Marvel Midnight Launch Sells A Million, But Beaten By Absolute Batman

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Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, X-Men | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, midnight

Marvel Midnight Launch Sells A Million, But Beaten By Absolute Batman

Marvel's Midnight Universe launch has sold more than a million copies and is already going to second printings, but one issue of Absolute Batman still out-ordered them.

Published Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:57:38 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Last updated Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:02:59 -0500
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Article Summary

  • Marvel’s Midnight Universe launch tops one million orders across three #1 issues, with second printings set before release.
  • Midnight Spider-Man, Midnight Fantastic Four and Midnight X-Men debut in October with major retailer incentives.
  • Second printings arrive October 28, featuring uncloaked versions of the regular covers for all three launch issues.
  • Even with a million sold, Midnight Universe trails Absolute Batman, which is nearing 500,000 orders for one issue.

Marvel Comics has announced that its new horror series, Midnight Universe, launching with Midnight Spider-Man #1, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 and Midnight X-Men #1 in two weeks' time, has collectively racked up more than one million orders and are going to second printings before they have even appeared in comic book stores. This includes some very heavy discounts, deals with LED signs and exclusive retailer variants. Each second printing, out on the 28th of October, will feature the fully "uncloaked" versions of the regular covers by Steve Beach for Midnight Spider-Man, Kev Walker for Midnight Fantastic Four, and Dike Ruan for Midnight X-Men. And while a million in total, averaging around a third of a million each, maybe more for some, Absolute Batman is getting orders for half a million for just one issue, and it's two years on from its launch. Always good to put these kinds of things in some kind of context…

  • MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN #1
    Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON Art by SCIETRONC
    A young man 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, he must embrace his grotesque new form to fight back. October 7th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN #2
    Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON Art by SCIETRONC
    Where is Peter Parker? A new Oscorp employee is missing. An NYC teaching assistant is missing. In Queens, a municipal services tech didn't clock in this morning. And for some reason, Oscorp defense contractors are scouring their building's security tapes…for a spider. Where is Peter Parker? November 18th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN #3
    Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON Art by SCIETRONC
    THE PARKER INCIDENT! As Peter Parker frantically searches for a way to reclaim his humanity, Oscorp hunts the emerging urban legend THE SPIDER-MAN in their first breakthrough on the path to a post-mortality future. Meanwhile, in Oscorp's deepest, most top-secret labs, Doctor Octavius has used the lessons of the "Parker Incident" to engineer the world's second synthetic mutant… a living horror that will make even Spider-Man obsolete. December 16th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT FANTASTIC FOUR #1
    Written by BENJAMIN PERCY Art by KEV WALKER
    FIRST STEPS INTO DARKNESS! An obsessive scientist delves into the secrets of the universe perhaps best left unknown to humankind, leaving himself and three others warped in strange and horrifying ways. What horrible secrets lie in the new dimensions they have discovered? And can humanity survive the discovery? November 18th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT FANTASTIC FOUR #2
    Written by BENJAMIN PERCY Art by KEV WALKER
    Reed Richards—haunted by a past he can barely recall and a scientific breakthrough he can barely understand—begins his tenuous working relationship with Sue, Johnny, and Ben at Storm Systems. They're about to test out one of their theories—a theory that will revisit and redefine the perils of the atomic age. November 18th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT FANTASTIC FOUR #3
    Written by BENJAMIN PERCY Art by KEV WALKER
    FINDING THE HIDDEN WORLD! The Four head to the Jornada del Muerto desert in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was detonated by Oppenheimer and the Los Alamos labs. And here they discover the residue of another world, left behind by a crack in the firmament. December 16th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT X-MEN #1
    Written by BENJAMIN PERCY Art by KEV WALKER
    FIRST STEPS INTO DARKNESS! An obsessive scientist delves into the secrets of the universe perhaps best left unknown to humankind, leaving himself and three others warped in strange and horrifying ways. What horrible secrets lie in the new dimensions they have discovered? And can humanity survive the discovery? October 7th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT X-MEN #2
    Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN Art by MATTEO DELLA FONTE
    Eat. Prey. Love. November 18th 2026 $4.99
  • MIDNIGHT X-MEN #3
    Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN Art by MATTEO DELLA FONTE
    NO MUTANTS. NO MERCY. Weapons of Earthly and Heavenly construct. Realms that exist between old failures and the shiny new sins of expedience… December 16th 2026 $4.99

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