Midnight VS Absolute

The Absolute Universe for DC has done greater wonders for the brand. While the spotlight tends to be on Marvel because of their success with the MCU, a different spotlight is on DC because of the success of the Absolute Universe. All artists involved with this universe have given characters and lore a new coating that is bold and extreme in some cases. And fans have flocked and approved. But Marvel and DC have a long history of ‘monkey see, monkey do’. Marvel has done a similar approach to this in their Ultimate Universe. But they have responded with the current Absolute Universe with a current one; the Midnight Universe. This new approach by Marvel gives Marvel Mythos a horror coating. Many fans have already coined this as Marvel’s answer to Absolute but could the Midnight Universe ascend to the success of the Absolute Universe?

So, the Midnight Universe gives a horror touch to Marvel. From what it looks like, Marvel is taking some notes from DC and starting this bold universe with a flagship character. DC did it with Absolute Batman. Marvel is doing it with Midnight Spider-Man. This version of Spider-Man is playing with obvious horror themes. Borderline body horror, some flare from The Fly, possession, and arachnophobia. Midnight Spider-Man has a large spider on his chest. A living parasitic creature. And it’s always on display. Mutants also have some form of parasitism. Some X-Men and their foes have turned into vampires. And the Fantastic Four will be dealing with body horror and some Lovecraftian flare. These are the first stories set in the Midnight Universe. So the Midnight Universe is taking things to an extreme level that the Absolute Universe has taken the DC mythos. It definitely is bringing a fresh coating over the Marvel universe.

But the question still remains; how far will the Midnight Universe go? There could be a few traps that put this universe behind. One is the ‘one dimensional’ approach. The Midnight Universe will rely heavily on the horror genre while the Absolute Universe gets what already exists and turns it up to extreme levels. Even though the horror genre itself is pretty versatile, it still limits how far Marvel could take their characters and lore. There are creative and unique ideas that could be used in the Midnight Universe. For example, Midnight Captain America could be something like Frankenstein’s Monster. Instead of receiving the super solider serum, Steve Rodgers could be a soldier made from scratch. Or Wolverine could be a straight-out slasher film on paper. These have the makings to be captivating but Marvel seems as if they are writing these stories with one hand behind their back. Although the horror could bring all sorts of new angles to characters and their worlds, there is a possibility it’s limiting. Because the horror genre would be pressed on hard, it might be a fashion than gets thin fast.

Another way the Midnight Universe might fall short is fans possibly viewing it as a blatant copy of the Absolute Universe. There is some precedent that consumers prefer the former and not the latter. Especially when the former has a good track record. When things do appear to be a copy of something, people tend to look the other way. May even criticize the attempt to steal the spotlight. If the Midnight Universe is treated as such, fans may not see it as fresh approach to the Marvel universe but as a quick, maybe uninspired way, to catch up to DC’s Absolute Universe. Instead of having the interest of fans at heart, the Midnight Universe could be treated as a way for Marvel to simply stay on pace with DC. If that opens up a situation where it’s quantity over quality or just a race to be stride for stride, fans may be dismissive of the Midnight Universe. In the eyes of fans, quality is always preferred. And if Marvel uses the Midnight Universe as a way to be one for one the same as the Absolute Universe instead of releasing quality stories, this fresh, bold approach may fall flat fast. The last thing that Marvel needs in this, is their Midnight Universe being viewed as a key for themselves to stay relevant among DC’s success with the Absolute Universe instead of way to give fans something fun and fresh.

But these could also be the exact reasons why the Midnight Universe succeeds. Fans might be invested what the horror genre could do for this universe. Although Marvel does have characters that call this genre home like Ghost Rider, Blade, Elsa Bloodstone, not every character uses horror. Much less get close to it. So, fans might be interested how horror will affect Iron Man. Or what direction will it take The Hulk. A villain like Venom or Carnage would adopt same flare from Alien. Daredevil might just be a straight-out demon. The Punisher might be a Van Helsing type, similar to Elsa Bloodstone. A story with the Skrulls might look like John Carpenter’s The Thing. The horror genre could give that boldness, that edge and grit to the Marvel Universe. Even though the Absolute Universe isn’t limited to one genre, fans still gain somewhat of an idea of what a character might look like when they get announced, before any official looks at them. For example, fans started to picture Scarecrow being some kind of Eldritch horror. So, the Absolute Universe has already created somewhat of a template for fans to assume what a character might look like. No reason to believe the Midnight Universe won’t do the same. Once the wheel starts really going for the Midnight Universe, and does well, fans are going to be anticipating, borderline demanding, how a particular character would operate through a horror lens. That keeps the interest alive. And keeps it consistent. When that happens, fans will continue to flock and that brings success.

And fans do tend to wonder what a particular coating will look on the other guy. This has happened between Marvel and DC for years. When the MCU rose up, that thought swung to DC. When the Arkham games came out, fans wondered what Marvel character would get a similar treatment. And it’s still happening. When Marvel Rivals came on to the scene and landed pretty loud, one of the first thoughts was, how would a DC Rivals game look like. Social media is filled with artists drawing their own version of how Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, and The Flash would look like in that style. When the Absolute Universe arrived, the same thought occurred, how will this style look like on Marvel. And fans are getting that answered somewhat! The Midnight Universe is giving fans a little taste of how the Absolute Universe will affect the Marvel Universe. Fans don’t necessarily need to write fanfic or draw fan art to get an idea how a Marvel character would look like in the Absolute lens. Marvel is providing that glimpse themselves. That curiosity of fans – wondering how Spider-Man will appear in the Absolute Universe – is entertained officially. It’s answered officially. So instead of letting imagination and assumption take charge, fans will do what they love, buy the books. So once more Marvel characters are announced in the Midnight Universe, that obviously means more fan favorite characters are introduced. That leads to fans buying these books to see how their favorite characters operate in this lens. Again, that brings success for the Midnight Universe.

As much as the debate of Marvel vs DC may appear, fans do like both sides. They are willing to engage with all that both brands release. Right now, DC has a little bit more on their side when it comes to comic books because of the major success of the Absolute Universe. The Absolute Universe has arguably been spearheading the comic book side of the superhero genre. But Marvel isn’t willingly going to let DC soak up all the limelight. They have responded with their Midnight Universe. Given the time it was released which is the same time frame as the Absolute Universe, it will be a story to follow if Marvel’s response could be proper. Given that it appears to be clear reactionary response, fans could chalk it up as copying. The horror nature of the Midnight Universe could be limiting compared to the Absolute Universe’s freedom to take their characters anywhere. At the same time though, that could entice fans to pick up an issue of Midnight Universe to see what the horror genre could do for a non-horror Marvel character. And more than that, it does give somewhat of an Absolute treatment to Marvel. Fans do this type of swapping themselves, but now it’s something tangible, it’s something real. So the Midnight Universe did come close to the Absolute Universe but the success depends on how fans view it.