Hannibal King - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Hannibal King was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A private detective who made 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 would subsist on blood that he purchased (or stole) from blood banks and fed on corpses or animals. King also preferred 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 continued to operate as a private detective, but could only travel freely at night.

As a vampire, he first battled Dracula, the Lord of Earth's vampires. While searching for Deacon Frost, King eventually met Blade, the vampire hunter. It was also Deacon Frost who killed Blade's mother. Initially distrustful of each other, they nevertheless teamed up to destroy Frost. King battled a Blade doppelganger created by Deacon Frost. King and Blade then destroyed Deacon Frost himself. King and Blade parted 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 contacted Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Through Strange, King discovered that the Darkhold contained the spell not only for creating vampires but destroying them. And it was through King that Strange learned of the apparent return of Dracula. King, with vampire hunters Blade and Frank Drake, joined Strange in their visit to Castle Mordo where they retrieved the Darkhold. They battled Dracula and the Darkholders, and then used the book to cast the Montesi formula. This spell destroyed Dracula and all current vampires 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.

The trio subsequently founded a detective agency initially simply known as King, Drake, and Blade; the private investigations firm was later known as Borderline Investigations. With Doctor Strange, they fought the Darkholders again. King also assisted the Defenders on one of their missions. Alongside the Beast, Gargoyle, Daimon Hellstrom, Hellcat, Cutlass and Typhoon, and Rufus T. Hackstabber, he helped foil the plans of Minvera Bannister.

Apparently, discord amongst the three friends caused Drake to leave the firm and Blade suffered a breakdown after a fight with a once again resurrected Dracula. Dracula's return indicated the weakening of the Montesi formula. King was unable to operate the firm on his own knowing his vampirism was returning. After an examination, Doctor Strange concluded that King, because of his recent reversion, had become a "neo-vampire", a special type of vampire with the abilities and weaknesses of the vampire, who craved blood but did not need it to survive.

Strange manipulated the three men into reuniting under the name Nightstalkers to combat supernatural enemies that were emerging. In their first mission, the Nightstalkers were hired by Lilith to kill the Daniel Ketch Ghost Rider and John Blaze, and battled the Meatmarket. Alongside Ghost Rider, Blaze, Morbius, Doctor Strange, and the Darkhold Redeemers, the Nightstalkers battled Lilith and her Lilin. Among the enemies the Nightstalkers fought were The Fallen, HYDRA's DOA, and Varnae. King and Drake were originally thought by Blade to have been killed in the explosion that destroyed Varnae. King would however show up in New Orleans, later to help Blade fight a resurrected Deacon Frost. King also accepted an assignment from Donna Garth to locate her father, Simon Garth who is also known as the Living Zombie. King tracked Garth to New York where he was assisted by Spider-Man in rescuing Garth from Lilith, the daughter of Dracula.

King would later set up a small shop in San Francisco where a CIA agent enlisted his help in stopping a vampire plot to blackmail the Earth with biochemical weapons. During this fight, CIA agent Tatjana Stiles was injured by vampire terrorist leader Navarro; although they defeated Navarro, Stiles' injuries were too painful for her to live with. Knowing the pain would eventually kill her, she begged King to make her like him "if she loves him". King, who grew attracted to Stiles, reluctantly complied and broke his years-long vow. Weeks later, King read a newspaper article about the mysterious death of two Iraqi guards in an overseas search for terrorist weapons. From the description of the deaths, King had no doubt who was responsible. King became dispirited, losing interest in his work and retreating into depression.

He assisted Blade in London where the latter confronted Draconis, a vampire impervious to all forms of exorcism.

Blade's biological father offered a way to restore the souls of all vampires, which he admitted would have the additional effect of removing all of their weaknesses. The rite was dependent on Blade, who scoffed at providing practical invulnerability to the enemy he'd sworn to destroy. Blade attempted to enlist King against Blade's father, but King refused, and attacked his former partner for denying him one of his greatest desires: to see the sunrise again. Blade staked King, who appeared to die, leaving behind only a smoking stain on the cobblestones.

He returned (as did every other vampire that Blade had killed) soon after, and Blade gave him a potion that would stop him needing to feast on blood.