How Marvel's Midnight Line Delivers a Terrifying Transformation For the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four

Marvel fans are still puzzling over the decision to wrap up the wildly successful Ultimate Universe line after just three years. But there's good news, as we now know Marvel has a brand new alternate universe project ready to fill the void this year, and Ultimate architect Jonathan Hickman is once again heavily involved. Marvel has revealed the Midnight Universe, a new line of books that reinvents familiar characters and teams with a distinctly horror-flavored angle. The tagline for the Midnight Universe is "The light had its turn." The Midnight Universe line will consist of three books initially. The line launches in August 2026 with Midnight X-Men, from writer Jonathan Hickman (Secret Wars) and artist Matteo Della Fonte (Nova: Centurion). That series will be followed in September by Midnight Fantastic Four, from Benjamin Percy (Wolverine) and Kev Walker (Infernal Hulk), and in October by Midnight Spider-Man, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk) and Marvel newcomer Scie Tronc. Much like the Ultimate line or DC's Absolute Universe, this is an alternate universe free from the continuity constraints of Marvel's traditional publishing line, leaving the creators free to introduce