Real Name: Hannibal King
Occupation: Private investigator
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware that King was once a vampire.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Former Aliases: Henry Kagle
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Marital Status: Unrevealed, but now unmarried
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Partner in King, Drake, and Blade, a private investigation firm
Base of Operations: Boston, Massachusetts, formerly London
First Appearance: TOMB OF DRACULA #25

History: Hannibal King was a private investigator making a meager living and waiting for a case that would make his reputation when he was killed by a vampire named Deacon Frost. King's corpse lay in a morgue for three days and then he rose as a vampire. Horrified at what he had become, the strong-willed King refused to give in to his vampiric curse. Although he now needed to take the blood of others to survive, King never drained blood from any living being. Instead, he would buy supplies of blood and, if necessary, steal supplies of blood or even drain blood from corpses he found. King preferred not to use his vampiric powers, since he believed doing so was giving in to the curse. He continued to work as a private investigator, although now, due to his vampiric limitations, he could only travel freely at night.

King spent nearly five years as a vampire. During this time he clashed with the vampire lord Dracula, whom he refused to acknowledge as his master. Eventually, King joined forces with the vampire hunter Blade, and together they tracked down and destroyed Deacon Frost. At first Blade distrusted King, but as they worked together, King gained Blade's respect and friendship.

King investigated the death of a friend, Douglas Royce, which turned out to be connected with Dracula and the Darkholders, a cult of mystics who were then serving the vampire lord. King contacted Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, for help and together they battled Dracula and the Darkholders. King then summoned Blade and Frank Drake, another vampire hunter. Strange had a plan to use the complete Montesi Formula, a spell within the ancient book of magic called the Darkhold, to destroy all of Earth's vampires forever. King agreed to participate in Strange's plan, although he knew that it would mean his own destruction. While Strange and Dracula fought in their astral forms, King, Blade, Drake, and Strange's servant Wong began performing the mystical ritual to destroy all of Earth's vampires. The spell weakened Dracula, and Doctor Strange, holding the Darkhold itself, cast the final spell that obliterated Dracula and led to the destruction of all vampires around the world. King himself was succumbing to the spell, but Strange, employing both mystical means and his medical skills (including giving King a complete blood transfusion), not only saved King's life but cured him of vampirism. King was now a normal human being once more.

It was only because King had never vampirically drained blood from any living being that he survived the spell that destroyed all other vampires on Earth.

Blade persuaded King to join himself and Drake in setting up a firm of private investigators in Boston. The firm of King, Drake, and Blade will handle investigations involving the occult and the three partners again joined forces with Doctor Strange in battling Darkholders. Also, King went to the West Coast for one case in which he rendered assistance to the Defenders, the occult investigators Daimon and Patsy Hellstrom, and the import/export expediters Cutlass and Typhoon.

Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 190 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Strength Level: As a human being, Hannibal King possesses the normal human strength of a man of his physical age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. As a vampire, King's strength rivaled that of Dracula. King could lift (press) nearly 2,000 pounds.

Known Superhuman Powers: None

Former Superhuman Powers: As a vampire Hannibal King had all of the conventional vampiric powers, but he preferred not to use them out of hatred for what he had become. Moreover, he found that the more he used his vampiric powers, the more his savage vampiric instincts would influence his behavior.

As a vampire King had superhuman strength. He could mesmerize human beings with his gaze. He could transform himself into a bat, even one of human size, or into mist, while retaining his human consciousness and intelligence. He could not be destroyed by conventional means.

However, like all vampires, King had several limitations. He had to procure fresh blood in order to sustain his existence. He could not survive exposure to direct sunlight. Hence, he usually spent the daylight hours in a comatose state, although at least on one occasion he remained "awake" during the day, while safely shielded from direct sunlight. As a vampire, he could be destroyed by wood or silver thrust through his heart.

Abilities: Hannibal King is an excellent detective. One of his main virtues as a detective is his determined persistence. King's strength of will is demonstrated by the fact that he was the only vampire known to have forced himself never to drain blood from a living being.

Hannibal King is also a good hand-to-hand combatant.