r/xmen • u/AngelEyes360 Askani • 11d ago

Weekly Discussion X-Men Comics New Releases for October 7th, 2026

Midnight X-Men #1

  • AN ALL-NEW, ALL-DISTURBING UNIVERSE BEGINS HERE!
  • The clock strikes midnight, and it's the dark dawn of a new era. The shadows of New York City are stalked by vampires and the mutant empyres. The sword of Damocles hangs over the peace between these two species and the factions within them. An outright war is brewing and the unturned will be caught in the crossfire.
  • Blockbuster comic book writer Jonathan Hickman returns to the X-Men with a hunger for blood as this new world of terror reimagines the heroes of the Marvel Universe!

Unlimited and Other Releases 10/07

  • Discuss Marvel Unlimited and other related comics

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19

u/AngelEyes360 Askani 11d ago

Midnight X-Men #1

23

u/t_huddleston Nightcrawler 10d ago

Loved it, but as a huge fan of the X-Men, Hammer horror films, Marvel’s 70’s vampire books, and HoX/PoX, this book is basically engineered to appeal to me specifically, so your mileage may vary.

The best Hickman stuff since he left Krakoa behind, for sure. I hope he settles in for a nice long run. Just really cool so far.

19

u/FlowerRoomLord 10d ago

Hickman drops his factions on the table (the church, the M-pyres, and the vampires) and already teases an incoming war. We know it'll get to 36 issues minimum and he's said the church is a millennia old information distribution system. So there's a vampire war that could get very nasty for the world even if the characters are locked in to only being as powerful as they were around the lead up to the Dark Phoenix saga, Hickman's probably going to do his exploration on faith and its connection to religious propaganda. Or at least I hope so. I need something meatier than Ultimate Spider-Man was where the real core of Hickman's story was in the hands of the side characters. The art is good, the designs are underwhelming, and the colorist is doing a truly underrated job of selling the atmosphere this story requires.

Overall MSM is on top, MXM is at number 2 and MF4 is at number 3.

8

u/trawlse 10d ago

The church stuff made me think of Pax Romana. It'd be interesting to see him revisit some of the themes from that, all these years later. Maybe there is a Gene Pope.

3

u/FlowerRoomLord 9d ago

I was thinking of that book as well. Old man Hickman returning to his roots lmao.

9

u/Built4dominance Storm 9d ago

We know it'll get to 36 issues minimum

No, we don't. He said it's planned for at least 36, but his plans have fallen through before.

5

u/lepton_neutrino 9d ago

He did the whole 24 issues he planned for Ultimate Spider-Man, although he had to wrap up the series.

5

u/FlowerRoomLord 9d ago

An X-Men title written by Hickman is getting 36 issues if Mackay and Simone's books can hit over 36+ issues during an era where most of the fans are unhappy. X-Men's not SHIELD or GODS where even a big name would have trouble selling them as they were.

14

u/Built4dominance Storm 9d ago

Hickman's notoriously expensive, which is something he's acknowledged in multiple podcasts. Mackay and Simone are not.

Having a cheaper writer matters, it's why Lanzing and Kelly are always on books, while you see Hickman far less often.

3

u/FlowerRoomLord 9d ago

Yeah and X-Men is one of those books that generally sells very well. Its a title that can afford him on it for a few years unless he somehow writes something so terrible that the legion of x stops buying the books.

1

u/brickcheney Magik 8d ago

He's also basically said he's actually holding them to at least 36 this time. In his interview, he was pretty explicit about this being different than before. We'll see, but I'm convinced he's in position to do what he wants here.

43

u/OKokayfine 10d ago

Hickman lost alot of my interest after Ultimate Spider-Man and Wolverine Revenge, I'll check out issue 1 of Midnight X-Men but I don't know if it can-

Page 1: <Everything has been prepared, Cardinal Stryker>

ANOTHER 20 TRILLION X-MEN COMICS TO HICKMAN

10

u/NCBaddict 10d ago

ngl my interest wasn’t peaked until the hardcore aura farming later in the issue. Fantastic fight scene with an impressive kill.

28

u/Beef__Curtain Cyclops 11d ago

My friend and I are going to a midnight release as vampiric gambit and captain marvel 🤓

6

u/Playful_Blood191 Cyclops 11d ago

I’m considering going to the midnight release as well, there’s a store about an hour away from me that’s doing the midnight release but I’m so excited that I’m considering it.

25

u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar 10d ago

I did actually prefer Midnight Spider-Man, which felt like it had more to say and had art that I thought was a lot more interesting and unique to look at.

I think Midnight X-Men was fine, but it isn't quite interesting enough or mysterious enough to really hook me in the way House of X #1 did. I feel like there aren't any actual mysteries at all; you can kind of assume a lot of things that will probably be true and so you're just left with the Hickman special: world building. I don't think the world is interesting enough is the problem.

I also think the people saying that this is totally different and not at all like a superhero comic are kind of lying to themselves. I don't think Hickman was doing anything here that he didn't in other projects. Like I said, House of X.

I did like the Cyclops scenes and the art was solid. The colouring added to the mood and the tone. I think my issue with the art though is that it is kind of generic. Even compared to the other two Midnight titles, it feels the most conventional and plain. If you compare it to Absolute... it doesn't come close. The character designs aren't bold reinventions, they're slight tweaks on what we've already seen, which ironically makes it feel more like a superhero comic.

11

u/antsinmyeyesmauger Nightcrawler 10d ago

I do agree that for now it isn't too different from a normal superhero comics. It's bloodier than a normal Hickman stuff but it isn't radical horror heavy outside of that. I'm sure there will be more scenes like the vampire fight but I expect this to be a more talky book similar to New Avengers anyways.

I disagree on the world not being interesting but that is just down to taste. I think there were enough small things that are fun but yeah it's not as bombastic as House of X was.

5

u/clarkision 10d ago

It feels more supernatural than horror.

4

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

“They know we’re brothers, right?”

3

u/antsinmyeyesmauger Nightcrawler 10d ago

Yeah I think that is a better word for it compared to the other ones

8

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

I’d very little interest in any of this…but Midnight Spider-Man’s art immediately caught my attention.

9

u/Feeling-Cranberry781 Jubilee 10d ago

Midnight Empath was not long for the world . . .

I'm trying to figure out how many different factions there are. It kind of seemed that Gambit's group is separate from Storm's group? Maybe perhaps the equivalent of the Morlocks? And the House of X has most unturned mutants and made peace with the Empyre and Vampire factions, but Cyclops is a free agent just running around doing his own thing?

7

u/Waterknight94 9d ago

I only know Empath from the OG New Mutants run so I was happy to see him get burnt up.

1

u/Darla_Dangerous 8d ago

Comically wearing his new mutants era hellions outfit still. Fuck that guy

1

u/Ascleph 8d ago

Didn't House of X say they couldn't go because of the pact? I thought that meant they were empyres too.

I assume Gambits group just doesn't belong to any house, so they are not bound to any pacts.

1

u/lepton_neutrino 8d ago

Humans are part of the pact, so unturned mutants logically would be too. It's a peace bbtween factions.

42

u/OKokayfine 10d ago

"Whats your name?"

"Hope."

"...Go home, Hope. There's no place for you here."

I know writers that use subtext and they're all cowards. This was a fine first issue but just in general this Midnight line (aside from being a course correction from Ultimates ending) has such a difficult challenge in investing its readers and not falling prey to becoming gimmicky.

17

u/mechamechaman Rogue 10d ago

What are the chances that this book was created mostly due to the fact that Hickman realized "If you put a M in front of Vampire, you get a word that sounds like Empire."

11

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME????”

2

u/Upset-Farm-5225 10d ago

that was a wink to a past storyline like how he decided to call something in the issue "the five lights" or how he started talking about inferno 2 as early as hoxpox

15

u/fireandlifeincarnate White Queen 10d ago

IS THAT MY MF GOAT, HOPE SUMMERS???? YEAH BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

In all seriousness, a good first issue. A bit expositiony, but it's Hickman, so that's both expected and forgiven. Vibes are great, art is beautiful, I'm very excited to see where this goes. Jean in particular I'm VERY curious about, especially given the presence of Hope, the Phoenix of it all, and what they did with her recently in Marvel Zombies.

8

u/Glassjaw02 9d ago

Hope being there was maybe my fav part of the issue. I can’t imagine she just “goes home.” I really liked it considering how much I didn’t care for the premise when I first heard about it. Seems like it’s building to something big already.

5

u/fireandlifeincarnate White Queen 9d ago

Oh absolutely not. What they actually do with her, I have no idea, but I am fucking SEATED.

3

u/Glassjaw02 9d ago

Hope is my favorite so I’m really excited to see what Hickman does with her here.

1

u/brickcheney Magik 8d ago

Amazing how it was clearly her right away. Waiting for her name confirmation had me ready to fistpump

2

u/fireandlifeincarnate White Queen 8d ago

I had no idea. Though to be fair, I was more just going "this is cool as fuck" the entire time and not actively theorizing. What other than being a redhead gave it away for you?

16

u/antsinmyeyesmauger Nightcrawler 10d ago

Hickman doing Hickman things is always fun to read. There is still plenty of time for things to blow up but I was expecting more characters to die so I'm happy that didn't happen. This series is definitely Hickman's bread and butter and he still seems to be hooked on mutants having immortality. I look forward to more.

Arthur Hesli is a perfect colorist for this book with a great pallet and tone. Matteo Della Fonte is pretty much house style but he's still makes a pretty book.

5

u/trawlse 9d ago

I wonder if Hope were to use her powers to form a mutant circuit with a mutant who has solar powers, would the entire circuit be solar powered?

If the cure is actually something that is a goal, it seems like eventually The Muir Institute will figure out that the best cure is the Krakoan Resurrection Protocols. But if Moira doesn't remember her past lives, she might not figure it out. Maybe this is Moira's final, human life.

I wonder if the sign above the Stronghold tomb was Krakoan language.

And it's obvious that a vampire story would involve the sun, but a society being able to completely harness the power of the their solar system was one of the things in the HoxPox data pages that was a step towards becoming a Dominion. "Stronghold" was also one of the steps towards it, so it's interesting that term has shown up in a different context.

12

u/wowlock_taylan 10d ago

There are some sparks of interesting stuff but overall, I am just not interested in Mutant Vampires. Had enough of those in 616 already. Hell, even got a 'Vampire Storm' there too ( she dated young Cyclops ). She might have an interesting dynamic with Kurt in this but outside of that, it is not for me. Feels like just another 'Bad ending mutant future' thing.

The whole premise just gives me the PTSD of DC vs Vampires and ALL the annoyance I had with that book/universe. Constantly questioning, 'wait how does that work with this character and their powers/body etc' and so on. Now I doubt Hickman will be that careless as he likes to establish the rules for his universes and the CHARTS...But starting with 'yea Jean/Phoenix got vampirized' makes me go 'yea, it is gonna annoy me, I am not gonna bother'.

Overall, I feel like the novelty of this 'horror' universe will wear off, added by the mishandling of the Ultimate Universe by Marvel.

4

u/AlphaBreak 9d ago

'yea Jean/Phoenix got vampirized' makes me go 'yea, it is gonna annoy me, I am not gonna bother'.

Everyone else is complaining about Phoenix's turning making no sense, what I want to know is how the heck they turned Glob? That boy doesn't even have blood anymore.

5

u/wowlock_taylan 9d ago

Vampirism is basically magical nonsense.

Also, Kurt is searching for a cure...didn't Wakanda/T'challa got one when he was vampirized recently? If Storm got Vampirized like that, I am sure he would try to help, unless they haven't met in this universe or he is dead or something.

5

u/mighty-rockman 9d ago

Love everything about it, the writting, the story and the art. My favourite of the three Midnight comics.

17

u/shadowF 11d ago

I read this a month in advance, and while I consider Midnight Spider-Man the best of the bunch and Midnight Fantastic Four the weakest (even though it was only the first issue), Midnight X-Men sits comfortably somewhere in the middle.

It is worth clarifying that nothing I say constitutes a spoiler or anything of the sort; everything comes from interviews. Jonathan Hickman places us in a setting rich in mythology but populated by protagonists who rely heavily on the 616 universe. Not all characters fit this mold—some differ markedly from their mainstream versions—yet they play a secondary role to the X-Men; the latter, as Hickman has noted, are essentially their 616 versions as they existed right up to the incident that caused their dissolution and plunged mutantkind into this status quo for a decade. Consequently, I believe their relationships hinge largely on what is already known about them in the 616; they are not particularly accessible characters for new readers. Nevertheless, it is clear that Hickman intends to explore the past so that readers can properly understand the Midnight X-Men's present; and while the X-Men were just as they were known in the mainstream universe, the world surrounding them is vastly different—even before they disbanded.

16

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

In fairness…that sounds like a fairly normal Hickman work for hire book.

He gets to skip establishing what the characters want, think, and need by allowing readers to infer…and he also reserves the right to change any of those things wildly and say “It’s XYZ!”

I assume there’s plenty of hype moments, aura, and dialogue that makes Garth Marenghi look like a coward?

7

u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar 10d ago

More or less. It's heavy on world building and there's a cool fight scene and just lots of aura farming.

5

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 11d ago

Since you’re not spoiling and, if i may ask, any good moments from the ladies right of the bat? Storm, rogue, betsy, jean? Anytimw for them to shine or nah?

11

u/Built4dominance Storm 11d ago

The closest this issue comes to a girl shining is Psylocke, who is part of Gambit's crew.

1

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 11d ago

Sad :(((

Was hoping for some polaris and wanda too: thx for the answer.

7

u/Built4dominance Storm 11d ago

Oh they are there, but they don't do anything other than counceling Magneto.

2

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 11d ago

If they’re interacting then i’m alredy happy haha. I’m looking foward to more hickman on x-men.

Thx again :))

5

u/brickcheney Magik 8d ago

I disagree with Psylocke being the only woman with significant screen time here. Storm gets as big a spotlight as anybody, arguably the biggest.

17

u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar 10d ago

Hickman doesn't write women all that well, unless they happen to snarky, sarcastic, or catty. Storm at least seems prominent, but I wouldn't expect much there. He's the Nolan of comics. Cool stuff, but I wouldn't go to him expecting a great narrative for women.

16

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

Perfect analogy - meticulously crafted plots, high concepts, massive explosions, grand themes, beautiful set pieces…and an interest in dialogue, characterization, and women that can be generously called “theoretical.”

4

u/FlowerRoomLord 10d ago

Theoretical woman is going in the slander box.

8

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 10d ago

I agree, actually. Ppl give him a lot of credit for emma on krakoa, but Leah W had alredy saved her from the mess that was IvX and Rosemberg’s run.

I am a FAN of hickman, but his characters are mouth pieces for the stories that he tells. A lot of them lack individualism that you can go and say “oh, this character has a completly different personality from that character”

11

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

At least it’s easy to follow where everyone stands, when every single character talks like a megalomaniac!

4

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 10d ago

Lmao. Let’s be nice and say they are drama kids and talk in a Shakespeare manner. I mean, x-men are pretty dramatic.

3

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

Ah, Shakespeare gave us Rosalind!

She’s a smart, funny woman who constantly says one thing while meaning another, and provides immense value to the plot without being a mom OR good at violence!

I’ll say Hickman’s dialogue and thematic subtlety occasionally surpasses Nolan to reach the heights of James Cameron’s, ahaha…which isn’t necessarily a criticism!

Hickman does Hickman things better than just about anyone else out there…and I like Hickman things!

3

u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman 10d ago

Nolan’s high concepts and grandious execution. It’s actually a good comparationz

2

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

Sure, I’m just agreeing with u/cyclopswashalfwayright upthread!

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/BiDiTi 10d ago

…did Strange spend the entire time talking like a megalomaniac, with every word solely chosen to advance the plot and declare the themes as efficiently as possible?

There’s a reason New Avengers is my favorite Hickman Marvel book by such a massive margin!

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u/[deleted] 10d ago edited 10d ago

[deleted]

1

u/BiDiTi 10d ago edited 10d ago

Even Kieron Gillen wrote Mercury Heat!

And yeah, it’s one of those things where I enjoy Hickman on his own terms…but vastly prefer when he’s doing his own thing tathet than cashing in on a Marvel book.

Too often reading Hickman on Marvel feels like watching a character who abhors lying, fucking, and pillaging call himself “Odysseus,” ahaha!

3

u/lepton_neutrino 10d ago

Is there any mention of other mystical elements in the Marvel universe, like Doctor Strange and the Montessi Formula created by Chris Claremont?

2

u/JackFisherBooks Phoenix 10d ago

Good first issue. Not great or mind-blowing, but good overall. It nicely measures up to what we've come to expect from Jonathan Hickman. Solid worldbuilding, memorable characterization, and a distinct tone. There was a fair amount of exposition in this issue, but not too much. There's a lot of setup here, drawing battle lines and establishing the whole mutants/empyres/humans dynamic. I'm intrigued, but still a bit cynical.

It feels like it's building to another major vampire war, of which we've seen many. The only difference this time is mutants are involved and Storm is their queen. I hope that's not the only difference. And how it plays out...I just don't want it to be overly predictable. It feels like, since this is an alternate universe with darker undertones, it's going to end with a lot of major deaths and a bleak, depressing world. I hope I'm wrong. But I trust Hickman more than most writers to make it work.

Only time will tell.

3

u/Brief_Television_608 Storm 10d ago

It's been a while, but we finally have quality Storm content again

3

u/BiDiTi 10d ago

I’m looking forward to Yost quite a bit!

3

u/No-Photograph1983 9d ago

this. is what. the series. needs

3

u/takechanceees New Mutants 8d ago

I loved this issue I’m guessing they’re going for a “vampire: the masquerade” style story with the different vampire clans which I am super interested in and can’t wait to see all the differences in the clans which I trust Hickman to do if Krakoa is any indication

15

u/hausofmiklaus Storm 11d ago

Ready for the doubters to eat crow when Hickman stunts on you hoes again

10

u/PlanetXParadox Kid Omega 10d ago

🙄

2

u/hausofmiklaus Storm 10d ago

…..and?

4

u/morningwink Jean Grey 11d ago

literally i'm so excited to see what he's cooked up

5

u/okayactual Vulcan 10d ago

Just left a midnight release and read it in the car. I loved it. Nods to lore. New ideas. Art was better then I expected. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

2

u/umbreon_x Generation X 9d ago

It was interesting!

2

u/Professor-Noir Gambit 7d ago

I love the relationship dynamics between the characters. Kurt and Storm still being friends. Remy leading a rogue empyre group (pun intended). Havok being a part of Magneto’s crew.

My only quip is there should have been some new character designs. Storm looks fitting as a vamp in her 80’s outfit, but Remy, Lorna, Havok and others all look dated. Cyclops looks dope.

6

u/Built4dominance Storm 11d ago

I thought it was good. I thought it was intriguing.

Do I think it's worth all the hype? No.

4

u/Ok-Agent-9200 White Queen 10d ago

I’ll take good and intriguing. Won’t have it till tomorrow.

1

u/PlanetXParadox Kid Omega 8d ago

bog standard Hickman comic. weakest of the 3 Midnight titles by a LOT- it’s far too close to 616. feels more like a What If or something like the Alien crossovers than a proper brand new universe. Sooooo much namedropping.
But the worst sin of all: how the fuck is Glob Herman a vampire when he visibly lacks a vascular system

1

u/Terrible-Issue-4910 Egg 10d ago

As I suspected, this is not for me. It's okay and I'm sure Hickman's fans are going to like it. Has enough flair and a consistent tone, it has some good action. It is just okay. The worldbuilding is kind of dull and generic, more than I expected. The only thing that got me a bit interested is Nightcrawler's dynamics with Storm and with Stryker, and I hope that gets some focus in the newxt few issues.