Vlad Tepes was a Transylvanian warlord who gained the nickname "Vlad the Impaler" from his particular love of impaling his enemies.  In life, he was a highly feared yet respected warlord who stopped at nothing to attain victory.  When Vlad began having dreams about winning a battle against the Turkish, he decided that his force should take on the invaders, thinking that his dreams were prophetic.  Vlad's forces were supposed to lose the battle, due to the deceiving dreams being the work of Varnae, who is truly the first vampire and had chosen Vlad to be his successor, but managed to drive the intruders out using his superior strategic mind and abilities.  However, the victory over the Turkish was short-lived, as Vlad's troops were mecilessly slain by Apocalypse and his Rider's of the Dark.  Vlad was the only survivor of the attack, and he just barely managed that.  The warlord Turac had seen the assualt, and sent one of his men to aid the injured Vlad, believing that he could use Vlad to lead his military to global domination.  Dracula was then sent to the residential healer, Lianda, who turned out to be a vampire.  In order to heal Vlad, Lianda made him one of her own.

Dracula then went on to live under the lordship of Turac in one of his towns, and did not realize his vampiric abilities until Turac and his men killed Vlad's wife, Maria.  Infuriated by the homocide, Vlad brutally killed Turac and his men.  After he had done so, he felt he needed to escape.  He dropped his son, who was named after him, off to be raised by a group of residential gypsies and attempted to leave the town.  On his way out, he was confronted by a group of Varnae's agents, and was escorted to the lair of Varnae to make a deal with their master.  Varnae put Vlad through a series of tests to see if he was truly capable of being the king of the vampires.  He was forced to slay Nimrod, who had posed as the ruler of earth's vampires.  He did this with some ease, but was soon after confronted and destroyed by a band of priests.  Varnae acknowledged the defeat, but did not give up on Vlad.  Varnae ressurected Vlad with the blood of the niece of the head priest who had defeated Vlad.  The king of the undead then aimed to kill the girl, but was himself killed by a greatful Dracula.  Vlad then drank his blood, and became the king of the undead.  This event showed Varnae that Vlad was fit enough to be the king of the vampires, so Varnae decided it was his time to go.  After Varnae handmade an enchanted casket for Vlad to protect him from the sun, he killed himself by walking into the sunlight unshielded.  Thus began the reign of Count Dracula.  Throughout the next few centuries, Dracula reigned supreme over many European lands.  Dracula was often killed, but never stayed defeated; using his mystic and unholy abilities to revive himself upon death.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Dracula caught wind of Clan Akkaba, which was a large following of the god-mutant Apocalypse, the same Apocalypse who brought about his downfall as Vlad the Impaler.  Using his extensive resources to find more out about the Clan, Dracula began attacking the Clan, killing off their members rigorously.  He then manipulated the now vampiric Clansmen to do his will from within the clan, turning all but a handful of the members into Dracula's undead army, who also had mutant abilities thanks to the blood of Apocalypse flowing through their veins.  After many battles between the remaining Apocalypse followers along with the vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing and Dracula's army, Apocalypse managed to impale Vlad through the heart.  Apocalypse refused to take Abraham's advice, though, and did not do anything to keep Dracula permanently killed.  Dracula returned a few years later and killed Abraham.

Another century later, Dracula found himself in the United States.  Much to his disgust, Dracula found Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers imprisoning and slaying his gypsy followers.  In order to put a stop to this, Dracula teamed up with Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos and helped bring down the Nazi empire.  A few months after Dracula assisted in the Nazi downfall, he turned his attention to Castle Mordo in Transylvania.  When Dracula began to turn some of the Castle's inhabitants into his vampiric slaves, Baron Mordo successfully managed to fend off the vampire lord.  The year after this, Dracula observed a man, who is later determined to be the father of Jack Russel, transform into his werewolf form.  Dracula deducted accurately that the reason for this transformation must involve the notorious Darkhold, which was one of the only objects that could cure Vlad of his vampiracy.  Vlad kept an eye on the lycan population from behind the scenes for the next few years, slowly building a strategy.  Afterwards, Vlad tracked down the famed vampire hunter Jamal Afari, who was also the mentor of Blade, and killed him.  After the death, Blade swore to see to it that Dracula died at his hands.  Many years later, Dracula again turned his attention to the home of Baron Mordo, but decided it unwise to attack the sorcerer, remembering his past encounter with him.

Throughout the next century, Dracula had multiple run-ins with the greats of the Marvel Universe, including Dormammu, the Avengers, Hannibal King, Dr. Strange, Blade, Thor, and even the X-Men, but was ultimately destroyed by Blade, by being staked through the heart and then blown up, the stake still firmly embedded in the heart of Vlad. But as Quincy Harker stated, "how do you kill someone who can keep being resurrected over and over?" He recently has had dealings with his daughter Lilith, duping her into calling a gathering of all the great leaders of the various vampire families and then slaying them singlehandely, by the sword.




                                                            
                                                            
                                                        

Vampires in general have superior strength and reflexes, Dracula being older and being the recognized Lord of Vampires should be considered to have Super-Strength and Super Reflexes. (He once back handed Colossus, felling him with one blow) Dracula has command over several natural elements such as summoning storms and control over the lesser creatures (Bats, Rats and Wolves). Dracula has very powerful abilities where hypnosis, suggestion and mesmerization are concerned and only the strongest minds/wills (such as Professor X or Dr. Strange) would be capable of resisting him. Dracula's own will is practically indomitable and he himself is seemingly immune to any kind of will controlling powers. This combined with his powers of invulnerability allowed him to nearly withstand the full fury of a mystic energy attack from Dr Strange at close range before finally falling.

Dracula has shape changing abilities such as turning into an insubstantial mist that can still direct itself about according to his will. He can also change into various animals, but prefers to travel as a bat. Apparently he can control the size and degree of transformation from a normal sized bat to one of monstrous proportion (6 foot wingspan) as well as a demonic looking half-humanoid were-bat variation. Dracula is invulnerable to all mundane weapons except the wooden stake. (when thrust directly through his heart)He has tremendous healing faculties, recovering from most damage including magical damage, given time. Fresh human blood will accelerate healing and increase all powers temporarily.

He has complete control over lesser vampires and can command them as an army if he can gather enough of them. Only a direct challenge and trial by combat by another vampire can unseat his authority.

Dracula is a master tactician and thoroughly competent in all the Knightly weapons of the 1400's, which seem to be his favorite choice when he decides to use something other than his bare hands; themselves being tipped with semi-long pointed finger nails. Combined with his super-strength and invulnerability they have been used with feral and bloody efficiency, even scoring metal upon occasion.

Dracula is also capable of recovering/resurrection from utter destruction as long as his ashes or bones are recovered by someone. Usually some kind of magical ritual is necessary to activate this resurrection though sometimes it can be as simple as the tears of a virgin being poured on his remains to bring him back to un-life.

• Vampirism: Dracula, like all other vampires, is capable of transforming an individual into a vampire by biting them. A special enzyme found only within vampire saliva is responsible for this transformation. After draining all of the blood from a victim, the victim enters a death-like state and returns to life three days later.

• Superhuman Strength: Like all vampires, Dracula possesses superhuman strength. Due to his special stance as the ruler of Earth's Vampires, Dracula can lift about 4 tons under optimum conditions. With the possible exception of Varnae, Dracula is the most powerful vampire that has ever been encountered.

• Superhuman Speed: Dracula is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete.

• Superhuman Stamina: Dracula's body is more resistant to the fatigue toxins generated by his muscles during physical activity. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to affect him.

• Superhuman Agility: Dracula's ability, balance, and body coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.

• Superhuman Reflexes: Dracula's natural reaction time is enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.

• Regnerative Healing Factor: Dracula is capable of regenerating damaged or destroyed tissue to an extent much greater than an ordinary human. Dracula can fully heal from multiple gunshots and severe burns within a matter of minutes, however he cannot regenerate missing limbs or organs.

• Immortality: Dracula, like all vampires, is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to the effects of aging and is immune to all known Earthly diseases as long as he ingests fresh blood on a regular basis to maintain his vitality. Once killed, Dracula's power is such that he can resurrect himself under the proper conditions. if incinerated (as by sunlight or fire), Dracula can reconstitute himself if his ashes are placed in a coffin filled with soil from his homeland. If staked through the heart, Dracula can regenerate once the stake is removed.

• Fangs: Like all vampires, Dracula has fangs and claws. He can quickly drain a victim of blood.

• Hypnotism: Dracula is able to hypnotize others by gazing into their eyes for a short period of time. As Lord of Vampires, Dracula can compel other vampires to follow his orders unless their willpower is strong enough to resist him.

• Shapeshifting: Dracula is able to shape shift into bats, rats, a wolf, and mist. He can also turn into human-sized or larger wolfen and bat-like forms.

• Sorcery: Dracula is a very powerful magician. He is able to summon and command lesser vampires, undead, packs of wild dogs, bats, and rats.

• Weather Manipulation: He has considerable control over the elements and weather, enough to oppose Storm or Thor. However, Dracula is severely weakened for an extend period of time afterward.

• Mind Control: A person bitten by Dracula is able to be influenced by him through a sort of empathic link. Only beings of exceptionally strong wills are capable of resisting him.

• Special Limitations: Dracula, like all vampires, has a number of special vulnerabilities. His greatest weakness, like that of other vampires, is that he must ingest about one quart of fresh blood in order to maintan his vitality. Otherwise, his powers will steadily decrease to the point where he enters a comatose state. Dracula is highly allergic to silver and can be severely injured, or killed, with silver weaponry. If Dracula is injured by silver, his recovery time is considerably slower than normal. Dracula is also unable to withstand exposure to direct sunlight. His tissue begins to instantly dry up and will crumble to powder within a matter of moments. Dracula can be killed by having a wooden stake plunged into his heart, somehow interrupting the mystical energies that keeps him alive. Dracula can also be killed by being decapitated and being exposed to fire. Dracula can also be affected by religious icons, such as the Star of David or a crucifix for example. Dracula is affected by the strength of the wielder's faith in the icon and religion it represents, not the size of the icon itself. Dracula must rest within his coffin during daylight hours. He must line his coffin with soil from his homeland in order to both sustain his power and travel more than 100 miles from his birthplace.