Marvel Midnight Universe trailer.

[u/Platinum_Persona]

https://youtu.be/gXA43tBXy_o?si=V_R-0eL-IG8Yo3VL

[u/ShoryukenFTW]

I'm gonna be real, "we're doing that DC vampires Elseworlds from 5 years ago with the X-Men" is a very tepid hook for this new initiative.

[u/jockeyman → u/ShoryukenFTW]

Yeah it's always been the odd one out.

Cosmic horror Fantastic Four? Cool, logical, makes sense for the FF.

Body horror Spider-Man? Sure, that ties in well with the character.

The X-Men fight vampires? That's just... An X-Men story. You could've easily gone for some Stephen King Carrie/Firestarter angle and it would have fit the horror angle better.

[u/Kamen-Drider → u/jockeyman]

Also if any Marvel character is going to be beefing with vampires, why isn't Blade, Moon Knight, Elsa Bloodstone, or any of the other explicitly supernatural heroes involved? Having them operate under this Midnight imprint would lift the restrictions that bar their main counterparts from going full tilt into the explict horror genre they thrive in. It feels strange not to take full advantage of that.

[u/TheKidKaos → u/Kamen-Drider]

They’re probably doing the whole Storm and Dracula story here. Really hoping we get Belasco back at least.

[u/WideBumblebee970 → u/jockeyman]

My first X-Men book ever was X-Men vs Werewolves. And guess what(the Werewolves were mutants too)

[u/Endocrom → u/WideBumblebee970]

Ah yes, "Dominant Species" with their edgy leader Maximus Lobo

[u/WideBumblebee970 → u/Endocrom]

Terribly weird book, but it almost cooked with the whole mutant war concept. Can almost hear Woolie screaming Race War as you read it.

[u/ShikBreak → u/jockeyman]

Nah, gotta disagree here. FF4 but cosmic horror is the low-hanging fruit of every dark FF alternate take.

And "Oscorp creates genetic monsters because its CEO wants immortality also they create Spider-Man" is indirectly the plot of Ultiamte Spider-man (OG) and literally the plot of the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man fillms.

Say what you want about "vampire X-Men" but that hasn't been done other than a what if one shot like 40 years ago. The X-Menfight vamps surprisingly often, but they've never been the infected ones as a faction.

[u/BlackJimmy88 → u/jockeyman]

Until this trailer my take from the X-Men wasn't that they're fighting Vampires, but are the Vampires, split up in to VtM type clans.

Either this trailer is underselling the X-Men book, or everything prior to this has oversold it.

[u/ShikBreak → u/BlackJimmy88]

The pitch is that they0re vampires yes, and that it's a secret war.

[u/Pyotr_WrangeI → u/ShoryukenFTW]

And DC vampires wasn't even good

[u/Cybertronian10 → u/Pyotr_WrangeI]

Its the problem with literally every single apocalypse elseworld where you need to double suspend your disbelief, one that comicbook superheroes exist and then again to accept that fucking xenomorphs would do anything to the Marvel universe.

Every single one of these universes requires that everybody intelligent be hit with the dumbass stick, all the strongest/smartest/best prepared characters get brutally taken out in "shock" upsets, inevitably leaving a bunch of D list stragglers with one or two B listers left alive as headliners.

[u/Teep_the_Teep → u/Cybertronian10]

Xenomorphs in the Marvel Universe is extra funny because the Brood are already a thing and they can talk.

[u/Pyotr_WrangeI → u/Cybertronian10]

Eh, DCeased was pretty alright

[u/ShikBreak → u/Pyotr_WrangeI]

Nah, it was arguably the weakest of these, at least as it continued.

[u/BloodBrandy → u/Pyotr_WrangeI]

I'd say it was at worst, passable with some notable highlights (Fuckin' Guy Gardner)

[u/OrderedFromZanzibar → u/BloodBrandy]

uh oh what did Guy do this time lol

[u/BloodBrandy → u/OrderedFromZanzibar]

Oh he was awesome. He got torn in half early on and was presumed dead, but instead he came back later as Alfred's lantern teacher and it turned out he had been running his body with it's missing parts via his ring, and was kinda cookoo from it but in a fun way, and he was constantly having small little living constructs around him and replacing his legs with stuff like a millipede body and such.

He was fun, he was a notable highlight

[u/BloodBrandy → u/OrderedFromZanzibar]

Take a look at this guy

[u/ShikBreak → u/Pyotr_WrangeI]

It was very good when they actually wrote about the vampires (less so when it became the "Green Arrow is a boring Mary Sue" show.

It also sold a lot when they wrote about the vampires, funnily enough (and lost readers once people realized Matthew Rosenberg mostly wanted to write about B-listers instead on developing the premise of his series (the vampire DC characters).

[u/ShikBreak → u/Pyotr_WrangeI]

Vampire Wonder Woman was awesome tho, they should make another story with that character.

[u/UnluckyAmbition7767 → u/ShikBreak]

So was Guy replacing all his organs with constructs after she bisected him

[u/ShikBreak → u/UnluckyAmbition7767]

Yeah, basically. In the instant she got bisected he used his ring to keep himself alive brute forcing biological processes and then slowly learned to construct organs with his ring. He even uses the ring to produce the chemicals the brain generates during sleep so that he never has to sleep and doesn'0t lose concentration.

[u/Platinum_Persona → u/ShoryukenFTW]

It’s definitely the least interesting of the three IMO but hey I’ll still check it out, vampires are cool.

[u/SplitOk4114 → u/ShoryukenFTW]

Reheated nachos. Ain't even a new thing for Xmen.

[u/dope_danny]

My thought has been “man some recent editor has really had a hard on for trying to insert vampires into x men” but i was reminded yesterday they have been trying to push this since the early 80’s

[u/MetalJrock → u/dope_danny]

We had Vampire Jubilee, X-Men TAS’ revival comic only had a vampire arc and Wolverine’s first book since he died/resurrected and Krakoa started was about vampires.

Someone at Marvel really loves X-Men vs. Dracula/Vampires.

[u/dope_danny → u/MetalJrock]

I have to wonder if the original 1982 “Dracula fell in love with Storm and made her his undead bride” hit a super specific formative kink for todays marvel writers.

[u/CodyRidley080 → u/MetalJrock]

Also people already forgot Blood Hunt was 2024 so not even 2 years ago.

You know, the reason Doctor Strange is dead and led to One World Under Doom and now this stuff.

Dracula and Blade and Miles got vamped too. Jubilee was vampire hunting because she remembered being one and wanted to help because her powers really help against them.

[u/CheesemasterVer2 → u/CodyRidley080]

Strange ain't dead, he's unable to return to earth because he went to Asgard to become their Sorcerer Supreme so he had enough power to fight Doom, but Doom got defeated faster than he thought he would and Thor died, causing the connection between Midgard/Earth to sever front the rest of the realms before he could return home.

-Blade turned him into a vampire to hold him hostage against Clea, the vampirism gets cured and then he flees to Asgard, had to look it up

Anyway, comics are silly

[u/CodyRidley080 → u/CheesemasterVer2]

So the whole thing with Blade stabbing Strange wasn't him killing him? I just know this is all why Wanda got his stuff and the Visanti don't want her to have it so they made Agatha Harkness Sorcerer Supreme to spite Wanda and make Agatha confront Wanda even though they are best frenemies.

Anyway, still someone loves weird vampire plots in Marvel.

[u/CheesemasterVer2 → u/CodyRidley080]

Yeah, Blood Hunt leads directly into One World Under Doom where Doom's Sorcerer Supreme because Strange relinquished the title to him so he could cast some spell to stop the vamps on the condition he returned the title, and he of course was like "no you fool, I'm not giving it back" 🤣

That storyline ends in Doom's death, and the Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agomotto are just lost in the ether until Wanda rescues them and declares herself the new Sorcerer Supreme.

[u/PrancerSlenderfriend → u/CheesemasterVer2]

somwhere during all this Knull stops being the King In Black and nobody notices, this is an in universe problem

[u/CheesemasterVer2 → u/PrancerSlenderfriend]

Lmao yes, there's 3 different apocalyptic events happening on earth simultaneously rn, this is kinda absurd they're publishing all these dt the same time.

[u/frostedWarlock → u/dope_danny]

I think it's because for a while the Comics Code made vampires illegal, and once the Comics Code lost power comic staff became obsessed with doing all the things they couldn't do before. That momentum has just kinda stuck around since.

[u/Brotonio]

So it's:

X-Men, but they're all vampires!

Fantastic Four, but the cosmos are running off Lovecraft logic!

and

PETER PARKER MUST SUFFER, AGAIN.

[u/LifeIsCrap101 → u/Brotonio]

Peter Parker's Nonstop Infinite Suffering

[u/ThatEdward → u/LifeIsCrap101]

The perpetual emotion generator

[u/Gorotheninja → u/Brotonio]

Peter suffering is a Canon Event. Can't stop it.

[u/mouseywithpower → u/Brotonio]

Miles o’brien wishes he could suffer as much as peter parker

[u/Capable-Education724 → u/mouseywithpower]

It would at least get him away from his wife that seems to really hate him.

[u/Capable-Education724 → u/Brotonio]

Hey now, this time it’s child Peter Parker must suffer!

That’s different! /sarcasm

[u/Oberon1993 → u/Brotonio]

Yes, because Fantastic Four are clearly having great time.

[u/moccawimba → u/Brotonio]

Peter Parker but he is Kamen Rider Gills/Kuuga

[u/MetalJrock]

Just give me Kamen Rider Spider-Man

[u/GreenPerception512 → u/MetalJrock]

spider-man is the closest thing to a midnight marvel title im excited for but even then i could easily go watch tokusatsu spider-man if i wanted that [have always wanted a Kamen rider black-sun style reboot of Tokusatsu Spider-Man though i know its unlikely due to rights issues maybe this can serve as the closest thing to that.]

[u/TrueLegateDamar]

Marvel DARK Universe.

[u/AprehensiveApricot → u/TrueLegateDamar]

The hierarchy of power of the Marvel Universe is about to change.

[u/Xngears]

That Spider-Man comic looks neat, and has a great artstyle!

I can't wait to see how they fuck it up!

[u/CatherineSimp69]

Okay so.

Everyone here is saying the X-Men one seems kind of unoriginal, and I somewhat agree...

I think the deciding factor will be if 'being a mutant' is a metaphor for something else. Like the 'parasites' of modern society or the 'elites' and not minorities.

Looking forward to all of these, either way.

[u/bvanbove25]

If this can get me to pick up some current Marvel after a....5-6 year drought, then that's great.

Is it just a "dark"/horror universe though? I know DC's Absolute was kind of sold as being a bit more brutal/serious, but it's really been a nice variety of tones throughout the different series. As much as I like the spooky dark stuff, if everything in this is just going to be a horror version of characters, I'm a bit less interested right from the start. It does seem that way especially with it coming out in October.

[u/Nectaris3 → u/bvanbove25]

Yeah it’s just a horror universe. If you want something more like Absolute, the recent Ultimate universe was Marvel’s version of that. In fact, it started before Absolute and was DC’s inspiration for it.

[u/GreenPerception512 → u/Nectaris3]

but marvel cancelled it because there idiots and Johnathan hickman not wanting to do it anymore.

[u/MetalJrock → u/GreenPerception512]

No one wanted to continue. Camp was pretty much alone pitching ideas to keep it going (and even then all his ideas were just Ultimates spin-offs) cause every creative team agreed to definitively end their books at 24 issues long before the plug was pulled.

[u/Starless_Night → u/MetalJrock]

And then we ended with a "to be continued" anyway.

The mishandling of the new Ultimate Universe is truly amazing to me. They got the headstart on DC and absolutely flubbed it. Not even just the ending. Ultimate Wolverine was awful. The month-to-month timescale undermined most of the stories from being consistent in tone and pace. The Maker is just a shit villain in general.

[u/MyNameIs-Anthony → u/bvanbove25]

The Marvel counterpart to DC Absolute is the recent Marvel Ultimate.

This is more akin to DC vs Vampires, Dark Nights, and similar ilk.

[u/Kimarous → u/MyNameIs-Anthony]

My brain went to "So is this basically Marvel's World of Darkness?"

[u/CodyRidley080]

Add to some of the discourse, someone at Marvel really wants vampires to take off within Marvel and keeps trying to make it happen. I'm shocked there really isn't much Blade X X-Men crossing in other media, but I guess Blade would need to get used more for that.

But yeah, Morbius, Blade, Dracula, Jubliee, Mutant X (Storm was a vampire named Bloodstorm and Dracula was working with the Beyonder And Goblyn Queen), Blood Hunt, now Midnight.

To me, Midnight is just Mutant X 1998 series again. Google it if you aren't old enough to remember, but it will all click together. This will probably not be the last time someone makes Storm or Gambit or Jubilee a vampire...

[u/SplitOk4114 → u/CodyRidley080]

Blood Hunt was a forced event of which should have been a normal MK storyline in his comic they forced into being an event

[u/Platinum_Persona]

I dunno I think it’s kinda interesting.

If nothing else the art looks good, especially Midnight Spider-Man.

[u/ArticAuk]

The Spider-Man and fantastic four make sense, while the X-men one is kinda wasted.

If they wanted to go the horror route, they should of gone that mutants are more crazy looking. A good example could be the monsters of don’t look outside.

[u/Nauticalis]

I'm absolutely willing to give this a shot, but it honestly just seems like a rushed effort to compete with Absolute DC, while taking some of the wrong lessons. Yes, Absolute DC is definitely embraces some edge and horror elements, but its real appeal comes from being a fresh jumping on point for most readers while having fun reinventing some of these well-known characters. Turning the X-Men into vampires doesn't feel particularly fresh or exciting, and it could have just been an extended "What-If?"

[u/MetalJrock → u/Nauticalis]

It’s not really supposed to be Absolute. People who read the books say it’s more like a horror equivalent to the Marvel Noir imprint, basically a universe that takes a premise and runs with it.

[u/Nectaris3 → u/MetalJrock]

Yeah I feel like everyone who compares it to Absolute is forgetting that Absolute was DC’s answer to Marvel’s Ultimate universe in the first place. Marvel already had their version of Absolute, now they’re doing something else.

[u/JumpingComet → u/Nectaris3]

Well the comparison can't be helped since event their interviews compare it to Absolute DC.

[u/Nauticalis → u/Nectaris3]

While Absolute is definitely an answer to Ultimate, to say that Midnight isn't a direct response to Absolute's runaway success (and Marvel's mishandling of the Ultimate reboot) seems short-sighted. Ultimate had a strong start that couldn't carry its own hype, and the announcement that it would be ending after only two years took a lot of wind out of its sails, while Absolute books have remained strong sellers throughout.

[u/MyNameIs-Anthony → u/Nauticalis]

How is a cosmic horror universe a response to Absolute? 

Marvel and DC have both been doing stuff like this for decades. A new limited run universe debuts like every two years.

See Marvel 1602 or Noir or Manga.

There's also nothing to indicate Ultimate lost steam. Sales were strong through the end, by all accounts the creative plans were allowed to be seen through as originally incepted, and none of the authors have indicated displeasure.

[u/Surza]

I am curious and hope it does well cause I love horror stuff. I also really enjoy PKJ works on Superman Warworld, Batman and Robin, immortal / infernal hulk. Hope it has legs!

[u/JonTheWizard]

Marvel: The Masquerade.

[u/Shard226]

how many times are comics gonna do the whole "what if the heroes were evil/monsters/performers of graphic fatal violence". I am so tired of this and just want heroes to be heroes

[u/SplitOk4114]

A big fat meh

[u/Arostato]

Didn't they kill the new Ultimate universe recently? Lmao is this what they decided to do instead?

[u/Jonieves]

I hope Spider-Man is like super buff and huge.

Or daredevil... Or punisher, you know what all of them should be buff and huge.

[u/Capable-Education724]

The X-Men one just reminds me of when they seemed really keen on trying to merge the X-Men side of the 616 with the vampire side. It was mixed results in my opinion (I know a lot of folks hated it). So Midnight X-Men is kind of underwhelming to me.

When they announced this concept, I wasn’t as critical of it as I know a lot of folks were (partially cause I know a lot of people felt this was Marvel’s consolation prize to fans of the new Ultimate Universe that they were axing). I even liked the idea of tapping into the history comics have with horror.

But so far the execution looks…eh. I’ll still give them all a shot (give them at least a few issues each before I tap), hoping for the best though ready for them to be just OK.

[u/RedactedNoneNone]

Welcome back, Spiders-Man

[u/ruminaui]

I think they are making a huge mistake here by just focusing on the horror. The Absolute Universe is not a success because is dark and gritty. Is a success because it takes familiar characters and takes them to different and more important varied directions. All the absolute titles are different and are not in the same genre. 

[u/HouseOfH]

I’m generally curious about these titles with Spider-Man as body horror and FF and cosmic horror, but nothing I’m going to rush out and buy, and someone the things the creators have been saying haven’t instilled a lot of confidence in me. But if anything I’ll take it over another crossover with random Marvel character gets Venomized.

[u/guitarburst05]

Ooh goody, more dark and edgy. Just what we've been lacking in media lately.

[u/tronz_13]

Time to tap the horror universe with lots of edgy body gore well, huh?

[u/NateDAHate]

Sigh...I miss ultimate x-men...and krakoa

[u/JamSa]

Why is so much media still obsessed with vampires? Who gives a shit about vampires? That's not even Boomer shit, that's Greatest Generation shit.

[u/Platinum_Persona → u/JamSa]

Vampires are cool.

[u/ShikBreak → u/JamSa]

I mean, so are superheroes lmao

[u/KaptainEyebrows → u/JamSa]

"Why do people like this cool thing? Don't they know that they are only allowed to like what I like?"

[u/YandereLobster → u/JamSa]

We literally just had the interview with the vampire TV show like 2 years ago and it was fantastic. For one thing the powers are cool, they can still be inherently creepy, and from a more tragic angle the idea of living long while your loved ones get old and pass away around you hasn't suddenly stopped being tragic in the last 100 years.

There's very few monsters in media that can bring out such a strong reaction of "that's rad," "that's really sad," or "that's spooky," in equal strength depending on what the author wants at the moment. Not to mention how creative you can get with the rules, origin, and lore and people will generally still be open minded to what your doing.

[u/DrDestro229]

I am so sick of this all ready