Marvel Comics Reveals The Horrifying New ‘Midnight’ Universe
by Tony Thornley
Revealed yesterday, Marvel Comics is diving right into a horrific take on their biggest icons, as the Midnight universe debuts in August.
Headlined by some of Marvel’s biggest writers — Jonathan Hickman, Benjamin Percy, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson — the Midnight universe will debut with three new ongoing series. Midnight X-Men will premiere in August from Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte, followed by Midnight Fantastic Four from Percy and Kev Walker in September, and Midnight Spider-Man from Johnson and Scie Tronc.
The X-Men title will see mutantkind at the center of a war with the ultimate apex predator, vampires. In Fantastic Four, a scientist’s attempts to unlock the secrets of the universe finds him and his friends undergoing a frightening transformation. And in Spider-Man, a spider-bite transforms high schooler Peter Parker into something monstrous, but he may be able to use this newfound power for good.
Marvel is using this like to reveal a new cover program as well, with Cloaked Covers, where only part of the cover art is visible until readers open the cover. As Marvel describes it in the press release, “with the exception of the debut issues, the full artwork will remain shrouded in shadow, only revealing themselves to readers daring enough to pick them up on stands.”
So here’s where I stand on this.
The strength of this line is in the creators. X-Men versus vampires is a very common trope. The Fantastic Four has dipped into body horror more than once. And Peter Parker has been transformed into a monster many times across his career. But under the pens of Hickman, Percy, and Johnson, I’m significantly more interested in these concepts. As far as the art goes, I’m only familiar with Walker, but I’m willing to see how it goes.
The cover program is interesting as well. I’m going to have to actually see them in action to form an opinion. The reveal with the press release just makes it look like they may simply be partially see-through acetone covers, which might just mean Marvel charging an extra dollar or two for this line.
A more horror-themed Marvel Universe is a cool concept, though. If the last six or so years of Hulk stories have proved anything, it’s that the Marvel Universe really has some freaky elements, and leaning into that can be a lot of fun.
Check out Dike Ruan’s cover to Midnight X-Men #1, and watch for more information about the Midnight universe soon from Marvel Comics.
