Marvel's Midnight Suns was announced today during Opening Night Live at Gamescom. This tactical RPG from the developers of XCOM takes place in the darker side of the Marvel universe where vampires, demons, and monsters are typically found. Midnight Suns features an eclectic group of heroes from the Avengers, X-Men, and the Runaways who all have some experience dealing with the supernatural. It's a unique angle for a Marvel game and side of Marvel that even the MCU hasn't explored, but many fans may not even be aware of the comic book Midnight Suns is based on.
Rise of the Midnight Sons is1992 cross-over event Rise of the Midnight Sons by Howard Mackie, Andy Kubert, Len Kaminski, Ron Wagner, Christian Cooper, Richard Case, Dan G. Chichester, and Ron Garney. The story, which starts in Ghost Rider #28, begins with an introduction to Lilith, the Mother of Demons. Lilith is a powerful necromancer who was defeated and imprisoned by Atlantean Sorcerers hundreds of years in the past. Lilith's children, called the Lilin, lived on and spread their demonic blood throughout civilization for many generations.
Eventually, Lilith is discovered frozen in Greenland. Fearing her return, Doctor Strange assembles a group of occult heroes known as the mystic Nine to stop her and her brood from creating a dimensional rift and conquering Earth. Among the heroes brought together to form the Midnight Sons was Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, the former and current Ghostrider, as well as Blade, Morbius the Living Vampire, and Blade allies Frank Drake and Hannibal King (played by Ryan Reynolds in Blade Trinity) who would form the organization known as the Nightstalkers.
Rise of the Midnight Sons is a lesser-known comic event, but one that has always been precious to Jake Solomon, creative director of Midnight Suns at Firaxis Games. "Lilith and her connection to her children is something that always stood out to me as part of the original Rise of the Midnight Sons series," Solomon says. "They’re all demons, appropriately ugly and monstrous but she views them all as her children, with a mother’s love. That relationship between mother and child is something I’m really excited to bring to players in Marvel’s Midnight Suns." According to Solomon, Marvel approached Firaxis about creating a tactical RPG using its characters, and Solomon pitched the idea of adapting Rise of the Midnight Sons because he had always been a huge fan of the storyline and Lilith. Solomon says that Marvel was thrilled to work with Firaxis to tell a new story based on Rise of the Midnight Sons, despite it being a relatively forgotten event in Marvel comics history.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a brand new story that features many Marvel heroes who were not involved in the original comic event, as well as a brand new customizable original character — a first for Marvel. The original character, the Hunter, is the child of Lilith and seemingly the heroes' best chance at stopping her. "Heroes like Iron Man are used to being the big deal and getting their way, but they’re out of depth against the supernatural," Solomon says. "Younger heroes like Nico Minoru and Magik are rooted in the supernatural, but they’ve yet to prove themselves. As the Hunter, you’ll be right in the middle of that clash and part of your journey is to help bridge the two groups together."
Marvel's Midnight Suns is coming to all major platforms, including Nintendo Switch, in March 2022. Check out the gameplay reveal on the official Midnight Suns website next Wednesday, September 1.