As the debut of Marvel’s “Midnight” imprint draws closer, one catchphrase has really been getting a lot of attention—Spider-Man’s new “Power Makes Monsters” from Phillip Kennedy Johnson.
WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?
We’re still about a week away from the arrival of “Midnight,” but it seems like a LOT of fans are talking about this new focus from the House of Ideas.
I’ve been reading several interviews with Mr. Johnson about his new take on Spider-Man, and a lot of fans are intrigued about what he’ll be serving up on Marvel’s most popular character.
For instance, Peter Parker’s old catchphrase, “With great power comes great responsibility,” is taking a back seat to a new one—“Power Makes Monsters,” which seems to sum up “Midnight” pretty well, it seems to me.
When I interviewed Phillip not that long ago, I told him I was going to really miss his version of Superman—balancing the “super” and the “man” so well. But I’m in that group of fans anxious to explore a darker, much-less-happy version of Marvel’s Web-slinger.
Here’s the description of the series from Marvel: “Peter (Parker) dreams of becoming powerful himself, to prove it’s possible to wield power responsibly… maybe even heroically. But when he becomes a victim in a monstrous oligarch’s obsession with immortality, his newfound power turns him into a monster, too… and his dreams of transformation become a desperate attempt to reclaim his humanity before it’s lost forever.”
Of the three “Midnight” books, this one fascinates me the most. This is quite the change from “our” Peter, who deals with life throwing out quips and jokes. Now, we has serious issues to deal with, like his own existence.
I can think of no one better able to tell this story than Johnson, who has been knocking it out of the park with his version of the Hulk. I still think he has done a great job of dealing with what seemed to me to be low-hanging fruit—a big green monster actually being feared and having to struggle with life-challenging issues.
OUT-DARKING DC’S ‘ABSOLUTE?’
While I haven’t seen anyone admit this out loud, it sure seems like Marvel is taking on DC’s “Absolute” Universe by going even farther into the darkness.
“Absolute” is an attempt to take DC’s largely positive and inspiring heroes and worlds and move it all into the less “bright and shiny” storytelling where we really have NO idea what will happen next. (I always point out that Superman will never waver from doing the right thing, making him a much more difficult hero to write, I believe.)
Now, Marvel’s “Midnight” seems to be heading into even darker regions of storytelling, largely making these high-power groups and individuals hardly recognizable as “heroes.”
See, I always had a problem with Marvel’s mutants—why do they always look like teen models instead of some who had an arm growing out of their foreheads, for instance? That’s a real possibility with mutation… that you do NOT look very heroic.
This is what “Midnight” seems to be grappling with. And I might add, “finally.”
THE LIGHT HAD ITS TURN
Of course, “Midnight” doesn’t mean the “regular” titles featuring these characters are coming to an end, any more than “Absolute” books meaning the “regular” versions of those characters have ceased to be. I’m grateful that we fans are able to differentiate between “our” versions and these new, alternate takes. Hey, they really sell well, or at least have so far.
However, just as DC is having “our” Batman interact (of sorts) with the “Absolute” Dark Knight, I know the day will come—and likely soon—when the two Spider-Men will meet up just like Miles Morales and Peter Parker have done. It all depends on how sales go for this new imprint.
Rumors are already swirling that more “Midnight” comics are on the way, but we’ll have to wait and see how this initial three do before we hear more about that.
MY TAKE ON THIS NEW CATCHPHRASE
Peter’s old phrase was often used to help inspire characters who had gained access to extraordinary abilities to be more heroic, but of course villains also arose from the development of new powers.
In the real world, though, there are some people I know that I would NOT want to gain superpowers. Instead of helping others, they would be asking themselves, “How can I benefit from this?” and they would take advantage of others while using them. Some wouldn’t even try to help society by using their new powers to help society with cleaning up disasters or the like.
They would never consider such a thing!
So, “Power Makes Monsters” feels like a much more appropriate phrase for how many people view their place in the world. I can imagine some people craving an advantage like spider-powers so they could feed whatever dark impulses they feel. And that’s scary!
As I’ve mentioned before this in column, I’m all on board for “Midnight” and am anxious to see a darker, likely more realistic take on Marvel’s characters!
Of course, there will be the inevitable comparisons between “Midnight” and “Absolute,” but I must say, the more the merrier! Maybe we’ll see darker versions of other comics universes, but I think Invincible has already gone there for sure, so I don’t think that will happen! But others? I bet we’ll hear more about this kind of thing before long at all!
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