Midnight Sons
Encyclopedia
The Midnight Sons is fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

al team of supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

es in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

. The team first appears in Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...

(vol. 3) #28 (August 1992).

The group was also at one point stated to be the successors to an earlier group, which was never actually seen except in occasional flashbacks, and thus can be considered the second group to be named as the Order of the Midnight Sons.

Publication history

They appeared in several 1990s multi-issue crossovers of Marvel's supernatural titles. The first, "Rise of the Midnight Sons", launched several books in the Midnight Sons line, including Morbius
Morbius, the Living Vampire
Morbius, the Living Vampire, is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as...

, Nightstalkers
Nightstalkers (comics)
The Nightstalkers is a fictional trio of preexisting characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A team of occult experts, they reluctantly banded together to fight supernatural threats....

, Darkhold
Darkhold
The Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, is a fictional book in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:The Darkhold was co-created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. The Darkhold was first mentioned in Marvel Spotlight #3 but first shown in Marvel Spotlight #4...

.

They also appeared in the nine-issue anthology comic book
Comics anthology
Comics anthologies collect works in the medium of comics that are too short for standalone publication.- U.S. :- UK :British comics have a long tradition publishing comics anthologies, often weekly...

 Midnight Sons Unlimited, which ran from April 1993 to May 1995.

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
Marvel Comics Presents
Marvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...

(#143-146), and two issues of Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....

, 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 Jefferey 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." The advertisement also claims the Midnight Sons is the "first distinct family group." However, "Siege of Darkness" marked the cancellation of Darkhold, and the Midnight Sons brand didn’t 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.

A different incarnation of the team was featured in Marvel Zombies 3
Marvel Zombies 3
Marvel Zombies 3 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in October 2008. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Greg Land.-Plot:...

and in Marvel Zombies 4: Midnight Sons.

Rise of the Midnight Sons

The team was formed by the Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
Ghost Rider is a comic book character, a supernatural superhero in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. He is the third Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and Johnny Blaze, the first supernatural Ghost Rider.-Publication...

 and Johnny Blaze
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...

 after Ghost Rider received a vision in which he learned that Lilith, Mother of 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
Demons (Marvel Comics)
The Marvel Comics universe hosts a number of demons, many of whom are at times at conflict with gods and angels. All possess varying degrees of mystical power, feed upon souls for self-sustenance, and are inclined towards dark or “black” magic - evil....

 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 children 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 Nightstalkers
Nightstalkers (comics)
The Nightstalkers is a fictional trio of preexisting characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A team of occult experts, they reluctantly banded together to fight supernatural threats....

 (Blade
Blade (comics)
Blade is a fictional character, a superhero/vampire hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character.The character went on to alternatively star and co-star...

, Frank Drake
Frank Drake (comics)
Frank Drake is a fictional character appearing in publications from Marvel Comics, most notably the Tomb of Dracula series created by Gerry Conway....

 and Hannibal King
Hannibal King
Hannibal King is a fictional character, a supernatural detective appearing in publications from Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a supporting character in the 1970s comic book The Tomb of Dracula.-Fictional character biography:...

); Morbius
Morbius, the Living Vampire
Morbius, the Living Vampire, is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as...

 the Living Vampire; the Spirits of Vengeance (Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
Ghost Rider is a comic book character, a supernatural superhero in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. He is the third Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and Johnny Blaze, the first supernatural Ghost Rider.-Publication...

, Johnny Blaze
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...

, and later Vengeance
Vengeance (comics)
Vengeance is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics. He was initially introduced as an antagonist for the Ghost Rider. Lt. Michael Badilino was the first known person to be host, now the entity is attached to Deputy Kowalski. Since his debut he has taken on the role of...

 (Michael Badilino); and the Darkhold Redeemers (Sam Buchanan, Victoria Montesi, Louise Hastings, and later Modred, and Jinx). Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....

 joined the team during 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 “Siege of Darkness” consisted of two subsequent story 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 Blackout, Bad Timing, Meat Market, Pilgrim, Nakota, Dark Legion, Sister Nil, Stonecold, Out Kast, Martine Bancroft, 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 Patriarch, Metarchus, Atrocity, Embyre, 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. 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. Vengeance, Caretaker and Doctor Strange 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 Santorum. They find out from some Lilin that Morbius’ team has a traitor. 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. 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. Doctor Strange then casts a spell that causes the Sanctum Sanctorum to explode. 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.

The Fallen

After Lilith is exiled, it appears as if a group called The Fallen, loyal to Zarathos, have 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. The Midnight Sons regroup at The Nightclub, and Caretaker sends a message that The Fallen plan to recruit or kill surviving members of The Blood. The Midnight Sons then find Patriarch, Truthsayer, and James Raydar with varying degrees of success; Patriarch joins Zarathos, Thruthsayer is killed by Modred, and James Raydar joins the Midnight Sons along with Embyre, Raydar’s daughter and one of The Fallen who turns against Zarathos when she sees Morbius’ nobility. Meanwhile, Victoria Montesi finds out, in a letter left by Louise Hastings, that she has been impregnated by Chthon. Doctor Strange helps her just as he is being attacked by Salomé, one of The Fallen, who claims she is the rightful Sorceress Supreme. Doctor Strange disappears into another dimension and places Victoria Montesi in a mystical stasis. In his place appears Strange
Strangers (Marvel Comics)
The Strangers, individually named Strange and Vincent Stevens, are a fictional pair of magical beings. They are both owned by Marvel Comics and both exist in that company's main shared universe, the Marvel Universe...

, a mystical construct Doctor Strange based loosely on himself. Strange joins the rest of the Midnight Sons in the fight against The Fallen. Ghost Rider confronts Zarathos one on one, and Ghost Rider is apparently destroyed and his power absorbed into Zarathos. The Midnight Sons then fight Patriarch, Metarchus, and Atrocity to a stand still, and the Fallen retreat. Caretaker reveals that there is one more member of The Blood they haven’t contacted, Foundry. The Midnight Sons track down Foundry who gives them a sword called Justiciar. She claims it must be tempered in her own blood and sacrifices herself. Blade then uses Justiciar to kill Patriarch, Metarchus and Atrocity with the help of the other Midnight Sons. They believe the destruction of The Fallen will weaken Zarathos. They attack Zarathos directly. Embyre and James Raydar also attack and are killed. Ghost Rider, whose spirit was absorbed by Zarathos, now apparently attacks him from with in and Blade stabs Zarathos with Justiciar. Zarathos, with the sword through his chest, turns to stone. Johnny Blaze, Vengeance, Morbius, Blade, Hannibal King, Strange, and Caretaker then go through a ceremony in which they are branded with the symbol of the flaming dagger. Caretaker says they have become the successors to the original 'Order of the Midnight Sons' This brand is placed on the arms of all the members of the new team aside from 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.

Aftermath

The Ghost Rider eventually returned, but it seems Marvel never intended to reveal whether or not the Rider had accepted the brand. The brand appears and causes pain to the bearer of the brand whenever there is great danger to the world, and the brand would continue to cause pain until the bearers of the brand answered the summons. With the disappearance of Noble Kale (Ghost Rider), as well as Michael Badilino (Vengeance
Vengeance (comics)
Vengeance is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics. He was initially introduced as an antagonist for the Ghost Rider. Lt. Michael Badilino was the first known person to be host, now the entity is attached to Deputy Kowalski. Since his debut he has taken on the role of...

), it seemed the idea was dropped entirely and no other mentioning of the Midnight Sons has been made. Most of the members of the team have since faded back into obscurity.

Originally consisting of "The Nine," (and once referred to as "The Circle of Nine") mystical characters necessary to maintain the magical borders between realms, the team stopped Lilith and became what was to be the Marvel Universe's primary line of defense against magical and mystical threats. Lilith is still at large, though she has only been seen once (in Witches
Witches (Marvel Comics)
Witches is a supernatural comic book limited series that was published by Marvel Comics in 2004. Plotted by Bronwyn Carlton, with scripts by Brian Walsh, it featured art by Mike Deodato and Will Conrad.-Publication history:...

), since the apparent demise of Zarathos. At one point, she claimed to be pregnant with a child of Zarathos himself, but her single subsequent appearance showed no signs of this pregnancy. However, even when claiming to be pregnant with Zarathos' child, she did not show signs of the pregnancy. So she may still be pregnant, or may have already given birth.

Although it has never been officially stated by Marvel, the motto or perhaps credo of the group was 'to bring light to the darkness', as said by the mysterious Caretaker, a member of an ancient race called The Blood. Caretaker is apparently phenomenally old and may or may not have known the original Order of the Midnight Sons, as he claims "The Order has a long history. Not all of it clean. But always on the right side." He also claimed to have known an older version of the Ghost Rider. It is highly unlikely that he was speaking of Zarathos, so the Noble Kale version is likely the most logical version to assume he knew, possibly from before the Rider's memories were sealed away, or perhaps just after it, as he claims the Ghost Rider he knew was much more powerful than the one that was active at that period of time. Kale did grow in power towards the end of the series in which he starred, as he began to remember older powers he possessed (such as those that could affect the undead), which can be viewed as lending support to the idea that it was in fact this version of the Rider whom Caretaker claimed to have known.

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
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...

. The team is chosen by Morbius, who enlists Werewolf (by Night), Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Jennifer Kale was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, and debuted in Adventure into Fear #11 . She is the cousin of Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, and a founding member of the...

, Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...

 and Daimon "Hellstorm" Hellstrom
Daimon Hellstrom
Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan and Hellstorm, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:He first appeared in Ghost Rider Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan and Hellstorm, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics...

 (aka; the Son of Satan) 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
Marvel Zombies 3
Marvel Zombies 3 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in October 2008. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Greg Land.-Plot:...

and fully appear in Marvel Zombies 4
Marvel Zombies 4
Marvel Zombies 4 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in April 2009. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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