Morbius

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #6-#8

by Ross Andru, 1972

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #6 is simply a reprint of Marvel Team-Up #3.

Using some dimension-spanning bracelets, Morbius returns from some distant world where he banished himself to in Marvel Two-In-One #15. Once on this planet, he encounters an emotional parasite calling itself The Empathoid. The Empathoid possess Morbius forcing him to return to Earth in search of strong emotions to feed on. Back on Earth, The Empathoid drives Morbius first to feed and later to confront his old foe Spider-man.

Morbius grabs Glory Grant from the Daily Bugle offices, and carries her off thinking that she knows how to contact Spider-Man. Peter Parker witnessed the abduction, and Spider-Man confronts Morbius on the rooftops. In the resulting battle, Morbius has several opportunities to finish the fight, but The Empathoid holds him back every time drawing the battle out.

The Empathoid commands Moribious to continue attacking Spider-Man until Morbious collapses from hunger. The Empathoid abandons Morbius, and possesses Spider-Man instead. This gives Morbius time to crawl off to seek sustenance from a nearby drug dealer before hiding from the rays of the rising sun.

The next evening, Morbius seeks out Spider-Man in order to destroy The Empathoid. The fight carries through the Holland Tunnel and finally into a nearby college campus stadium. The wave of emotion from the ongoing football game overloads and destroys the Empathoid. With nothing to fight for, Morbius takes to the sky saying any fight with Spider-Man can wait for another day.