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To quote the late Leonard Cohen, "You want it darker, we kill the flame."

It does appear that comic book readers do "want it darker," at least, that's what the incredible sales numbers behind DC Comics' grim and gritty Absolute line seem to indicate. And now, it appears that the folks across the street have more than taken notice and are preparing to kill that flame themselves, with a brand-new and terrifying alternate reality called Marvel Midnight.

Marvel Midnight is a new line of comics from the House of Ideas that seeks to "unleash haunting new visions of Marvel’s greatest icons." To that end, Marvel has wrangled some of its top creators (many of whom have extensive horror experience) to explore terrifying alternate versions of Marvel Comics' heroes... although maybe that term doesn't quite serve here.

Specifically, Marvel Midnight has announced three upcoming creepy comics to introduce their vision of a bleaker Marvel Universe, starting with Midnight X-Men by Jonathan Hickman (yep, Hickman's on an X-Book again, Krakoa fans!) and Matteo Della Fonte, which will release in August of this year. Next will be Midnight Fantastic Four by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker in September, and finally, October will see Phillip Kennedy Johnson and newcomer Scie Tronc on Midnight Spider-Man, just in time for Halloween. As of this writing, no specific release dates for the books have been revealed.

"From the original New Universe to two Ultimate Universes," said Marvel's editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski in a statement, "Marvel has a long history of creating and inspiring bold worlds filled with unforgettable characters and fresh ideas that feel new yet recognizable at the same time [...] With the new Midnight line, we’ve given some of our most outstanding creators the opportunity to delve into the darkest corners of their imaginations and birth some of the creepiest, most terrifying takes on the Marvel Universe you’ve ever seen."

Admittedly, "most terrifying take" is kind of an objective standing, but to Cebulski's credit, what we do know of the Midnight line at least opens the door for some memorable macabreity. In the Midnight X-Men title, for example, the world is besieged by vampiric hybrids of our most familiar X-Men characters. Midnight Fantastic Four, by a similar token, will lean into cosmic horror, with four scientific explorers mutated by forces mankind is not meant to understand. And finally, Midnight Spider-Man is going full were-spider, starring a transformed and monstrous version of Peter Parker.

But Marvel's Midnight line isn't confining its darkness just to the plot of each book. As revealed in the announcement press release, the Midnight line will also introduce readers to the "Cloaked Cover" method of comicbooking, with the issues' art "partially obscured," by black bars on the front of the book. "With the exception of the debut issues," continued the release, "The full artwork will remain shrouded in shadow, only revealing themselves to readers daring enough to pick them up on stands."

Marvel's Midnight launches this August; follow your petrified pals at Popverse for more information as it becomes available.

Want more? Make sure you've read our list of all the best Marvel Comics stories of all time, and get ready for all the free Marvel comics coming as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day 2026 / Comics Giveaway Day  2026 events.