Marvel’s Midnight Suns appears to follow a similar narrative thread on paper, but it is very different on closer inspection. The Darkhold is looked into more deeply than in the MCU, with its eerie origins explained through the way other iconic Marvel characters have been affected by it. Players will need to engage in optional content to thoroughly absorb all the Darkhold’s lore, but it is clear that Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ ties to the MCU are purely happenstance.
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Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ MCU Comparisons Seem Merely Coincidental
Marvel’s Midnight Suns Creative Director Jake Solomon said the game had already been in development during the time these MCU installments were released in a Twitter livestream. Having them be related in any way would not necessarily be detrimental, but it is often disappointing when the same ideas from a massive comic canon are exploited, especially if it seems like a popular iconography is being used to bandwagon off another property’s success.
It does not appear this was the case with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, however, and fans will likely find Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ take on the Darkhold and its occult influences more richly engrained in the narrative. Marvel’s Midnight Suns revolves heavily around mysteries with Chthon and Hiram Shaw, whom players can learn about through sparse journal entries or a particular questline in the Abbey grounds. If anything, the MCU has helped introduce fans to what the Darkhold is, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns is the encyclopedic tome that fans can further learn from. It includes more connections to the comic book source material than the MCU, which is only loosely based on the comic book characters it attempts to adapt.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ Occult Tones Are More Eerie and Narratively Significant
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ occult influences lead back to Wanda’s childhood, where she received her powers from Chthon’s chaos magic in Transia. But many characters dabble in dark magic, including Nico Minoru and Illyana Rasputin, so it is interesting seeing how far they are willing to peer into the void in order to get their friend back from Lilith’s clutches. There are many different ways to learn about Marvel lore in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and most ways involve players engaging with optional content.
For example, players can learn all they need to know about Chthon, Transia, the Darkhold, and how they relate to Wanda and Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ occult narrative from optional Abbey interactions with Agatha Harkness. Almost all the interactions that players have with Agatha are optional, since exploring the Abbey after the game’s opening tutorial is not required. The relationship that Agatha, Wanda, and Sara have is complicated, building into a conflict that the Midnight Suns have with their Caretaker and mentor.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns picks up this narrative with Lilith’s reappearance and Hydra’s devout worship, meanwhile Scarlet Witch is already at the Sanctum Sanctorum under Doctor Strange’ tutelage. Seeing Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch together may also seem like a nod to their interactions in the MCU, though their relationship in Marvel’s Midnight Suns is unique - much like every character’s relationship with Wanda.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions coming later.
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