In a reclusive corner of the multiverse, within a blood-red Gothic castle, the room lay dimly lit, with a long carpet winding its way from the staircase to the hall.
Torches hanging on the walls emitted a ghostly chill light, illuminating the paintings and making the figures within them appear grim and terrifying.
This castle, reminiscent of the ones in vampire literature, is the residence of the Successor Family, also known as the Morlon Family.
The Morlon Family, although having made an appearance previously, went almost unnoticed. However, in the Spider-Man series, they have become the top antagonists.
Also known as the Successor Family, codenamed Cosmic Vampires, they hunt Spider-Man in the cosmos to harness the power of the Spider Totem. But their hunt for Spider-Man isn't entirely driven by power, but also a prophecy.
This prophecy simply suggests that the Successor Family would be destroyed by Spider-Man. To protect their lineage from annihilation, the members of the Morlon Family began murdering Spider-Man across the multiverse.
In the comic series, the frequent disappearance of Spider-Man alerted other versions of the superhero, who joined forces to battle the Morlon Family. But the results weren't promising.
The Morlon Family had the ability to suppress the Spider Totem. Even the most formidable Spider-Man on Earth had little chance of resisting them. In most one-on-one fights, Spider-Man was at a significant disadvantage.
The Successor Family also boasts of severely injuring the Black Panther. The Panther they harmed, however, was the leader of Wakanda, not the Panther God Bast from the savannah.
If one were only considering the context of the Spider-Man comics, they indeed make formidable adversaries. After all, for most, Spider-Man is seen as the friendly neighbourhood hero contending with the Sinister Six. Usually, the comics are filled with comedic elements suitable for readers of all ages.
In this sense, the Morlon Family, who require many versions of Spider-Man to come together to challenge them, can be very intimidating.
However, when viewed in the broader context of the Marvel comics universe, the Morlon Family's accomplishments are rather insignificant. Besides easily handling Spider-Man and severely injuring Black Panther, they have also killed Wolverine from another world. Their greatest achievement, perhaps, was defeating the Toei Spider-Man and his Leopardon.
At this moment, within the castle of the Morlon Family, the typical vampire tropes of characters dancing in the moonlight dressed in evening suits or conspiring in front of fireplaces, were nowhere to be seen.
Members of the Morlon Family lay haphazardly throughout the grand hall, still alive but completely exhausted.
Indeed, they were dressed in formal wear, but their attire was now in disarray. Their impeccably styled hair had come undone, presenting an image far removed from the ominous villains seen in the comics.
The reason behind their ragged appearance can be traced back to the recent Bat Invasion.
The dark power of Batman affected one of the Morlon Family members. This member then activated the family's internal psychic network, causing this dark power to spread infinitely.
At that time, all members of the Morlon Family connected to this network were infected. However, not everyone constantly had their psychic connection turned on. Many powerful members of the family luckily escaped.
When these Bat Cult followers returned to the Morlon Family, a great battle ensued. Eventually, the clear-headed Morlon Family members gained the upper hand. After paying a heavy price, they defeated the infected Bat Cult members. They also discovered a strange new Totem Power within them.
As is well known, the Morlon Family and Spider Totem are mortal enemies. They were extremely familiar with Totem Power. The discovery of this newfound Beast Totem power swept away the gloom brought about by their severe losses.
Being frequently involved with totems, they discovered that this totem was a newly born Beast Totem. They also knew that this new totem was in an unstable state and could be controlled.
They had devised countless ways to deal with the Spider Totem. Now, with a new totem placed before them, it was like a delicious meal emitting an enticing aroma. The members of the Morlon Family naturally wanted to control this new totem.
To understand how powerful the Beast Totem is, one just needs to look at all the Spider-Men in the cosmos. If they could control a new totem, they could command a bat army as powerful as these Spider-Men.
The Morlon Family also harbored ambitions of expanding their influence and boosting their power. However, the multitude of powerhouse entities in the multiverse minimize their accomplishments. Their achievements might be significant in their own individual universes, but against the backdrop of the multiverse, they wouldn't be considered noteworthy.
If they possessed a complete Totem, their strength would increase dramatically. Hunting the Spider-Man would then become much easier. This was the plan of Solus, the clan leader of the Morlon Family.