Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: fantastic four, kev walker, lovecraft, midnight, phillip kennedy johnson

Midnight: Fantastic Four Will Be A "Lovecraftian Horror" For Marvel

Midnight: Fantastic Four will be a "Lovecraftian Horror" for Marvel Comics from Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker

Published Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:58:11 -0500

Article Summary

Midnight: Fantastic Four is set to become a Lovecraftian horror comic for Marvel from Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker.
Percy teased secret Marvel plans, saying he will bring cosmic dread and a dark new vision to the First Family.
The story promises Midnight: Fantastic Four as a nightmare origin steeped in eldritch terror and cosmic insignificance.
Percy frames Marvel’s Midnight line as a poisoned universe, with Fantastic Four reimagined through pure horror.

Benjamin Percy, talking about plans for the Midnight line at Marvel, posted a photo of him at the Marvel offices taken by Phillip K Johnson, in front of a Fantastic Four mural. And saying "Here's a photo Phillip K Johnson snapped of me back in February—when we were making secret plans at Marvel HQ for the Midnight line. Very excited to bring the Lovecraftian horror to the First Family."

Jonathan Hickman's Midnight X-Men — MIDNIGHT

Lovecraftian horror? Well, that would mean the subgenre of horror fiction that emphasises humanity's insignificance in an uncaring, incomprehensible universe filled with ancient, god-like entities beyond human understanding. Pioneered and named after American writer H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote such a hundred years ago. Unlike traditional horror , with ghosts, monsters, slashers and torture killers, who could be fought or defeated, Lovecraftian horror is defined by cosmicism, the philosophical view that the universe is vast, alien, and indifferent to human existence, and knowledge of the true nature of reality usually drives people insane. Humanity is not the centre of the universe, we're all just brief, accidental speck in the Total Perspective Vortex. Lovecraft gave us beings like Cthulhu, Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, and the Great Old Ones, often described as "eldritch," "cyclopean," or "non-Euclidean." Discovering hidden truths, through old books like the Necronomicon, dreams, or artefacts, leads to madness or death. And there is an emphasis on creeping unease, decay, dreams/nightmares, degeneration, and the blurring of reality, rather than jump scares or graphic violence. Galactus certainly could have been a Lovecraftian force, and some versions have tended in that direction. Might Midnight: Fantastic Four go full Galactus-Nyarlathotep on us? Might we have a Negative Zone beyond compare? What will The Thing look like? And might Mister Fantastic be a mass of tentacles?

Benjamin Percy said, "If you've read my work, you know that I see the world through a dark, disturbed lens. To me, it's always midnight. When Hickman called me, it was from a landline in the basement of an abandoned house with the wires cut. Blood poured from the receiver into my ear. I said yes. When I imagined this other version of Marvel—a terrifying, poisoned universe—my mind immediately went to the Fantastic Four. This is a title I have always loved, but would never be allowed to write otherwise. Now I could lean into my worst instincts and reimagine their story as one of cosmic, Lovecraftian dread. I am joined in this by the visionary Kev Walker, who is hard at work bringing a new origin story for Marvel's 'first family' to screaming life. I can't wait to share our nightmares with you."

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