Benjamin Percy calls Midnight Fantastic Four #1 a horror reinvention
In a column, critic Benjamin Percy argues that Midnight Fantastic Four #1 delivers a menacing, Eldritch horror-inspired reinvention of Marvel’s First Family.
Reed Richards Opens Portal to Negative Zone
The story opens at the New York Institute of Technology, where a graduate student named Reed Richards becomes consumed by inter-dimensional physics. After the board of directors dismisses him for negligence, Reed breaks into his lab with his assistant and star student, Victor Von Doom. Activating a portal to the mysterious Negative Zone without realizing Victor is nearby severely chars Victor’s skin, landing Reed in prison.
While incarcerated, Reed receives a visit from billionaire Sue Storm. Sue’s rocket company, Storm Systems, has faced a string of mysterious explosions occurring whenever aircraft reach the precise altitude of the 1945 Trinity nuclear test. Sue secures Reed’s release without charges to fund his continued research into the void. Her bodyguard, Ben Grimm, and her pilot brother, Johnny—who lost his legs in an undisclosed accident—round out the newly framed dynamic. Percy structures the narrative in three distinct acts separated by diary pages and quotes to heighten psychological tension.
Kev Walker Uses Visceral Horror to Articulate Psychology
Kev Walker’s pencil work leans into visceral, atmospheric horror to visually articulate the psychological toll on the characters. Walker embeds floating equations into panels whenever Reed is lost in thought, directly projecting the protagonist’s obsessive mindset onto the page. Frank D’Armata handles the color palette, utilizing heavy shading and shadow to support the Lovecraftian tone, while letterer VC’s Joe Sabino paces the dialogue across the grim aesthetic.
Walker’s redesigns give the core team a distinct identity separate from mainstream 616 continuity, introducing an update to the Fantastic Four on par with past conceptual shifts like The Maker. The creative team balances these dark elements without sliding into excessive grimdark tropes, opting instead for a deliberate, tension-driven narrative structure.
Future Trajectory for the Midnight Universe
As the title moves forward, the opening issue leaves several narrative seeds planted for future expansion. Victor Von Doom returns to Latveria following the accident, where his mother—a Latverian witch—demands answers about what he witnessed beyond the portal. While supporting characters like Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm receive less immediate page time than Reed and Sue, the debut establishes a high-stakes cosmic thriller designed to test the viability of Marvel’s horror-centric publishing strategy.
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