Midnight X-Men #1 Review – Blood Hunt, Part 2

Midnight X-Men #1 (Marvel, 10/7/26): Writer Jonathan Hickman & artist Matteo Della Fonte find a city locked in a cold war when humans, vampires, and vampire mutants struggle to maintain a fragile peace. Hickman’s twist on the X-Men mythos reads more like a continuation of Blood Hunt, so that may or may not appeal to you. Verdict: A solid, albeit unoriginal, start.

• Writer: Jonathan Hickman
• Artist: Matteo Della Fonte
• Colorist: Arthur Hesli
• Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
• Cover Artist: Dike Ruan, Moreno Dinisio (cover A)
• Publisher: Marvel Comics
• Release Date: October 7, 2026
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $5.99
• Page Count: 42
• Format: Double Sized Issue

Covers:

Analysis of Midnight X-Men #1:

First Impressions:

When I first heard the concept of Midnight X-Men, centering on mutants turned into vampires, my first reaction was, “Didn’t we just do a year-long vampire event called Blood Hunt in 2024?” The answer to that question is yes, and Hickman’s launch reads like Marvel said: “Imagine the world if Blood Hunt just kept going.” Make of that what you will.

Plot Analysis (SPOILERS):

The issue splits into multiple fronts in New York City in a world where vampirism has taken hold for years, kept in check by a not-so-peaceful truce between centuries-old vampire clans, new vampires, the Holy Roman Church, mutants, and empyres (mutants turned into vampires).

New vampires are largely scattered, kept in check by codices (vigilante groups of humans who hunt down vampire nests). Cardinal Stryker and his Purifiers arrive in NYC to meet with Bishop Kurt Wagner with specific permission from Rome to hunt more vampires. Elsewhere, Empyres maintain their territory by seeking out and destroying rival clans. The Empyres are frequently in hidden conflict with mutants, but outright war is prevented by a years-old treaty designed to maintain peace.

During the issue, a codex enters a nest of vampire Reavers in service to the Toriac clan. The codex is slaughtered, except for one young girl named Hope. Magneto – leader of the mutants – sends word to Cyclops (who somehow is not a party to the treaty) that the girl needs saving. Meanwhile, the vampire Reavers are attacked by Empyres, led by Gambit. The young girl is told the Reavers didn’t attack her yet because she’s a mutant, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Gambit and his team wipe out the Reavers and prepare to leave with Hope, but Cyclops shows up to shed some light on the situation and help Hope escape. The issue ends with Bishop Wagner having a heart-to-heart with the leader of the Empyres to warn her about the Cardinal’s orders. That leader is Storm.

How is the story in Midnight X-Men #1?

Imagine Blood Hunt (2024), where Varnae attempted to infect the world with vampirism. Then, imagine if vampirism remained when the event ended. Now, jump forward a few years into the future after vampire clans, mutants, humans, and empyres had already engaged in a bloody war. Jonathan Hickman’s grand concept takes place in that aftermath. Think of it as a long-running What If.

Is that enough for you to sink your teeth into? Well, that depends. Jonathan Hickman is known for his world-building and setup (even if it doesn’t always pay off. See: Imperial, Ultimates, G.O.D.S., etc.), and you get a lot of that in Midnight X-Men #1. To be clear, you’re pulled into an expansive conflict with multiple rival factions, and you can pretty much get the gist of what’s happening as long as you have a cursory understanding of the characters from Earth-616. The dramatic tension is palpable, the means and modes of operation for each group are clear, and you get a fairly decent handle on the rules of the world. Plus, the pacing and character interactions are fairly good.

That said, the stakes and direction of the series are not clear, a downside of Hickman’s world-building habits. He’s set it up. Now, where does he go with it? If the answer is “The fragile peace is about to collapse,” what does that mean? What are the stakes, and whose story is Hickman telling? It’s not obvious in this first issue.

Beyond the story itself, the whole point of the Midnight imprint is to create an alternate, scary version of Earth-616 to act as a counter-balance to DC Comics’ Absolute line. Therefore, it needs to be familiar-yet-unique, and it needs to be scary in keeping with the Midnight theme.

Is it familiar-yet-unique? A little yes and a little no. Again, it feels like Blood Hunt just kept going, so mixing vampires with mutants is hardly a surprising setup. Beyond the vampirism aspect, the mutants you know and love are effectively the same people, but at odds or as allies, depending on who has fangs.

Is it scary? But for maybe two panels with blood and gore shown just before a brief fight, the answer is no. It looks and feels like a well-done X-Men comic event, but Hickman stops well short of trying to terrify or unsettle you in any way.

How is the art in Midnight X-Men #1?

Matteo Della Fonte’s excellent art takes Hickman’s script and bumps it up several notches. The character designs (human, vampire, mutant, or otherwise) look great. The brief bit of gore and action we get is well done. More importantly, Della Fonte’s panel progression and narrative flow go a long way toward keeping the multiple threads and group perspectives aligned in an intuitive way.

Furthermore, Arthur Hesli’s coloring and Cory Petit’s lettering are first rate. It might have helped if Petit employed alternate font choices and narration box colors to help distinguish who was talking at any one time, but the story flows so well that it doesn’t take much effort to figure it out.

Characters

The character work is generally good, as all the familiar characters act and sound like themselves, albeit with several evil versions. However, the focus character is unclear in this first issue. We could be following Bishop Wagner’s story, but that’s the downside of Hickman’s penchant for heavy world-building – everyone takes a turn, so nobody takes the lead.

Originality & Concept Execution

Is the concept original? That depends on your point of view, but considering how well it almost precisely fits as a continuation of an event from just two years ago, probably not. That said, Hickman’s execution is largely excellent. If you had to pick one over the other, well-done beats originality all day.

Pros and Cons

What We Loved

• Excellent art
• Intuitive balance between multiple groups
• A few, intriguing teases.

Room for Improvement

• Reads like Blood Hunt 2.0
• With minor exceptions, neither characters nor world are radically different.
• The cliffhanger is weak

Art Samples:

The Scorecard:

Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): 3/4
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): 3.5/4
Value (Originality & Entertainment): 1/2

Final Thoughts:

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Midnight X-Men #1 picks up a few years after Blood Hunt left off when mutants, humans, vampire clans, and vampire mutants find their fragile peace about to collapse. Jonathan Hickman’s script is well-constructed, even it feels like an extended What If, and the art teams delivery is first rate.

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