Marcus Van Sciver

Marcus Van Sciver is a fictional character, a vampire in the American television show, "", played by Neil Jackson.

The name Van Sciver is probably an homage to comic book artist Ethan Van Sciver, who worked with series writer Geoff Johns.

Biography

Human past

Van Sciver was an immigrant from London, England who came to Detroit, Michigan in 1899 with his wife Isabel. They bought a corner store together and were preparing to open a shop when they were approached by Damek, an exiled pureblood vampire who was running a protection racket in the area. Damek demanded Marcus pay protection money or suffer the consequences. When Marcus refused, Damek raped and bled Marcus' wife and then had Marcus boxed up in a coffin and delivered to vampire Indians, who proceeded to string Marcus up and bleed him. How he escaped the Indians has not yet been revealed.

Vampire history

Marcus is the head of the Detroit operations for the . He is responsible for coordinating Chthon's business interests as well as arranging meals, housing, and other amenities for visiting purebloods and high ranking vampires. He operates out of a hotel he renovated in downtown Detroit. Marcus is also an active member of Detroit's business community, using his wealth and connections to help restore old buildings within the city. Much of Marcus' history, including how he came to be in the House of Cththon and how he earned his power have yet to be revealed on the show.

Marcus and the Aurora Project

Marcus was contracted by Charlotte, a Chthon pureblood, to create the Aurora Project. Aurora was supposed to be a vampire vaccine that would protect vampires from the deadly effects of garlic, silver, and sunlight. Instead, Marcus funneled the money he was given to other projects, including a keyhole virus aimed at killing only pureblood vampires. Marcus has repeatedly shared with others his distaste for the purebloods and their attitude toward "turned" vampires. He cites this attitude as his main motivation for creating and unleashing the virus. Marcus is seeking to create a new vampire ruling council where turned vampires are the ruling class. Marcus was being investigated by Charlotte's assistant Glynnis for his business dealings with Aurora, and it was determined that he was syphoning money from the project for his own use, but no mention is made of exactly what he did with the money.

Krista Starr

One of Marcus' familiars, , began working as a double agent for the vampire hunter . Marcus became aware of Zach's duplicity and lured him to the docks, where he killed Zach with a gunshot to the forehead. After the murder, Zach's sister Krista Starr began investigating his death and ended up at a gallery opening with Marcus, where she threatened to kill him. Marcus ordered her captured and then injected her with his own blood before killing her, permanently turning her into a vampire.

Marcus' ultimate motivation in turning Krista has not been revealed yet, though in the last episode of the first season, it is revealed that he knew about Krista working with Blade. Marcus seduced Krista after he killed Damek in his office, and has since had one other sexual encounter with her. Marcus also likes to keep close tabs on Krista and repeatedly hounds her about where she's been or who she's been with.

Chase

Marcus's long-time mate/companion is a turned vampire named Chase. The stunning blonde is completely loyal to Marcus and does his bidding, though she is not happy with the turning of Krista. Chase knows that Krista and Marcus have been together and is incredibly jealous of Krista. Marcus used Chase as bait to lure the pureblood Alex to Detroit to use as the pureblood test subject for his Aurora virus. Marcus also used Chase to sneak a bomb aboard Charlotte's plane in an attempt to eliminate Charlotte before the vampire conclave, where he plans to unleash Aurora. Marcus mentions to Chase that he's spent the last hundred years convincing the purebloods he was their loyal servant. Marcus' long-term plans all seem to include Chase in a prominent position of power, yet Marcus also chooses to continue pursuing his relationship with Krista. When Chase was badly burned by Blade in Germany, Marcus stayed at her side until she was healed up. Later on, when Marcus' treachery was revealed to the Chthon purebloods, they let Marcus know that Chase was the one who turned on them and spoiled his plans.