really fought Dracula’s daughter, Peter doesn’t think Dracula is anything more than a fictional character.[14] That evening in New Orleans, Hannibal delivers Simon Garth over to his daughter Donna, who can now finally put him to rest, saying that she is going to bury him in secret in the hopes nobody finds him again.[15]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Lilith, Zombie, Mary Jane Watson, Donna Garth, Hannibal King, Morning Star, Topaz
Continuity Notes
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Weisenthal has been working with Morbius since Morbius the Living Vampire #1.
Lilith states that she got her information from Simon Stroud’s files. Simon Stroud is an NYPD officer who has made a career hunting the paranormal. In particular, he began hunting Morbius the Living Vampire since Fear #27.
Weisenthal last saw Morbius in Morbius the Living Vampire #20. At the time of this story, Morbius has given in to his hunger as seen in X-Man #24.
Spider-Man last saw Morbius in Spider-Man #80 when he was a prisoner Hydra. Nobody has seen Morbius in a while because he is still a prisoner and is being experimented on. He won’t get free again until Peter Parker: Spider-Man #8.
Hannibal King first worked with Doctor Strange back in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #58.
Collette mentions Hannibal’s associations with Blade the Vampire Hunter, and his adversity toward Marie Leveau. Hannibal and Blade have had an uneasy alliance ever since they first worked together in Tomb of Dracula #45. At the time of this story, Blade had recently clashed with Marie Laveau in Blade the Vampire Hunter #4.
The patrons of the bar make comments about Peter resembling Beverly Hills 90210 star Luke Perry. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, primarily because the original run of 90210 ended in the year 2000. At the time this story was published Perry was still quite youthful looking even though he was 30 years old at the time. The Luke Perry reference is topical as well since Perry passed away in 2019 at the age of 52.
Peter states he’s like Fox Mulder as he knows the “truth is out there”. Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) was one of the main protagonists on the X-Files which ran from 1993 to 2002. The character was an FBI agent who investigated cases of the paranormal. This reference should also be considered topical.
Hannibal King sarcastically called Lilith “Elvira”. This is yet another pop-culture reference. Elvira (played by Cassandra Peterson) was a horror movie host who appeared on Elvira’s Movie Macabre starting in 1981. She was an instant pop-culture sensation. Peterson still reprises her role as the character to this day even though (at the time of this writing) she is pushing 70. This is yet another topical reference.
Lilith’s comments that Dracula is back from the dead is a reference to the fact that he was physically killed in Tomb of Dracula (vol. 3) #4. For a time, Dracula’s spirit endured, however, he eventually regained his physical due to unknown means. The first chronological return of Dracula’s physical form is a flashback from Beyond! #4. My guess is the Stranger (who was the mastermind behind the Beyond limited series) used his cosmic powers to restore Dracula’s physical form.
Of all the different vampire super-powers that Lilith names off, she wonders if Varnae is still alive. Varane is the world’s first vampire. Varane has died a couple of times. But most recently, Varnae’s physical form was destroyed in Nightstalkers #18 although his spirit made a brief return in Blade the Vampire Hunter #5.
Spider-Man knows who the Zombie is because he previously encountered Simon Garth in Spider-Man Annual 1997.
Peter’s pretty obtuse when it comes to believing that Dracula is a real being especially since he has run into Dracula on two occasions in Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 and Spider-Man Team-Up #6.
Unfortunately, Simon Garth doesn’t get his eternal rest as he’ll be dragged back from the grave in Strange Tales (vol. 4) #1.
