Midnight Sons

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The Midnight Sons

The Midnight Sons are a fictional team of supernatural superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.[4] Including Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Blade, and Morbius,[5] the original team first formed as part of the Rise of the Midnight Sons story arc, culminating in the first full team appearance in Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #31 (cover dated November 1992).[6][7] Following the success of the crossovers, Marvel branded all stories involving the group with a distinct family imprint and cover treatment, which lasted from December 1993 to August 1994. The team has been revived several times with different characters, but the most frequent members include Morbius, Blade, and at least one Spirit of Vengeance.

Publication history

The original Midnight Sons appeared in several 1990s multi-issue

, Louise Hastings, and Sam Buchanan.

The group appeared in the nine-issue anthology comic book Midnight Sons Unlimited, which ran from April 1993 to May 1995 and tied into the crossover events.

Their final crossover was the seventeen-part "Siege of Darkness" which ran from December 1993 to January 1994. It was featured in two consecutive issues of each Midnight Sons title as well as four issues of Marvel Comics Presents (#143-146), and two issues of Doctor Strange, a title that was newly included in the line. It was advertised with an eight-page insert in several comics in October, November, and December 1993. According to the text of the advertisement, written by Jeffrey Lee Simmons.

For the first time in the history of Marvel, one of our family groups is getting its own distinct family imprint and cover treatment. On the outside of the books, this means all titles in the family will share a new cover symbol, the Midnight Sons dagger as well as similar cover treatments. Inside, the Midnight Sons titles will have stronger continuity, making for a more exciting, tightly knit sub-section of the Marvel Universe.[9]

The advertisement also claimed the Midnight Sons was the "first distinct family group."[9]

"Siege of Darkness," however, marked the cancellation of Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins, and the Midnight Sons brand did not last much longer. Nightstalkers only lasted three more issues. A Blade and Blaze series failed to catch interest. The Midnight Sons logo was eventually dropped from the remaining titles, cover-dated September 1994, although Morbius, Blade, Blaze, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider (vol. 3), Marvel Comics Presents and the final three issues of Midnight Sons Unlimited continued on under the normal Marvel logo.

The Marvel Edge imprint debuted in 1995, incorporating some of the same ongoing titles as Midnight Sons, including Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme and Ghost Rider.

In 2009, a different incarnation of the team was featured in

Punisher: Frankencastle and Legion of Monsters
.

An unnamed team similar to the Midnight Sons appeared in the 5-issue Spirits of Vengeance series in 2017 by Victor Gischler and David Baldeón. This series featured Johnny Blaze, Daimon Hellstrom, Blade, and Satana.

In February 2017,

Iron Fist, Scarlet Spider, and Man-Thing
.

In 2022, a new limited series was released, entitled

Fictional team biography

Rise of the Midnight Sons

The team was formed by Ghost Riders, Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze after Ghost Rider received a vision in which he learned that Lilith, Mother of All Demons (not Dracula's daughter, another Marvel character of the same name) was being resurrected and posed a great threat. She planned to use her demon children, the Lilin, to take over Earth. Though Lilith had many children, she had four children who were very loyal to her. Their names were Pilgrim, Nakota, Meatmarket, and the most powerful of the four, Blackout, Ghost Rider's old enemy (Blackout was not an actual child of Lilith originally, but rather a grandchild. He was later killed and Lilith gave birth to Blackout along with her other children, thus indeed making him one of her actual children). Though she would have a lot more of her children to help her, the rest had forsaken Lilith. After she was imprisoned, many of the Lilin were either scattered or killed. Those who were scattered forgot the ways of Lilith and moved on with their lives, except Lilith's most faithful servants.

The team consisted of the

Darkhold, the Darkhold Redeemers (Sam Buchanan, Victoria Montesi, Louise Hastings, and later Modred the Mystic and Jinx). While secretly assembling the team and the sub-teams within, from behind the scenes, Doctor Strange
didn't officially join the team until the Siege of Darkness storyline.

Midnight Massacre

The second major meeting between the Midnight Sons occurred when Blade, with a page from the Darkhold, became the demonic creature Switchblade. He killed most of the Midnight Sons, subsequently taking on the power and weapons of each. He was finally stopped when Louise Hastings used a counter spell from the Darkhold.

Siege of Darkness

The Midnight Sons family imprint

The "Siege of Darkness" consisted of two subsequent stories in which the Midnight Sons fought groups connected with the two major villains, Lilith and Zarathos. In the first story arc, covers were black with vague outlines, and the Midnight Sons fought the Lilin who were invading the earth in a mysterious smoke emanating from Cypress Hills Cemetery. Lilin included in this arc include Bad Timing, Martine Bancroft, Blackout, Dark Legion, Meatmarket, Nakota, Outcast, Pilgrim, Sister Nil, Stonecold, and Bloodthirst, who was possessing Morbius. In the second story arc, covers featured a dripping blood design, and the Midnight Sons fought The Fallen, a group loyal to Zarathos. The Fallen include Atrocity, Embyrre, Metarchus, Patriarch, and Salomé.

The Lilin

At the beginning of the story, Ghost Rider and Blaze tell The Nightstalkers, The Darkhold Redeemers, and Morbius that they have killed Lilith and Zarathos. The Nightstalkers, who are skeptical, investigate but find mist containing Lilin now emanating from Cypress Hills Cemetery.[13] As the other Midnight Sons join the fight, they discover that, instead of killing Lilith and Zarathos, Ghost Rider and Blaze have opened a portal to Shadowside where the Lilin had been exiled. They split into two groups, one led by Ghost Rider and one led by Morbius. Caretaker, Doctor Strange and Vengeance also join the fight. Caretaker claims Zarathos is more powerful and they must protect the Medallion of Power. Doctor Strange teleports Ghost Rider's group to his Sanctum Sanctorum.[14] They find out from some Lilin that Morbius' team has a traitor.[15] The team following Morbius, which includes Louise Hastings, hide out in one of Morbius' old labs. Louise Hastings finds out Morbius has been infected by Lilin blood, and Morbius secretly kills her. Morbius has been taken over by the Lilin Bloodthirst.[16] He then requests entry into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. Unaware that Morbius has been possessed, Doctor Strange allows him to enter which allows other Lilin to follow. Doctor Strange convinces Morbius to fight the control of Bloodthirst.[17] Doctor Strange then casts a spell that causes the Sanctum Sanctorum to explode.[18] The Spirits of Vengeance then confront Lilith and Zarathos in Cypress Hills Cemetery and use the Medallion of Power to send Lilith and the Lilin back to Shadowside. The Medallion of Power disappears.[19]

The Fallen

After Lilith is exiled, it appears as if a group called The Fallen, loyal to Zarathos, has returned from exile. The Fallen are an offshoot of The Blood, the group to which Caretaker belongs. The Fallen left The Blood to follow the wizard Zarathos. The Fallen quickly beat the Midnight Sons and take Caretaker captive.

Frank Drake, a member of the Nightstalkers and a human descendant of Dracula and the Ghost Rider who had apparently been destroyed. Drake was disallowed from taking the brand due to his relative normalcy compared to the other members who were supernaturally afflicted and destined to be outsiders. He was allowed, however, to be an associate member.[26]

Marvel Zombies

A new Midnight Sons team is sanctioned by A.R.M.O.R., a government agency that monitors and polices alternate realities from Earth-616. The team is chosen by Morbius, who enlists Daimon Hellstrom, Jennifer Kale, and Werewolf by Night to contain the zombie virus outbreak from further spreading into the 616 universe. The team makes a brief appearance at the end of Marvel Zombies 3 and fully appears in Marvel Zombies 4. Man-Thing and the Hood join the team later in the series.

Damnation

During the

Iron Fist, Scarlet Spider and Man-Thing to form the third incarnation of the Midnight Sons so that they could help Doctor Strange fight Mephisto's forces in Las Vegas.[27]

Midnight Suns

In 2022, the latest team was brought together when

Crossovers

  • Rise of the Midnight Sons (1992)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #28 (Part 1)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #1 (Part 2)
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #1 (Part 3)
    • Darkhold: Page from the Book of Sins #1 (Part 4)
    • Nightstalkers #1 (Part 5)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #31 (Part 6)
  • Prelude to Midnight Massacre (1993)
    • Nightstalkers #7 (Part 1)
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #10 (Part 2)
    • Nightstalkers #8 (Part 3)
    • Nightstalkers #9 (Part 4)
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #11 (Part 5)
  • Midnight Massacre (1993)
    • Nightstalkers #10 (Part 1)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #40 (Part 2)
    • Darkhold: Page from the Book of Sins #11 (Part 3)
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #12 (Part 4)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13 (Part 5)
  • Road To Vengeance: Missing Link (1993)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #41 (Part 1)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze:Spirits of Vengeance #14 (Part 2)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #42 (Part 3)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #15 (Part 4)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #43 (Part 5)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #16 (Part 6)
  • Siege of Darkness (1993)
    • Nightstalkers #14 (Part 1)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #44 (Part 2)
    • Marvel Comics Presents #143 (Part 3)
    • Darkhold: Page from the Book of Sins #15 (Part 4)
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #16 (Part 5)
    • Marvel Comics Presents #144 (Part 6)
    • Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #60 (Part 7)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #17 (Part 8)
    • Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #19 (optional)
    • Nightstalkers #15 (Part 9)
    • Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #45 (Part 10)
    • Marvel Comics Presents #145 (Part 11)
    • Darkhold: Page from the Book of Sins #16 (Part 12) - final issue of the series
    • Morbius: The Living Vampire #17 (Part 13)
    • Marvel Comics Presents #146 (Part 14)
    • Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #61 (Part 15)
    • Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #18 (Part 16)
    • Midnight Sons Unlimited #4 (Part 17)
  • Marvel Zombies 4 (2009)
    • Marvel Zombies 4 #1 (Part 1)
    • Marvel Zombies 4 #2 (Part 2)
    • Marvel Zombies 4 #3 (Part 3)
    • Marvel Zombies 4 #4 (Part 4)
  • Damnation (2018)
    • Damnation #1 (Part 1)
    • Doctor Strange #386 (tie-in)
    • Damnation #2 (Part 2)
    • Doctor Strange #387 (tie-in)
    • Scarlet Spider #15 (tie-in)
    • Damnation #3 (Part 3)
    • Iron Fist #78 (tie-in)
    • Scarlet Spider #16 (tie-in)
    • Johnny Blaze: Ghost Rider #1 (tie-in)
    • Doctor Strange #388 (tie-in)
    • Iron Fist #79 (tie-in)
    • Iron Fist #80 (tie-in)
    • Scarlet Spider #17 (tie-in)
    • Damnation #4 (Part 4)
    • Doctor Strange #389 (epilogue)
  • Midnight Suns (2022)
    • Midnight Suns #1 (Part 1)
    • Midnight Suns #2 (Part 2)
    • Midnight Suns #3 (Part 3)
    • Midnight Suns #4 (Part 4)
    • Midnight Suns #5 (Part 5)

Collected editions

  • Rise of the Midnight Sons (Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #28, 31; Spirits of Vengeance #1, Morbius: The Living Vampire #1, Darkhold #1, Nightstalkers #1)
  • Marvel Zombies 4 (Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4)
  • Doctor Strange: Damnation The Complete Collection (Damnation #1-4, Johnny Blaze: Ghost Rider #1, Doctor Strange #386-389, Iron Fist #78-80, Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #15-17)
  • Midnight Suns (Midnight Suns #1-5)

In other media

The Midnight Sons, renamed Midnight Suns, appear in

Robbie Reyes to join forces with the Avengers and stop Lilith and Hydra
.

References

  1. ^ Midnight Suns #5 (2023). Marvel Comics.
  2. ^ Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4 (2009). Marvel Comics.
  3. ^ Midnight Sons Unlimited #8 (November 1994). Marvel Comics.
  4. ^ Marston, George (2021-11-03). "Midnight Sons: Meet the Marvel Comics supernatural superheroes who inspired the Midnight Suns game". gamesradar. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  5. ^ "Midnight Sons Members". Comic Vine. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  6. ^ "Rise of the Midnight Sons Is Marvel's Most Underrated '90s Event". CBR. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  7. ^ "Why Marvel's Midnight Suns Rebranded From Midnight Sons Comics". ScreenRant. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  8. ^ Midnight Sons line at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
  9. ^ a b X-Factor #97 (December 1993).
  10. ^ Ekstrom, Steve (March 31, 2009). "Back for Four: Fred Van Lente on Marvel Zombies 4". Newsarama. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  11. ^ "Marvel's MOON KNIGHT Artist Makes His MIDNIGHT SONS Pitch". Newsarama. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  12. ^ "The Midnight Suns Rise Again in New Comic Series".
  13. ^ Nightstalkers #14 (December 1993)
  14. ^ Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #44 (December 1993)
  15. ^ Marvel Comics Presents #143 (Early December 1993)
  16. ^ Darkhold #15 (December 1993)
  17. ^ Morbius: The Living Vampire #16 (December 1993)
  18. ^ a b Doctor Strange (vol. 3) #60 (December 1993)
  19. ^ Spirits of Vengeance #17 (December 1993)
  20. ^ Nightstalkers #15 (January 1994)
  21. ^ a b Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #45 (January 1994)
  22. ^ Darkhold #16 (January 1994)
  23. ^ Morbius: The Living Vampire #17 (January 1994)
  24. ^ Marvel Comics Presents #145 (Early January 1994)
  25. ^ Spirits of Vengeance #18 (January 1994)
  26. ^ Midnight Sons Unlimited #4 (January 1994)
  27. ^ Doctor Strange: Damnation #1 (February 14, 2017). Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Midnight Suns #1-5 (2022). Marvel Comics.

External links