NOSFERATU
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human vampire (possibly Hyborian era to modern era; see comments)
Occupation: Leader of the Nosferati
Group Membership: Nosferati
Affiliations: "Neck Pack" (Eddie Badejo, Lothar Hatton, Loren Raines, Shaun Sorenson), many Nosferati
Enemies: Charles
Barnabus, Elsa
Bloodstone, Ulysses
Bloodstone, Tomas
Dluga, Dracula,
Legride of Vienna (Elmar Legride), Frankenstein
monster,
pure blood vampires, citizens of M'Begi village
in Zaire
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Lord Nosferatu
Base of Operations: Mobile all over Earth
First Appearance: (In
dream) Bloodstone#1 (December, 2001);
(real appearance) Bloodstone#4
(March, 2002)
Powers/Abilities: Nosferatu possessed the normal abilities of vampires, including enhanced strength, endurance and longevity by consuming human blood. He could also transform others into Nosferati (humans and seemingly even other creatures). He was seen transforming into a more powerful bat-like creature and as other Nosferati were seen doing it he was seemingly able to transform into mist as well. His weaknesses included religious items, daylight and holy water. The big difference between Nosferatu and his kind to other vampires was that they needed the most vital human blood to sustain themselves.
History: At an unknown point in his life Lord Nosferatu became an adversary of Dracula.
In the 1930's Lord Nosferatu and his forces were defeated by Ulysses Bloodstone in a struggle the Lord described as an "airship debacle". Lord Nosferatu survived this battle unlike most of his forces. (also seen in Bloodstone#1; see comments)
The following years Lord Nosferatu rebuilt his forces. Under his leadership the Nosferati discovered that hemoralgic fevers such as Ebola produced blood-saturated bodies vital enough to nourish them. They established a facility to develop this discovery into a perfect virus. They mixed Reston, Ebola and Marberg into the Ebola-Three/Six virus. This virus was so powerful that it would've destroyed the human race and therefore their food source so they designed a better way to use it. They planned to use it on pure blood vampires who, due to their immortality, would be an unending supply of vital blood.
(Bloodstone#1 - BTS) - Lord Nosferatu set up a trap for Dracula on a graveyard somewhere in Bosnia. The attacking Nosferati were armed and wore armored suits, but Dracula was still too strong for them when he arrived. Elsa Bloodstone appeared out of nowhere and Dracula got distracted.
(Bloodstone#2 - BTS) - Dracula attacked Elsa because he thought she set up the trap. The Nosferati regrouped and took the chance to impale him from behind. Dracula fell burning to the ground, and the Nosferati secured the area. Elsa surrendered, but suddenly she disappeared again. Dracula was brought to Lord Nosferatu's disease control facility.
(Bloodstone#3 (fb) - BTS) - Under Lord Nosferatu's, control a group of Nosferati turned the inhabitants of a small village in Southern Zaire into vampires and infected them with the Ebola-Three/Six virus.
(Bloodstone#3 - BTS) - The Nosferati returned to the village to look after their test subjects. They were happy to see that about three dozen were already vampires and that they were all infected with their newly designed virus. With the transmutation verified a wash up team was sent in. The Red Team returned to their helicopter while the villagers were all destroyed by the holy water released from a plane.
After learning of the successful test of the new virus Lord Nosferatu sent out the "Neck Pack" to abduct Charles Barnabus from Bloodstone Manor. One pack member decapitated Adam (Frankenstein's monster) and then knocked out Elsa Bloodstone. Meanwhile two other members fought Barnabus. In the end their mission was a success and they handed over Charles Barnabus to Lord Nosferatu.
(Bloodstone#4) - Elsa Bloodstone, Adam and Tomas Dluga attacked the Lord Nosferatu's center for disease control where the "Neck Pack" attacked them immediately.
Meanwhile Lord Nosferatu explained to the captured pure bloods that they would become an infinite blood bank for the Nosferati after they were infected with designed Ebola-Three/Six virus. The Nosferati started the process and infected Legride of Vienna. Lord Nosferatu ordered to infect the other pure bloods as well and demanded a blood sample of Legride.
At this point the "Neck Pack" was already defeated by Elsa and her team and they overheard everything. Elsa attacked while Adam went up to open the missile silo's shutters (the central was inside the silo). Elsa killed a few Nosferati with her gun and others were killed by Tomas Dluga's holy water bombs. Lord Nosferatu remembered the fight with Elsa's father and drank Legride's blood. He transformed into a huge bat-like monster, attacked Elsa and drank from her blood. Tomas got into trouble with a Nosferatu as well and ran for his life. Lord Nosferatu was unlucky because Elsa's blood cured him of his vampirism and he turned back into a really old human. Elsa punched his head off his decaying body and Lord Nosferatu was history. She saved Dracula and Barnabus from their chambers and Dracula helped Adam to open the building's shutters and all present Nosferati were burnt by the incoming sunlight.
Comments: Created by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Michael Lopez (pencils) and Scott Hanna (inks).
Nosferatu's creation ten thousand years ago is unconfirmed. Elsa mentioned it while kicking his @$$, but it could have been just a vicious remark. If he truly was created around ten thousand years ago he was alive in the Hyborian era and an involvement in his creation of the Darkhold, post-Cataclysmic Atlanteans and/or Varnae is possible.
In Bloodstone#1 Elsa had a dream wherein she fought the Nosferati on an airship. It seems like she somehow relieved her father's fight against the Nosferati in this dream.
If you wonder how Barnabus and Dracula survived it, I will tell you. Barnabus was protected from the sunlight with Dracula's cape and Dracula himself is just tough as nails.
The "Neck Pack" (they weren't named, so I chose this name for them) was a modern day horror cabinet. Except for the one-timer from Bloodstone#3 all were very different from other vampires. One looked like the Zombie (or Morbius?), another one was a hulking brute not unlike Mr. Hyde (or a bald ape?) and the third one looked like an Alien (call Ripley). Especially the Alien-like creature was a surprise. What was this thing? How did it become involved with the Nosferati? It was killed by holy water which at least showed that it was a vampire.
More info about the
Nosferatu name can be read in the comments for the Nosferata (Purple
Hayes) (link in clarifications) profile, but there are still a
few other things that should be mentioned.
In 1922 German director F.W. Murnau created Nosferatu, the first vampire movie
based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, but his studio couldn't obtain the
rights to Dracula from Stoker's widow. Murnau made a few changes to the
story and changed the characters' names to avoid problems (Count
Dracula became Count Orlok, Harker became Hutter, etc.). The movie was
the first and last one made by the Prana-Film GmbH which declared
bankruptcy after Bram Stoker's estate sued for copyright infringement. (There's been records of an earlier vampire
film based on Stoker's novel, called Drakula (aka Drakul Istanbul).
However, it has recently come to light that little of it probably
resembled Stoker's work, if any at all - Madison)
An important change to the vampire myth made by this movie
was the deadly effect of sunlight on vampires.
It also can be assumed that Lord Nosferatu's rodent-like
look is taken from Nosferatu's vampire Count Orlok (nicely portrayed by
actor Max Schreck).
A Nosferatu was seen in the second story of Astonishing#18 (October, 1952)
--Gammatotem
In Blade III#12 a prophecy was fulfilled that brought back all vampires that ever died. This most likely included Nosferatu and all the other vampires killed in this mini-series as well. We'll have to wait if they resurface.
--Markus Raymond
The "Neck Pack's" real names were revealed in the Vampires profile in Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1 (December, 2011).
Profile by Markus Raymond
CLARIFICATIONS:
Nosferatu has no known connection to:
Elmar Legride was an old pureblood vampire from Vienna (yeah, an Austrian vampire). Of the captured pure bloods he was the first to be infected with the Ebola-Three/Six virus. After his infection a blood sample of him was immediately given to Lord Nosferatu. Legride's infected blood gave Lord Nosferatu the power to transform into a more powerful form.
He was maybe a Nosferatu vampire himself, but this stayed unconfirmed.
--Bloodstone#4
The residents of the small village M'Begi in Southern Zaire were used as test subjects by the Nosferati. An unknown number of them were turned into vampires and infected with the Ebola-Three/Six virus. After the expected transmutation of three dozen subjects was verified the whole vampiric brood was destroyed with holy water by the Nosferati.
--Bloodstone#3
It is unknown if the members of the "Neck Pack" were Nosferati or just vampire mercenaries. They successfully abducted Charles Barnabus from Bloodstone Manor, but their later encounter with Elsa, Adam and Thomas Dluga ended with their death.
The guy on the right was only seen in their first attack on Charles Barnabus and the Morbius-like member on the left image was only seen in their second appearance.
Causes of death:
Alien-like member (Eddie Badejo): holy water
long-haired member (Loren Raines): Silver cross buckshot
bald, big guy (Lothar Hatton): U.V. flashlight
guy on the right (Shaun Sorenson): death unconfirmed; maybe sunlight
--Bloodstone#3 (Bloodstone#3-4
images: (without ads)
Bloodstone#4, p4 (main image)
Bloodstone#4, p3, pan4 (Nosferatu head shot)
Bloodstone#4, p12, pan1 (Nosferatu tranformed)
Bloodstone#4, p8, pan2 (Legride of Vienna)
Bloodstone#3, p13, pan4 (M'Begi citizens)
Bloodstone#4, p2 ("Neck Pack")
Bloodstone#3, p19, pan5 (fourth "Neck Pack" member)
Appearances:
Bloodstone#1 (December, 2001) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Bloodstone#2-4 (January-March, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
(writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts
(editor)
l
First Posted: 02/28/2006
Last updated: 01/18/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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