How Midnight Spider-Man Transforms Peter Parker Into a Terrifying Monster

Alternate comic book universes are all the rage lately, with both Marvel's Ultimate Universe and DC's Absolute Universe consistently topping the sales charts. The only problem for Marvel is that they just ended the Ultimate line this summer . Where do they go from here? How do they continue that momentum? The answer, it seems, is to shift focus to another brand-new universe, but this time focused on infusing classic Marvel properties with elements of horror.

The result is the Midnight Universe, a new imprint set in a twisted version of the Marvel U where iconic characters have been given drastic makeovers. One of the three pillars of that line is Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc's Midnight Spider-Man. What happens when your friendly neighborhood hero is given a full-fledged body horror makeover? To find out, we spoke with Johnson via email. Check out an exclusive preview of the first issue in the slideshow gallery below, and then read on to learn more about the new series and how it delivers a profoundly different take on Marvel's most popular hero:

To start off, we were curious about the mission statement of the Midnight Universe. How does this project compare to something like the Ultimate line? Is it still about letting creators take big swings in a way that aren't possible in the mainline Marvel Universe continuity?

"On that initial meeting with the three writers, senior editorial, and Marvel President Dan Buckley, the quote from Dan I remember most clearly was 'horror in the front seat, superhero very much in the back,'” Johnson tells IGN. "I took that as permission to go as hard as we want to go. I’m approaching it like a creator-owned horror series, honoring the core of the Spider-Man story but retold as a prestige horror title. And not 'horror' just in its horrifying imagery, but hopefully also in its concept, atmosphere, and thematic relevance that makes all the best horror stories hit as hard as they do.

When the Midnight Universe was announced, there was some initial online pushback from fans who expected the line to focus on classic supernatural characters like Blade and the Midnight Sons. Which begs the question - was there talk of focusing on more traditional horror characters? Does Johnson feel like reinterpreting these iconic heroes is actually the more potent approach in this case?

"Marvel’s traditionally supernatural characters have come up in conversation, and I have no doubt they’ll show up in our stories at some point," Johnson says. "But the focus for the launch was always Marvel’s most classic, iconic characters. When the initial teaser for Midnight went up, EVERYONE who saw it assumed the same kind of imminent follow-up announcements: Midnight Suns, Blade, Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, Tomb of Dracula. Everyone thought they knew what was coming, there wasn’t even a discussion."

Johnson continues, "That was exactly the reaction I was hoping for, and to me, it confirmed that we were doing the right thing in embracing the unexpected. Midnight isn’t just a sticker on the cover of all our business-as-usual horror titles. It’s a complete reimagining of the entire Marvel Universe. If we launched the Midnight Universe with a Blade title, the risk is that “Midnight Blade” would look an awful lot like the Blade of the 616 Universe. Midnight Blade wouldn’t give us anything new, that’s what he’s always been."

With the Ultimate Universe, creators were pretty much left free to tell their stories within the framework of the two-year real-time format Jonathan Hickman established, with those characters finally converging when the line reached its climax in Ultimate Endgame. What is the approach to the Midnight Universe? Is Johnson focused on telling his own story, or are Midnight Spider-Man, Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte's Midnight X-Men, and Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker's Midnight Fantastic Four building to a larger, overarching story?

"Right now we’re all focused on making each individual story as great as it can be, but there’s a lot of discussion between us as we go," Johnson says. "One of the biggest perks of this gig is that Jonathan, Ben and I talk or text nearly every day about the books. I was a fan of both those guys long before we started working together, and it’s a privilege to see their scripts and get to know their processes. We all keep track of where the other two are in our stories, we offer up our scripts and art for feedback, we keep each other posted on story elements that might be of use in the other titles. It’s a proper writer’s room, and it’s a joy to be a part of.

Reinventing Spider-Man for the Midnight Universe

One of the most obvious ways in which Midnight Spider-Man reinvents the mythos involves the radioactive spider itself. This isn't another case of Peter suffering a tiny spider bite and transforming overnight into a superhuman. This is a long, painful, drawn-out transformation, and the book's body horror elements are reflected in the fact that we see this oversized arachnid fused to his chest. So how much is that transformation and its psychological effects a focus of Kennedy's early issues?

"I need to be careful not to spoil what the iconic spider is, and what it’s doing to Peter… it’s a mystery we’ll slowly reveal over the course of the series," Johnson teases. "I want people to have their own theories, and for those theories to escalate and evolve as we slowly reveal what’s happening to Peter. But I can say the body horror escalation from issue to issue is extreme. The hope is that by the time our readers read issue #3, they’ll be hard-pressed to imagine where it can even go from there. We’ve had to get very creative with the fringe science of the story to ensure there are still horrific new vistas to explore 25, 50, and 100+ issues from now. Every time an issue hits shelves, I want our readers sweating and shivering all the way until the next one hits."

The prospect of a body horror-centric take on Spider-Man is certainly intriguing. We were curious if there any particular influences from film or comics/manga that Johnson and ScieTronc are drawing upon.

"Within film, the biggest influences on the series are probably the films of David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, and Guillermo Del Toro," Johnson says. "Del Toro influences everything I do, though… he’s one of my favorite storytellers in any medium. And I’ll add H.R. Giger to that list. Even though he’s not technically known as a filmmaker, there’s no Alien without Giger. His work blurs the lines between biology, technology, sexuality, and the most horrific body horror, and his work will inspire the imagery of Midnight Spider-Man all the way to the end.

As for comics, Johnson says, "Many of the biggest influences are horror manga, or horror/action: primarily the work of the great Junji Ito, but also Homunculus, Parasyte, Chainsaw Man, and others. Within Western comics, eagle-eyed readers will see some influence from the Garcia/Rubin Beowulf adaptation, which I think is a work of genius. Bendis’ and Oeming’s Powers. I’m also being mindful of DC’s and Marvel’s 'universe reimaginings' that have come before: Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man and New Avengers, Hickman’s more recent Ultimate Spider-Man, Absolute Batman, Wonder Woman, others. What we’re doing in the Midnight Universe is very different from any of that, but they were all executed so well, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from them as we find our way in the Midnight Universe."

Johnson adds, "Also: this might be a strange thing to say, but ScieTronc’s art has probably been the biggest influence on my writing for Midnight Spider-Man. His art completely shapes the way I write for him. The manga influence on ScieTronc’s work is obvious at a glance: it has all the facial expressiveness and dynamic action that manga does so well, but there’s also a super high level of detail, rendering, environmental interest, and creative layout that the best Western comics have. If I was writing for any other artist, the story would be completely different. I've had to educate myself in some ways to make sure I'm giving him scripts that best honor his style and skill."

While Peter Parker's enduring feud with Norman Osborn has always been a hallmark of the franchise, Midnight Spider-Man seems to widen that scope and double down on the conflict between this lone vigilante and the billionaire oligarch class. The series is certainly wading into topical waters, but how does Midnight Spider-Man redefine the theme of power and responsibility for 2026?

"The mission statement of Spider-Man has always been 'With Great Power there must also come great responsibility.'" Johnson says. "But writing Spider-Man in 2026—MIDNIGHT Spider-Man in particular—we have to acknowledge that the world we live in has almost completely refuted that premise. A much truer statement in 2026 would be: POWER MAKES MONSTERS."

Johnson continues, "Midnight Spider-Man is the collision of those two tenets. Peter Parker is a brilliant but frustrated kid yearning for personal transformation, who NEEDS 'Power with Responsibility' to be true, and he lives his life in such a way to prove it. And against all odds, he gets his shot at power and greatness… but just like the rest of the powerful, his power changes him in horrific, monstrous ways. Throughout the series he denies it, he fights against it, he desperately tries to cling to his humanity even as it slips further and further away. We’ll spend the entire series answering the question of which version of Peter wins in the end."

Midnight Spider-Man #1, Midnight X-Men #1, and Midnight Fantastic Four #1 wll all be released on October 7, 2026. You can preorder them at your local comic shop .

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky .