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Then I found Michael Corvin; a human, who was turned to neither Vampire or Lycan, but a Hybrid of the two, and everything changed.

—Selene, during the prologue of Underworld: Awakening

Michael Corvin is a modern-day descendant of the Corvinus Clan. He was born in the United States but his paternal grandparents were from Hungary. He studied medicine to become a surgeon. He then becomes the first Lycan/Vampire Hybrid after Lucian and Selene, who later becomes his lover; bite him. He and Selene have a teenage daughter named Eve.

Michael is portrayed by Scott Speedman in both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. Speedman's facial likeness is digitally superimposed onto a stand-in for Michael's brief role in Underworld: Awakening. Trent Garrett replaces Speedman in Underworld: Blood Wars. In the anime Underworld: Endless War, his voice is provided by Mark Oliver.

Biography[]

He comes in, he does his job, and then he goes home. Other than that, I really don't know what to tell you. Interns pretty much work ’round the clock. We don’t have much of a life.

—Adam Lockwood, commenting on Michael

Michael was born sometime in 1975. According to both the Underworld and Underworld: Evolution novelizations, Michael's paternal grandparents were originally from Hungary, before migrating to America in the 1940s. As a child, Michael once spent the summer in Hungary with his grandfather.

When Michael turned 18, he joined the United States Marine Corps, however, he was discharged after one year. Around the age of 20, Michael began studying medicine.

Michael and Samantha

A photo of Michael and Samantha.

A few years before the events in Underworld, Michael was engaged to a woman named Samantha. However, Michael and Samantha were both involved in a freak car accident that left Samantha fatally injured. Despite his efforts, she passed away before help arrived.

Distraught over her death, Michael chose to leave America and start anew. Recalling the summer he spent in Hungary with his grandfather, he chose Budapest as his new home. He took up a residency as an interning trauma surgeon at the Saint Istvan Hospital in Budapest.

Michael lived in Long Island, New York, before relocating to Hungary, and had only been in Budapest for a matter of months before the events of Underworld.

Underworld[]

After that, I didn't see any reason to stick around. I spent a summer here with my grandfather when I was a kid so... after I got my degree, I just... I took off. I came over here to move on, to forget. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

—Michael, explaining to Selene why he came to Hungary

On his way to work one night, Michael is caught in the middle of a shootout between Vampire Death Dealers and Lycans. Unknown to him, Michael had been targeted by the Lycans for a Hybrid experiment, as his blood might hold a rare genetic trait needed by the Werewolves. The goal was to retrieve a blood sample to test, but due to the interference of the Death Dealers, Michael escaped for the time being.

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Lucian bites Michael

Afterwards, Michael comes home, only to be attacked by a Vampire named Selene, who is curious as to why the Lycans were following him earlier that night. Before Selene can do anything else, Lycans attack. Michael runs to the elevator, temporarily escaping both the Vampire and the Lycans. When the elevator opens, Michael is confronted by Lucian, a Lycan with a special interest in Michael's blood. Lucian is shot by Selene, but he is able to bite Michael, infecting him with the Lycan virus. After Selene drags Michael away from Lucian, it is revealed that Lucian obtained a mouthful of blood from Michael by biting him. The Lycan spits Michael's blood into a vial for testing.

Selene and Michael run to Selene's car, but Lucian follows. Before Selene is able to run him over with her car, Lucian stabs her, hitting an artery and causing severe blood loss. Unwilling to admit she is badly wounded, Selene ends up passing out at the wheel and drives the car into a river. Michael rescues her from the sinking car, then administers CPR until she starts breathing again and coughs up water. Afterwards, Michael uses part of his jacket to bandage her wound and stop the bleeding. He soon after passes out beside her.

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Michael at the Vampire's Safe house

The Lycans later test the blood sample acquired by Lucian and are able to establish that Michael is the carrier of a rare gene known as the Corvinus Strain, passed down by Alexander Corvinus's mortal son. Upon discovering this, the Lycans make it their main objective to capture Michael. They go to Michael's place of work and ask about him.

Going against the rules of her Coven, Michael is kept hidden in the Coven's manor house for protection by Selene. Upon waking, Michael finds himself confronted by Erika, another Vampire from Selene's Coven, snarling at him, having discovered Michael carries the Lycan taint. Michael escapes from the manor by jumping out a window and heads back to the hospital he interned at to treat his wounds. When at the hospital, he shares the events that occurred with a co-worker who shortly afterwards proves to be untrustworthy. The coworker becomes worried about Michael's mental state and informs two police officers of Michael's presence in the hospital. Upon seeing the two "officers," Michael acts quickly and escapes the hospital.

Michael later shows up back at the manor to find Selene. Selene drives him to one of the secret Vampire safe houses, where she explains to him the full implications of his situation. Selene handcuffs Michael to a chair after kissing him and gives him a gun with silver bullets. She then leaves Michael at the safe house while she returns to the Coven. As the hours' pass, Michael tries to break the chain of the handcuffs by shooting it but misses. He falls asleep and dreams of someone else's memories from the past.

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Michael at the Lycan's Den

When Michael awakens, he sees Selene rushing into the room. She is being pursued by Lycans and wants to get Michael out of there. Selene shoots out the window and orders Michael to escape. Frightened, he initially hesitates but the gun battle becomes so intense that he falls out the window. On the way down, his body contorts, allowing him to land on his feet unharmed.

Two Lycan agents (Pierce and Taylor) discover Michael and kidnap him, intending to take him to Lucian. Upon glimpsing the full moon out of the car's window, he begins to change into Lycan form. To stop this, Pierce and Taylor inject him with an enzyme.

Michael is taken to the Lycan den, where he meets Lucian. Once there, he is flooded with Lucian's memories, triggered by the sight of Lucian's medallion, and learns that it was a Vampire Elder named Viktor who started the war between the Lycans and Vampires by killing Lucian's lover, Sonja, who was Viktor's own daughter.

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Selene bites Michael

Soon afterwards, Death Dealers invade the lair. Selene breaks from the group and finds Michael. She releases him from his bonds and the two kiss. As Selene tries to escape with Michael, they are confronted by her jealous suitor, Kraven. Enraged at seeing Selene with another man, Kraven shoots Michael with silver nitrate bullets. Michael falls to the ground, suffering the effects of the silver bullets due to his Werewolf gene. Lucian tells Selene to bite Michael, as it is the only way to save his life.

She does but is knocked aside by a vengeful Viktor. Seeing Michael, Viktor throws him through a wall into a puddle of water. Beginning to feel the effects of both viruses combining, Michael transforms into the first Hybrid. Viktor engages in a fight with Michael, believing that a Hybrid is an "abomination" that should not be allowed to live.

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Michael becomes a Hybrid

Michael initially gains the upper hand due to his greater strength but Viktor, an Elder Vampire with centuries of combat experience, ultimately overpowers him. At the end of the fight, Viktor puts Michael in a chokehold and comes close to killing Michael, but Selene interferes to save Michael by using Viktor's sword to slice his head in half, killing him.

Underworld: Evolution[]

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Michael fleeing from the police

Look I understand what you did, I'm grateful. You saved my life, I wasn't ready to die. I don't know, everything has changed... I probably needed a minute to think the process all at once. Look, go, I'll be here. Just make sure you come back.

—Michael, talking to Selene before she heads off to Ördögház

After Viktor's assassination, Selene and Michael go on the run from both Lycan and Vampire alike. Michael learns to transform at will and soon begins to understand the power he has been given, yet still refuses to submit to the Immortal need to drink blood for sustenance. They initially attempt to hide in one of the Vampire safe houses, but Michael refuses to believe Selene when she tells him he shouldn't eat human food, and goes to a nearby tavern. Michael's attempts at eating normal food go awry when his body rejects it, causing him to begin to vomit explosively. This and an ill-timed news bulletin about Michael's suspected involvement in the shooting at the subway from the previous night catches the attention of two police officers, who level their guns at Michael. Overcome with rage and bloodlust, Michael transforms partially and attacks one of the officers. Realizing what he is doing, he flees the restaurant, pursued by the officers. During the pursuit, he is shot several times, but the timely intervention of Selene saves his life. After incapacitating the police officers, Selene has Michael drink her blood, to help quicken the healing of his wounds.

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Michael and Selene

Immediately afterwards, Selene and Michael are confronted by the last remaining Vampire Elder, Marcus Corvinus. Believing that Selene has something he wants, Marcus attacks her. Michael shoots Marcus, giving them time to escape. The duo flees to the road, where they hijack a truck. Michael fully transforms into his Hybrid form and begins to battle with Marcus. They seem evenly matched until Marcus nearly throws Michael off the truck, leaving him hanging on only by the chains. Selene is able to shake Marcus's hold on the truck by slamming it into the side of a cliff. As the sun rises, Selene hides in the truck, which Michael drives into an abandoned warehouse. There, he covers the windows in black paint and attempts to use a first aid kit to heal Selene's wounds, only to discover they have already healed over completely. They spend the day there and consummate their affections for each other.

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Michael is defeated by Marcus

The next night, Selene and Michael decide to meet with Andreas Tanis, the Official Historian of the Covens. Arriving at his hideout, Selene falls through a trapdoor, forcing Michael to intervene. He is, however, knocked down a hill by a guard Lycan. Michael shifts into his Hybrid form and easily kills two remaining guard Lycans defending Tanis's lair and later frightens Tanis himself. After learning the truth about Selene's family and how the Vampire and Lycan species came to be, Selene and Michael travel to the Sancta Helena, a cargo ship where Michael meets his distant ancestor, Alexander Corvinus. Marcus's sudden intrusion and the subsequent battle causes Michael to be impaled and apparently killed on a steel beam beneath a nearby dock.

Underworld - Evolution (2006) Michael killing William

Michael killing William

Enraged and saddened, Selene leaves to stop Marcus from releasing his twin brother, William Corvinus, the first Werewolf and the creator of the Lycan bloodline. Not wanting to leave Michael's body alone, Selene demands that he be brought with her in the helicopter to William's lair. Due to the tremendous healing powers possessed by a Hybrid, his body regenerates, and he is brought back to life. Michael descends into William's prison to save Selene and engages in battle with William. Though he is initially overpowered by the Werewolf, Michael is eventually able to get his hands on William's jaw and rips his head in half. Distracted by his twin brother's death, Marcus is overcome by Selene, who kills him. Reunited, Selene and Michael passionately kiss as they stand in the sunlight in William's lair.

Underworld: Awakening[]

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Michael roars at the Swat forces

She'll be here any minute. You be ready to go.

—Michael, talking to a sailor before being captured by the Infected Persons Unit

Six months later, humanity discovers the existence of Vampires and Lycans and declares war in order to exterminate both species. Selene and Michael plan to escape the city via boat. Michael waits for Selene at the dock when he is ambushed by a police squadron. He changes into his Hybrid form to fight back but is repeatedly shot and sent falling into the water by a silver grenade. Selene dives in after Michael and tries to revive him, but the two are separated by a grenade explosion and captured. They are both cryogenically frozen and placed in stasis chambers for twelve years by biotech giant Antigen, who claim to be working on an antidote for the virus that creates Vampires and Lycans.

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Michael being held at Antigen

During captivity, Selene gives birth to a daughter, Eve, born of her and Michael. Eve sets her mother free but is unable to locate her father. Due to Michael's absence and comments made by the Vampire, Thomas, everyone, including Selene, initially believes Michael to be dead. However, during Selene's search for Eve after she is taken captive by Dr Jacob Lane, she finds Michael's frozen state and shoots the chamber, weakening it so he will be released. After both Jacob Lane and his son Quint are defeated by Michael's lover and daughter, Selene and Eve come back to rescue Michael, only to find out he isn't there. Using Eve's telepathic link to her father, they try to look for him on the roof of Antigen, with no success. As a result, Selene vows to keep searching for him and knows he too will be hunted now.

Underworld: Blood Wars[]

Michael Blood Memory-0

Michael appears in Marius's blood memories.

I'm one of you.

—Michael, pleading to Marius

During the start of the film, Michael is still missing, after his escape from Antigen.

During the climactic confrontation with the new Lycan Leader Marius, Selene accidentally gets a drop of his blood in her mouth, seeing chaotic blood memories, which Michael is present in. Later, it's revealed that Michael was captured by Marius, his throat slit, and having his blood drained, seemingly resulting in his death, as it granted Marius a temporary boost in his abilities. Marius drinks the last remaining vial of Michael's blood in front of Selene, she bites her own wrist; using her own blood memories of the time she has spent with Michael, to fuel her rage. Michael is avenged when Selene kills Marius.

Underworld: Endless War[]

Endlesswar11

Michael in the anime.

"It's good to hear yours."

—Michael, speaking with Selene right before he goes to catch Krandrill

In the last section of Endless War, Selene and Michael are on the run from humans, who are actively hunting down and killing Immortals. She and Michael track Krandrill down and attack a hotel, where they discover Krandrill and a harem of female Lycans who are all loyal to him. After Michael fights Krandrill and knocks him through one of the hotel's windows, Selene jumps on top of the falling Lycan and empties her gun into him. Before she delivers the coup de grâce, Krandrill taunts her with the fact that her kind (Vampires) are also being hunted, and that it's just a matter of time before she'll join him in hell. Selene brushes off Krandrill's remark and finishes him off before regrouping with Michael, commenting in her voiceover that she no longer feels the same as she had before, but as long as she and Michael are together, she can deal with living forever.

Personality[]

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He dressed my wound after I assaulted him at his home, then abducted him at gunpoint?

—Selene's thoughts on Michael, Underworld novelization

At the beginning of the series, Michael is apparently something of a loner, as a result of the emotional trauma he had sustained from the car crash years earlier, mostly keeping to himself and having few friends. Despite this, he's not anti-social, but rather he is very caring and protective of others, shown by his decision to become a surgeon to help save lives. Michael is also brave, sometimes to the point of recklessness; he risks his own life to help a human woman who was hit by a bullet in the subway, attempting to treat her wounds and telling her she was going to be okay. He also expressed concern for Selene over her injuries, and later performed CPR on her, despite her hostility towards him. Michael can be stubborn and fails to listen to advice sometimes, such as when he ignores Selene's order to stay away from town and not eat human food, which ultimately resulted in him getting seriously wounded by police officers and forcing Selene to save him.

Michael was deeply shocked when he first discovered that supernatural beings existed and were out to get him, though by Evolution he seemed to have come to terms with this rapid change in events. Although Michael seems to isolate himself from others, he is hardly uncaring and is shown to be quite compassionate towards other people, even non-humans, whom he is initially terrified of. He shows concern for Selene and is visibly shocked and empathizes with her when she tells him how her family was murdered/butchered. He also appears to sympathize with Lucian after learning that Lucian's lover Sonja was executed in front of him. It is possible that some of Michael's protective instinct comes from being unable to save his fiancée when they were involved in a car accident years earlier; Michael voiced his survivor's guilt over her death due to lacking the medical knowledge to treat her for the shock and the trauma, and even years afterwards he still had held onto old photographs of them in his apartment. This could also explain why he holds himself apart from others.

The person Michael is closet to is Selene, whom he was attracted to at first sight at the Subway Station. Later, following their first interaction, Michael, though initially intimidated by her, comes to admire Selene. It is likely that he sees a kindred spirit in her, both having suffered great personal losses and having similar personality traits. Michael is initially clearly more empathetic and compassionate towards others than Selene, but he becomes less reluctant as the series progresses to harm others in order to protect himself. Michael's protective and caring traits come through most strongly around Selene--he risks his own life to defend her on more than one occasion, and has also saved her life at least twice. After Selene nearly crashes the truck she is driving due to the sun coming up, Michael takes control of the wheel, gets her to safety and even thinks to paint the windows of their warehouse hideout to block out the sun. He also gets a first-aid kit for her, tearing it off the wall, to treat her burned hands, though as Selene points out, this was unnecessary due to her rapid healing. Michael is shown to be somewhat embarrassed by this, forgetting Selene's healing capabilities in his chivalrous rush to assist and protect her.

Notes[]

  1. All indications from the film and statements by the cast and crew suggest that Michael is dead. However, given Michael's feats in Underworld: Evolution, especially his ability to rise from the dead after being killed by Marcus Corvinus, it's entirely possible Michael survived, unless Marius destroyed his entire body. If a sixth film is released, Michael's presence or absence will presumably reveal whether he will resurrect.
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