Hannibal King
Encyclopedia
Hannibal King is a fictional character
, a supernatural detective appearing in publications from Marvel Comics
. He first appeared as a supporting character in the 1970s comic book
The Tomb of Dracula.
. A private detective who made a modest living, King was bitten and killed by the vampire
Deacon Frost
while on a case in London, England. Waking up to find himself one of the undead, King was horrified at what he had become and vowed never to consummate the curse by passing it to another. Thus, King would subsist on blood that he purchased (or stole) from blood banks and fed on corpses or animals. King also preferred not to use his vampiric powers, believing that he gave up a part of himself every time he did so. In spite of his vampirism, King continued to operate as a private detective, but could only travel freely at night.
As a vampire, he first battled Dracula
, the Lord of Earth's vampires. While searching for Deacon Frost, King eventually met Blade
, the vampire hunter. It was also Deacon Frost who killed Blade's mother. Initially distrustful of each other, they nevertheless teamed up to destroy Frost. King battled a Blade doppelganger created by Deacon Frost. King and Blade then destroyed Deacon Frost himself. King and Blade parted as eternal friends.
At the time of these stories it was revealed that King had been a vampire for about five years. While investigating the murder of a friend at the hands of the Darkhold
ers, King contacted Doctor Strange
, the Sorcerer Supreme. Through Strange, King discovered that the Darkhold contained the spell not only for creating vampires but destroying them. And it was through King that Strange learned of the apparent return of Dracula. King, with vampire hunters Blade and Frank Drake
, joined Strange in their visit to Castle Mordo
where they retrieved the Darkhold. They battled Dracula and the Darkholders, and then used the book to cast the Montesi formula. This spell destroyed Dracula and all current vampires on Earth and prevented any more from being able to exist on Earth. King was not destroyed by the Montesi formula because he had never taken blood from a living human being, but still required Doctor Strange to perform a complete blood transfusion for King to survive, which restored him to human form.
The trio subsequently founded a detective agency initially simply known as King, Drake, and Blade; the private investigations firm was later known as Borderline Investigations. With Doctor Strange, they fought the Darkholders again. King also assisted the Defenders
on one of their missions. Alongside the Beast
, Gargoyle, Daimon Hellstrom
, Hellcat, Cutlass and Typhoon, and Rufus T. Hackstabber, he helped foil the plans of Minvera Bannister.
Apparently, discord amongst the three friends caused Drake to leave the firm and Blade suffered a breakdown after a fight with a once again resurrected Dracula
. Dracula's return indicated the weakening of the Montesi formula. King was unable to operate the firm on his own knowing his vampirism was returning. After an examination, Doctor Strange concluded that King, because of his recent reversion, had become a "neo-vampire", a special type of vampire with the abilities and weaknesses of the vampire, who craved blood but did not need it to survive.
Strange manipulated the three men into reuniting under the name Nightstalkers
to combat supernatural enemies that were emerging. In their first mission, the Nightstalkers were hired by Lilith to kill the Daniel Ketch Ghost Rider
and John Blaze
, and battled the Meatmarket. Alongside Ghost Rider, Blaze, Morbius, Doctor Strange, and the Darkhold Redeemers, the Nightstalkers battled Lilith and her Lilin. Among the enemies the Nightstalkers fought were The Fallen, HYDRA
's DOA, and Varnae. King and Drake were originally thought by Blade to have been killed in the explosion that destroyed Varnae. King would however show up in New Orleans, later to help Blade fight a resurrected Deacon Frost. King also accepted an assignment from Donna Garth to locate her father, Simon Garth who is also known as the Living Zombie. King tracked Garth to New York where he was assisted by Spider-Man
in rescuing Garth from Lilith, the daughter of Dracula.
King would later set up a small shop in San Francisco where a CIA agent enlisted his help in stopping a vampire plot to blackmail the Earth with biochemical weapons. During this fight, CIA agent Tatjana Stiles was injured by vampire terrorist leader Navarro; although they defeated Navarro, Stiles' injuries were too painful for her to live with. Knowing the pain would eventually kill her, she begged King to make her like him "if she loves him". King, who grew attracted to Stiles, reluctantly complied and broke his years-long vow. Weeks later, King read a newspaper article about the mysterious death of two Iraq
i guards in an overseas search for terrorist weapons. From the description of the deaths, King had no doubt who was responsible. King became dispirited, losing interest in his work and retreating into depression.
He assisted Blade in London where the latter confronted Draconis, a vampire impervious to all forms of exorcism.
Blade's biological father offered a way to restore the souls of all vampires, which he admitted would have the additional effect of removing all of their weaknesses. The rite was dependent on Blade, who scoffed at providing practical invulnerability to the enemy he'd sworn to destroy. Blade attempted to enlist King against Blade's father, but King refused, and attacked his former partner for denying him one of his greatest desires: to see the sunrise again. Blade staked King, who appeared to die, leaving behind only a smoking stain on the cobblestones.
He returned (as did every other vampire that Blade had killed) soon after, and Blade gave him a potion that would stop him needing to feast on blood.
, and even when King was cured of his vampirism he has retained many of his vampiric abilities without actually being a vampire. He has superhuman strength and speed and sharper senses than an average human. King is virtually immortal, possessing agelessness, immunity to diseases and poisons, and the ability to survive and heal great amounts of physical damage. He also has the ability to instantly hypnotize human victims, and can fly via directed motion hovering by taking on a mist-like form. He can also control rats and used them to gather information for him during the day. He has also been known to transform into a wolf. However, King also has the weaknesses of a vampire: the need for blood in order to sustain his existence, the inability to endure direct sunlight, and the standard vampiric vulnerabilities to garlic, silver, and the presence of religious symbols. Beheading, burning, and a wooden stake through the heart will kill him.
King is an excellent detective, a good marksman with a pistol, and possesses an extraordinary sense of will. He often arms himself with conventional firearms, but sometimes uses special ones against supernatural foes.
In The Tomb of Dracula #25, the reader is not told immediately that King was a vampire. This is not revealed until the final panel. In a writing fashion similar to O Henry, there are visual and dialogue cues that are cleverly placed throughout the story. Many of these instances were pointed out by observant fans in the letter column of a later issue. Marv Wolfman
, in his responses to reader letters confirmed most of them as well as added several that they missed:
It was stated in Nightstalkers #1 that King's neo-vampire status (craving blood but not needing it to survive as well as his limited ability to tolerate sunlight) was due to his never directly taking blood from a living human, also the reason he survived the Montesi Formula, the Darkhold spell that had previously destroyed all vampires. This neo-vampire condition was never alluded to again after his seeming death in Nightstalkers #20 and he was shown thereafter to be a regular vampire with all of the traditional strengths and weaknesses, identical to his status before the Montesi spell was cast.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a supernatural detective appearing in publications from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. He first appeared as a supporting character in the 1970s comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
The Tomb of Dracula.
Fictional character biography
Hannibal King was born in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. A private detective who made a modest living, King was bitten and killed by the vampire
Vampire (Marvel Comics)
Vampires are fictional characters found in the Marvel Universe.-History:They were created roughly 15,000 years ago when a small band of sorcerers from the legendary city of Atlantis discovered a book known as the Darkhold, an indestructible text filled with arcane lore and dark magic written...
Deacon Frost
Deacon Frost
Deacon Frost is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Universe. He appears in The Tomb of Dracula and in the Blade limited series.- Publication history :...
while on a case in London, England. Waking up to find himself one of the undead, King was horrified at what he had become and vowed never to consummate the curse by passing it to another. Thus, King would subsist on blood that he purchased (or stole) from blood banks and fed on corpses or animals. King also preferred not to use his vampiric powers, believing that he gave up a part of himself every time he did so. In spite of his vampirism, King continued to operate as a private detective, but could only travel freely at night.
As a vampire, he first battled Dracula
Dracula (Marvel Comics)
Dracula is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker, and is also influenced by Universal Studios' version of the character.-Publication history:A...
, the Lord of Earth's vampires. While searching for Deacon Frost, King eventually met Blade
Blade (comics)
Blade is a fictional character, a superhero/vampire hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character.The character went on to alternatively star and co-star...
, the vampire hunter. It was also Deacon Frost who killed Blade's mother. Initially distrustful of each other, they nevertheless teamed up to destroy Frost. King battled a Blade doppelganger created by Deacon Frost. King and Blade then destroyed Deacon Frost himself. King and Blade parted as eternal friends.
At the time of these stories it was revealed that King had been a vampire for about five years. While investigating the murder of a friend at the hands of the Darkhold
Darkhold
The Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, is a fictional book in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:The Darkhold was co-created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. The Darkhold was first mentioned in Marvel Spotlight #3 but first shown in Marvel Spotlight #4...
ers, King contacted Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, the Sorcerer Supreme. Through Strange, King discovered that the Darkhold contained the spell not only for creating vampires but destroying them. And it was through King that Strange learned of the apparent return of Dracula. King, with vampire hunters Blade and Frank Drake
Frank Drake (comics)
Frank Drake is a fictional character appearing in publications from Marvel Comics, most notably the Tomb of Dracula series created by Gerry Conway....
, joined Strange in their visit to Castle Mordo
Baron Mordo
Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by Marvel Comics and appearing as an enemy of Doctor Strange...
where they retrieved the Darkhold. They battled Dracula and the Darkholders, and then used the book to cast the Montesi formula. This spell destroyed Dracula and all current vampires on Earth and prevented any more from being able to exist on Earth. King was not destroyed by the Montesi formula because he had never taken blood from a living human being, but still required Doctor Strange to perform a complete blood transfusion for King to survive, which restored him to human form.
The trio subsequently founded a detective agency initially simply known as King, Drake, and Blade; the private investigations firm was later known as Borderline Investigations. With Doctor Strange, they fought the Darkholders again. King also assisted the Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
on one of their missions. Alongside the Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
, Gargoyle, Daimon Hellstrom
Daimon Hellstrom
Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan and Hellstorm, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:He first appeared in Ghost Rider Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan and Hellstorm, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics...
, Hellcat, Cutlass and Typhoon, and Rufus T. Hackstabber, he helped foil the plans of Minvera Bannister.
Dracula (Marvel Comics)
Dracula is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker, and is also influenced by Universal Studios' version of the character.-Publication history:A...
. Dracula's return indicated the weakening of the Montesi formula. King was unable to operate the firm on his own knowing his vampirism was returning. After an examination, Doctor Strange concluded that King, because of his recent reversion, had become a "neo-vampire", a special type of vampire with the abilities and weaknesses of the vampire, who craved blood but did not need it to survive.
Strange manipulated the three men into reuniting under the name Nightstalkers
Nightstalkers (comics)
The Nightstalkers is a fictional trio of preexisting characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A team of occult experts, they reluctantly banded together to fight supernatural threats....
to combat supernatural enemies that were emerging. In their first mission, the Nightstalkers were hired by Lilith to kill the Daniel Ketch Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
Ghost Rider is a comic book character, a supernatural superhero in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. He is the third Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and Johnny Blaze, the first supernatural Ghost Rider.-Publication...
and John Blaze
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
, and battled the Meatmarket. Alongside Ghost Rider, Blaze, Morbius, Doctor Strange, and the Darkhold Redeemers, the Nightstalkers battled Lilith and her Lilin. Among the enemies the Nightstalkers fought were The Fallen, HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
's DOA, and Varnae. King and Drake were originally thought by Blade to have been killed in the explosion that destroyed Varnae. King would however show up in New Orleans, later to help Blade fight a resurrected Deacon Frost. King also accepted an assignment from Donna Garth to locate her father, Simon Garth who is also known as the Living Zombie. King tracked Garth to New York where he was assisted by Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
in rescuing Garth from Lilith, the daughter of Dracula.
King would later set up a small shop in San Francisco where a CIA agent enlisted his help in stopping a vampire plot to blackmail the Earth with biochemical weapons. During this fight, CIA agent Tatjana Stiles was injured by vampire terrorist leader Navarro; although they defeated Navarro, Stiles' injuries were too painful for her to live with. Knowing the pain would eventually kill her, she begged King to make her like him "if she loves him". King, who grew attracted to Stiles, reluctantly complied and broke his years-long vow. Weeks later, King read a newspaper article about the mysterious death of two Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i guards in an overseas search for terrorist weapons. From the description of the deaths, King had no doubt who was responsible. King became dispirited, losing interest in his work and retreating into depression.
He assisted Blade in London where the latter confronted Draconis, a vampire impervious to all forms of exorcism.
Blade's biological father offered a way to restore the souls of all vampires, which he admitted would have the additional effect of removing all of their weaknesses. The rite was dependent on Blade, who scoffed at providing practical invulnerability to the enemy he'd sworn to destroy. Blade attempted to enlist King against Blade's father, but King refused, and attacked his former partner for denying him one of his greatest desires: to see the sunrise again. Blade staked King, who appeared to die, leaving behind only a smoking stain on the cobblestones.
He returned (as did every other vampire that Blade had killed) soon after, and Blade gave him a potion that would stop him needing to feast on blood.
Powers and abilities
Hannibal King is a vampireVampire (Marvel Comics)
Vampires are fictional characters found in the Marvel Universe.-History:They were created roughly 15,000 years ago when a small band of sorcerers from the legendary city of Atlantis discovered a book known as the Darkhold, an indestructible text filled with arcane lore and dark magic written...
, and even when King was cured of his vampirism he has retained many of his vampiric abilities without actually being a vampire. He has superhuman strength and speed and sharper senses than an average human. King is virtually immortal, possessing agelessness, immunity to diseases and poisons, and the ability to survive and heal great amounts of physical damage. He also has the ability to instantly hypnotize human victims, and can fly via directed motion hovering by taking on a mist-like form. He can also control rats and used them to gather information for him during the day. He has also been known to transform into a wolf. However, King also has the weaknesses of a vampire: the need for blood in order to sustain his existence, the inability to endure direct sunlight, and the standard vampiric vulnerabilities to garlic, silver, and the presence of religious symbols. Beheading, burning, and a wooden stake through the heart will kill him.
King is an excellent detective, a good marksman with a pistol, and possesses an extraordinary sense of will. He often arms himself with conventional firearms, but sometimes uses special ones against supernatural foes.
Vampirism
In the first appearance of Hannibal King (The Tomb of Dracula #25) and during the events of Doctor Strange (volume 2) #59-62, King had stated that he had been a vampire for about five years. During the events Journey into Mystery #520-521, King revealed that he had been a vampire for about five decades, indicating that he had been a vampire since around the late 1940s. He has openly stated the first figure to others. The latter figure of five decades was stated by King only in narration. This also contradicts Nightstalkers #16 when King meets a man he knew in high school. This man was not elderly, but appeared to be Kings own physical age (which was arrested due to vampirism). He was also not a vampire (which would arrest his age) as this story predates the return of vampires.In The Tomb of Dracula #25, the reader is not told immediately that King was a vampire. This is not revealed until the final panel. In a writing fashion similar to O Henry, there are visual and dialogue cues that are cleverly placed throughout the story. Many of these instances were pointed out by observant fans in the letter column of a later issue. Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
, in his responses to reader letters confirmed most of them as well as added several that they missed:
- King mentions in narration that on a previous case he was in a building investigating industrial espionage. A vampire killed everyone that was in said building. (As he doesn't say when the vampire arrived, read a certain way, this could be intended to include himself).
- In a crowded bar scene, King does not have a reflection in the mirror behind the bar.
- While on the current case, King seems to have covered a distance in ten minutes that LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
natives know takes about an hour on foot. He was not seen to drive a car at anytime during the story. Also, it is very late at night so there is no public transport. - King enters a building that he seems to know is a trap. He reads a sign on the door that says "Open, please come in". According to vampire lore, a vampire can only enter a private residence when he is explicitly invited.
- King appears in a frame having entered said building, but already upstairs. However, no staircase is seen going down to the previous floor. The frame suggests that he could have flown up and entered via the window.
- King mentions in narration that a room that he is searching is pitch black, although he seems to have no problem seeing.
- Dracula says to King that "...soon you will acknowledge me as your master." In the comic, Dracula is Lord of the Vampires and does not and cannot, extend his lordship beyond vampires.
It was stated in Nightstalkers #1 that King's neo-vampire status (craving blood but not needing it to survive as well as his limited ability to tolerate sunlight) was due to his never directly taking blood from a living human, also the reason he survived the Montesi Formula, the Darkhold spell that had previously destroyed all vampires. This neo-vampire condition was never alluded to again after his seeming death in Nightstalkers #20 and he was shown thereafter to be a regular vampire with all of the traditional strengths and weaknesses, identical to his status before the Montesi spell was cast.
Film
- The character of Hannibal King appears in the 2004 movie Blade: TrinityBlade: TrinityBlade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero vampire action film, written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to the first two Blade films...
, played by Ryan ReynoldsRyan ReynoldsRyan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
. In the movie, King serves as a member of a vampire hunting group known as the Nightstalkers. In the film, the Nightstalkers are led by Abigail Whistler, a character created for the movie and based on a recurring character from the film franchise. Blade sees the group as young and inexperienced compared to him. The movie includes the "former vampire" nature of King, although Reynolds does not portray the character as very serious and reserved. Although King is already an ex-vampire and ally when they meet, the humorless Blade never takes a liking to King; many of King's joke moments were all but lost on Blade and only serve to reinforce Blade's gruff attitude towards King in the movie. In the movie, it was Danica Talos who turned King into a vampire, and King was cured by the retrovirusRetrovirusA retrovirus is an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host cell using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell's DNA...
developed serum that was seen developed in the first BladeBlade (film)Blade is a 1998 vampire superhero action horror starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide...
film.
External links
- Hannibal King at Marvel.com