The following article contains spoilers for Midnight Fantastic Four #1.
The fun of any new timeline in an established comic book multiverse comes from discovering how classic characters have been modified for this fresh reality. Marvel’s Midnight Universe has had a ball with this so far, especially in Midnight Fantastic Four.
The macabre reinterpretations of Marvel’s first superhero family are undoubtedly intriguing. However, the Midnight equivalent to one of the Fantastic Four’s most famous and formidable foes has offered one of the series’ biggest shocks so far.
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Midnight Fantastic Four Introduces A New Doctor Doom
Midnight Doctor Doom in Midnight Fantastic Four #1Image via Marvel
Midnight Fantastic Four would not have felt complete without a scarier take on Doctor Doom, yet the imprint’s iteration of the iconic Marvel villain is not quite what fans might have expected. There is a version of Victor Von Doom in this universe, but he is not the one donning the hood and mask.
Instead, Midnight Doctor Doom is Victor’s parent, whose gender is unspecified when they are introduced in the spooky series’ premiere issue, reviving their son from the dead à la Frankenstein in one of the Midnight Universe’s coolest horror movie references so far. Midnight Fantastic Four author Benjamin Percy commented on how he pulled the rug right from underneath readers with the unique character reinvention.
“We have a fake-out in the first issue. We meet a character named Victor, who is Reed’s research assistant, and who dies in a catastrophic lab accident. As it turns out, this is Doom’s son, which puts Reed in the crosshairs. There’s something Doom is hiding beneath that mask… but you’ll all have to wait and see. There’s also much more in store for Vic, Jr. (Doomior?), but you’ll all have to wait and see for that as well.”
The lab accident Percy refers to is an ill-fated test of Reed Richards’ prototype interdimensional gateway device, which malfunctions and turns young Victor into a skeletal shell of himself, at the mercy of a bolt of lightning to resurrect him. Still, even with their son breathing again, Doom is not willing to let go of the damage that the physicist has caused, which the writer teases will lead to some interesting story developments down the road.
The accident also earns Richards a prison sentence, but also the attention of Susan Storm, her bodyguard Ben Grimm, and her younger brother, a pilot named Johnny. She helps him make bail to recruit him for a special assignment involving a startling discovery.
Midnight Fantastic Four Also Reinvents Galactus In A Larger-Than-Life Way
Image via Marvel Comics
The cliffhanger ending to Midnight Fantastic Four #1 suggests that Midnight Doctor Doom is not the main antagonist of this story… at least not yet. For now, it appears that that role is filled by a version of Galactus more frightening than any iteration of the cosmic rogue Marvel has introduced before.
Echoing Benjamin Percy’s teasing that Midnight Fantastic Four is inspired by the Eldritch horror stories pioneered by H.P. Lovecraft, Midnight Galactus is revealed to be a threat on par with Cthulu. Its discovery inspires Sue Storm’s hiring of Reed Richards to perfect his gateway device and enter the dimension where it has come from.
It is not much of a stretch to assume that this fantastic voyage will not go according to plan and will result in yet another life-changing accident. In this case, the gateway will imbue Reed, Susan, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm with extraordinary abilities which they will then be forced to use to defend themselves against Galactus and Doctor Doom.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Galactus was introduced in 1966’s Fantastic Four #48 as a former human transformed into a gargantuan, cosmic entity who feeds on entire planets. Four years earlier, Lee and Kirby debuted the original Doctor Doom — played by former Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe installment, Avengers: Doomsday — who is a ruthless monarch of his homeland of Latveria.
Midnight Fantastic Four #2 hits the shelves on Nov. 18, 2026.