Before Midnight Fantastic Four, These 5 Villains Made Marvel’s First Family’s World a Nightmare

Midnight Fantastic Four has taken the idea of Marvel’s First Family and delivered a Lovecraftian horror story out of it. This is one of three new comic book series in Marvel Comics’ new Midnight Universe imprint, which sees Marvel taking classic characters and placing them in horror stories that have no boundaries and push the limits of what fans might expect. In Midnight X-Men, a war is underway between mutant vampires (Empyres) and human vampires, with a Catholic Church strike force called the Purifiers showing up to join in the fight. In Midnight Spider-Man, Peter Parker has a new horrific origin story in a tale of body horror.

Videos by ComicBook.com

Midnight Fantastic Four has a Lovecraftian tale of cosmic existential horror mixed with grotesque body horror in a story that is not unlike regular Fantastic Four stories, minus the body horror aspects to the team itself. Throughout their history, the Fantastic Four have always dealt with cosmic horror and have some villains who are as terrifying as any horror creature.

5) Infernal Hulk

One of the brand-new Marvel crossover events features Hulk possessed by a demon and going by the name of the Infernal Hulk. The main comic book series launched in 2025 and ran for 10 issues before ending and leading into some Infernal Hulk vs. comic book crossovers. The first book in that series saw Hulk battle Wolverine, in which he destroyed Logan before taking Jubilee as a prize. The second issue featured one of the most horrific Fantastic Four stories ever told.

As Reed Richards was finding a way to dispel the demon and purge Hulk’s body of its presence, Infernal Hulk showed up in the Baxter Building’s basement. If Wolverine had no chance, the Fantastic Four actually fared worse. While the Thing put up a fight, he was soundly beaten before Infernal Hulk changed the Human Torch, Thing, and Invisible Woman into more of his mutated weapons and then splattered Reed Richards on the street below in a misshapen giant mass of rubber. This was the worst beating the Fantastic Four have taken, and not even the Invisible Woman stood a chance with her mighty powers.

4) Hate-Monger

While he really fits Captain America better than the Fantastic Four as a villain, the Hate-Monger debuted in Fantastic Four #21 (1963) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This story saw Hate-Monger showing up in a mask and inciting crowds, hoping to cause political instability. The CIA then labeled him a national threat, and when he made his way to New York City, he gained the attention of the Fantastic Four. Hate-Monger had a weapon called the Hate Ray, and he blasted the FF with it, causing them to fight each other and break the team up.

It was scary to see a villain whose only purpose was to spread hate, and who was powerful enough to tear a family apart. The Fantastic Four ended up setting aside their differences and teaming with Nick Fury to stop Hate-Monger, and that is when the true horror was revealed. When the Hate Ray was turned on Hate-Monger’s own allies, they attacked and killed him. When he was unmasked, it turned out that he was Adolf Hitler. While Hitler was dying in World War II, Arnim Zola transferred his mind into safekeeping, and Zola eventually placed it in the body of the Hate-Monger. This man was one of history’s most despicable villains.

3) Annihilus

One of the Fantastic Four’s most dangerous villains is also one of the most horrific. Annihilus is an interdimensional insectoid conqueror and tyrant who came from the Negative Zone. When Reed Richards helped open a door to the Negative Zone, it let Annihilus know that there were other worlds he could conquer, and this led to some devastating events in the future. Most of his power comes from the Cosmic Control Rod, which helps keep him alive and also allows him to destroy anyone who threatens him.

Annihilus was responsible for one of the most horrific moments in Fantastic Four history. When only a de-powered Thing and the Human Torch were left at the Baxter Building to watch over the kids there, the Negative Zone door opened. The two heroes fought to keep the aliens out, but Johnny Storm sacrificed himself on the other side to close it and keep Annihilus out. As punishment, Annihilus killed and resurrected Johnny repeatedly, torturing him endlessly to try to find a way back through.

2) The Griever at the End of All Things

The Griever at the End of All Things is a horrifying villain both because of who she is and who she targeted. She is the embodiment of entropy and death, and she seeks only the end of all things. She exists because she believes that it is her job to ensure that everything ends. The person she targeted was Franklin Richards, whom she decided was a danger because of his powers. As a child, Franklin had created multiple worlds and was, technically, a god to these beings as their creator. As someone who demands the end, the fact that Franklin was creating new worlds was the antithesis of her being.

Things got worse after the death and rebirth of the multiverse after “Secret Wars,” and the Future Foundation went on a journey in which they created and added new universes to the Multiverse. She showed up, killed the Molecule Man, and then triggered the destruction of hundreds of realities the FF had helped create, slaughtering millions. After their first battle, Griever returned when Franklin had lost his powers, believing he would be easier to kill this way. As a being who only seeks death, and someone whose main target is a teenager, it is one of the scariest of the Fantastic Four’s newer villains.

1) Marvel Zombies

Marvel Zombies has become so popular, and has been rebooted with so many different origins, that it is easy to forget how the franchise actually started. The zombies made their debut appearance in Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 (2005) by Mark Millar and Greg Land. These zombies were from Earth-2149, and it happened while the FF were time traveling. At this time, Reed had made contact with an alternate Earth and was communicating with them. What he didn’t know when he transported to that Earth was that the Reed there was a zombie, as were the other heroes.

The story ran for three issues and was a pure zombie horror tale. Earth-1610 was lucky because they were able to contain things and keep the zombies from getting through, but this was just the start. Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) launched a new Marvel Zombies series following the popularity of the creatures in these issues, and the rest is history.

What is your favorite Fantastic Four horror story? Give us your thoughts on Midnight Fantastic Four in the comments below.

35 Years Before Midnight X-Men, Storm Already Took Part in a Devastating Vampire Apocalypse

More Comics

• 

  Comics
  21 hours ago

  23 Years Ago, Marvel Released the Ultimate Spider-Man Love Letter (And No Anniversary Issue Has Topped It)

• 

  Comics
  1 day ago

  Midnight Spider-Man Makes Uncle Ben’s Death More Personal Than Ever (And More Horrifying Than You’d Think)

• 

  Comics
  2 days ago

  Comics’ Quiet Killer Has Already Ruined Ultimate Spider-Man, and Now It’s Happening to Batman’s Best Partner

• 
  

  Comics
  2 days ago

• 
  

  Comics
  2 days ago

  DC’s Year of Wonder Will Bring Legendary Writer Louise Simonson to Wonder Woman (And That’s Just the Start)