Varnae

Varnae was a vampire from Marvel comics who was considered amongst the first of the vampires in that setting and the most powerful - he died centuries before the events that make up the modern Marvel universe.

History
Varnae served in the Cult of the Darkholders under Thulsa Doom. Injured due to the actions of King Kull of Valusia, a dying Varnae was transformed into a vampire by sorcerers of pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis. He allegedly was the last survivor among the vampires created in Atlantis before the Great Cataclysm, and ruled over Earth's vampires until 1459. Over the years, Varnae would face Conan, Red Sonja, Zula and Thor. Tired of his ages-long existence, Varnae chose Dracula as his successor as lord of Earth's vampires, and imparted much of his supernatural power to him by forcing Dracula to drink his blood. Varnae then committed suicide by exposing himself to direct sunlight.

Powers and Abilities
Varnae possessed a variety of superhuman attributes common to vampires. However, many of these powers were much higher than that of any other vampire, with the possible exception of Dracula. Varnae has the ability to transform others into vampires by draining them of enough of their blood to cause their physical death. During the process, an unknown enzyme in Varnae's saliva would enter the body and transform the remaining blood into a liquid called Ichor. As a result, an individual would rise from this death-like state after a period of 3 days. Varnae possessed superhuman strength greater than that of any other known vampire and was capable of lifting approximately 7 tons. Despite his great size, Varnae could run and move at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete. Varnae's musculature generated less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human being. He could exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue began to impair him. Varnae's agility, balance, and bodily coordination were enhanced to levels beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. Varnae's reaction time was enhanced to a level beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. As long as Varnae ingested fresh blood on a regular basis, he was functionally immortal in the sense that he was immune to aging and all known Earthly diseases and infections. If injured, Varnae was capable of rapidly healing damaged tissue sustained from mild to moderate injuries much faster than an ordinary human. Injuries such as severe burns and lacerations healed completely within a few hours. He was, however, incapable of regenerating missing limbs or organs. Varnae was capable of mentally enslaving most ordinary humans by maintaining eye contact with them for only a few seconds. However, exceptionally strong willed individuals could fight the effects of his hypnotism. Varnae was capable of communicating and even mentally controlling any other vampire, with the exception of Dracula, even across great distances. Varnae's hold was particularly strong over other vampires that he himself had been responsible for creating. Varnae could also use his telepathy to mentally communicate with or control certain animals, such as bats or wolves. Varnae was capable of altering his appearance to variable degrees, although he seldom used this ability. He was capable of transforming himself into a giant bat, wolf, or assume the form of mist. Varnae was also capable of altering his height and weight to an unknown degree. However, he was capable of reaching a height of at least 25 feet.