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Long before Midnight Suns, Rise of the Midnight Sons united Marvel’s greatest supernatural heroes and monster hunters in an ancient battle.
In 1992, Marvel took its readers into a world of demons, hellfire, bullets and dark magic. Riding high off of the surprise blockbuster success of Danny Ketch’s Ghost Rider, Rise of the Midnight Sons, despite only being a six-part mini-series, spanned across five different titles and brought a dozen different characters together to stop a force of evil from destroying Earth. Rise of the Midnight Sons was one of the most exciting crossover events from the ’90s, and the loose inspiration for the just-announced Midnight Suns video game.
Beginning in Ghost Rider #28 by Howard Mackie, Andy & Joe Kubert, Rise of the Midnight Sons opens with a fiery bang as Ghost Rider apprehends two murderous thugs. Johnny Blaze appears and prevents him from taking the men’s lives. After being attacked by the villain Blackout, Ghost Rider suffers a terrible vision. The issue ends with the revelation that Lilith, the ancient mother of demons, is returning to the world of the living.
In Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #1 by Howard Mackie and Andy Kubert, Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze have teamed up in order to stop Lilith’s return. In northern Greenland, however, Lilith manages to free herself from her prison, the remains of the mighty Leviathan. Lilith begins to search for her demonic children, the Lilin. She finds Pilgrim and Creed, two of her brood, and also recruits Blackout. It’s revealed that Doctor Strange has been watching the events surrounding Lilith unfold from behind the scenes.
Morbius: The Living Vampire #1 by Len Kaminski, Ron Wagner and Mike Witherby continues Lilith’s search for the Lilin. She finds two of them, Nakota and Fang, in a club in New York City. Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze come to New York City as well. They meet with Martine Bancroft, the fiancee to Michael Morbius. Morbius is afflicted with a terrible condition that drives him into a ravenous thirst for blood. After Lilith attempts at recruiting the Living Vampire, Morbius tells Ghost Rider he will only drink the blood of the guilty and joins with him. Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sin #1 by Christian Cooper, Richard Case and Mark McKenna takes a break from the explosive action from the previous issues and introduces the Darkhold Redeemers: Victoria Montesi, a physician; Louise Hastings, an occultist; and Sam Buchanan, an Interpol agent. Victoria learns that her family has long been tasked with safeguarding the Book of Sins, also known as the Darkhold. As Victoria learns that a number of pages from the book are missing, she and the Spirits of Vengeance join forces to stop Lilith.
Nightstalkers #1 by Dan G. Chichester, Ron Garney and Tom Palmer brings together the final three heroes needed to defeat Lilith: the Nightstalkers. Ghost Rider learns of the three men that can help defeat Lilith, but not before she tricks Blade, Hannibal King and Frank Drake into thinking Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze are demons. In the midst of their battle, another of Lilith’s children, Meatmarket, appears and is killed by Blade. It’s then that the Nightstalkers realize that they had been set up, joining Ghost Rider to battle Lilith. The event concludes in Ghost Rider #31 by Howard Mackie with Andy & Joe Kubert. The nine heroes are teleported by Doctor Strange to Greenland where they face off against Lilith and the combined might of the Lilin. Ghost Rider defeats Lilith by turning the power of her transdimensional rift against her.
While Midnight Suns video game is set to feature a fairly different cast of characters, Blade is set to be one of the upcoming title’s main characters, as is current Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes. Although the full details of the game and its story haven’t yet been revealed, Lillith is set to be the primary antagonist in the title, which will feature at least one of her children too. The game is also set to feature other supernatural heroes like Magik and Runaways’ Nico, who keep the eerie spirit of the original Midnight Sons heroes alive in the Marvel Universe today.
The ’90s were full of well-remembered fan-favorite events such as “Maximum Carnage,” “X-Tinction Agenda” and Infinity Gauntlet, but Rise of the Midnight Sons has faded into relative obscurity. However, this well-drawn, tightly plotted event is filled with intense action and a unique xast of Marvel heroes that still stands as a hidden gem and story that’s well wroth paying tribute to.
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