Somewhere in a hidden corner of the Multiverse stood a blood-red Gothic castle. The light within was dim, and a long carpet stretched from the stairs all the way into the great hall.
Torches mounted on the walls gave off a faint, cold glow, illuminating the paintings and making the figures within them look especially eerie and terrifying.
This castle, no different from those in vampire literature, was the home of the Inheritor Family—the Morlun Family.
Although the Morlun Family had appeared once before, they could hardly be said to have made much of an impression. In the Spider-Man comics, however, they could be considered the number-one villains.
The Morlun Family, also known as the Inheritor Family and codenamed the Cosmic Vampires, hunted Spider-Man throughout the universe to obtain the power of the Spider Totem. But they did not hunt Spider-Man solely for power; there was also a prophecy.
The prophecy was simple: one day, the Inheritor Family would be destroyed by Spider-Man. To keep their family from being annihilated, the Morlun Family began killing Spider-Man across the Multiverse.
In the comics, Spider-Man's frequent disappearances alerted the other Spider-Men. They formed a legion to fight the Morlun Family, but the results were far from ideal.
The Morlun Family could restrain the Spider Totem. Spider-Man, who was fairly powerful on Earth, had no ability to resist them at all. In the vast majority of one-on-one encounters, Spider-Man was at an absolute disadvantage.
The Inheritor Family also had another major achievement: they had once severely wounded Black Panther. But the Black Panther they injured was actually Wakanda's ruler, not Bast, the Panther God who lived on the plains.
Viewed solely within Spider-Man comics, they were indeed an exceptionally powerful enemy. After all, in most people's minds, Spider-Man was New York's friendly neighborhood