Markus Corvinus (Underworld)

Markus Corvinus is the first vampire in the Underworld storyline, portrayed by Tony Curran in Underworld: Evolution, in which he is the main antagonist. He also appears in the novelization of the sequel. He is the son of the first immortal and was bitten by a bat, thus turning him into a Vampire.

Background
Markus Corvinus was one of three sons of Helena and Alexander Corvinus. Alexander was a Hungarian warlord who carried a genetic mutation that made him immortal when it interacted with a deadly virus that had wiped out his entire village. Markus and his identical twin brother, William, both inherited this mutation from him. William was bitten by a wolf, making him the first werewolf and Markus was subsequently bitten by a bat, making him the first vampire.

William went on to ravage the countryside of Hungary, infecting the populace with his highly infectious lycanthropy virus. In order to combat the growing werewolf threat, Markus approached Viktor, a dying warlord, to borrow his military genius and army (who became the Death Dealers) in exchange for immortality. Viktor accepted and became one of the Vampire Elders.

In 1202, Viktor led a charge into a Hungarian village which William had recently passed through, leaving dead bodies everywhere in his wake. William's bite was extremely infectious, and the dead villagers began to come back as werewolves, attacking and killing some of the vampires. Death Dealers, including Amelia, subdued and injured William. Markus pleaded with Viktor for his brother's life and reminded him that he had agreed not to hurt William. Viktor only abstained from killing Markus because Markus had told him that, should he die, all vampires would die- and the same held true for William and the werewolves. Viktor locked William away where he could not escape and hid the location of the prison from Markus.

After William was captured, the "Chain" was constructed, a system where only one Elder ruled while the other two slumbered. However, the true power was in Viktor's hands, the ruler of the Old World coven. Viktor started to gather more power to himself to become the true leader of the Vampires, going as far as to alter history into naming him as the oldest and strongest of the vampires, and forbid searching into the past. Markus claimed that he enjoyed the company of Andreas Tanis, the Official Historian of the Coven, most likely because Tanis knew that Markus was indeed the original vampire. However, Viktor and Amelia undercut Markus' power, ensuring he would never have the strength to free his brother.

Underworld: Evolution
Much later, on the eve of Markus' awakening for his century of rule, a Lycan plot, led by the presumed dead Lucian, to combine the bloodlines became evident. A captured Lycan scientist called Singe explained Lucian's plan under duress - and was killed by a death blow from Viktor. His blood seeped into Markus' tomb reviving the slumbering Elder, as well as altering him to become a hybrid. Although the blood that awoke him turned him into a hybrid, he is different from Michael. Michael is more Lycan, as he was bitten by Lucian before Salene. Markus, being vampire first, has this as his dominant trait. The blood allowed him to be awakened before Kraven was able to kill him. Markus beheaded the treacherous Kraven with his wing-spikes after learning the regent's memories, and burned down Ordoghaz, the Old World Coven. Determined that the time had come to free William, he sought to find Selene, who held half of the key to William's dungeon. He failed on his first attempt thanks to Michael Corvin, his distant relative. Markus soon learned from Tanis, that the other half was held by his father, who had retrieved it from Viktor's body. Markus attacked the ship his father was living on while Selene and Michael were there, fighting Michael and nearly killing him. Markus then engaged in combat with Selene and managed to drink her blood to find the location of William's prison. After getting the knowledge from Selene's blood, he confronts and attacks his father, and subsequently retrieves the final key from him.

Upon arriving at William's prison, Markus was nearly attacked by his brother but William stopped as he seemed to recognize and remember his brother. Soon after William was released by Markus, Selene and Michael arrive, and a battle is engaged. While Markus battled Selene, Michael managed to kill William by ripping his head off, while Markus was killed when Selene pushed him into the spinning blades of a helicopter.

Powers
Because Markus is the first Vampire and also a hybrid, he has superhuman strength and speed far superior to that of most vampires. In addition, he can alter his form into one with bat-like features (wings, nasal structure, and ears similar to a bat's). He has also demonstrated the ability to use his wings offensively, such as decapitating Kraven and impaling Selene and Michael Corvin. Markus is an expert swordsman, having had centuries to master the weapon. Markus has been able to recover from significant injuries quickly, suggesting an advanced regenerative healing factor. Like the other two Vampire Elders, Markus Corvinus has the ability to read another's memory from drinking their blood.