After 64 years and countless visits to an endless wardrobe across comic books, video games, TV shows, and movies in the last 64 years, it would seem as if no new Spider-Man could be all that alarming anymore. Rather, Marvel’s upcoming horror universe, the Midnight publishing line, says, “hold my beer,” and has risen to the challenge of designing one of the grodiest and weirdest Spider-Man costumes in the wall-crawler’s whole catalog.
The main, cloaked cover for Midnight Spider-Man #1 previously revealed Steve Beach’s artwork of a massive, disgusting spider implanted in a terrified Peter Parker’s bare chest, with the spider’s body and legs rooted into his flesh mimicking the iconography of Spider-Man’s traditional spider symbol. As it turns out, this was not merely artwork indulging in body horror for the sake of gratuity, but an actual part of Midnight Spider-Man’s full costume, which we now have a full look at, courtesy of a series of variant covers that have been revealed.
Midnight Spider-Man’s Costume Gets A Full Reveal
Ceremoniously, Marvel Comics has suddenly revealed a slate of variant covers for Midnight X-Men, Midnight Fantastic Four, and Midnight Spider-Man on Twitter/X. Between three variant covers for Midnight Spider-Man #1, we’re able to discern that, whether dead or alive, Spider-Man’s chest symbol truly is some sort of actual spider (likely the source of his powers).
The Midnight universe’s Spider-Man chooses to be shirtless in order to proudly display this spider. As for the mask, it most closely resembles Spider-Man Noir’s, steampunk/aviator goggles and all, though it’s red instead of black. In fact, all Spider-Man is wearing otherwise is a pair of red pants and a pair of black, fingerless gloves, electing to forgo blue completely in this redesign’s minimalistic color palette.
There’ll presumably be a different variant cover theme for most or every letter of the alphabet, with only a handful revealed already. The four variant covers that have been unveiled for Midnight Spider-Man #1, in particular, include:
- Midnight Spider-Man #1 Cover C by Peach Momoko (Midnight Special Variant)
- Midnight Spider-Man #1 Cover D by Skan (Midnight Horror Homage Variant)
- Midnight Universe Cover F by Clayton Crain (3-Part Connecting Variant)
- Midnight Spider-Man #1 Cover I by Inhyuk Lee (Variant)
He’s Spider AND Man In Marvel’s Horror Universe
This costume screams ‘brawler,’ not ‘superhero,’ and we don’t even know yet if his powers are any different from how they’re traditionally depicted. The mask goggles are presumably a way for Peter to hone his senses, for example, and Peter’s face may no longer be recognizable at all beneath the mask, hence why he chooses to hide it.
Moreover, if the variant cover by Skan Srisuwan is any indication of what we might see from Midnight Spider-Man, it’s possible that Peter will mutate further, perhaps periodically, and emerge from cocoons of webbing. The solicitation for Midnight Spider-Man #1 reads as follows:
A young Peter Parker is transformed into a hideous spider hybrid by the ruthless Oscorp Corporation in their pursuit for eternal life. When Oscorp begins to use the secrets unlocked by his mutation to create more human-animal hybrids, Peter embraces his grotesque new form to stop them.
Midnight Spider-Man is scheduled to be released on October 7, 2026.
- First Appearance
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Amazing Fantasy
- Alias
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Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner
- Alliance
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Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors
- Race
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Human
Spider-Man is the name given to several individuals who have employed a spider-moniker throughout Marvel Comics. Typically gaining their powers through a bite from a radioactive spider, the different Spider-Man heroes employ super-strength, agility, and intellect while utilizing webbing to swing and tangle up their foes. The most notable of these Spider-Men is Peter Parker, who remains one of the most popular superheroes throughout the world.
