While it may not be as much of a high-profile release as the latest Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy video game adaptations, Marvel’s Midnight Suns — the new tactical role playing game developed by Firaxis Games — has quickly carved out a devoted following of fans. And unlike many other recent Marvel adaptations, Midnight Suns is notable for drawing relatively little influence from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Indeed, in an era where the MCU has become the dominant interpretation of the Marvel Universe within popular culture, Midnight Suns largely eschews any big-screen influence in favor of putting its own spin on the source material. And in doing so, it crafts a brand-new story with its own distinct identity — one that the MCU could even learn from in many ways. Here are just a few of the things Midnight Suns did right that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would do well to repeat.
The Sharpest Stake in the Shed
One major thing that sets Midnight Suns apart from the MCU is its focus on the supernatural side of the Marvel Universe — something that the MCU has still only scratched the surface of. As such, characters like Ghost Rider and Nico Minoru play major roles in the game’s cast despite currently having no big-screen presence. However, there is one main character in the game who’s currently on his way to the MCU: Eric Brooks, aka Blade the Vampire Hunter.
While he’s best known for his previous film portrayal by Wesley Snipes, it’s already been confirmed that everyone’s favorite shades-wearing, leather coat-clad, katana-wielding half-vampire will be receiving his own MCU film in the near future. But before Mahershala Ali (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Luke Cage) steps into the role of the Daywalker, Michael Jai White (Spawn, Black Dynamite) lends his voice to the Midnight Suns version of Blade. And while the game’s take on the character is very much the sort of stoic badass you’d expect him to be, he comes with a unique twist.
In short, the Blade of Midnight Suns takes the Wesley Snipes version of the character — the over-the-top, ice-cold, one-liner spouting action hero — and exaggerates him to a comedic degree. The developers clearly recognized that Blade is so much fun because he’s a little ridiculous, not in spite of it, and chose to lean into that aspect of the character. This Blade is still a hardcore vampire killer, but he’s also awkward and self-serious, struggling to connect with his teammates because he’s so obsessively fixated on slaying vampires. It’s the sort of characterization that could easily come off as parody, but instead manages to make Blade feel more real and nuanced. Humanizing characters through humor is one of the things the MCU does best, so perhaps we could see a similar take on Blade in Mahershala Ali’s upcoming film.
Two Skulls Are Better Than One
Another prominent character in the game is the fiery-skulled Spirit of Vengeance himself, Ghost Rider. However, the playable Ghost Rider isn’t Johnny Blaze, the most popular incarnation of the character, who was infamously portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the widely-panned 2007 film adaptation. Rather, the game’s main Ghost Rider is Robbie Reyes — the most recent bearer of the mantle, who was created in 2014 by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore.
Robbie is characterized in Midnight Suns as the closest thing the team has to an everyman. He’s not a genius inventor, a super-soldier, a master sorcerer, or an immortal mutant. He’s a friendly, down-to-earth gearhead who worries about taking care of his little brother — well, that and keeping his demonic alter ego in check. However, while Robbie is the game’s main Ghost Rider, he isn’t the only Spirit of Vengeance who makes an appearance. Johnny Blaze also shows up as a major NPC, reimagined as a bitter, world-weary old man who’s had enough of the superhero game. Blaze serves as both a rival and a mentor to Robbie throughout the game, true to his anti-hero nature.
Technically, both Ghost Riders have already appeared in the MCU through the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. In the show’s fourth season, Gabriel Luna portrays Reyes in a recurring role, while Blaze makes a cameo during a flashback. However, it’s currently unclear whether the series is still considered canon to the MCU’s main Earth-616 continuity, with all signs currently pointing to no. As such, it’d be easy to reintroduce Robbie Reyes as the protagonist of a new Ghost Rider adaptation, with Johnny Blaze appearing as his predecessor. By featuring both the classic and modern Ghost Riders alongside one another, the MCU could please fans of both Spirits of Vengeance while also establishing the lore that there have been many Ghost Riders throughout history.
It’s a Kind of Magik
Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade, going from just another member of the New Mutants to a core pillar of the X-Men comics. However, Midnight Suns is one of the first Marvel adaptations to put Magik front and center. It probably doesn’t help that her origin story is a bit on the convoluted side. Illyana was originally the younger sister of Colossus, who was abducted by the demon Belasco and imprisoned in the hellish dimension of Limbo, where she spent seven years learning sorcery before vanquishing her captors and escaping. It’s a much more involved backstory than your average hero, blending magic, mutants, and space-time shenanigans in one tragic, traumatic tale.
However, Midnight Suns has no qualms about introducing Magik as a fully-formed character before diving into how she got her powers. To players unfamiliar with the character, the baggage surrounding her complex origin doesn’t matter. She’s just a tough-as-nails goth girl with a cool sword and flashy portal powers — and that’s enough to get people interested until her history is eventually explored in detail. And as an added bonus, the game replaces Belasco with Mephisto in the role of Magik’s arch-nemesis, giving Illyana a personal grudge against the Marvel Universe’s premier demon lord.
The MCU would do well to follow Midnight Suns’ lead in introducing Magik as a full-fledged hero before filling in the gaps of her grisly history later. With a massive fan-favorite like Illyana, it’s best to skip right to the version of the character who comic readers know and love instead of going through her complicated origin story in real time. Plus, after two Doctor Strange movies, MCU fans are accustomed to magical dimensional weirdness by now. Perhaps Magik’s vendetta against Mephisto could even be carried over to live action — giving her a personal connection to such an important villain would surely make Illyana a more prominent player in the MCU.