It’s Time for Dracula To Join the MCU

Since the original Iron Man, Marvel Studios has stuck strictly to superhero content, focusing on the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as they battle corporate criminals, alien invaders, secret societies, and otherworldly demons alike. Even now, this branch of the Disney conglomerate still deals largely in superhero media, be it feature films, television events, animated series, and now special presentations. Though we all love the Marvel heroes who have made their way into the public eye over the past 15 years, there is something to be said about the concept of “superhero fatigue” and that, eventually, people are bound to get burnt out. For some, this has already begun, as Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn‘s Secret Invasion series on Disney+ was largely a swing and a miss with fans, and recent movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Morbius failed to connect with audiences.

In 2022, Marvel Studios thankfully did something very different, and marched head-first into horror territory. Directed by famed film composer Michael Giacchino, the television (well, streaming) special Werewolf By Night was notable for its nods to the classic Universal monster movies of old, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and most notably The Wolf-Man. Between the black-and-white cinematography, emphasis on practical effects, and the dive into the horror genre (even if we’re still in the shallow end of it), it’s clear that Werewolf By Night was a success. This special thrusts us into a whole new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that had only been alluded to or briefly touched on in previous Marvel content such as the Doctor Strange films, WandaVision, and even Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. While it still has that distinct Marvel feel, it’s certainly a new creative direction for the studio, one that the studio needs to pursue further.

What Is Marvel’s ‘The Tomb of Dracula’?

Now that Marvel Studios have made it clear that they’re interested in tackling more supernatural horror, (Mahershala Ali‘s Blade reboot and Jared Leto’s ill-attempt with Morbius, in addition to Werewolf by Night), there’s no time like the present for Marvel to adapt their most iconic horror comic, which is ironically the one that brought us Blade in the first place. That’s right, it’s time for The Tomb of Dracula to be adapted into live-action, and Marvel Studios is finally in the position to do it right. For those who don’t know, The Tomb of Dracula was a monthly horror comic that Marvel published between 1972 and 1979. For the first six issues, the series (which ran for a total of 70 issues), was bounced around between comic legends Gardner Fox, Gerry Conway, and Archie Goodwin before Marv Wolfman took over writing duties for the remainder of the series, with all the artwork done by Gene Colan and largely inked by Tom Palmer.

This iconic horror story followed a group of vampire hunters who fought against the infamous Count Dracula, who became a dark presence in the Marvel Universe. In fact, Marvel’s version of Dracula has not only faced off against both the X-Men and the Avengers in the comics, but has also appeared in various Marvel animated series such as Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. At the time, horror comics were all but dead in the water. The Comics Code Authority had restricted the sorts of content that could be published by the major publishers, and that, unfortunately, basically included any and all vampires. This was a shame, since horror books were immensely popular in the 1930s and ’40s. In fact, by the early 1950s, nearly 25% of all comic books being published were horror. Yet, some publishers pushed back, finding workarounds and loopholes to exploit and thus bypass the Comics Code entirely. Eventually, the guidelines were revised, allowing for such monsters to return to the page, and since Marvel had nothing to fear, The Tomb of Dracula was born and quickly became one of the most popular and impressive non-anthology horror comics out there.

Besides the fact that The Tomb of Dracula was by far Marvel’s biggest horror book, an adaptation of this Dracula story would no doubt be a huge hit for Marvel. Not only would this allow for the world we entered in Werewolf By Night to be further explored (with lots of opportunity for characters to crossover, just as they did in the comics), but could easily pull traditional monster movie fans and casual horror viewers into the Marvel universe as well. Those who love Dracula movies and stories would flock to this new version, which was actually based on Jack Palance‘s performance as the titular character in the television film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ironically, Palance would go on to portray Count Dracula soon after in the 1974 Bram Stroker’s Dracula, another television film not to be confused with the Gary Oldman production from the 1990s.

‘Tomb of Dracula’ Was Inspired By Universal Monster Movies

The series itself took brief inspiration from the classic black-and-white Universal monster movies (such as the famous Bela Lugosi film) as well as the Hammer productions which starred Christopher Lee as the Count, but despite there being an abundance of Dracula material out there, Wolfman and his team took the iconic vampire to new heights, with a strong supporting (and very diverse) cast and an exciting plot that never failed to entertain (and to frighten). This cast included the likes of Quincy Harker, the son of Dracula leads Jonathan and Mina Harker, and Rachel van Helsing, the strong-willed great-granddaughter of the famed vampire hunter, and Dracula nemesis, Dr. Abraham van Helsing. Both Quincy and Rachel are the sworn enemies of the Count, leading a group of vampire hunters and allies that also include Frank Drake, Dracula’s last living human descendant, Taj Nital, a mute Muslim vampire hunter with super strength, Hannibal King, a P.I. vampire who wishes not to be, and Marvel’s trademark vampire slayer himself, Blade.

RELATED: How Does ‘Werewolf By Night’ Connect to ‘Blade’?

With the Blade reboot already in the works, there’s no better time for Marvel Studios to jump onto The Tomb of Dracula, which could not only introduce many of his supporting cast members early on but ease the MCU audience into the supernatural world of blood-sucking vampires before his theatrical debut. This wouldn’t be the first time that Marvel would use such a tactic regarding the undead; they previously did it back in the ’70s when they introduced Morbius the Living Vampire (yes, that Morbius) into The Amazing Spider-Man comics, hoping audiences would respond well to vampires in the mainstream Marvel universe. It was only after the positive reaction to the Living Vampire (ironic, given the mixed-to-negative reaction to the Morbius film), that Stan Lee, who desperately wanted Marvel to do a Dracula series, would officially green-light The Tomb of Dracula.

Marvel’s ‘The Tomb of Dracula’ Had a Very Successful Run

In his book Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics, author and historian Les Daniels wrote that “With an unbroken run of seventy issues over the course of more than seven years, Marvel’s The Tomb of Dracula was the most successful comic book series to feature a villain as its title character.” Longtime fans of the book, and most Marvel fans in general, recognize The Tomb of Dracula as one of comics’ greatest achievements in the horror genre. To have a horror book that ran 70 issues for the better part of a decade, uninterrupted, was no small feat. All the more reason to see this iconic story brought to life on the screen. As one of Marvel’s most successful works from the 1970s, the horror comic ended up influencing the Marvel universe more than most know. Sure, Blade came out of this book, leading to a trilogy of Blade movies, a television series, and various animated appearances of the character, but there’s more to it than that.

The Nightstalkers series spawned out of the Dracula book, which reunited the Tomb of Dracula cast and continued a few dropped plot threads from the original series, as did the destruction of all vampires by Doctor Strange in the Sorcerer Supreme’s own self-titled series. Though, naturally many of these vampires didn’t stay dead for long. In 2004, Tomb of Dracula was revived as a Marvel miniseries, and again the Count returned in the 2010 one-shot Death of Dracula. Since then, Blade and various other Dracula characters have often returned to face the undead, and as recently as 2019, Marvel’s Count Dracula fought the Avengers directly, leaving room for an MCU variant of the infamous vampire to face off against our favorite live-action superheroes.

Now that Werewolf By Night has opened the door to the world of supernatural horrors, The Tomb of Dracula is the most natural and obvious Marvel comic book to adapt next. Its legacy and impact on the greater Marvel universe cannot be understated, and it would be a shame if these iconic vampire hunters (and the Lord of Vampires himself) didn’t make it to the small screen, be it in another Marvel Special Presentation or in an ongoing series of its own. If you haven’t read The Tomb of Dracula, you’re missing out, and you should check out Marvel’s most enduring horror series before it’s too late.

The Big Picture

• Marvel Studios is branching out into horror territory with their recent release of Werewolf By Night, signaling a new creative direction for the studio.
• The success of Werewolf By Night opens up the possibility for Marvel to adapt their iconic horror comic, The Tomb of Dracula, which would allow for further exploration of the supernatural side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• The Tomb of Dracula’s adaptation would be a huge hit, drawing traditional monster movie fans and casual horror viewers into the Marvel universe.

Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.