Man, 1993 really was a turning point for the comic book business! Since Superman’s death and Image Comics’ release of Spawn on the national scene, comic books have typically taken on a considerably darker tone. This is true of all publishing companies, not just Marvel and DC.
But given that the latter two are the largest and most established comic book publishers in the world, it makes sense that there is some tribalism between the two groups. Hardcore DC fans view Iron Man as a cheap Batman-Cyborg knockoff, while Marvel aficionados consider DC’s black-and-white storytelling model to be archaic.
Overall, there is a lot to be said about the fact that DC has been around longer than Marvel, making any “copied ideas” inevitable. Hell, even DC has their own version of Captain America in the form of The Guardian, courtesy to Jack Kirby’s initial entry into the 1940s Distinguished Competition.
The idea of a magical team-up, however, that will mimic the actions of the main team of heroes but in the occult world, is one idea that DC has appropriated from Marvel. Marvelous Viewers, forget about John Constantine and Justice League Dark right now. We are talking 1993, and that team-up would not happen for almost two decades.
We will be looking at one of the most obscure and unique shamans, sorcerers, and Spirits of Vengeance comic book teams in this video (and no, we are not talking about The Spectre).
Because of the latest trailer release by Firaxis & 2K or that one Spanish interview Oscar Isaac gave while promoting Moon Knight, you may already be familiar with them. That is exactly, we are starting with Marvel’s Midnight Sons – Explored.
How did the Midnight Sons team-up come about?
Now, while we would love to think that the Midnight Sons’ collaboration was the result of a meticulously planned, years-long strategy to highlight the occult aspects of the rapidly expanding Marvel Universe, the truth is probably the least spooky, dull, and human of all things: trademarks.
That, along with the fact that Ghost Rider’s trademark was about to expire in 1992, gave Marvel the chance—at the moment, at least—to bring characters together for an exceptional, one-of-a-kind team-up. The stage was prepared for the Midnight Sons, a really unique existence even inside the Marvel environment, thanks to the way the stories were built-up, with the Darkhold pitch to Marvel Special Projects being accepted and Morbius being let to take time away from his web-slinging issues.
To properly introduce their readers to the “first distinct family group” in Marvel continuity that is not called The Fantastic Four, Marvel announced that every story featuring the Midnight Sons would be tagged with their signature dagger symbol on the cover art of the issue.
The explanation was written by veteran Spider-Man artist Jeffrey Lee Simons. However, I digress. The point is to point out that Midnight Sons is likely the show that inspired Kevin Feige to create the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), as every story involving its team members—either individually or in their capacity as the world’s protectors—was close-knit and interconnected throughout its entire run.
The Midnight Sons first appeared in Ghost Rider issue #31 released in 1992 and was quietly disassembled in 1995 after the conclusion to their first major storyline. But for those 3 years, the fates of all its team-members were woven together in an intricate mesh of storytelling that is not unlike what the MCU is doing currently with all their Disney+ projects.
While most of the Midnight Sons’ fights were fought in companion issues, a 9-issue anthology-type title did run for a while that featured the fighters of the occult as its focus and was called the Midnight Sons Unlimited. These stories followed a serialised structure in terms of their story-telling and continuity effects, and would also feature some of Marvel’s other famous-yet-eclectic personalities crossing over for a quick cup of coffee with the spooky lads. But that’s the corporate story behind the creation of the Midnight Sons; here’s the in-universe one!
Rise of the Midnight Sons
This is a 6-issue-tie-in origin story that also has another backstory you guys need to be aware of, so bear with us for a bit here. Okay, so; we’ve already told you that the Midnight Sons first appeared in Ghost Rider issue #31 released in 1992. Now, we’re going to tell you why, and the answer might get a little confusing but bear with us. The story of the Midnight Sons doesn’t go back to 1992; it goes back at least 20,000 years, when Atlantis was still in its heyday and humanity knew a bit more about why life was so magical; and yes, we do mean that literally.
And we say that because that is the last recorded team-up between a group of individuals that called themselves the Order of the Midnight Sons; and that is what sets the tone for our story. 20,000 years ago, this order of sorcerers, who were Atlantean in origin, sealed an ancient evil being in the remains of the body of the Biblical Leviathan that resided near Atlantis.
It nearly-destroyed their civilization 2,000 years before their city sunk, and considering their opponent is called the literal Queen of Evil, we suppose there isn’t much to be debated here. Lilith (not the vampire) is the name given to an entity so ancient and terrible that all we know is she was old when humanity emerged; and as the years went by, she didn’t become any less bitter than she was found.
Lilith was the mother of all evil that existed in the universe figuratively- being a very powerful yet evil entity of magical significance- and literally, giving birth to many children via her union with the demon Mephisto. There are many accounts as to her origins: she was a fallen angel, she was the wife of Samael, she was the mother of Lucifer, and according to Lilith herself, she was the first woman God created, though each of those accounts might just be yet another lie.
Except that one bit about Mephisto, because Lilith is one spicy demon mama who can’t stop giving birth to her precious Lilin, aka her children, and thinking about world domination like any good antagonist would. 20,000 years ago, she attacked Atlantis in service of this drive for revenge, whatever she calls it, and paid for it dearly when she was sealed within Leviathan’s scattered remains.
With her life force sealed, she couldn’t spread evil any longer, and most of her demonic progeny ended up mating with humans, diluting her bloodline till it became negligible in the cosmic scheme of things. Except for 4 of her favoured Lilins, none of her “children” remained “loyal” to her, and she herself remained trapped near the Arctic Shelf for 20 millenniums; until mankind found her again, and released her from her mystic jail cell. This caused a major problem not just for humans, but for Doctor Strange as well.
Why, you ask, knowing fully-well how dimensions work by now, thanks to Multiverse of Madness? Well, there’s a spiritual barrier that separates our world from the unusual. When we say unusual, we mean realms that are beyond our comprehension. Heaven, Asgard, Mount Olympus, Hell… these dimensions exist outside of our domain of comprehension, and usually, things would remain that way if the barrier was doing its damn job.
Thanks to mankind’s endless thirst for knowledge, Lilith found a way out of Leviathan and gathered her progeny together to re-start her campaign to enslave the world to her will; and the way Dr. Strange saw it, only 9 chosen individuals, who would herald the re-establishment of an ancient order, could get the job done. Before you ask, yes, Strange was Sorcerer Supreme. But strangely enough, his powers might have the opposite effect and end up amplifying their enemies’ spells instead of countering them.
And so, he sets about on a Nick Fury-esque recruitment drive to gather up those very 9 individuals, people who dabbled with the dark world of sorcery and the occult, and bring them together as the Midnight Sons. While he’s doing this, one of them gets contacted by Lilith in his dreams, and gets damn near seduced by her wily charms, too. But when she fails to take him by cunning, she takes him by force and practically enslaves Danny Ketch to herself, separating him from the Ghost Rider spirit, thanks to her “son” Nightmare.
Her other “child” Fang is commissioned to attack Morbius, the Living Vampire, and he too manages to “poison” Morbius’ blood, accelerating his mutation rapidly. She also sends assassins to kill Victoria Montesi, one of the people who acted as the guardians of the pages of the fabled Book of Sin as the Darkhold Redeemers. Her plan is to keep these 9 separate from each other so she can resurrect herself properly and gain the powers she had all those eons ago.
But thanks to the Doctor’s trusty sling-ring, all 9 Midnights Sons are transported to her fortress where they engage her in a battle that would most likely never see the light of day. On the side of the Queen of Evil are her Lilin, which also happen to include Ghost Rider villain Blackout and Danny Ketch’s soul. On the side of the heroes are Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider, the Victoria and the Darkhold Redeemers, Blade and his Nightstalkers, and Morbius, the Living Vampire.
The climactic showdown between the two sides see Blade go ham on a Meatmarket-possessing Danny Ketch, who later goes on a rampage against the Lilin now that he is free of Lilith’s control. The rest of the Midnight Sons focus on containing the Lilin to the Arctic Circle fortress of the Queen of Evil, while Ghost Rider himself engage her in battle.
Eventually, he is able to knock Lilith into the dimensional rift she’s opened to help her conquer planet Earth, and the 9 chosen ones come to an understanding. They know that Lilith hasn’t been defeated for too long, and that she would emerge again; which is confirmed at the end of Ghost Rider issue #31, when Lilith attacks her child Nakota and starts drinking her blood.
So, they decide to put aside their personal differences- I mean, who thought putting Blade, the Vampire Hunter, and Morbius, the Living Vampire, would be a bad idea, right?… and answer the call whenever their planet faces a supernatural threat that can’t be dealt with without a dedicated team.
And thus begins the journey of the Midnight Sons; a team-up that last for a shockingly short amount of time, given just how good these stories are. Over the course of the 9-issue run of Midnight Sons Unlimited and the various tie-in titles emblazoned with their ceremonial dagger, we see the 9 face off against a number of threats, friends and foes alike.
At one point, they are forced to contend with their teammate Blade, who has been transformed by the Darkhold into the sinful “Switchblade”. After dealing with him, they realise that Lilith has not only regained her strength, but has also aligned herself with the demon Zarathos, has had a baby with him and also has a mole in the Midnight Sons organization itself. We’ll let you figure it out in the comments below.
Eventually, they are able to defeat her, Zarathos, and their demonic baby and seal them away for good- for whatever that statement is worth in comic book lore, anyway. After these many adventures, Doctor Strange, who was initially only acting as their handler, initiates them officially into the Order of the Midnight Sons and brands them with the now-iconic pointed-cross symbol that will summon them in the world’s greatest hour of need.
And just to make sure they didn’t skimp out on their duty, once the call has gone out, members have only a designated amount of time to convene and deal with a threat. If they don’t do so, their brands would hurt “like the Devil himself” until they meet the call, which is frankly way too metal for a human guy called Frank Drake to subject himself to, which is why the Nightstalker is left out of the mystical pact and designated as an auxiliary member instead. It’s just too bad that Marvel closed the book on the Midnight Sons after a short, three-year run, because if this next adventure is anything to go by, they’d have made bank had they kept at it in earnest!
Mind-blowing Story Arc of the Midnight Sons involving Spider-Man!
Midnight Sons Unlimited issue #3 is a 4-chapter anthological telling of tales that occurred one fine day in New York City when its friendliest neighbourhood protector appeared to have gone, well, bat-crap crazy. Or maybe spider-crap crazy would be more accurate, because there’s Spider-Man, tracking Paralysis through the mean streets of NYC.
The eclectic criminal manages to land one of his namesake beams on the web-slinger and incapacitate him long enough to make his getaway, whilst Peter simply swings back home, gives an excuse to JJJ, and watches TV, disappointed that his girl is off making out with some hot dude for a hit show that night.
He starts drowning in his depression and thinks that he needs to beat it before it gets to him when his spider sense goes off and a mysterious man enters his home with a black envelope promising him that its contents would fix all of Peter’s problems. Chapter 1 opens up with Ghost Rider blazing through NYC alongside his best mate/former host Johnny Blaze. “Evil is afoot”, says the Spirit of Vengeance, and they cut a corner and are thrown head-first into a massive spider’s web.
Ghost Rider asks Johnny if this could be the work of Shelob, the Spider-Demon, to which Blaze replies that this gunk feels more like the work of Spider-Man. They notice that other people are tied up in the web as well but don’t have enough time to figure out an escape strategy, because at that moment, they’re attacked by a monstrous humanoid arachnid figure that is wearing a horrific Spider-Man’s costume! Calling himself Spider X, this beast reveals that his powers have been amplified to the Xth degree, resulting in his disfigurement and his unreal abilities.
Spider X’s webs are acidic and super-sticky, meaning if Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze don’t get those people off the web, they might literally dissolve. He screams that he has been looked down on all his life and he is done playing nice, as he charges Johnny Blaze and his former Spirit of Vengeance.
Elsewhere, we see Vicky Montesi clock the fact that a Darkhold incantation has been invoked in New York City, implying that the envelope we saw Peter receive in the prologue contained a fragment of the Darkhold, which has turned him into his Spider X entity.
The Spirits of Vengeance have a rough going of it, but they eventually manage to drive Spider X away, thanks to Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare, which knocks the six-eyed beast off his game and causes him to escape. We open Chapter 2 at the headquarters of the Nightstalkers’ detective agency as Blade is musing over his recent troubles with the Darkhold. The trio has received a new case, and it is a rather curious one to boot.
A mother called in reporting her son missing. Apparently, she had been in a major mugging incident where the felons brutally assaulted her and left her high and dry. Her son, Brian Kornfeld, who had been a superhero devotee for a long time, believed that his heroes would serve justice to his mother’s tormentors. He sent in hundreds of letters to them, but they were all left unanswered, and then one day she presumed, Brian went out looking for justice himself, calling him a boy who has “always been imaginative.”
Blade senses something is off when Spider X inexplicably attacks the building. He goes after the woman, claiming he wouldn’t harm her, but Hannibal King intervenes and causes the beast to focus squarely on the Nightstalkers instead. Spider X remarks that Blade smells like he’s been in contact with the Darkhold, to which the Vampire hunter replies that he “reeks of it.”
Spider X has visibly mutated even further, and given the fact that he survived a Penance Stare, he clearly is here just to finish up business as he takes the woman and swings away from her home. The Nightstalkers contemplate on whether that actually was Spider-Man or not, and come to the conclusion that even if it is, it’s too dangerous to be left out in the open, and so they decide to follow it.
Mrs. Kornfeld tries to plead with Spider X and begs him to let her go, but he simply tells her that as the champion of justice, it’s his job to keep her safe from the evil-doers, who were at her house earlier. He even goes so far as to say she’s irreproachable, which is kind of odd, but Peter has been nothing if not optimistic about the human spirit, I guess. Anyway, he’s tracked to an alley by the Nightstalkers who engage him again.
He tosses a garbage dumpster at Hannibal King who simply turns into mist and allows it to pass through him, and it looks like Round 2 will end faster than Round 1 did. Blade stabs Spider X with his, well, blades, a couple times and Frank Drake blasts him with a frankly ridiculous beam of nanotechnology that shoots him into an electronics store.
A news reporter reports that Paralyzer has held a power station hostage from the police and is subverting them from entering it. Spider X pushes the cobwebs out his own head and gives the Nightstalkers the occult equivalent of a “beat it” as he swings away to ostensibly take care of the Paralyzer.
As Blade marvels at the sheer disrespect being shown to them, a shaken Mrs. Kornfeld reveals that what scared her wasn’t the beast, but the fact that she recognized the dead body he brought along with him from the mugging we mentioned earlier. The plot thickens even further as Chapter 3 shows Vicky Montesi and Jinx Hastings arrive in New York City. The writing says that in New York City, evil has a way of finding you, and then the scene cuts to a purse-snatcher grabbing Vicky’s bag and making off with it as if to reinforce that perception.
Jinx, the budding little magician he is, gives chase whilst informing his would-be victim that he too is from the “gang-riddled mean streets of Los Angeles”, but before he can let that fact sink in, Spider X shows up out of nowhere. He takes one look at the mugger, judges him guilty and promises to destroy him for his crimes. But Jinx realises that something is up and cleverly distracts Spider X by dropping a massive pile of rubble on him.
But the beast’s power is such that he simply tears through it all and ties up Jinx with his super-stick-super-melty webbing. Before he can move in for the kill though, Ghost Rider arrives at the scene and manages to save Jinx from becoming Spider X’s meal. Johnny Blaze gets the kid out of the webbing and the Spirits of Vengeance begin their Round 2 against the Darkhold-controlled Spider-Man.
Johnny Blaze saves Vicky Montesi from falling to her death and the 2 Spirits of Vengeance give chase to this rabid monster through NYC. Spider X comes across a mugging and is about to kill and probably eat the perpetrator, when our heroes arrive at the scene. Jinx cuts off his webbing before he can swing away, and Ghost Rider manages to blast him into yet another store. Man, superheroes really don’t care about public property!
Thunderbolt Ross was right! Anyway, before they can catch up with him, the bestial web-slinger swings off into the night sky. Ghost Rider is concerned that Spider X’s transformation could unleash more evil related to the Darkhold, but Johnny is confident he knows what his next move will be, as we transition to Chapter 4 and see Morbius on his nightly feeding routine.
He’s giving his usual intimidating speech to his freshly-acquired meal when an explosion goes off and Morbius turns around to find, to his bafflement, Spider-Man fleeing from the scene! He also notices that Spider-Man is looking rather monstrous, and decides to pursue the matter when another explosion causes a city-wide blackout. Still confused, Morbius flies off into the night sky to look for answers, but his quest is cut short real quick by a few strands of an all-too-familiar piece of webbing; only this time, it isn’t acidic at all.
Morbius thinks to himself that the web-slinger must’ve double-crossed him (literally) and gotten him from the back, as he turns around to face Spider-Man. But lo and behold! He looks completely normal! No pincers, no disgusting spikes growing out of his body, no extra arms or eyes or nothing like what he saw just moments earlier. Morbius is just as thrown off by this as we were when we read this Marvelous Viewers, but Spidey just hits him with a quick quip instead of answering his question, saying he’ll call his people to arrange a lunch and discuss the murders ol’ Morby has committed.
Irritated by Spider-Man’s lack of “practicality”, Morbius engages him, and the pair go battling across NYC with Peter remarking that it had been a rather odd day. First, Morby goes down with a single punch, which is unlike anything that has ever happened before in their fights.
Then, they come across a massive spider’s web that isn’t of Peter’s making. And this is where the mystery of Spider X comes to a head, as we see that the dwarf who had approached Peter earlier had been soundly rejected by Spidey, and so he ominously declared that he’ll just have to look for another Spider-Man. Any guesses as to who that might have been? That’s right; Mrs. Kornfeld’s baby boy himself, Brian.
The dwarf manipulated Brian’s inner feelings towards the mugger into making him accept the incantation from the Darkhold. He told the boy that he would get powers that exceeded those of his favourite superhero Spider-Man, but forgot to reveal the cost of the deal; his very soul. As a result of the Darkhold’s sin-filled sorcery, Brian ended up getting mutated into Spider X.
Morbius is kind of relieved that Spider-Man and Spider X are two different people, and decides to take out his arachnid-based frustrations on the latter as the rest of the Midnight Sons show up to deal with him. They inadvertently end up at the 14th street power plant, where the Paralyzer awakens one of the most-obscure and bizarre Iron Man villains of all time: Zzzak! Caught between a rock and a hard place, Morbius uses his quick-thinking to hypnotize Spider X into attacking Zzzak by posing as his mom!
Everyone attacks Zzzak simultaneously and they manage to overload him, which kills both the electrical energy construct and Spider X in the process. Morbius and Spider-Man resume their rivalry in the wake of the heroes’ victory, and Paralyzer looks to make his escape in the confusion. But Spidey stops Parry from getting away, thanks to a little occult friend.
In the epilogue, we see Peter Parker return home, not expecting to find electricity or MJ, but to his surprise, the latter is there! MJ immediately berates her co-star and uplifts Peter’s mood, as we see Spiderman exclaim that he’s glad there are people dedicated to the eradication of evil born of the occult. He is glad a team like the Midnight Sons not only exist in the world, but was fighting on the right side for once, as the issue comes to a full-circle from where it began.
Strongest member of the Midnight Sons
This one can be a little tricky considering that Dr. Strange put this team together with the notion that together, their “fragmentary powers” could become a collective force that could keep humanity safe from the more literal manifestations of evil. After all, he explicitly didn’t join the Midnight Sons because he believed his own overwhelming powers could have augmented Lilith’s, and even when he did, it was towards the very end, just before the Siege of Darkness storyline brought the whole thing to an abrupt end.
Prior to that, he mostly served in a Nick Fury-esque capacity; he brought them together, provided them guidance, and was on-hand for transportation purposes as much as he could. So, we can keep him out of the picture for now. Out of the original line-up of the Midnight Sons, there are 3 figures that stand out immediately: Morbius, Blade and Ghost Rider.
Morbius has just gotten a mutagenic upgrade too, and so his powers are boosted for most of his tenure with the Midnight Sons. Blade, well, we all know how strong he is. But out of all of them, we would have to say that the Ghost Rider is the strongest member of the Midnight Sons, without question. The hellfire-wielding Spirit of Vengeance can hurt entities from both worlds… spirit, human, demon, it doesn’t matter.
If you’ve sinned, then the Ghost Rider’s wrath will follow you till the end of your days. The Ghost Rider is a powerful cosmic entity whose history is murkier than the backstory of DC’s Hawkman, but the one thing that has been unquestionable is his strength. He is, by far, the most-powerful member of this group, even when he isn’t brandishing him maximum power.
When he does wield Zarathos’ flames to their fullest extent, he has the power to rival some of the strongest beings in the universe. His Penance Stare is practically inescapable for anything with 2 eyes, and if you somehow manage to escape that, then hellfire awaits you on the other side; and trust us, no amount of sand-bagging is going to put this stuff out. But when you take into account the fact that Doctor Strange did end up joining the Midnight Sons as their de facto leader eventually, you have to admit that Strange is strongest. Period. It’s not a question of if at that point.
Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme. The only reason he didn’t join the team in the first place was because he thought his potent powers could play into the enemies’ hands whilst practically labelling the 9 as “small fry.” He has access to hidden knowledge, most notably the Book of the Vishanti, and is powered by perhaps the purest source of energy in the universe – the Vishanti themselves.
Apart from them, he has gathered mystical data for years beyond count and is a true genius of the mystic arts, even by the Ancient One’s admission. Doctor Strange is so OP, that he is practically handling the MCU Avengers right now and trust us when we say, it isn’t an overestimation of his abilities.
There is so much we haven’t even seen from him on-screen so far, that he had already done in the comics by 1993. So yes, out of the original Midnight Sons line-up, Ghost Rider is our pick for the strongest, but when you factor in everybody, it isn’t a debate anymore. Doctor Strange is the strongest member of the Midnight Sons, and that is a fact I am willing to etch into the caverns of Wundagore.
Everything you need to know about the Upcoming Midnight Suns Game
The first thing you might have noticed already – the trailer for Firaxis and Marvel Games’ latest venture spells Midnight Sons with a “u” instead of an “o”, making these dark, occult, gothic figures feel more like an indie rock band instead. But according to Firaxis, who developed the title, the reason behind the name change is more well-thought-out than a simple typo. They said that the name change was to avoid selling the game as something it isn’t; and that is a Midnight Sons game.
Sure, the overarching storyline and the major players involved certainly feel like Marvel’s first family group, but according to Firaxis, Midnight Suns (again, Suns with u) is titled thusly so that their audience can appreciate the game’s “uniqueness”. Its story elements are heavily inspired by the Rise of the Midnight Sons storyline, even bringing in our girl Lilith as the big-bad of the game, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end; that and the fact that Blade, Strange and Ghost Rider are going to be showing up at some point as you progress.
And we say this for a number of reasons, but we’ll keep it to 2 – 1) the protagonist isn’t a Marvel superhero, it’s a game-only creation and 2) Lilith’s chosen Lilins have been replaced by faces we know and love. Like Venom’s, who will be a major antagonist in the game as he will be under Lilith’s control alongside the Hulk and possibly Scarlet Witch. Marvel’s Midnight Suns will see you control a character called Hunter, who is also Lilith’s daughter (surprise!), and the only person capable of sealing her again.
Hunter’s mother has been unleashed upon the world by Hydra- of course, and now it is up to her to save the day alongside a group of 12 superheroes, which will also include Captain America and Spider-Man! Unlike their flagship RPG called XCON, Firaxis has introduced a card-based gameplay system for Midnight Suns, not unlike that Marvel’s Avengers game that used to be available on Facebook when they still made quality games.
Players will be able to essentially use these cards to stack up to a max-out which will trigger a special ability, based on who you’re controlling. For example, Wolverine’s max-out will heal all his injuries and replenish his health bar. In addition to this, players will be able to explore the world this game is set in to an extent, and can even uncover in-universe lore if they look hard enough.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is set for an October 7, 2022 release across all major platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, you name it! While the trailer drew a mixed reaction from the fandom, with sentiments ranging from “can’t wait” to “I hate them for ruining this”, we will wait for the game to arrive and then pass our Marvelous Verdict on it. Perhaps we’ll even make a video on it on our gaming channel called Marvelous Gamers, so make sure you’re subscribed to that channel too!
Marvelous Verdict
The Midnight Sons is such a compelling concept from its very outset! 9 individuals well-versed with the world of the occult band together to protect the Earth from all its greatest evils. It truly sounds like the start of every fantasy novel ever, and that isn’t a bad thing. What makes them unique, though, is the fact that they still manage to retain that trademark “naturalistic” approach to story-telling that Marvel excels at. You can literally see the Midnight Sons go from enemies to trusted allies; if you actually bother to read through all the issues they feature in, that is.
Sorcery and dark arts are no joke, not at least for the people who take them seriously. And most of the people on this team have wanted to actively kill each other in the past, too: Morbius & Blade, Hannibal King & Blade… well, only the vampires and the vampire hunter have tried to kill each other in the past, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are highly-individualistic people with their own definitions of morality.
And yet, when the world needed them most, there they were, stepping up to the plate like any true hero would. Blade was once turned into an abomination by the Darkhold. Morbius is a living zombie. Ghost Rider is a Spirit of Vengeance burning with literal hellfire. None of it should make sense, but when you read it, you can’t help but feel that them teaming up is only natural.
The Midnight Sons is the rare case of a comic-book crossover story done right, and we can understand why it came to an end. Printing too many exclusives and tie-ins for a story without a massive audience base tends to pay off negative dividends. But as a creative entity, they were undeniably unique, and we can’t wait to see them come together in the MCU someday. Make it happen, Kev!