WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS
Just like with almost every superhero video game, Marvel's Midnight Suns is filled to the brim with Easter eggs for players to uncover. Tarot cards hint at Daimon Helstorm, a museum ad advertises Khonshu from Moon Knight, Spider-Man 2099 is mentioned, and there are even constant discussions about and the greater X-Men. All of these Easter eggs serve as fun little treats for Marvel fans, but they also hint at a much larger universe within Marvel's Midnight Suns that is just waiting to be explored. One superhero team that seems to be alluded to often through Marvel's Midnight Suns' Easter eggs is Marvel's own superhero family: The Fantastic Four.
The team crops up in various collectibles and is even mentioned multiple times throughout the narrative. Even with all the Easter eggs, The Fantastic Four are nowhere to be seen within Marvel's Midnight Suns. The X-Men, the Avengers, and the Midnight Suns all have a presence in the fight against Lilith, but The Fantastic Four have seemingly sat it out. The team is not known for facing off against magical threats, but the constant mentions make it seem very strange that none of the members were included.
Marvel's Midnight Suns Has Loads of Fantastic Four References
The Fantastic Four crop up multiple times throughout Marvel's Midnight Suns narrative and in collectibles. Tony Stark makes a couple mentions to its members when he is trying to wrangle the Midnight Suns, and he even makes sarcastic remarks about inviting them to the Abbey. The Fantastic Four's base of operations, the Baxter Building, appears on a collectible Tarot card, and players can equip their Hunter with a blue shirt emblazoned with The Fantastic Four logo. Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer, Galactus, Namor, and Johnny Storm are also depicted on Tarot Cards that are scattered around the Abbey.
Perhaps one of the biggest hints at The Fantastic Four comes at the end of the main Marvel's Midnight Suns storyline. After Lilith has been defeated and the world saved, an end-credit scene reveals that there is another powerful foe on the horizon. The infamous Doctor Doom reaches out and grabs the Darkhold, which could mean he will be the antagonist in a sequel or in post-launch DLC. His inclusion in the Marvel's Midnight Suns story makes it even odder that The Fantastic Four has no presence in the game outside of collectibles. He is one of their main enemies, and they should be there to help stop him.
The Fantastic Four Are Nowhere to be Found in Midnight Suns
Currently, The Fantastic Four are one of the few major Marvel teams that do not have a presence in Marvel's Midnight Suns. The Midnight Suns are the main focus of the game, Wolverine represents the X-Men, and many of the Avengers add to the team. Even the Runaways are sort of represented via Nico Minoru's inclusion. The DLC will further expand the Spider-family and X-Men presence with Morbius, Venom, Storm, and Deadpool all joining. Even with all the Easter eggs pointing to The Fantastic Four, they have been left out of the fun.
The Fantastic Four have not had the best luck when it comes to adaptations, but Marvel's Midnight Suns could have been their chance to shine. Reed Richards powerset could have really changed the flow of battles, Johnny Storm could have unloaded massive fire damage on the enemy, Ben Grimm would be a nice foil to Hulk throughout the game, and Sue Storm could have given players a stealthy edge in battle. With the entire world at stake, it would only feel natural that The Fantastic Four would get involved somehow.
While there is no way that Firaxis can go back and add members of The Fantastic Four to the main story, maybe it could include one or two of the members in a possible second wave of Midnight Suns DLC. The developers seemed to love sprinkling references to the characters throughout the narrative, and now it is time to actually let them join the fight.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions coming later.