The flagship series of Marvel‘s new Midnight line-up, Midnight Spider-Man, opens with a shocking death. However, the death itself is not that surprising. It’s the circumstances of the death, coupled with art at odds with the traditional Marvel Comics‘ aesthetic, that sets the tone for the new Midnight Universe.
The opening scene of Midnight Spider-Man is a flashback, detailing the trauma of a young Peter Parker. At the age of six, Peter’s careless behavior led to the death of the family cat. This is, Peter notes as the narrator, the first time “someone who trusted me paid for it.” However, the incident he’s about to describe made him both “the helpless thing getting torn apart by a monster” and “the other thing.”
Twelve years later, Peter is living with his Uncle Ben, who raised him after the death of his parents. Said death was due to the negligence of Oscorp, whom Ben has been trying to sue unsuccessfully for years. This has drained most of his savings, as Peter has turned to subscribers to his streaming channel to help make ends meet.
Said streaming channel is devoted to Peter exposing the misdeeds of companies like Oscorp and ROXXON under the alias Sagan Ritual. This, coupled with own research, leads to a job offer with Oscorp. It also leads to an apparent accident, after an escaped lab animal goes home with Peter.
How a shocking Marvel death shakes up Midnight Spider-Man
Even the most casual Spider-Man fans will be unsurprised the issue ends with Uncle Ben’s death. More than any character (save perhaps Thomas and Martha Wayne) Ben Parker’s death is ordained, being required to fuel Peter Parker’s transformation. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson makes this a literal fact, with Ben’s death apparently acting as a buffer for how Peter avoids the same fate. The shock comes not from the death itself, but its gory depiction.
Johnson’s writing favors slow burning builds. We see that here, as he plays with the traditional trappings of older Spider-Man stories. Here, Oscorp is much like the evil corporation of the Andrew Garfield movies. Peter being transformed into something more spider than man is another common theme. And this world’s Black Cat is the executive who seduces Peter into forsaking his principles.
The changes thus far are only skin deep, but a foundation is laid to build toward something different. The biggest change is to Peter’s philosophy, which is no longer “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Now his mission statement is “Power makes monsters, every time.”
While some of the story elements may seem familiar, the artwork is a different story. ScieTronc offers imagery that seems more broadly appropriate to the recent Vertigo Comics revival than a Marvel book. This aura is similarly encouraged by the colors of Neeraj Menon, whose washed out palettes further emphasize the idea of the Midnight Universe as a world born of decay and doom.
All in all, Midnight Spider-Man does just enough to merit further reading. Some elements seem recycled from elsewhere in the Spider-Verse, but the execution largely disguises this. So does the unique look, which makes this book one to pick up.
Grade: 7/10
Originally posted on SuperHeroHype
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