The Midnight Universe is Marvel’s smaller, horror-focused line

We’re six weeks out from the launch of Marvel’s new Midnight Universe line of comics. It’s been a legit full court press of promotional info for this line recently. Comparisons to DC’s Absolute Universe are inevitable but misplaced. Let’s dig in on why.

Midnight Universe, the Basics

The Midnight Universe is a line of comics reimagining some of Marvel’s biggest heroes in a darker, horror-inspired universe. Marvel’s announcement post for the Midnight Universe describes it like this:

For over 80 years, Marvel heroes have inspired hope. This October, that hope dies in the shadows of the MIDNIGHT UNIVERSE, a new publishing line where top creators unleash haunting new visions of Marvel’s greatest icons.

To get a feel for what this means, you should check out the line’s launch trailer.

Watching that trailer, you get why the phrase “the light had its turn” is the tagline for the series. This series is going to be dark. The writers and artists are pushing the boundaries on what’s possible at Marvel.

This series is something different for Marvel, and different from what the distinguished competition is doing.

Three Launch Titles

The line will focus on three comics at launch. It’s not clear yet if the line will grow beyond those titles. At least initially, this is a small comics line.

Midnight X-Men

This is a “mutant, vampire epic” based on AIPT’s great coverage of the coming line. Marvel’s preview for Midnight X-Men #1 describes this Jonathan Hickman helmed series thus:

The shadows of New York City are stalked by vampires and the mutant empyres. The sword of Damocles hangs over the peace between these two species and the factions within them. An outright war is brewing and the unturned will be caught in the crossfire.

Normally I’m all-in for anything X-Men related, especially with Hickman returning as writer, but I’m not that excited by vampire X-Men. This is probably the title I’m least interested in.

Midnight Spider-Man

In this version, Spider-Man isn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. The art portrays Peter Parker as literally infected. Marvel’s preview for Midnight Spider-Man #1 explains it like this:

A young man is transformed into a hideous spider hybrid by the ruthless Oscorp Corporation in their pursuit for eternal life. When Oscorp begins to use the secrets unlocked by his mutation to create more human-animal hybrids, he must embrace his grotesque new form to fight back.

The previews at Comic Book Club of Midnight Spider-Man’s first issue make me think this is horror meets manga. It’s an interesting take, but again, I’m not sure I’m the audience here.

Midnight Fantastic Four

I covered this one earlier, intrigued by the idea that Midnight Fantastic Four is a cosmic horror story. I’m still not sure what that means, but I like the idea of the Fantastic Four not being a family. That’s an interesting twist.

I think this is the one I’m most excited by.

Is this really Marvel’s answer to DC’s Absolute Universe?

There are some similarities with DC’s Absolute Universe. Midnight Universe is launching with a small initial offering, with room to expand. This is also a reimagining of core characters. These are different takes, and creators are given the freedom to do something new with the titles. There are some differences too.

The Midnight Universe is heavily focused on horror. DC’s Absolute Universe is horror adjacent for certain titles, sure, but DC’s line imagines what their heroes would be if you stripped away some core elements that readers associate with those heroes. There’s nothing like that aspect for the Midnight Universe. Also, Hickman was quoted at Bleeding Cool as saying that 12 would be too many books, implying they don’t want a large line of comics similar to DC’s line.

Marvel has put a lot on the line for these titles. There’s all this recent promotion effort, and these three titles are all that Marvel will be releasing on October 7. They’re clearly placing a big bet in a world where DC owns the sales charts recently.

Good for Marvel for trying something new! I am, however, skeptical. The Midnight Universe feels like a niche audience take on Marvel’s biggest characters, something more akin to What If…? I don’t see any evidence here that this approach will do for Marvel what the Absolute Universe did for DC, but with October 7 just around the corner, it won't be long until we know for sure.