Early reception of Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a turn-based tactical role-playing game developed by Firaxis Games that pits several of Marvel’s most iconic heroes against the forces of the demonic sorceress Lilith, has been almost universally positive. While Marvel’s Midnight Suns has garnered praise from game critics for its addictive gameplay, the game has also attracted positive attention from Marvel fans for the sheer number of references to Marvel Comics sprinkled throughout its forty-to-sixty-hour campaign.
Marvel’s Midnight Sun is chock-full of allusions to Marvel’s history, some of which take an eagle’s eye to spot. From passing references to absent heroes and villains to overt breakdowns of the main cast’s personal history, Marvel’s Midnight Suns has no shortage of clever nods and deep cuts that could entice more casual Marvel fans to delve deeper into the game’s source material.
Nico Minoru Is Quite Open About Her Time as a Runaway
One of the first heroes players can establish a friendship with is the dark magic-wielding Nico Minoru, one of the Marvel Universe’s premiere masters of the mystic arts. While Nico has gone on to become a prominent member of Marvel’s magical community, the gothic sorceress got her start as one of the founding members of the Runaways, one of Marvel’s lesser-known teams of young heroes.
Debuting in the first issue of Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona’s series of the same name, the Runaways were a group of childhood friends who discovered that their parents were supervillains who served a trio of Elder Gods known as the Gibborim. By talking with Nico, players can learn quite a bit about other members of the Runaways, including their abilities and what ultimately happened to each of them after the team broke up.
Magik’s Hellish Childhood Is One Of Midnight Suns’ Main Plot Points
Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, is best known for her almost lifelong affiliation with the X-Men. However, the younger sister of the X-Men veteran Colossus is also known for being both a powerful magic user and the Queen of the demonic realm of Limbo. Sadly, these honors came at the cost of Magik’s childhood, which she spent as the unwilling “apprentice” of Limbo’s previous ruler, Belasco.
Although Marvel’s Midnight Suns changes the identity of Magik’s former master to the more well-known demonic villain Mephisto, the harrowing details of the youngest Rasputin sibling’s enslavement remain unchanged. Fortunately, with help and encouragement from the Hunter and her fellow Midnight Suns, Magik ultimately follows in her comic counterpart’s footsteps by defeating her demon abuser and claiming the dark power he forced onto her as her own.
Iron Man’s Battle With Alcoholism Is Why the Abbey Has a Dry Bar
Out of all the heroes who appear in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Iron Man arguably suffers the most throughout the game’s story. Not only does the technology-inclined genius constantly find himself out of his element, but he’s also betrayed by his close friend and fellow Avenger Bruce Banner. However, one of the few victories that Tony Stark does manage to claim during the game is upholding his vow to remain sober.
Iron Man’s battle with alcoholism has been a long-standing element of the character’s history, with the founding Avenger famously renouncing alcohol in the aftermath of the “Demon in a Bottle” storyline. While the Abbey, the Midnight Suns’ mystical headquarters, does contain a bar, Tony ensures that the hidden refuge remains free of alcohol and opens up about his struggle with addiction at several points throughout the game.
Agatha Harkness Also Died at the Hands of Scarlet Witch in the Comics
Although Marvel Midnight Suns went to great lengths to showcase most of the heroes and villains that make up its core cast months before the game’s release, Scarlet Witch’s mystical mentor Agatha Harkness makes a surprise appearance as a spirit roaming the grounds of the Abbey. Sadly, the game wastes no time establishing that Agatha’s death was accidentally caused by her prized pupil, which might not surprise some Marvel fans.
In the comics, Wanda Maximoff murdered her mentor and surrogate mother figure after she learned that Agatha had cast a spell on her to make her forget her children, William and Thomas, who were fragments of Mephisto’s disembodied soul unconsciously given life by Wanda. Fortunately, Agatha was resurrected and made amends with Wanda, having never held any ill will toward her.
Blade’s Fallen Mentor Is Why He Decides to Trust the Hunter
The Vampire Hunter Blade is the first hero the Hunter formally meets after they awaken from their centuries-long slumber, and the human/vampire hybrid wastes no time making it clear that he doesn’t trust the child of Lilith. However, as the Hunter and Blade get to know each other more, the normally-aloof dhampir gradually opens up to his fellow demi-human, eventually revealing that the memory of his mentor Jamal Afari inspired him to trust them.
An accomplished vampire hunter who managed to hold his own against Dracula himself, Jamal had every reason to believe that the young Eric Brooks would never be anything more than a monster. However, the aged vampire hunter recognized Eric’s humanity and taught him how to live as a human being, setting him on the path to becoming the hero he is today.
