A Main Character

# Vlad Dracula

### Aliases

Vlad Dragulea (Vlad son of the dragon), Dracula, Count Dracula, the Devil, Devil Prince, Dr. Vlad, Dragon, Drake, Justin Drake, Father Death, Lord of Darkness, Lord Tepes, Vlad Tepes ("Vlad the Impaler"), the Impaler, Impaler, Kaziglu Bey (Impaler Prince), Prince of Darkness, Vladimir, Vladimir Tepesch, Satan, Lord of the Damned, Lord of the Undead, Lord of Vampires, The King of Lies,

### Relatives

Vladislav Basarab II (father, dead), Radu Basarab III (brother, dead), Prince Basarab the Great (ancestor, dead), Mircea the Old (grandfather, dead), Mircea (brother, dead), Zofia (first wife, deceased),Maria (second wife, deceased),Domini (third wife, separated),Lilith Drake (daughter by Zofia),Vlad Tepulus (son by Maria, deceased),Janus (son by Domini),Frank Drake (descendant by Vlad Tepulus),Stephen Bathory (cousin),Bloodstorm One (clone)

### Affiliation

Vampyr, Brides of Dracula, Order of the Dragon, Wallachia (formerly), Hungary (formerly)

### Occupation

Willachian Prince (formerly), Voivode of Wallachia (formerly), King of the Vampyr

## Biographical information

### Date of death

1459 AD (reborn into undeath), 1500s (sharpened, ornate cross through heart), 1753 ( wood through heart), 1795 (wood through heart), 1862 (wood through heart), 1879 ( silver buckshot), 1897 (wood through heart), 1898, (wood through heart), 1903 (1st wood through heart, 2nd incinerated by the sun)

## Physical description

### Species

Human (Homo Sapien, formerly), Human Vampyr (Homo sanguinum)

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Bela Legosi (Universal Studio), John Carradine (Universal Studio), Christopher Lee (Hammer Studio), Lon Chaney Junior (Universal Studio)

Dracula is a centuries-old vampyr, sorcerer and Transylvanian nobleman who rules from his namesake fortress known as Castle Dracula. He is the supreme ruler and the world's most powerful vampyr. Originally he was the Wallachian Prince and Voivode Vlad III Dragulea (Son of the Dragon), he was turned into a nosferatu following a battle with the invading Ottoman Empire, by a vampyric Romani.

Driven by lust for power, companionship and blood, his centuries of undead existence have brought him into conflict with vampire hunters, other immortals, and, in the modern age, superheroes. Dracula has a vast network of loyal servants, cultists, brides, and minions who regularly assist him and attempt to resurrect him if he is slain.

## History

### 1430 AD

Vlad Basarab III was born in Schassberg, Transylvania (now Sighisoara, Romania), in the small European Kingdom of Wallachia. He was the son of Vlad Basarab II Dracul (also called Vlad the Elder). At seven years old, he allegedly ousted his half-brother Alexandru Aldea from the throne of Wallachia. At some point, Dracula was appointed as prince of Wallachia by King Sigismund of Hungary. Dracula also joined the knightly organization of his father, the Order of the Dragon.

### 1444 AD

He accompanied his father and brother Radu on the road to the Ottoman Empire, where they planned to negotiate for peace. They were ambushed *en route* by agents of Sultan Murad II, who held the sons captive, forcing Vlad the Elder to favor Turkey. This eventually led John Hunyadi and Vlad's other advisers to revolt against him, killing him and his son Mircea. After five years of torture, Radu had died in captivity, but Dracula escaped to claim the title of Voivode of Wallachia at the age of 18. His reign lasted only a year before he was forced to flee the principality, fearing his father's killers.

### 1451 AD

Dracula, finally tired of running, threw himself on Hunyadi's mercy. Hoping to add legitimacy to his regency, Hunyadi took Dracula under his wing, teaching him the art of war, and overseeing Vlad's pre-arranged marriage to Zofia (whom he despised). After a year of marriage, Dracula (with Hunyadi having died in the meantime) considered all his obligations fulfilled, and expelled his wife and their daughter, Lilith. Lilith was left in the care of a gypsy woman named Gretchin, while Zofia decided to take her own life rather than live as a peasant.

### 1459 AD

Again, assuming the throne, Dracula married his love Maria and sired a son, Vlad Tepulus. He also ordered everyone associated with his father's death impaled and ordered a massive assault on Turkey. Misled by "visions" from Varnae -- who saw potential in the young despot -- Dracula was defeated in battle. Dracula was supposedly defeated by the Turkish warlord Turac, who left him alive, hoping to use him to seize control of Transylvania. Other accounts have suggested that he defeated the Turkish army but was actually mortally wounded by the nearly immortal mutant En Sabah Nur (now better known as Apocalypse) and his band of Dark Riders. In any event, Dracula was taken to the Gypsy Lianda for healing. Instead, Lianda (secretly a vampyr) vampirized Dracula. Dracula came to grips with his new, dark powers too late to save Maria from Turac, but soon avenged her by killing the warlord.

Vlad next set out to attack the Gypsies, whom he blamed for his transformation into a nosferatu. When Gretchin lost her son to the prince's depredations, she used spells to transform Lilith into a vampyr as well, in retaliation. Gretchin also made her immune to most vampyric weaknesses, ensuring that the girl who grew up hating her father would trouble him for all eternity. Soon after, Varnae empowered his servant, Nimrod to act as Lord of The Undead, secretly leading him into a fight with Dracula as a test of his strength. Dracula slew Nimrod, proving himself worthy of taking Varnae's title as the true Vampyr Lord. Dracula drank of Varnae's blood, and seemingly he destroyed the nosferatu lord as he assumed his powers for his own. Dracula also reclaimed Castle Dracula from its new occupant, the vampyr Bordia. It was during this conflict that he first learned of the Darkhold, and the Montesi Formula for destroying nosferatu. Dracula sent the thief Murgo to retrieve the tome from the Vatican, but the thief was slain, and the book stolen by the sorcerer Cogliostro, beginning a centuries-long feud with Dracula. Dracula also vampyrized several women, making them the first of his so-called "brides", and avenged himself against Murad II.

### 1471

Following an assassination attempt, Dracula abdicated the throne but remained at Castle Dracula (near Sargov) for over a century after. During that time, he was forced to confront and kill his son, Vlad Tepulus, who had been raised by gypsies and taught to hate him.

### 1496

Dracula was approached by emissaries of Bologna, Spain, and Prussia, requesting that he remain out of their respective countries. This only irritated Dracula, and, after slaughtering the emissaries, he began his first tour of greater Europe. Though he eventually returned to Transylvania, he was pursued by a man known only as Hans, who sought vengeance against the vampyr. Suffering from frostbite, Hans was nursed back to health by Rache van Helsing, and the two became lovers. When Hans recovered enough to fight Dracula and was subsequently killed, Rache (pregnant with Hans' child) vowed that her line would oppose Dracula until the "monster was finally destroyed."

### 1500s

During this century Dracula also encountered alchemist Esteban Diablo and battled Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane. Kane escaped with his life but soon returned, feeling guilty for leaving Dracula alive. Kane and Morgit just barely managed to defeat Dracula, staking him with a sharpened, ornate cross. It was only a few hours, however, before a hungry band of travelers arrived at Castle Dracula, reviving him when one took the valuable cross from Dracula's seemingly ancient skeleton. At one point, a man named Durenyi managed to steal Dracula's diary, which revealed several of his weaknesses and would eventually become one of the sources adapted by writer Bram Stoker into the novel *Dracula*. Around the turn of the century, Dracula relocated to a new Castle Dracula, this time near Burgo Pass, which served as his main base of operations off and on for over four centuries.

### 1600s

#### 1606

Dracula encountered Elizabeth Bathory, a distant relation now known as the Blood Countess, due to her custom of bathing in virgin blood to stem the effects of aging. The macabre tradition also allowed her to resist Dracula's control, and almost to entrap him. He eventually gained the upper hand and slew her. For a time Dracula ruled over a Spanish province but was driven out following the first of many encounters with a radiant, Golden Angel.

#### 1661

Dracula tired of his wanton brides, and sought out a more reserved bride. He settled on an American woman, Charity Brown of Salem, Massachusetts. Before he could arrive to claim her, however, she was framed for witchcraft and publicly executed. In retribution, Dracula manipulated the slave Tituba into setting into motion the infamous Salem witch trials.

#### 1670-79

Dracula found himself without sustenance in rural Switzerland, kept from human prey by the rural farmers' extensive (and extensively superstitious) anti-vampyric defenses. Forced to make do with cow's blood, Dracula inadvertently created the bizarre Bessie the Hellcow. The hellish heifer would spend three centuries trailing Dracula before it met its end at the hands of Howard the Duck.

### 1700s

#### 1753

Dracula was in Cologne, Germany when a group of villagers managed to capture him and tie him to a stake. The village priest Father Eisner doused him with holy water and drove a stake into his chest. Present at the execution was Eisner's adopted daughter Marie. After destroying the vampyr, Father Eisner suffered a massive heart attack. That evening, little Marie Eisner removed the stake from Dracula's chest, resurrecting the nosferatu. She struck a bargain with him, swearing that she would acknowledge Dracula as her savior if he agreed to use his powers to save Father Eisner's life. Dracula agreed, but rather than save Eisner's life, he instead tore his heart from his chest and presented it to Marie as a demonstration of his vile power. He then attacked her again, but Marie dangled her cross charm in front of Dracula's face, forcing him to flee. Dracula swore, that one day she would beg him to give her life everlasting. It would be seventy years before the two saw one another again.

Castle Dracula itself was endangered during the eighteenth century, first by pirate Hellyn deVill (who was killed by her own crew when Dracula exposed her as a witch), and then by the combined military threats of Turkey and Catherine the Great's Russia.

#### 1762

Dracula was forced to flee Transylvania, and he relocated to France. There he rekindled his feud with Cogliostro (after destroying a gargoyle animated by Cogliostro's agent, Jack DuBois).

#### 1775

After becoming an adviser to King Louis XVI, Dracula surmised Cogliostro no longer had the Darkhold. No longer fearing the Montesi formula, Dracula vampyrized Cogliostro's wife, Lorenza Serafina, as retribution for past slights.

#### 1789

Dracula was nearly destroyed by Montplier, one of Cogliostro's agents, but escaped in the confusion of the storming of the Bastille. Fleeing France, Dracula vampyrized Austrian Henry Sayge, and soon after Transylvanian lady Louisa Russoff.

#### 1795

He was staked by her husband, Baron Grigori Russoff, who was bitten by a female werewolf in the attempt. Grigori thus became the first in a long line of Russoffs bearing the curse of Lycanthropy. After the stake was inadvertently removed and he was reanimated, Dracula decided to augment the Castle's defenses with various traps. Not the least of these was Dracula's infamous "Pit of Death".

### 1800s

#### 1809

When Lupescu infiltrated Castle Dracula to recover his abducted wife, Velanna, he was soon trapped in the Pit and forced to combat four of Dracula's brides (including Velanna). Lupescu survived, and arranged the brides' staked corpses in the shape of a giant cross, ensuring that Dracula would never be able to get close enough to reanimate them.

#### 1823

Dracula returned to Cologne, Germany to fulfill a promise he had made over seventy years ago. He forced his way into the hospital room of the dying Sister Marie Eisner at the Reichenbach Clinic and demanded that she acknowledge him as her savior. Sister Marie always knew that Dracula would one day return to claim her, but still, she renounced him. As the vampire lunged for the frail woman, she slipped a crucifix necklace about his neck, forcing him to recoil. Sister Marie then peacefully passed away.

Dracula vampyrized numerous victims in that century, including the young wife of Count Vryslaw. Vryslaw kept his wife imprisoned but sustained on animal blood. After twenty years of captivity, the Countess refused to drink anything but human blood, and the Count turned to killing local women to appease her. Drawn out by the rumors of the "vampyr killings", Dracula tracked down and confronted Count Vryslaw. Vryslaw was so terrified of the nosferatu lord (and his inability to hurt him) that he decided to kill his wife with a wooden arrow before he died himself of a heart attack. Dracula also used the Children of Judas vampire cult to vampyrize the wife of Abraham van Helsing, reviving his old feud with the van Helsing family. Dracula was again drawn into politics when Lyza Strang convinced him to kill her husband, Archibald Strang, thus assuring that Otto von Bismarck would become Minister-President of Prussia. Lyza ultimately betrayed Dracula, having him ambushed and staked; when he recovered, he vampyrized Lyza in retribution.

#### 1862

Charmed by an American woman he had met in Europe, Dracula purchased the frigate *Raven*, and traveled to Savannah, Georgia. (It may have been during this trip to the American South that he vampyrized Suze Harlow, a young girl whose vampyric DNA would later be extracted and cultivated by Hydra to create a vampyric soldier, Bloodstorm One.) Arriving in Savannah, Dracula agreed to bolster the Confederacy with his Legion of the Damned in exchange for Anabelle's return to Transylvania. Though the Legion slaughtered all Union troops they came across, Anabelle's father recognized Dracula for what he was, and staked him. Anabelle, determined to honor the bargain, removed the stake and returned to Transylvania with him.

#### 1870

Dracula took advantage of the onset of the Franco-Prussia War by using his vampyr legions to occupy Vienna. Upon entering the Imperial Palace, however, Dracula was again confronted by the mysterious Golden Angel, and forced to flee the city.

#### 1875

When the pirate Captain Cutlass looted a French ship bearing some of Dracula's wealth, Dracula vampyrized the captain in front of his three-year-old daughter, Marianne. Somehow, Marianne managed to contain and care for the captain until 1903, when they crossed paths with Dracula again in Madrid.

#### 1879

Royal Phineas Kroner selected Count Dracula as an appropriately noble suitor for his daughter, Maria (Phineas having killed all other suitors for being too poor). Clearly, Phineas did not know of Dracula's vampyric nature. At some point, an American Marshall -- hired specifically to exact revenge on the vampiric Count -- destroyed Dracula with a blast of silver buckshot. Though he was later revived, minute particles of silver remained in his body, weakening him and causing him to age quickly after going without fresh blood for too long.

#### 1890

Dracula is probably most famous for the events in this year, which would later be compiled from various journals and clippings and adapted by Bram Stoker into his most famous novel, *Dracula*. During this episode, Dracula summoned Englishman Jonathan Harker to Castle Dracula on the pretense of by land. There Dracula became intrigued by an image of Harker's fiancée, Mina Murray. Holding Harker captive, Dracula traveled to England. There he enlisted the mad Renfield as his servant and fed off the people of Whitby, including Mina's closest friend, Lucy Westenra. By the time he had gotten close to Mina and began to enthrall her, Lucy had died and Harker escaped, mobilizing Dr. John Seward (one of Lucy's former suitors), Abraham van Helsing (Seward's mentor), and Quincy Morris (Lucy's fiancé) to seek out and destroy Dracula. Dracula escaped to Transylvania but was there stabbed (just missing his heart) and almost decapitated by Seward and Morris. Since the knives Morris and Seward had used were neither wooden nor silver, Dracula had only been somewhat injured, but elected to use his power to transform into dust to trick his attackers into believing him dead.

#### 1896

The last piece of the story fell into place when Dracula's stolen diary finally fell into Stoker's hands; *Dracula* was published a year later. Oddly enough, Dracula read the novel and penned a venomous letter accusing Stoker of lying, Harker of an opium addiction, and van Helsing of being part of a long line of charlatan magicians bearing a grudge against him. For good measure, he cursed the letter, writing that any who found it would be devoured by his Children of the Night. American journalists Mark Cordier and David Frazier became the first to discover the letter a century later and did indeed fall victim to the curse.

#### 1897

Dracula discovered the existence of Clan Akkaba, and its relation to En Sabah Nur. Dracula then began a vengeful campaign against Clan Akkaba, slaughtering many before van Helsing determined he was involved. While most of Clan Akkaba eventually became nosferatu and were destroyed in the conflict, Apocalypse and van Helsing managed to gain the upper hand. Dracula was impaled and decapitated by Apocalypse with his own limbs but refused to follow van Helsing's "superstitious" rituals to permanently destroy the vampyr. Dracula soon recovered but was tracked down and staked by van Helsing in Castle Dracula, thanks to the help of a young boy named Carl von Harbou, one of Dracula's servants. Persons unknown eventually discovered the body and, recognizing the danger, placed it inside a coffin, which was then moved to a deep cave blocked by a heavy stone.

#### 1898

A vampyric Gypsy woman, Marguerita, freed Dracula by tricking Frankenstein's Monster into believing she knew the location of the last living Frankenstein. When the monster removed the stone at the mouth of the cave, Marguerita removed the stake from Dracula's body, reviving him. After murdering some local villagers to regain his strength Dracula battled the Frankenstein Monster who aimed to stop his killing spree. After a brief struggle the Monster thrust Dracula into the breaking daylight, weakening him long enough to allow the Monster to stake him through the heart, killing Dracula once more.

### 1900s

#### 1900

Dracula had finally shirked off the last effects of the silver buckshot he had been struck with so long ago.

#### 1903

Dracula again encountered Captain and Marianne Cutlass in Madrid; when Dracula attacked Marianne, the Captain broke free and fought back against Dracula, who staked him. Angered by Dracula's disruption of the natural order, Death herself took the form of Carlos Muertos, and raised a mob against him in Madrid. The mob staked and buried him, but before too long grave-robbers found the body and removed the stake. The enraged count found and vampyrized each member of the mob that had killed him and led his new army against the town of San Cristo. Dracula failed to account for the time difference, however, and was incinerated with his army by the rising sun. Dracula's servants soon recovered his ashes and revived him by placing them in soil from his native Transylvania. After this latest resurrection, Death finally revealed herself and conceded defeat, calling for a temporary truce.

In the turmoil preceding World War I, Lord John Falsworth invaded Dracula's tomb, hoping to turn him into a living weapon. Instead, Dracula vampyrized him, sending him back to England to wreak havoc as the first Baron Blood. Around this time Dracula also finally slew Jon Harker.

#### 1926

In Rome, Dracula made an enemy of mobster Nick Diablo, who put out several contracts against him. All three hitmen sent by Diablo, as well as his girlfriend, Luisa Morelli, were vampyrized, and sent back to finish him off. Dracula also once more encountered Marianne Cutlass, and vampyrized her husband, Count Marcos de la Triana. Heartbroken, Marianne allowed her husband to vampyrize her (Years later, Marianne again returned to Dracula, begging him to end her cursed existence after her husband was staked by the vampire-hunter Blade).

#### 1930s

Sometime in the early '30s, a government agent in Marseilles discovered Dracula had control over his superior, wounded him, and began a month-long hunt across the country. The hunt culminated aboard a zeppelin, which Dracula caused to crash when he killed the pilot. The Frenchman leaped to safety, but Dracula had also escaped. By now Quincy Harker, son of Jon Harker, had organized a task force specifically to destroy Dracula. Dracula, however, had once more traveled to America, killing several people on the cruise there. In North Carolina, Dracula was drawn to Devil's Lake, where he battled the Devil's Heart. On the coast of Maine, Dracula enthralled and fed on Angelica Neal, a young girl tending a lighthouse with her family. When her family tried to keep Dracula from her, he slew her mother, Laurie, before her father, Frank, finally drove him off by painting the symbol of a cross in blood over the lighthouse light.

#### 1942

World War II came home to Castle Dracula when the Count discovered his Gypsy servants were being killed by the Nazis. The Count opposed the Nazis, even lending aid to an invading American unit, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos. The Commandos continued to work with Dracula even when his vampyric nature was revealed, but Percival Pinkerton promised he would inform Dr. van Helsing of Dracula's whereabouts, Dracula welcomed the challenge.

During World War II, Weapon Plus commandeered the Ravencroft Institute institute and began conducting experiments on the inmates with the aid of Count Dracula- turning several of them into grotesque vampyric monstrosities. When Captain America and Bucky Barnes attacked the institute looking for a friend of theirs, Jonas Ravencroft unleashed the vampyric monsters on the Weapon Plus personnel before committing suicide.

#### 1944

The Nazis occupied Castle Dracula itself, using it as regional headquarters. Dracula vampyrized their commander, Hauptmann Rudolph Kris, took bodily possession of him and led him to kill his own troops. Kris had no recollection of his vampyric activities and began a hunt for the vampyr killer that ultimately led back to him. He was staked by his second-in-command, Lieutenant Willi Hanson.

#### 1945

He attacked Quincy and Elizabeth Harker at an opera; both survived, but Elizabeth was nearly drained of blood.

#### Late '40s

Dracula was prevented from feeding off a village girl near Castle Mordo, Transylvania by the sorcerer Baron Mordo, who intended to use the girl as a human sacrifice. Dracula also kept a watchful eye on Gregor Russoff, correctly surmising that he possessed the Darkhold.

### 1950s

#### 1951

A man name Tartoff spent a night outlining his family's long, unfortunate history with Dracula for writer Sandor Xavier. Tartoff also believed that if Dracula could not feed on his blood by the end of the night, he may be destroyed forever. The validity of Tartoff's theory may never be known, as the man posing as Xavier revealed himself to be Dracula and slew Tartoff only an hour before dawn. At some point, Dracula slew the last adult van Helsings as their nine-year-old daughter, Rachel, looked on; Quincy Harker managed to save Rachel from her parent's fate. In Tarnington, Dracula sought the power of the demons Ypsilloth and Ryg, who had been trapped beneath the Jennings Mill for forty years but was thwarted by a man named Mason. In Brass Monkey, New Mexico, Dracula took control of a prostitute and used her to break into the local blood bank. Dracula discovered the blood stored there was useless to him, and, adding injury to insult, he was also confronted by the elderly Father Vergilius Flotsky. At one point, Dracula was approached by the aged Orphelus, who claimed to need his help in once more reaching the infernal, rejuvenating Pool of Blood. However, when the pair arrived at the pool, Orphelus used an ancient locket to return it to hell, claiming that immortality was a sin that others should be spared of. Years later, Dracula was opposed in India by a full-grown Rachel van Helsing.

### Modern Age

When Dracula tracked down and vampirized his old enemy Jamal Afari, his disciple vampire-hunter, Blade, swore vengeance against him. Blade joined a group of vampyr hunters who managed to stake him in China, but he was revived by Dracula's servant Kuai Hua, and her handmaidens. As revenge, Dracula killed most of the group, leaving only Musenda and Blade alive. At one point, Dracula learned of Jackson Kubbard, who claimed to be a reincarnation of his old rival, Cogliostro; Dracula had his coffin shipped to Manhattan to investigate, only to learn that Kubbard was a fraud, and suffer through withdrawal after drinking the blood of a drug addict. Marie LaVeau had her servant bring Dracula's coffin to New Orleans, where he was drawn to a young girl he had recently vampyrized. She obtained a sample of his blood for her immortality serum and proposed a more permanent alliance, but Dracula refused, irritated at being bound by force. In Paris, Dracula was confronted by Hélène DuBois (great-great-granddaughter of Cogliostro's man, Jacques DuBois), who sent a gargoyle animated by his spirit to (unsuccessfully) fight Dracula. Dracula vampyrized CIA pilot Roberta Christianson, who continued to fight him afterward, ultimately crashing her own plane in an effort to destroy him. In Paris, Dracula met an American girl named Mary who, after years of failed relationships, actually embraced undeath as one of his brides. When even Dracula abandoned her, she impaled herself on a stake. At one point, a Scotsman staked Dracula, sending him into his own Pit of Death. He mentally sent his agent, Comte St. Germain to obtain the Amulet of Zarathos to revive him, but he was foiled by a young Sue and Johnny Storm. Eventually, Dracula's descendant, Frank Drake, inherited the castle, and his friend Clifton Graves unwittingly removed the stake. Drake joined a band of vampire hunters, pursuing Dracula across America and Europe. In that time Dracula also encountered a zombified Duncan Corley, the Werewolf (Jack Russell) and Topaz, the elderspawn Y'Garon, and Elianne Turac, the life-extended daughter of his old nemesis.

At this point Dracula usurped Castle Dunwick in London from Shiela Whittier, making it his latest Castle Dracula and banishing the spirit of Shiela's father, who wanted to sacrifice her to the Darkling Gods. Whittier broke free from Dracula, much to his surprise, and left him for David Eshcol. When Dracula killed her lover, she threw herself out of a window, choosing suicide over being his thrall. Dracula also suffered considerable agony when he entered the Vatican itself to slay Giuseppe Montesi and destroy the Montesi Formula. Montesi had already sent a copy of the spell, however, to Quincy Harker. Sometime after, Dracula crossed Doctor Sun, a human brain in a robotic body kept alive by fresh human blood. After several confrontations between them, Dracula was staked and burnt to ashes by Sun's assassin Juno. The situation eventually grew so desperate that the vampyr hunters used Aurora Rabinowitz' virgin tears to revive him. Dracula and Blade then worked together to destroy Sun, though the doctor would eventually return.

Dracula again became a father after marrying his third true wife, Domini. Domini was about to become a human sacrifice of Anton Lupeski's Church of Satan, when Dracula interrupted, posing as the devil himself. When "Satan" demanded the girl so he might sire a son, Lupeski saw through the deception but hoped that child would be powerful under his control. Lupeski married the two, and they had a somewhat demonic-looking son, Janus. When things didn't go as planned, Lupeski attempted several times to destroy Dracula. At one point, Lupeski summoned the cosmic Silver Surfer to destroy him, and they fought to a standstill before Domini convinced the Surfer to leave Dracula be. When a more mundane assassination attempt accidentally killed Judas, Dracula crushed Lupeski's skull. Janus' death sent Dracula into a depression as he reflected on how each of his previous children had eventually turned on him. Domini magically resurrected the child, but it became merged with the troublesome Golden Angel. The composite being grew instantly to adulthood, going on to trouble Dracula for years. As punishment for posing as Satan and siring Janus, Mephisto stripped Dracula of all his unholy powers. When Dracula became so desperate that he actually prayed to Yahweh for help, Mephisto was so amused by the irony that he restored Dracula's powers. Dracula then reclaimed the title King of Vampyr from the usurper Torgo Nia, just in time to be staked by a silver-spike-wielding Quincy Harker. Harker perished in the attempt, which also destroyed the latest Castle Dracula.

In one of his more bizarre resurrections, Dracula was revived by Florence Ebers to serve as the immortal body for her resurrected husband, Augustus. She used the Yazdi Gem to impose Augustus' personality on Dracula but destroyed the gem when he turned on her. Dracula also got caught up with the satanic Cult of the Enclave, and was forced to battle the life-draining Dimensional Man. Later, Jacque McDonald started to merge minds with Dracula after she received a blood transfusion from her mother, a former victim. Dracula was weakened as Jacque began to take on his sinister personality, but she expelled his influence by force of will. Returning to the partially-rebuilt castle, Dracula renounced and slew his brides. Dracula suffered an embarrassment when biting Howard the Duck left a bad taste in his mouth, sending him into a frenzy.

After being manipulated by the Six-Fingered Hand, Dracula reluctantly sided with the Defenders against rival vampyr Gordski. Dracula twice failed in attempts to make the X-Man Storm one of his brides. Dracula gained magical enhancements from the cult of Darkholders and ultimately became powerful enough to oppose the Thunder-God Thor. He was killed along with every other nosferatu on Earth, however, when Doctor Strange used the Montesi Formula.

The spells of protection Strange had cast years earlier on his vampyric brother, Khiron weakened the spell, however, and it ultimately broke when Marie LaVeau used the vampyric verses to resurrect Varnae. The demon Asmodeus, worshiped as Satan by Lupeski's Church of Satan, drew back Dracula's spirit and reconstructed his body in Castle Dracula, inducing his servant, Professor Gregor Smirnoff to revive him with the souls of 666 students from his Belonging cult. Dracula was thwarted by Blade, Frank Drake, Katinka, and inspector Judiah Golem, who wounded Dracula to such an extent that the purity of the sacrificed souls overwhelmed him, causing an explosion. A later, mysterious explosion somehow fused Frank Drake, Hannibal King, and Bloodstorm One into a new, monstrous "Dracula". Eventually, the real Dracula's spirit took advantage of the situation, displacing Drake and King (freeing them), and making him master of the new body.

Lilith Drake -- taunted by Dracula with the knowledge that the spells freeing her from vampyric weaknesses also meant she herself could never kill her father directly -- infected him with a blood virus created by Dr. Charles Seward. Dracula was able to survive by feeding on Seward, who had used his own, cursed blood to create the disease.

Dracula encountered the mutants of Generation X, and was later forced to work with Elsa Bloodstone, daughter of ancient rival Ulysses Bloodstone. The two opposed the Nosferati vampyr, who hoped to infect other, "pureblood" nosferatu with a virus that would make them into immortal blood-donors.

At some point he had the vampyrized Rachel van Helsing vampyrize the Freedom Force member and mutant seer, Destiny. Afterwards Vlad took the new blind vampyr as his new servant. Through her, he found her ex-lover Raven.

#### New Brides

Vlad Dracula found the woman Malory Brickman sunbathing in Europe; discovering her true identity and not put off by her original skin color, he seduced the mutant woman into becoming his new bride. Eventually, Vlad has an encounter with Nick Katzenberg by which he employs the photographer to take pictures of candidates for his brides. Dracula had already made a blunder with another hireling that had attempted to take the money and flee. For this transgression, Vladislav had the man skinned alive. The Vampyr King took Katzenberg to the viewing of the man's punishment in order to ensure the unscrupulous photographer's loyalty; Nick realized that could be him if he decided to cross the Lord of the Undead. It was not until Nick had gotten a photo of Sue Storm-Richards that Dracula's lust had been piqued and interest in American women had grown. Vlad then tricked Johnny Storm into inviting him into the apartment of the Baxter Building under the alias, Justin Drake.

##### The Queen

After visiting Sue in her bedroom and having successfully mesmerized her, Dracula bit the superheroine and tasted her blood. He enjoyed the Invisible Woman's blood more than he realized and made it a point to make her last. After 2 nightly visitations, Vlad decided to enslave her husband, Reed. Learning from previous instances where hypnosis had been broken by will, Dracula opted to add a bite to the mix on the 4th visit. He found plenty of information from feeding on Sue and taking in her memories. Including how her husband's body was so elastic that any stab from a sharp object would by rendered useless. However, it was good fortune that the criminal, The Wizard, had created a device that made Reed's body temporarily rigid.

## Attributes

### Powers

With the possible exception of Varnae, Dracula is the most powerful vampire that has ever been encountered. When fighting Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, the latter stated that Dracula's raw power was greater than theirs.

* Vampirism: Dracula, like all other vampires, is capable of transforming an individual into a vampire by biting them. A special enzyme found only within vampire saliva is responsible for this transformation. After draining most of the blood from a victim, the victim enters a death-like state and rises three days later.
* Superhuman Strength: Like all vampires, Dracula possesses superhuman strength. Due to his special stance as the ruler of Earth's Vampires, Dracula can lift about 4 tons under optimum conditions.
* Superhuman Speed: Dracula is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete.
* Superhuman Stamina: Dracula's body is more resistant to the fatigue toxins generated by his muscles during physical activity. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to affect him.
* Superhuman Agility: Dracula's ability, balance, and body coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.
* Superhuman Reflexes: Dracula's natural reaction time is enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.
* Regenerative Healing Factor: Dracula is capable of regenerating damaged or destroyed tissue to an extent much greater than an ordinary human. Dracula can fully heal from multiple gunshots and severe burns within a matter of minutes; however, he cannot regenerate missing limbs or organs.
* Immortality: Dracula, like all vampires, is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to the effects of aging and is immune to all known Earthly diseases as long as he ingests fresh blood on a regular basis to maintain his vitality. Once killed, Dracula's power is such that he can resurrect himself under the proper conditions. if incinerated (as by sunlight or fire), Dracula can reconstitute himself if his ashes are placed in a coffin filled with soil from his homeland. If staked through the heart, Dracula can regenerate once the stake is removed.
* Fangs: Like all vampires, Dracula has fangs and claws. He can quickly drain a victim of blood.
* Hypnotism: Dracula is able to hypnotize others by gazing into their eyes for a short period of time. As Lord of Vampires, Dracula can compel other vampires to follow his orders unless their willpower is strong enough to resist him.
* Shapeshifting: Dracula is able to shapeshift into bats, rats, a wolf, and mist. He can also turn into human-sized or larger wolfen and bat-like forms.
* Sorcery: Dracula is a very powerful magician. He is able to summon and command lesser vampires, undead, packs of wild dogs, bats, and rats.
* Weather Manipulation: He has considerable control over the elements and weather, enough to oppose Storm or Thor. However, Dracula is severely weakened for an extended period of time afterward. His vulnerability when he manipulates the weather is a possible reason for why the van Helsings (most notable Abraham van Helsing) believed that he could walk about during daylight but with diminished powers (if Dracula summoned thick storm clouds to cover the sun, he would be able to walk during the day but quite vulnerable.
* Mind Control: A person bitten by Dracula is able to be influenced by him through a sort of empathic link. Only beings of exceptionally strong wills are capable of resisting him.

### Abilities

Dracula is an accomplished swordsman and magician. He possesses a gifted intellect.

### Weaknesses

Dracula, like all vampires, has a number of special vulnerabilities. His greatest weakness, like that of other vampires, is that he must ingest about one quart of fresh blood in order to maintain his vitality. Otherwise, his powers will steadily decrease to the point where he enters a comatose state. Dracula is highly allergic to silver and can be severely injured, or killed, with silver weaponry. If Dracula is injured by silver, his recovery time is considerably slower than normal. Dracula can be killed by having a wooden stake plunged into his heart, somehow interrupting the mystical energies that keep him alive. Dracula can also be killed by being decapitated and being exposed to fire. Dracula can also be affected by religious icons, such as the Star of David or a crucifix for example. Dracula is affected by the strength of the wielder's faith in the icon and religion it represents, not the size of the icon itself. Dracula must rest within his coffin during daylight hours. He must line his coffin with soil from his homeland in order to both sustain his power and travel more than 100 miles from his birthplace.

Dracula used to be unable to withstand exposure to direct sunlight, since it would instantly dry up his skin and eventually crumble his body to powder within a matter of minutes. At one time, Vlad, like all nosferatu, was once unable to enter a dwelling without being invited in but ever since he fed on the Invisible Woman, the cosmic empowerment in her blood mixed with the mystical energies so that he no longer has the need for an invitation.

* Every few years, Dracula spends some time updating his memoirs.
* "Dracula" is a transfer to English of a Romanian patronymic that is variously translated as Dragwlya, Dragkwlya, Dragulea, Dragolea, and Drăculea. It names Vlad a son of Dracul, the epithet of his father. The epithet derives from the Romanian noun "drac" for "dragon", their version of Latin "draco".