Count Dracula
Back to Villains Main > Count Dracula
Real Identity: Count Vlad III Dracula
Appearances: The Batman VS Dracula
Powers/Skills: Immortality, Infection, Blood Absorption, Necropathy, Shape Shifting, Mind Control, and Enhanced Physical Attributes
Voiced By: Peter Stormare
Sometime in the early 15th century, Vlad II Dracul, of the Vlach ethnic background, was admitted into a secret fraternity of knights called the Order of the Dragon. Its mission was to defend Christianity and therefore, fight the Ottoman Turks, who were of Muslim belief. From 1431 and on, Vlad II wore the emblem of the Order. He later became ruler of Wallachia and the countries coins paid homage to the order with a dragon symbol.
His son, Vlad III Dracula grew to become a folk hero in the Transylvanian province of Romania for his role in fighting off invasions by the Turks. Nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler" for his infamous methods, he is said to have killed 100,000 Ottoman Muslims. He ruled Wallachia from 1456-1462. During this reign, Vlad killed between 20,000 and 40,000 people. They ranged from political opponents to criminals. He all deemed them "useless to humanity."
Eventually, Dracula began to take on the persona of evil incarnate and was said to have supernatural power. The people of Transylvania eventually revolted and staked him while he rested in his coffin. Dracula's corpse and coffin were then placed on a ship destined for America. He was buried in a catacomb under Gotham Cemetary. Since then, his mythology grew with details of crosses, garlic, stakes, sunlight, transformations, and no reflections in the mirror.
Centuries later, while in search of a mob treasure, the Penguin rediscovered Dracula's coffin. A drop of his blood landed on the corpse and reawakened the Count. After draining the blood of a night watchman, Dracula used his mind control to take Penguin as a human servant in order to be protected during the day. Dracula observed Gotham City and decided to take it over, human by human. After amassing an army of vampires, he moved to stake a claim among the elites. The Penguin immediately suggested billionaire, Bruce Wayne. Indirectly, the missing people and sightings of the Batman led to a renewed manhunt for the hero.
While in attendance of the Energy Expo, Dracula introduced himself as Dr. Alucard. He was in town from eastern Europe to study the Batman and the nature of fear, in terms of cultural anthropology. During the Expo, he met Vicky Vale and became fixated on her. Dracula decided she would serve as the source of life essence needed to resurrect his wife. However, the Batman was the only obstacle left. After thanking him for keeping his legacy alive, Dracula offered the Batman to join him as his servant. When the Batman refused, Dracula tried to kill him but was forced to flee at sunrise.
With a cure, the Batman entered the catacombs and defeated his army. Then, the Batman led Dracula on a dangerous chase back to the Batcave. After the cure failed on Dracula, the Batman activated the solar device, the SL-5, and reduced him to dust. The Batman was exonerated and the Penguin was implicated, instead.