Marvel Comics’ new Midnight Universe will reimagine Peter Parker in "Midnight Spider-Man." Series writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson believes horror has been baked into Spider-Man’s DNA from the beginning, and this new take will push those body-horror elements to the forefront, drawing inspiration from David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito.
The biggest change, however, is Peter’s guiding philosophy. Spider-Man’s iconic credo, "With great power comes great responsibility," has been replaced in the Midnight Universe by a much darker warning: "Power makes monsters." The words come from Peter’s late father, Richard Parker, and go on to shape how he views power and the world around him.
That belief is also deeply tied to a childhood trauma. As a boy, Peter had a kitten named Bamf, but one careless mistake changed everything: He failed to make sure the cat was somewhere safe, allowing Bamf to escape the house and die. Even more horrifying, Peter remembers spiders crawling out of his pet’s body—a gruesome image that has haunted him ever since.
As an adult, Peter repeatedly sees reality validate the warning that "power makes monsters." Johnson stressed that this incarnation is not the familiar Man-Spider, but a far more distinctive body-horror creation. Oscorp transforms Peter into a grotesque human-spider hybrid, with spiders embedded directly in his chest, then exploits his mutation to create additional human-animal hybrids.
Meanwhile, Felicia Hardy, better known as Black Cat, is an Oscorp employee in this universe. Johnson also revealed that the series begins planting long-term story threads in its first issue, with some payoffs not expected until the third or fourth year of the run.
"MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN" #1
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: ScieTronc
Release Date: October 7, 2026
"MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN" #2
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: ScieTronc
Release Date: November 18, 2026
"MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN" #3
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: ScieTronc
Release Date: December 16, 2026
via： Bleeding Cool