Hunger (Marvel Comics)

Created by Howard Mackie, the character first appeared in Spider-Man vol. 1 #76 (January 1997).

Loxias Crown was an agent of Hydra. He killed the scientist William Fields on Christmas Eve. Equipped with armor that manipulates darkforce, Crown took Empire State University's staff and students, including Peter Parker and Neil Aiken, as hostages for his victim's notes on the S.H.O.C. technology but is defeated by Spider-Man and S.H.O.C.[1] Crown next abducted Morbius, the Living Vampire to perform experiments alongside Dr. Andrea Janson for Don Fortunato. Crown threatened Parker until Todd Fields surrendered, teleporting the two youths to his secret base.[2] But after Hammerhead killed his love and captured his three hostages, Crown took Hydra's airship to get revenge. He fought both Spider-Man and SHOC and prepared to overload the latter's armor to kill everyone, but Morbius attacked and drained him dry while disappearing in the process.[3]

The character next lived in the sewers beneath New York City as a "Living Vampire" known as Hunger. He abducted innocent civilians and the Morlocks' leader Callisto to his lair beneath the streets. The Daily Bugle went to investigate but Hunger knocked Parker out and took Betty Brant with him. Spider-Man teamed up with Marrow to free the prisoners, much to Hunger's annoyance. Flash Thompson attacked from behind, distracting Hunger in getting defeated by Spider-Man and Marrow but escapes in energy form.[4] Hunger later attacked a clandestine meeting between the Kingpin and the Maggia, and turned a number of gangsters into his own small army of living vampires. Blade and Spider-Man tracked Hunger down to an abandoned Roxxon plant, fighting the two superheroes until he fled after his horde's deaths.[5]

Initially, Loxias Crown wore an armor similar to S.H.O.C. which gave him the ability to channel negative energy and fire energy blasts.

After he was transformed into a "Living Vampire", Hunger does not possess all the powers of a supernatural vampire, nor is he subject to all the traditional limitations and weaknesses thereof. He possesses a variety of superhuman powers, some of which are similar to supernatural vampires within the Marvel Universe, such as superhuman strength and speed, as well as heightened senses including night vision and echolocation.[5] Due to his vampire-like condition, Hunger is forced to ingest fresh blood on a regular basis to sustain his life and vitality.[4] He does not possess any of the mystical vulnerabilities that supernatural vampires are subject to, such as garlic, holy water, crucifixes, or silver. He has a strong aversion to sunlight, thanks to his photo-sensitive skin which allows some protection from major sunburn, in contrast to "true" vampires that are incinerated by it, with the result that he can move in daylight, but his powers are diminished and he will stick to the shade if circumstances demand him to be active during the day.[4]

A variation of the character renamed Lucien "Milo" Morbius appears in the live-action Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Morbius (2022), portrayed by Matt Smith as an adult,[6] and Joseph Esson as a child.[7] The character is partially based on Loxias Crown (as well as Michael Morbius and Emil Nikos) and is the title character's surrogate brother.

• Loxias Crown at Marvel Wiki
• Hunger at marvel.com