The recent adaptation of Morbius has released to critical and box office dismay. Yet, it is of interest for at least one reason, one beyond the foresight of the filmmakers—it seems to parallel the COVID-19 pandemic (warning; spoilers for Morbius ahead).
Movies and TV shows often mirror real life, with creators taking inspiration from world events and exploring them with an otherworldly twist. However, the opposite can also happen. Audiences can come away from a film interpreting it as a parallel to real world events, even if such an interpretation is unintended. Morbius is a great example of this. The character originated in 1971, and the film was originally scheduled to premiere in summer 2020. Despite the timelines not matching up, there are many similarities between it and the pandemic to be found
Firstly, there are the origins of the character. The surface level similarities here are obvious. Michael Morbius (played by Jared Leto) is granted his powers via research on bats that results in a supposedly miracle cure serum. COVID-19 also likely originates from bats too. Throughout the film, Morbius treats his power as a disease to be eradicated, dedicating himself to finding a cure for this new affliction before it hurts anyone else. The serum that turns Morbius into a vampire is the stand in for the virus, causing an outbreak that needs to be resolved.
A deeper similarity revolves around unsafe science. One theory suggests that the virus could have gotten out by accident, having been created artificially by Chinese scientists. This theory has been investigated and its truth cannot be established. Whether it is true or not, this idea has swept the public consciousness and has been repeated by high-profile political leaders. The idea of unsafe science is tied to the pandemic. The same is true for the creation of the living vampire. Morbius displays a constant disregard for safety throughout the film, starting with the basis of his research. It isn’t allowed by the hospital he is working at, but he does it anyway. The injection of the serum is done in international waters, to avoid the illegality of such an act in the USA. And then there are the times Morbius leaves his lab unsecured and the serum unguarded, which is how Milo (Matt Smith) is able to access it. Questionable science has been a feature of comic book and superhero stories for decades, but in this instance the story features a particularly timely connection to the real world.
The attitudes Morbius and Milo display to the serum reflect differing attitudes to the pandemic. Morbius is desperate not to hurt other people, preferring to stick to artificial blood to satisfy his craving. He wants to stay away from people, urging them to keep their distance when he is hungry. This mirrors how many people behaved during lockdown, taking precautions such as avoiding gatherings and respecting the needs of others. Milo however, represents the opposite. His feelings about the serum are completely selfish, displaying a disregard for others, and wanting to have fun. He doesn’t care about the harm he inflicts onto others. This is the extreme anti-lockdown position taken in our own world, with many people protesting restrictions and holding parties out of selfishness.
Throughout the pandemic, the media coverage has been prolific, relaying vital news and speculating on the virus. In Morbius, this is no different. There are several scenes where the media appear. They broadcast the stay at home order that is issued to the public—something issued to keep them safe, as with the lockdowns associated with COVID-19—and speculate on the number of killers. This speculation is fuelled by a lack of information or at times outright disinformation, again not dissimilar to the pandemic
A final consideration is the portrayal of the cure, or vaccine. Vaccines for COVID-19 have been thoroughly tested and checked for their safety, ensuring that when they were rolled out there would be no problems. The vaccine in Morbius however, is optimised for the opposite result. Killing Milo is a key factor in the development of Morbius’ pursuit, so it is not a cure in the traditionally understood meaning, but instead it is a weapon. Whilst this could be seen as the only way to cure Milo (and protect everyone else), the traditional mantra favoured by medical science is not followed. Science is shown in a purely evil way, contributing to a one sided view of its contributions to the world. This is especially odd as Morbius is shown as being an accomplished doctor, but violates the Hippocratic Oath by not wanting does not want to save Milo.
These parallels will have consequences for how audiences perceive the film. Critically, Morbius has been received very poorly, and audience reactions have been mixed to negative. Its performance at the box office has also been very negative, experiencing a substantial drop off in its week to week gross (the worst for any Marvel film in fact). These negative reactions have largely been due to the boring and at times nonsensical plot, but there are many other reasons at play. The overt parallels to COVID-19 will cause the audience to link the two together. Therefore, the negative experience of the COVID-19 pandemic may have an unfavourable impact on how Morbius is received by audiences.
It is clear the film views science negatively. Its hero disregards widely accepted laws and conventions about what is good science, misrepresenting a field that is strongly regulated. Morbius claims to be a doctor, however has no respect for the rules that govern scientific inquiry, making him instead a false hero. Whilst the film is obviously a work of fiction, the audience may come away from it internalising the ideas that science is something that is always done poorly. There are examples of this kind of thinking in real life, and such voices have become louder during the pandemic. This superhero film, and many others, ignore the rigorous checks that are performed before and during experiments. This builds the view that science is a field with no boundaries, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is problematic on its own, but after a pandemic where the world has needed good science, it is made worse. Whilst the filmmakers could not have foreseen the pandemic, an alteration to how science is presented would have served the film better. The world has witnessed the damage bad science can do, and the false way Morbius presents it is a detriment to the film. Science should be better presented, else it could lead to the general public distrusting the field entirely.
Words by Kieran Burt
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.