Hannibal King

Hannibal King
Hannibal King Art by Howard Chaykin
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Tomb of Dracula #25 (Oct. 1974)
Created by	Gene Colan (Artist) Marv Wolfman (Writer)
In-story information
Team affiliations	Nightstalkers Midnight Sons
Notable aliases	Henry Kagle
Abilities	Regenerative healing factor Superhuman strength and speed Halted aging Ability to turn into mist Ability to transform into a werewolf Flight Skilled detective and marksman

Hannibal King is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a supporting character in the 1970s comic book The Tomb of Dracula. The character is usually depicted as a supernatural detective.

Hannibal King was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A private detective making a modest living, King was bitten and killed by the vampire Deacon Frost while on a case in London, England. Waking up to find himself one of the undead, King was horrified at what he had become and vowed never to consummate the curse by passing it to another. Thus, King subsisted on blood purchased (or stolen) from blood banks and consuming only corpses or animals. King also prefers not to use his vampiric powers, believing that he gave up a part of himself every time he did so. In spite of his vampirism, King continues to operate as a private detective, but only traveling freely by night.

As a vampire, he first battles Dracula, the Lord of Earth's vampires. While searching for Deacon Frost, King eventually meets Blade, the vampire hunter, whose mother had been killed by the same Deacon Frost. Initially distrustful of each other, they nevertheless team up to destroy Frost. In the process, King battles a Blade doppelganger created by Deacon Frost. King and Blade then destroy Deacon Frost himself, and part as eternal friends.

At the time of these stories it was revealed that King had been a vampire for about five years. While investigating the murder of a friend at the hands of the Darkholders, King contacts Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Through Strange, King discovers that the Darkhold contains the spell not only for creating vampires but destroying them. Through King, in turn, Strange learns of the apparent return of Dracula. King, with vampire hunters Blade and Frank Drake, join Strange in their visit to Castle Mordo where they retrieve the Darkhold. They battle Dracula and the Darkholders, and then use the book to cast the Montesi formula. This spell destroys Dracula and all current vampires then on Earth and prevented any more from being able to exist on Earth. King was not destroyed by the Montesi formula because he had never taken blood from a living human being, but still required Doctor Strange to perform a complete blood transfusion for King to survive, which restored him to human form.