Issue(s): Morbius #10, Morbius #11
Cover Date: Jun-Jul 93
Title: "Stroud's report" / "The killing season / Stroud's fate"
Credits:
Gregory Wright - Writer
Isaac Cordova / Ron Wagner - Penciler
Mike Witherby - Inker
Matthew Morra - Assistant Editor
Bobbie Chase - Editor

Review/plot:
This entry covers the main story from issue #11 and the back-up from #10-11.

Starting with the main story, which continues the crossover with Nightstalkers:

Victor Slaughter is recovering from his fight with Morbius and the Nightstalkers (sans Blade, who does not appear in this issue) by killing people at the Boston harbor and drinking their blood. Morbius and the Nightstalkers are searching for him, but he actually seeks them out once he's recovered.

Morbius' new power is meant to emulate a vampire's ability to turn into mist, but he comes across more like Mr. Fantastic. Blorp!

Blorp! Blorp!

Despite the blorps, Morbius is injured by Slaughter's attack. While the Nightstalkers fight Slaughter, Morbius has to resist the urge to take blood from bystanders to recover.

He thinks to himself that he should kill all the bystanders while "the human is at bay" (Drake, i guess). But he resists. Meanwhile, Drake finds a configuration on his Exorcist gun that works on Slaughter. And when Slaughter is down, Morbius eviscerates him.

Slaughter is then put in an incinerator.

Morbius then demands that Drake use the gun on him again, but it's not any more effective than last time.

And that's it for the main story, except when we turn the page we find out that Slaughter is still alive.

One of the key words of the 90s is "inconclusive". No mysteries are ever fully solved. No bad guys are ever fully defeated. We've had a whole four part crossover nominally dedicated to defeating Victor Slaughter, and his defeat doesn't even last through the last page.

Now, we also have the back-ups in Morbius #10-11. I don't know if the back-ups were deadline necessitated or what, but they feature Morbius and Stonecold, although the focus is on Simon Stroud. It's so weird to me to have these back-ups appearing in the middle of a crossover. Nothing makes a story feel more inconsequential than to get to a cliffhanger and then see an unrelated story featuring the same characters on the next page. Like, whatever happens in the main story doesn't matter, because we know that this other story has to take place too.

Anyway, the point of the back-ups seems to be getting rid of Stroud, or at least removing him as an active pursuer of Morbius (Stroud will be back in issues #20-23). Stroud was brought into the series by previous writer Len Kaminski and maybe Gregory Wright didn't want the ongoing threat of someone in the police complicating his stories. Stroud ambushes Morbius.

It's interesting that Morbius says that he doesn't know Stroud and that Stroud doesn't correct him. The two had a pretty extended encounter together in Fear #27-31. This story will acknowledge that history, so it's not like Wright wasn't aware of it.

Morbius nearly bites Stroud, but restrains himself and uses his hypnosis to make Stroud forget him. Meanwhile, two violent CIA operatives approach police detective Butler (the officer that brought Stroud in) and tell him that Stroud does not work for the CIA.

Later, Stroud is visited by Slaughter, who undoes Morbius' hypnosis and tells him about Morbius' secret ID.

Stroud contacts Butler, but Butler is convinced that Stroud is crazy and helps the CIA set up a sting.

Stroud takes Butler hostage and shoots several people. Morbius stops him.

Despite that public attack, Stroud is still deemed crazy and put in Mental Institution.

He's informed by Slaughter that he's on Slaughter's death list.

It's a weird turn of events for Stroud, who has had an interesting career as a minor character hunting Man-Wolf and Morbius. The reveal that he's not really CIA doesn't really jibe so well with how he was introduced in this series Morbius #2, either.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The main story continues directly from Nightstalkers #9.

References:

• Slaughter's fight with the Nightstalkers happened in Nightstalkers #8-9.
  
• Stroud hired Slaughter in Morbius #6.
  
• Stroud failed to bring in Morbius "years ago", in Fear #27-31.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Agents Barrett and China appear again, so they should be listed as Characters Appearing.
The idea that Stroud was never a CIA agent makes no sense. He's described as a former CIA agent in Creatures on the Loose 30 and Fear 27-31, and this was before his failure to bring in Morbius that supposedly snapped his mind. Also, he was working with Black Widow in Marvel Team-Up 98. I think that Gregory Wright was ignorant of Stroud's previous appearances and assumed that Kaminski made him up.

Added the CIA agents. Thanks.

Another problem- how can the CIA guys question whether Morbius exists? Morbius was found not guilty of his crimes by reason of insanity, so there have to be records somewhere.