MIDNIGHT SONS

Membership: Blade (Eric Brooks), John Blaze, Morbius (Michael Morbius), Strange, Vengeance (Michael Badilino); formerly Sam Buchanan, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Frank Drake (probationary), Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch/Noble Kale), Hannibal King, Prof. Louise Hastings, Victoria Montesi

Purpose: "To wage an eternal battle against the supernatural forces of evil"

Aliases: The Nine; the Order of the Midnight Sons

Affiliations: Martine Bancroft, the Blood (Caretaker, Embyrre, Foundry, James Raydar, Seer, Truthsayer), Joel Carpelli, Imei Chang, Capt. Arthur Dolan, Stacy Dolan, Lena Ivana, Jinx (William Hastings), Frances Ketch, Mike, Orion (Truthsayer's dog), the Quentin Carnival (Craig Blaze, Emma Blaze, Roxanne Blaze, Kody, Clara Menninger, Quinn McIntyre, George Waters, Marianne Waters, Wolf, others), Richard Regent, the Saints, Linda Wei, Dr. Jacob Weisenthal, Werewolf (Jack Russell), Wong; formerly Modred the Mystic

Enemies: Centurious the Soulless Man, Demogoblin, the Fallen (Atrocity, Metarchus, Patriarch, Ranter, Rubach, Salomé, others), Dr. David Langford, Lilith and her Lilin (Bad Timing, Blackout, Bloodthirst, Creed, Dark Legion, Doc, Fang, Girth, Meatmarket, Nakota, Outcast, Parasite, Pilgrim, Scatter, Sister Nil, Skinner, Skitter, Spitfire), Modred the Mystic, the N'Garai, Nightmare, the People of the Dust, Steel Wind (Ruriko Tsumura), Donald Walsh, Wildpride (Kyllian Boddicker), Zarathos; formerly Blade/Switchblade (Eric Brooks), Embyrre, Vengeance (Michael Badilino)

Base of Operations: The Nightclub, secret headquarters of the Blood;
formerly Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, New York, USA

First Appearance: (seen in a vision): Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992);
(assembled group, as "the Nine," fully seen): Ghost Rider III#31 (November, 1992);
(mentioned as the Midnight Sons, in-story): Secret Defenders I#6 (August, 1993);
(as the Midnight Sons, fully seen): Nightstalkers I#14 (December, 1993)

(Spirits of Vengeance I#1 - BTS) - Unaware of Dr. Strange's manipulations, Ghost Rider and Blaze traveled to New Orleans, where Ghost Rider explained to Blaze the vision of Lilith's return. Angry that Ghost Rider had brought him back into the world he had tried to forget, Blaze refused to believe Ghost Rider's story of a vision but Ghost Rider used his Penance Stare on Blaze, forcing him to relive the pain that Ghost Rider and Dan Ketch had suffered and forcing Blaze to see the same vision involving Lilith and the Midnight Sons that Ghost Rider had seen. After recovering, Blaze admitted that Lilith had to be stopped but explained that he needed to regroup before joining Ghost Rider against Lilith. While Lilith was reborn in Greenland, Ghost Rider and Blaze traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to visit the Quentin Carnival owned by Blaze. Upon waking from a nightmare, Blaze visited the Quentin Carnival's psychic Clara Menninger, who informed Blaze of the impending breakdown of dimensional walls and suggested that Blaze seek out the allies seen in his vision. When Blaze insisted he was not a super hero, Clara reminded him that he was a focal point for magic and that the impending situation also concerned Blaze's family. Clara then warned that Blaze could become the hunter or the hunted but Blaze walked away, refusing to listen to her warnings. Blaze's family was soon attacked and captured by the Lilin, prompting Ghost Rider and Blaze to go after them. Battling the Lilin, Blaze learned that the Lilin only planned to kill either Blaze or Ghost Rider but not both and Blaze attempted to sacrifice himself for his children's safety but the Lilin Creed instead attacked Ghost Rider, forcing Blaze to defend Ghost Rider. Blaze eventually decapitated Creed, who hoped for the peace he had long sought and told Blaze to protect his family. Blackout then tried to renew the attack but Ghost Rider caught Blackout in his chains. Blackout managed to escape through one of the Lilin Pilgrim's portals. Returning to the Carnival, Blaze had many of the Carnival workers leave with his family to protect them and Clara Menninger apologized for events having to separate Blaze from his family. Before they left, Clara told Blaze of another vision she had of Martine Bancroft in New York's Paramount Hotel, Room 616. Blaze then informed Ghost Rider that they had to return to New York and as they left, Doctor Strange appeared before Clara Menninger, who asked if Strange thought they were ready for the upcoming challenges. Strange simply replied that for all their sakes, he hoped they were.

(Morbius I#1 - BTS) - Visiting Martine Bancroft's hotel room in New York, Ghost Rider and Blaze learned that Martine was in New York searching for Michael Morbius. Recognizing Martine's photo of Morbius from his vision of the Midnight Sons and the Lilin, Ghost Rider insisted that they find Morbius after hearing Morbius' origins from Martine. Soon after confronting Morbius as he arrived at his daytime lair, Ghost Rider, Blaze, Martine Bancroft and Martine's ally Dr. David Langford attempted to help Morbius but Morbius fled, forcing Ghost Rider to grab Morbius' leg with his chains. Secretly working to kill Morbius for the enigmatic Dr. Paine, Dr. Langford had Ghost Rider, Blaze and Martine wait outside while Langford injected Morbius with a serum designed to affect Morbius' unique metabolism. Morbius was instead mutated further by the serum (which had been secretly altered by the Lilin Fang) and escaped, prompting Dr. Langford to inform Ghost Rider, Blaze and Martine of the escape. Ghost Rider and Blaze then set out to find the escaped Morbius to prevent the vampire from harming innocents. They later found Morbius after Morbius had destroyed the lab of Dr. Langford. Dropping a vial containing a possible cure to his vampiric nature, Morbius confronted Ghost Rider, who had caught the vial. Demanding to know what had transpired during their search for Morbius, Ghost Rider was told about Langford's attempt to kill Morbius, Morbius' further mutation and Martine's death when she had discovered Langford's treachery. Employing his Penance Stare against Morbius to determine whether Morbius was telling the truth, Ghost Rider learned that Morbius was indeed telling the truth and that Morbius vowed to only drink the blood of those who deserved to die. Ghost Rider agreed to not interfere in Morbius' activities and warned that if Morbius began drinking the blood of the innocent, Ghost Rider would return, unaware that Lilith had earlier attempted to kill Morbius by having the Lilin Fang adjust Dr. Langford's serum.

(Darkhold I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Seeing Prof. Louise Hastings on the news regarding her consulting on the recent Walsh murder case and recognizing her from their vision, Ghost Rider and John Blaze sought out Hastings.

(Darkhold I#1 - BTS) - John Blaze met Prof. Hastings as she walked in New York and led her into an alley where Ghost Rider was waiting. Despite Hastings' initial shock and exclamation that Ghost Rider was Zarathos unbound, Ghost Rider briefly commented that he didn't know who Zarathos was and explained his visions about the resurrection of the demonic Lilith and the Midnight Sons, whom Louise Hastings was a part of. Ghost Rider continued, further explaining that both he and Blaze had already turned back Lilith's forces on and that they suspected that Prof. Hastings and certain others would be Lilith's next targets. Later, while Lilith worked with the demonic Darkholders against Prof. Hastings, Victoria Montesi and Sam Buchanan, Prof. Hastings visited Victoria Montesi and informed her of the recent discovery of one of the pages from the Elder god Chthon's Darkhold tome. When Hastings mentioned that the page contained an immortality spell that would transform its user into a swarm of worms, a worm fell from the ceiling and landed on Montesi's bodyguard Sam Buchanan. Finding herself and her allies under attack by the Darkhold's user Donald Walsh, who had earlier attacked Montesi, Prof. Hastings turned on the light to signal Ghost Rider and Blaze, who busted through the window to aid against Walsh. Forcing Walsh to explain how he had been transformed, Ghost Rider, Blaze, Montesi, Buchanan and Hastings learned of Walsh's immortality, unaware that Lilith had planned for the Chameleon Worms Darkhold spell to keep the supernatural heroes occupied while she struck at them. As dawn broke, Montesi attempted to get some sleep while Prof. Hastings went for a walk. When they heard a scream, Ghost Rider, Blaze, Buchanan and a returning Hastings found Victoria Montesi swarmed by the reproducing Chameleon Worms. After being rescued, Victoria ran with Donald Walsh in pursuit. Leading Walsh into Central Park, Victoria and the other supernatural heroes found themselves under attack by a group of ninjas and the arriving Lilith and her Lilin. While Ghost Rider and Blaze fought off the inhuman ninjas, Prof. Hastings' plan proved successful as the Central Park birds began tearing Donald Walsh apart, feeding on the Chameleon Worms that made up his body. The heroes then turned their attention to Lilith, who teleported away when Blaze injured her with a blast from his Hellfire shotgun, leaving the Lilin Nakota behind. After Nakota escaped, Victoria commented that Ghost Rider and Blaze should continue fighting Lilith while she, Prof. Hastings and Sam Buchanan would focus on the Darkhold pages.

(Nightstalkers I#1 - BTS) - Ghost Rider and Blaze tracked down the escaped Nakota, whom Ghost Rider subjected to the Penance Stare, causing him to once more see the vision of the resurrected Lilith and a group of supernatural heroes. Learning from his connection with Nakota that Lilith's next targets were Hannibal King, Frank Drake and Blade in Boston. Tossing Nakota into a nearby cash register, Ghost Rider and Blaze departed for Boston, unaware that Doctor Strange was secretly visiting the New England Aquarium, where the former vampire hunter Frank Drake was visiting with his wife Marlene. Strange secretly caused Drake to be plagued with visions of Lilith and placed Drake's wife Marlene in a trance before departing, visiting the Ritegrig mental hospital, where he used a dispensation from the governor to secure the release of the former vampire hunter Blade. As Blade left the institution, Doctor Strange watched from afar and destroyed Blade's old goggles and teak daggers, commenting to himself that Blade needed to bid goodbye to old life in order to serve a greater purpose. Shortly thereafter, Doctor Strange visited Hannibal King's Borderline Investigations, where he spoke with King about King's recent worries about the return of his formerly vampiric nature. Strange commented that, even though King survived the destruction of Earth's vampires, the physical effects of his vampiric transformation were still part of his cellular structure and his bloodlust could be caused by the relaxing of the Montesi Formula's effect on Earth's vampires. As Frank Drake, Blade and Hannibal King gathered together at the Borderline Investigations offices, Lilith disguised herself and tricked the three vampire hunters into hunting Ghost Rider and Blaze by falsely telling the three hunters that Ghost Rider and Blaze were demons. As the three hunters newly armed themselves to hunt down Ghost Rider and Blaze, Ghost Rider and Blaze arrived at the Boston offices of Borderline Investigations and found a note on the door stating "Old North Church." Despite feeling that Lilith had already gotten to the three Borderline Investigations hunters, Ghost Rider and Blaze left for the church as Doctor Strange checked on the condition of Frank Drake's wife Marlene, whom he released from the mystic trance he had earlier placed her in. When Ghost Rider and Blaze arrived at the Old North Church, Blade, Frank Drake and Hannibal King attacked them. Eventually, Blade sensed another's presence and had Frank Drake fire his exorcism gun, exposing the hidden Lilin Meatmarket, who ordered the three hunters to finish their job. Realizing they had been set up, King, Blade and Drake destroyed Meatmarket while Doctor Strange confronted Lilith, explaining that he would not directly assault her, instead allowing ordinary men to combat her evil on his behalf. After Meatmarket's decapitated head was sent back to Lilith, Strange departed as Ghost Rider and Blaze were told by King, Drake and Blade that they had only earned a temporary reprieve. The three hunters further explained that they hunted the supernatural and as long as Blaze continued to associate with the supernatural Ghost Rider, he would remain on their hit list. When Blaze commented that they sounded like fanatics, Hannibal King warned that the night was no longer safe for the supernatural kind.

(Ghost Rider III#31) - After their search for allies against Lilith were not successful, Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze traveled to meet with Doctor Strange, who would be able to save Dan Ketch's life and possibly aid them against Lilith. Blaze commented that after their run-in with the Nightstalkers, they might've made more enemies than allies and hoped that Doctor Strange might also be able to interpret the vision that both Ghost Rider and his host Dan Ketch had shared. When a portal opened, Ghost Rider and Blaze rushed into it, thinking it could be a trap set by the Lilin, unaware that they had actually been teleported away by Doctor Strange. In Manhattan, the Darkhold Redeemers hailed a taxi for Washington, only to be mysteriously teleported away as well while the Nightstalkers were attacked in their own offices, only to also be teleported away. In Manhattan, Doctor Strange met with Morbius and asked for help. Morbius quickly agreed to help in any way he could and Strange briefly commented on how Morbius was already involved in the situation more than he realized. Strange then said he would explain later and that, for the moment, Morbius would need to enter the mystic rift created by Strange in order to join the others Strange had assembled. Teleporting Morbius away, Strange wished Morbius good luck and hoped that when they next met, Morbius would still consider Strange a friend. Arriving in the Arctic Circle, Morbius found himself surrounded by Ghost Rider, John Blaze, the Nightstalkers and the Darkhold Redeemers, all having been transported there by Doctor Strange like Morbius. Despite some brief in-fighting, the combined heroes quickly noticed Lilith, who had traveled there to birth the remainder of her Lilin offspring. Setting aside their differences, the heroes rushed to stop Lilith, who had her chest ripped open as part of the spell to resurrect her children. As Ghost Rider and his allies fiercely battled the Lilin, Prof. Louise Hastings of the Darkhold Redeemers announced that they shouldn't waste time fighting and that they should instead focus on closing the rift in Lilith's chest to prevent the resurrection. When Lilith pulled forth the body of Dan Ketch from the void between realms, both Ghost Rider and Blaze were swiftly defeated and despite arguments from Sam Buchanan, Victoria Montesi of the Darkhold Redeemers remained fighting, hitting the Dan Ketch/Lilin creature with a bone. The recovered Ghost Rider then bound the creature in chains and forced it back into the rift in Lilith's chest before the combined heroes prepared to close the rift. Lilith summoned her Lilin to her and each sacrificed themselves into the rift in an effort to be reborn at a later date but Ghost Rider, determined to make sure Lilith was dead, forced Lilith's head into the rift as well, causing a mystic explosion that seemingly destroyed Lilith. With Lilith gone, the Nightstalkers turned to focus their attention on destroying Ghost Rider and Morbius but they were soon surrounded by a familiar mystic rift and teleported away just as they had been teleported there to begin with. Sad to see the Nightstalkers turned on their supposed teammates, the Darkhold Redeemers were shortly teleported away as well, prompting John Blaze to ask Morbius who kept teleporting them around and admitting that he had thought the teleportations were being caused by the Lilin Pilgrim. Morbius then explained that it was actually a friend and Doctor Strange then revealed himself, further explaining that he could not intervene lest the dimensional walls he sought to protect be destroyed. Strange then informed Blaze that he would have to explain to the others why they had been brought together later and announced that, for the time being, they needed to focus on Ghost Rider and Dan Ketch. As they teleported away, the Lilin Nakota awakened in the Arctic snow to find that Lilith and the other Lilin had survived.

(Nightstalkers I#7 - BTS) - Sensing that the barriers between Earth and dark forces were breaking down, Ghost Rider traveled to Boston, where he hoped to get his fellow "Nine" members, the Nightstalkers, to aid in stopping the perceived dark forces. After a brief scuffle, the Nightstalkers agreed to aid Ghost Rider and the group tracked down the demonic Stonecold, who had been harvesting human flesh to keep a perpetual motion machine moving. Stonecold subjected Frank Drake to visions of the future, in which Drake saw a murdering Blade, distracting Drake long enough for Stonecold to escape.

(Morbius I#10 - BTS) - Following a series of grisly New York murders, Frank Drake suggested that it might be time for the Nightstalkers to set their sights on Morbius. Hannibal King commented that the murders did not sound like Morbius, who had only ever wanted to cure his vampirism. Blade interrupted, exclaiming that Morbius had to be killed and asked if Drake shared his opinion. Drake replied that he was unsure, given Hannibal King's research and Ghost Rider's recent revelation that all three of the Nightstalkers were part of the mystic "Nine."

(Nightstalkers I#8 - BTS) - After Morbius sought out Hannibal King in hopes of using Frank Drake's Exorcist Gun to cure his living vampirism, he ended up battling King, who admitted that the Nightstalkers only tolerated Morbius' existence due to his membership in the "Nine."

(Nightstalkers I#10) - When Blade went rogue from the Nightstalkers in search of a Darkhold page supposedly able to permanently destroy the supernatural, Hannibal King and Frank Drake met with John Blaze to discuss Blade's disappearance. Upon hearing that Blade was after a Darkhold page, Blaze commented that while the Darkhold Redeemers had been after stray Darkhold pages, Blaze and Ghost Rider had seen first hand how nasty the pages could be. Blaze then quipped that it seemed like a good excuse to give Blade the barrel or two he was owed. Frank Drake quickly reminded Blaze that they only wanted to take Blade down, not out, but Hannibal King mentioned that if the Darkhold page was real, events could be out of their hands. The group soon tracked down Richard Regent, brother of Samantha Regent, whom Blade had earlier attempted to retrieve the Darkhold page from. Discovering that Regent was speaking with Blade on the phone, Hannibal King picked up the phone and tried to get Blade to return to the Nightstalkers but Blade informed them that they had compromised themselves so much by working with Ghost Rider and Morbius that they had turned into the very thing they fought against. King and Drake then met back up with Blaze and the group continued on after Blade, who had managed to obtain the Darkhold page from a mugger. John Blaze, Hannibal King and Frank Drake then battled Blade, who escaped via a city bus, where he cast the spell on the Darkhold page. Drake, Blaze and King rescued the innocents aboard the train and confronted Blade just as Blade accepted the Darkhold page's gift and transformed into a demonic form capable of hunting down and executing any supernatural creature. After seemingly killing and absorbing the powers of Hannibal King and John Blaze, Blade departed to continue hunting. Frank Drake met with Ghost Rider, who sensed the death of Blaze, and the two left to find Blade.

(Secret Defenders I#6 (fb) - BTS) - When the Wand of Watoomb was about to return to the Earthly plane, Doctor Strange used his mystic tarot to determine the appropriate heroes to help combat the Wand's threat. One of Strange's tarot cards depicted Ghost Rider but when Dr. Strange attempted to contact Ghost Rider, he was unable to reach Ghost Rider due to Midnight Sons business.

(Ghost Rider III#40) - Ghost Rider and Frank Drake tracked the transformed Blade to Soho, where Drake's tracking device picked up a large amount of supernatural activity. When Ghost Rider heard a scream, he announced that it was time to find the source and rushed in to help, finding Demogoblin. Learning that Demogoblin sought an alliance with Blade, Ghost Rider was informed by Frank Drake that, due to the adjustments made on Drake's Exorcism Gun, they were now able to track Blade. Shortly after tracking Blade to a nightclub where Demogoblin proposed his alliance to Blade, who was there to kill a young girl, Ghost Rider and Blaze confronted Blade and Drake blasted Blade with his Exorcism Gun to no avail. Demogoblin joined the fight as well, tossing a pumpkin bomb to cover both Blade and his escape. Soon finding Blade and Demogoblin on a nearby rooftop, Ghost Rider renewed the battle in an effort to protect the young girl from Blade. While Blade seemingly killed Demogoblin and absorbed his powers, he found himself unable to destroy Ghost Rider as the young girl escaped, commenting to herself on how Caretaker was right and that the gathering of the Blood was at hand. After Blade chained Ghost Rider to a rooftop antenna, Frank Drake arrived and shot Blade with his Exorcism Gun, rescuing Ghost Rider and ordering the Rider to contact the Darkhold Redeemers for help while Drake held Blade at bay. As Ghost Rider departed, promising to return with help, Blade commented that sooner or later, he would destroy Ghost Rider.

(Darkhold I#11) - Ghost Rider managed to make his way to the Transcorp Building before collapsing at the feet of Victoria Montesi of the Darkhold Redeemers. After Ghost Rider weekly babbled about the deaths of Hannibal King and John Blaze, the Darkhold Redeemers grew concerned and asked what could have caused their deaths. Frank Drake arrived moments later and explained how Blade had used a Darkhold page to become Switchblade, a hunter and executioner of supernatural beings. The group continued discussing events until Switchblade arrived on the scene as well, having tracked Ghost Rider there. The Darkhold Redeemers and Drake formed a human wall around Ghost Rider to protect him from Switchblade, who instead began focusing on the Darkhold Redeemer Jinx. While the humans protected Ghost Rider, the Darkhold Redeemer Modred the Mystic fought Switchblade to protect Jinx. Modred managed to bombard Switchblade with elemental forces before using winds to hurl Switchblade into the air and away from the battle. Modred then explained his origins and Switchblade's role as a new Demogorge to Jinx before teleporting Jinx home just in time for Switchblade to return. While Ghost Rider, Frank Drake and the Darkhold Redeemers got bystanders to safety, Modred fiercely battled Switchblade, eventually using earth magic to bring an entire skyscraper down onto Switchblade. Claiming that Switchblade was defeated, Modred was quickly attacked by Ghost Rider and Frank Drake for endangering innocents but Switchblade emerged unscathed from the building rubble, having transformed into mist. The Darkhold Redeemer Prof. Hastings then tricked Modred into transporting them all to Central Park, where the battle would no longer endanger civilians. Switchblade quickly managed to sever Modred's arm, who retaliated by impaling Switchblade and removing a chunk of his spine. Switchblade soon healed and Victoria Montesi stood before Switchblade, refusing to allow Switchblade to murder Modred. Despite admitting that he would not harm a non-supernatural foe, Switchblade impaled Victoria, running Modred through as well. As Modred died, he scattered a bag of Maui sand, which caused Switchblade intense pain due to his absorption of the gaes curse that Modred suffered from. Before Ghost Rider could take advantage of Switchblade's pain, Prof. Hastings informed him that they had to first find the Darkhold itself.

(Morbius I#12) - Frank Drake, Ghost Rider, Sam Buchanan and Louise Hastings made their way to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in their quest to find the Darkhold tome while Switchblade continued his rampage, killing the clairvoyant Anne Toussant. On their way, Frank Drake phoned Morbius and informed him of the deathtoll so far before Jack Russell, the Werewolf, arrived as Morbius' lab seeking to help Morbius deal with his vampiric nature. After being informed of Blade's transformation into Switchblade and his subsequent killings, Werewolf agreed to help Morbius in preventing Switchblade from obtaining the Darkhold tome. Switchblade soon sensed them and fiercely battled Morbius before turning his attention to and killing the Werewolf. Switchblade then departed after impaling Morbius onto a sewer wall, unaware that he had only unleashed the Lilin residing with Morbius. The Lilin renewed the battle against Switchblade but Switchblade was ultimately triumphant, killing Morbius just before the other Midnight Sons arrived on the scene. Finding that Switchblade had not yet made it to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, the Midnight Sons confronted Switchblade, who still insisted that nothing would stand in the way of him making a better world for all.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#13) - Switchblade blasted his way into Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum while Sam Buchanan and Louise Hastings checked on Morbius. Determined to make Switchblade pay for the deaths he had caused, Ghost Rider rode towards the Sanctum, only to be repelled by Strange's protective spells. Sensing when Switchblade grabbed the Darkhold from the empty Sanctum Sanctorum, Prof. Hastings informed the others that Strange had placed a displacement spell on the Darkhold and that Switchblade was resisting its pull. Ghost Rider then grabbed the Darkhold with his chains, anchoring it from being displaced. Switchblade then used Modred's elemental powers to blow Louise Hastings and Sam Buchanan away from the Darkhold as he fought and killed Ghost Rider, absorbing his Penance Stare and feeling the pain of the Penance Stare himself. While Switchblade was reeling from the pain, Hastings made it to the Darkhold and cast the counter-spell to Blade's Darkhold page, returning Blade to normal and restoring those killed by Switchblade to life. The resurrected Modred the Mystic immediately went to kill Blade but Ghost Rider prevented the attack, warning that Blade's status as one of "the Nine" meant that he needed to stay alive. Modred agreed to spare Blade for the time being and teleported away, leaving the other Midnight Sons to disperse. John Blaze asked what was happening to them all and Ghost Rider simply replied that it remained to be seen. Blaze then suggested that they should all separate until they could all get their heads straight, unaware that the Dwarf was present and commented that he would have to see about their victory. While the Midnight Sons went their separate ways, Lilith prepared to gather her children in the wake of the Midnight Sons' split, Centurious sensed the dimensional walls falling and the Dwarf laughed to himself how he loved these sort of events.

(Ghost Rider III#41 - BTS) - As the Midnight Sons remained separated, the demonic Lilith birthed the formerly deceased Lilin Blackout, Nakota, Meatmarket and Pilgrim with the help of another Lilin, Outcast. Once they had been fully resurrected, Lilith ordered the Lilin to kill "the Nine" (aka the Midnight Sons). She commented that, while their mystical connection had broken when the team separated, she wanted to use their entrails as adornments. Blackout immediately grabbed Pilgrim and forced him to teleport them to Dan Ketch's location, where they soon attacked both Dan Ketch and Seer, a member of the ancient Blood race. Upon seeing Seer injured, Dan transformed into Ghost Rider, prompting Pilgrim and Blackout to flee, hinting that they would see Ghost Rider at home. Ghost Rider immediately made his way to the home of Frances Ketch, arriving mere moments before Blackout and Pilgrim. Ghost Rider managed to force the two Lilin to flee when he threatened Blackout but before Ghost Rider could comfort Frances Ketch, Centurious the Soulless Man appeared and kidnapped Frances. Seer then reappeared and surprised Ghost Rider, who had thought her dead, explaining that he would need her help with the Lilin. Ghost Rider brushed Seer aside, exclaiming that he needed to first find Johnny Blaze then rescue Frances. As Ghost Rider stormed off, Seer monologued that events were not supposed to occur as they were and wondered where Caretaker was.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#14 - BTS) - Awakened by Lilith's summons, the Lilin known as Skinner began searching for John Blaze, killing a trucker along the way. As part of Lilith's orders to kill "the Nine," other Lilin soon teamed up with cyborg Steel Wind and attacked Blaze and his allies. The newly arrived Ghost Rider soon intervened, jumping into battle against the Lilin, who revealed that they had been tasked to kill "the Nine" to obtain their fragments of the Medallion of Power. Realizing that they could not take on both Blaze and Ghost Rider, the Lilin retreated as Outcast grumbled that the Medallion of Power was nearly in their grasp. Transforming back into Dan Ketch, Ghost Rider revealed to Blaze that his mother had been taken by Centurious and upon hearing Centurious' name, Blaze agreed to help Dan despite earlier protests. The two then rushed to the town of Holly, hoping to save Frances Ketch and unaware that the Lilin Skinner was following them in his diesel truck. When they stopped to get food 3 miles from Holly, Dan Ketch and John Blaze were nearly run over by Skinner. Dan quickly transformed into Ghost Rider and prepared to force information on Lilith's whereabouts out of Skinner, but Blaze announced that the fight was his. During the fight, Skinner gravely wounded Blaze, his injuries sensed by Seer, and Ghost Rider jumped in to protect Blaze, knocking Skinner away. Ghost Rider then tried to help the burning Blaze but Centurious and Lilith interrupted and offered to exchange Blaze and Frances Ketch for the Medallion of Power. When Ghost Rider instead attacked Centurious, Centurious bound Ghost Rider in his own chains then teleported away with Skinner, announcing that if the Medallion of Power was not given to him, the blood of John Blaze and Frances Ketch would run freely. Shortly after Centurious and his allies teleported away, the spirit of Caretaker appeared before Ghost Rider and warned that Ghost Rider could not take on both Centurious and Lilith alone, suggesting that Ghost Rider seek out Seer. Moments later, Seer appeared and Ghost Rider announced that he was ready.

(Ghost Rider III#42 - BTS) - While Ghost Rider and Seer retreated to the Nightclub, secret base of the ancient Blood, Centurious, Lilith and the Lilin tortured John Blaze and discovered a link of Ghost Rider's chain embedded in Blackout's face. Centurious prepared to research the chain link as Seer began telling Dan Ketch of the Blood's origins and his connection to Zarathos and the Spirits of Vengeance. Seer was interrupted when the Caretaker seemingly arrived in the flesh and knocked Seer into the wall, exclaiming that she could reveal all of the Blood's secrets. He then insulted Dan, calling him pathetic for whining over his transformations into Ghost Rider and revealing that Dan could transform at will, rather than waiting for innocent blood to be spilled. Instigating his transformation into Ghost Rider, Dan knocked Caretaker through the Nightclub's window and then helped Seer, who couldn't believe Caretaker had attacked her, to her feet. Sensing John Blaze's torture, Seer then announced that Centurious nearly had a piece of the Medallion of Power and they had to stop him. As Ghost Rider and Seer departed, Caretaker came to, commenting to himself on how it was about time they had made some headway towards stopping Centurious. Shortly thereafter arriving in the town of Holly, Ghost Rider and Seer were attacked by Stygian beasts before making their way inside an empty church, where Centurious sent Deathwatch after them. While Ghost Rider battled Deathwatch, Seer located John Blaze, who was burning uncontrollably with hellfire due to the Lilin Carver's torture of him. Ghost Rider worked with the burning John Blaze to take down Deathwatch and afterwards, Blaze asked for Ghost Rider to get him to Quinn, as he was passing out. Seer led them through a portal while Centurious, Lilith and the Lilin took Frances Ketch to Cypress Hills Cemetary to await their inevitable battle with Ghost Rider.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#15 - BTS) - Ghost Rider and Seer emerged with John Blaze at the Quentin Carnival and Blaze was quickly taken into a room by the Carnival member Quinn, who asked Ghost Rider to leave the room due to Ghost Rider's hellfire contributing to Blaze's loss of control. While Quinn continued trying to help the barely conscious Blaze, Vengeance erupted into the Quentin Carnival, seeking Ghost Rider. As Blaze regained consciousness, he overheard the battle between Ghost Rider and Vengeance and asked Quinn to give him the outfit that had been left him by Quinn's father. Clad in hellfire-regulating armor, John Blaze joined the battle, downing Vengeance with several shots of hellfire, causing him to revert to his human form as Michael Badilino. Blaze then rallied his allies and departed to confront Centurious, leaving the unconscious Badilino behind. When Badilino came to, Caretaker was waiting for him. Caretaker explained that he would show Badilino how to control his transformations into Vengeance and that he needed Vengeance to meet Ghost Rider, Blaze and their allies at Cypress Hills Cemetary.

(Ghost Rider III#43 - BTS) - As Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Seer and the Quentin Carnival prepared to enter Cypress Hills Cemetary, they were met by Caretaker and Vengeance, who tried to fight Ghost Rider. Caretaker managed to hold both Ghost Rider and Vengeance back, explaining that he was there to get them the answers they sought. He then had Seer send the Quentin Carnival back while Centurious was informed of Frances Ketch's escape by Lilith. Centurious had Lilith order the Lilin to track Frances down while the Caretaker forced Ghost Rider and Vengeance back to their human selves and revealed the history of the Medallion of Power. Frances Ketch soon came running through the Cemetary tunnels and reunited with Dan Ketch, smacking the Caretaker for not being completely honest with Dan, John Blaze and Michael Badilino. Centurious, Lilith and the Lilin arrived shortly after, with Centurious proving his newfound power, obtained through Ghost Rider's chain link, to control Ghost Rider, John Blaze and Vengeance's motorcycles. Centurious then began the battle by firing on Dan Ketch, who was saved by Frances Ketch when she took the blast herself. Distraught, Dan transformed into Ghost Rider and Vengeance was prepared to aid Ghost Rider but Ghost Rider swatted Vengeance aside, claiming that the battle was his alone. Centurious soon noticed that Ghost Rider's Medallion of Power shard was part of his motorcycle and prepared to remove it but John Blaze shot the motorcycle with a blast of hellfire, causing it to explode and launch the Medallion fragment into the air, where it was caught by Ghost Rider. Determined to see the face of his enemy, Ghost Rider removed Centurious' mask and was surprised to see he was a human. Before anything could be done, Centurious began to seemingly burn from within and the demon Zarathos erupted from Centurious' body. Caretaker immediately warned everyone to take cover.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#16 - BTS) - Zarathos stood over Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Vengeance and Caretaker victorious. When Zarathos was briefly weakened by his use of power, Caretaker ordered them all to retreat. Picking up Frances Ketch as they retreated, Ghost Rider and his allies ventured into the Cypress Hills catacombs while Lilith reneged on her alliance with Centurious in favor of allying with Zarathos. The heroes then made their way to the Nightclub, where Frances Ketch was cared for by the Quentin Carnival members and Caretaker continued his story about the origins of the Medallion of Power and how John Blaze, Dan Ketch and Michael Badilino were never supposed to inherit their Medallion fragments. Frances managed to pull together enough strength to announce that Caretaker had not told the heroes everything but Caretaker replied that it was not the time and the heroes left once more to confront Zarathos, who was now being manipulated by Lilith. While Blaze and Vengeance kept Zarathos busy, Ghost Rider grabbed the Medallion of Power and used its power to seal Zarathos, Lilith and her Lilin inside of a fissure created in the ground. With the fight against Zarathos over, Blaze put a gun to Caretaker and demanded to know the rest of the information he was hiding from them. Caretaker then revealed that Dan Ketch and John Blaze were brothers, separated at birth.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#59 - BTS) - While dealing with his rebellious ally Kyllian, Doctor Strange commented how his neglect of the dimensional walls to Lilith and her Lilin would likely catch up to him soon. Feeling that he never had the time to properly train the Midnight Sons to defend themselves against the Blood, Strange hoped that he could at least bring Kyllian back safely before it was too late. He then teleported away. Confronting Kyllian and his manipulator, Iskelior, Doctor Strange sensed the breakdowns of the dimensional barriers and announced that he must rush back to New York. Sealing Kyllian in Iskelior's dimension for his own safety, Strange announced that he would need to gather every resource available or risk losing every soul on Earth.

(Nightstalkers I#14 (fb) - BTS) - John Blaze called the members of "the Nine" together to announce Lilith's death.

(Nightstalkers I#14) - Angry that Ghost Rider and Blaze could not produce Lilith's body as proof of her demise, Blade attacked John Blaze until Hannibal King and Morbius managed to calm the situation. Ghost Rider eventually removed Blaze's gun from his hand, reminding the group that they didn't need to waste time joking or bickering. The Darkhold Redeemers and Frank Drake arrived at the gathering shortly after Ghost Rider and Hannibal King once again asked the question of where Lilith's body was. Ghost Rider attempted to explain how Lilith was destroyed during their last battle in Cypress Hills Cemetary but the Nightstalkers decided to visit the Cemetary themselves to confirm her death, commenting that if she wasn't dead, the Nightstalkers would destroy her and if she was dead, "the Nine" would no longer be needed and they would be next coming after Ghost Rider. When the Nightstalkers arrived at Cypress Hills Cemetary, they found it engulfed in a supernatural mist and the people inside the mist shuffling and seemingly faceless.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#699.1 (fb)) - Despite how his allies reminded him of the monster he had become, Morbius fought alongside the Midnight Sons as a reminder of the humanity he had lost and what he should have left caged.

(Nightstalkers I#14) - Hannibal King tried to help one of the mist's victims, only to have the man dissolve in his hands and the culprits revealed as Lilin. The Lilin Bad Timing then attacked Blade and Frank Drake while Hannibal King had risen above the Cemetary in his mist form to investigate further. King soon returned to aid against Bad Timing, followed by the arrival of Ghost Rider, who admitted that the Nightstalkers had been right in their decision to check the Cemetary. After Bad Timing escaped, Ghost Rider and Hannibal King regrouped with the other "Nine" and agreed to split up to investigate both Lilith and the mist. Shortly thereafter, Hannibal King, Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Vicki Montesi and Sam Buchanan departed to check on Lilith while Morbius, Blade, Frank Drake, Prof. Louise Hastings, Jinx and Modred the Mystic entered the mist, where Morbius disappeared. As the second team searched the mist for Morbius, Lilith appeared behind them, commenting to herself how the Midnight Sons were already beaten and how her Lilin would inherit the Earth.

(Ghost Rider III#44) - As reporter Linda Wei reported on the mist engulfing Cypress Hills Cemetary, her crew was attacked by a Lilin and Ghost Rider soon emerged to defend her, followed by John Blaze, Vicki Montesi and Sam Buchanan. Once Linda was safe, Ghost Rider announced that they must find the source of the mist and make sure that if Lilith was not dead, she was truly killed this time. Venturing further into the Cemetary, Ghost Rider and his allies found the still-living Lilith and her Lilin, as well as Zarathos, whom Lilith claimed would be ruling the world by her side. While Ghost Rider, Blaze, Sam and Vicki battled Zarathos and Lilith, the Lilin invaded New York City, attacking the NYPD precinct where Michael Badilino was located. Transforming into Vengeance, Badilino battled the Lilin while Ghost Rider and his allies were led into the Cypress Hills Cemetary catacombs by Caretaker and subsequently emerged on the streets on New York. Upon seeing Stacy Dolan and her father being attacked by the Lilin, including Blackout, Ghost Rider leapt into battle against Blackout despite protests from Caretaker. Zarathos and Lilith emerged moments later and renewed their attack. Ghost Rider and his allies were saved by Doctor Strange, who suggested they retreat to his Sanctum Sanctorum. Ghost Rider refused, determined to fight Zarathos, but the Dolans agreed to cover them and agreed that the heroes should retreat in order to prepare a better course of action against Zarathos. Ghost Rider and his allies then reluctantly accompanied Doctor Strange through a mystic portal and Strange cast a spell on the Dolans to prevent them from being seen by Zarathos.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#143) - Doctor Strange's teleport spell was disrupted by the Lilin Pilgrim, who attempted to teleport Ghost Rider, Blaze and Vengeance back. With the teleportation disrupted, the three Spirits of Vengeance arrived in a burned out warehouse laboratory housing the Lilin Girth and Skitter. After overhearing Girth's plot about a traitor amongst the Midnight Sons, Ghost Rider, Vengeance and Blaze attacked Girth, only to hit each other due to Girth's directional abilities. Ghost Rider eventually lashed out in all directions, hitting and killing Girth with his razor-sharp chain links just before Lilith arrived, having been summoned by Skitter. Before they could be captured, the three Spirits of Vengeance hopped on their motorcycles and drove off, soon driving through a newly-created teleportational portal summoned by Dr. Strange. Reuniting with Strange, Ghost Rider informed Strange that they had to contact Morbius' team of Midnight Sons about a traitor in their midst.

(Darkhold I#15) - Meanwhile, Prof. Hastings, Frank Drake, Modred the Mystic, Blade and Jinx fought back against an army of Lilin led by Bad Timing on the Brooklyn Bridge, all the while questioning where their leader Morbius had disappeared to. During the battle, Blade attacked Modred, accusing him of working with the Lilin, and Prof. Hastings quickly reminded them that their bickering had left Jinx wide open from an attack by the Lilin Spitfire. Jinx was saved by Modred and shortly after, Bad Timing accidentally time-shifted into one of Prof. Hastings' random gunshots, leaving him open from a shot from Frank Drake's Exorcism Gun. Morbius eventually reappeared and explained that he had found them a safe haven amongst the mists. Morbius then led them to an abandoned lab where Blade admitted that being in the presence of Morbius, Modred and Jinx was throwing off his mystic senses. While Modred trained Jinx in the use of spells, Vicki Montesi found herself sick at Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, where Ghost Rider continued to insist that Morbius' team being made aware of the traitor in their ranks despite Strange's protests that if they moved from the Sanctum, they risked being attacked by Zarathos and the Lilin once more. Ghost Rider eventually resigned himself to hoping that the clue he had left would help. At the lab, Prof. Hastings noticed an impression of Ghost Rider's chain on the lab floor and found a piece of paper containing Morbius' name. She then deduced that Morbius must not be himself, given that his status as a scientific vampire would not be throwing off Blade's senses, but before she could act on her realization, she was attacked by Morbius. The Lilin Meatmarket then burst through the lab floor, forcing Blade into battle while Frank Drake rushed to tell the others they had been compromised. Drake soon found Prof. Hastings, who mumbled "Mo.." to identify her attacker before dying. Frank assumed she meant Modred while Blade defeated Meatmarket. Hearing the commotion, Modred and Jinx arrived to find Zarathos and the Lilin waiting. His teleportation spell counteracted by Pilgrim, Modred fired an eldritch blast, which Jinx mystically magnified a thousandfold, to fight back the demons. Drake soon joined the fight, accusing Modred of murdering Hastings and prompting Jinx to turn on Modred when he thought his grandmother dead. The two mystics took each other out, leaving Frank Drake alone against the Lilin and Zarathos. Drake was quickly taken down by Morbius as a Drake lost consciousness, he realized Morbius had been the traitor all along instead of Modred.

(Morbius I#16) - Morbius, possessed by the Lilin Bloodthirst, flew towards Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum as Caretaker angrily reminded the Midnight Sons present there of the threat posed by Zarathos and how he needed to get Ghost Rider, Vengeance and Blaze away from the Sanctum to better prepare them for the fight against Zarathos. Their arguments were interrupted when Morbius entered the Sanctum, feigning defeat at the hands of the Lilin and announcing Prof. Hastings' murder. Ghost Rider immediately sensed the innocent blood on Morbius and revealed him as the traitor just as the Lilin attacked the Sanctum Sanctorum. Zarathos and Lilith soon followed, with Zarathos attempting to obtain the Medallion of Power while the remaining Midnight Sons attempted to fight off the Lilin. During the battle, Morbius fought Dr. Strange one-on-one and revealed that he was Bloodthirst controlling Morbius' form. Containing Morbius within a mystic shield, Strange helped Morbius regain his own form from Bloodthirst before being psychically assaulted. Morbius returned to battle against the Lilin but the Nightstalkers refused to trust him. When offered Frank Drake to feed on, Morbius, fighting against Bloodthirst's influence, hesitated and was attacked by Blade.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#144) - Blade continued his attack on Morbius while the other Midnight Sons battled the Lilin. He managed to free himself and escape into a lower level of the Sanctum Sanctorum, where two Lilin were about to feed on a human child. When they offered to share their feast, Morbius revealed his true allegiances and fought against the two Lilin to save the child. His cover within the Lilin blow, Morbius decided that he must prove to the other Midnight Sons that he was now one of them again.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#144/2) - Returning to the fold, Morbius was attacked by Ghost Rider, who demanded vengeance for Morbius' treachery. The two fought furiously while Zarathos and Lilith escaped with Pilgrim's teleportational aid. Modred and Jinx also teleported away as Ghost Rider attempted to strangle Morbius. When Morbius proved unable to explain himself due to the throat injuries suffered at Ghost Rider's hands, he chose to prove himself by not fighting back. Soon noticing Morbius' refusal to fight, Ghost Rider used his Penance Stare on Morbius and learned the truth of his possession by Bloodthirst and the regaining of his mind. Distracted by the memories flooding his mind due to the Penance Stare, Ghost Rider was forced down when the Lilin Parasite, posing as Martine Bancroft, attacked him. Realizing Morbius was helping him, Ghost Rider took down "Martine," only to then turned toward Morbius to find his gone.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#60 (fb) - BTS) - Doctor Strange returned to the battle and mystically sealed the Lilin out of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#60) - When the Lilin Scatter found a way inside, Dr. Strange warned the Midnight Sons to stay away from it, as the Lilin could scatter the thoughts of others. Scatter's presence caused Vicki Montesi to start rambling about Chthon and Sam Buchanan started blasting with his gun. Annoyed that Sam Buchanan was creating holes for Lilin to enter the Sanctum, Strange cast a sleep spell on Montesi then sent both Vicki and Sam through a portal to safety so that he could prevent Lilith's access to the Sanctum. He then began casting a spell to freeze time but soon realized that something was trying to access the world through him and his spell backfired, causing many of the Midnight Sons to relive their own horrible pasts. With the Midnight Sons incapacitated by Strange's spell, the Lilin Sister Nil appeared inside the Sanctum and Strange, while still frozen in his own spell, psychically contacted Morbius, hoping that the Lilin in his bloodstream might protect him from the time spell and allow him to see Sister Nil. After Sister Nil killed Wong's love Imei, Morbius managed to make his way into the Sanctum and take down Sister Nil. Strange then sent his servant Wong away for his own safety. The Sanctum Sanctorum was shortly destroyed, leaving the Midnight Sons surrounded by Lilin.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#17) -  As the Lilin rushed to take down the Midnight Sons, Caretaker found a door and used it to open a portal to the Blood's Nightclub. Once in the Nightclub, the Midnight Sons all agreed that they could not be safe from the Lilin anywhere and they decided to take the offensive against Lilith and her spawn. Caretaker quickly reminded them that they would have to take out Zarathos first but he also revealed that he had no faith that Ghost Rider, Vengeance and John Blaze could take down Zarathos. When Ghost Rider commented that Caretaker could show them how to properly use the Medallion of Power, Caretaker refused to help, claiming that they would only succeed in giving the Medallion right to Zarathos. When Blaze tried to comment that they could use the Medallion with Caretaker's help, Caretaker angrily swatted Blaze aside, prompting Vengeance to attack Caretaker, tired of his lessons. Ghost Rider then helped Vengeance and Blaze restrain Caretaker. Blaze then asked Caretaker to see what they could do when they worked together and Caretaker replied that he was not Zarathos. The Midnight Sons then decided to confront Zarathos with or without Caretaker's help, leaving Caretaker behind to drink to the end of the world. As they left, Caretaker grumbled that it seemed like a good idea before departing as well, monologuing that the mist could take them all. Teleporting away, Caretaker did not notice the mist seeping into the Nightclub. Making their way to Cypress Hills Cemetary, Ghost Rider and Blaze took down both Pilgrim and Nakota before being confronted by Blackout and Outcast. The other Midnight Sons arrived soon after, holding off the Lilin while Ghost Rider, Vengeance and Blaze ventured further inside to confront Zarathos. The three Spirits of Vengeance then combined their fragments of the Medallion of Power as Zarathos, sensing their arrival, appeared to battle the three heroes. Zarathos defeated the three but before he could obtain the Medallion, Morbius grabbed it and hurled it back to Ghost Rider, where it was caught by Caretaker. Caretaker then showed the three how to unlock the Medallion's power, which they used to attack Zarathos. During the attack, Caretaker realized the rift posed a more immediate threat and had the three focus their attack on sealing the rift. Using the Medallion, Ghost Rider, Blaze and Vengeance sealed Lilith and the Lilin within their Shadowside dimension, shattering the Medallion in the process. Dr. Strange then sealed the Shadowside dimension from Earth and informed Caretaker that he sensed a disturbance in the rift shortly before it was closed. Caretaker ordered the Midnight Sons to get back to Seer and tell her the Fallen had returned. As Caretaker was taken by the Fallen and the Midnight Sons retreated back to the Nightclub, Zarathos recalled his full memories.

(Nightstalkers I#15) - The Nightstalkers were pulled from battling the remaining Lilin Blackout by Dr. Strange, who informed them that the danger was not yet over. Strange revealed to them that the Fallen had arisen with the Lilin's banishment and despite the situation, the Nightstalkers refused to help, feeling that they would not do any good. Before Strange could reveal to the other Midnight Sons any additional information on the Fallen, Zarathos and the Fallen arrived and downed all of the Midnight Sons present, intending to use their torment as nourishment. Hearing the commotion from a short distance away, the Nightstalkers returned in time to witness Zarathos telling the Fallen to let the other Midnight Sons live to suffer. Hannibal King turned to miss and followed Zarathos, seeing him blast into the tunnels beneath Cypress Hills Cemetary, and reported back to the other Nightstalkers. The trio decided against reinforcements and ventured into the Cypress Hills Cemetary, where they were quickly spotted by Zarathos. While Frank Drake and Blade dealt with the Fallen members that Zarathos sent after them, Hannibal King snuck into Caretaker's chamber when Zarathos was distracted and prepared to free him. Caretaker instead gave Hannibal information and opted to stay captured in order to buy time for the Midnight Sons to put a plan together for Zaratho's defeat. Hannibal then left to retrieve his teammates, finding only Blade after Frank Drake overloaded his Exorcism Gun against the Fallen to allow Blade's escape. Back on the surface, Blade insisted on going back for Drake, ordering Hannibal King to regroup with the other Midnight Sons while he went back into the catacombs for Drake.

(Darkhold I#16 (fb) - BTS) - The Darkhold Redeemers regrouped together but found that Lilith and the Lilin had been defeated.

(Ghost Rider III#45) - Ghost Rider went back to New York to check on Stacy Dolan before bringing Stacy to the Blood's Nightclub for a meeting with John Blaze, Vengeance and Seer, who was annoyed that Ghost Rider had ventured off on his own and returned with Stacy. Their meeting was interrupted when Hannibal King arrived. Explaining how he and the Nightstalkers had tried to save Caretaker, King revealed that Caretaker had given him information but then began transforming into a monstrous form and exclaiming that his brain was on fire. Recognizing Hannibal King's malady, Seer managed to exclaim that Caretaker had psychically implanted the information in King's brain before King hit Seer with a psychic blast, transferring the information into Seer's mind. Seer quickly revealed the information, that the Fallen were actually Blood members who had converted to Zarathos' cause and that they planned to convert the other Blood members, to the other Midnight Sons. Seer then split up the groups, suggesting that she, Ghost Rider and Vengeance find the oldest Blood member, Patriarch, in hopes of getting his aid against the Fallen, while Blaze and Stacy remained at the Nightclub in case Dr. Strange or any other Midnight Sons return. As the heroes left, Blaze reassured Stacy Dolan that Ghost Rider would be ok and Stacy questioned why she would care so much. Arriving shortly after in Scotland, Ghost Rider, Vengeance and Seer found Patriarch under attack by the Fallen. Ghost Rider and Vengeance aided Patriarch in defeating the Fallen attacking him as Blaze and Stacy spoke about Ghost Rider. Despite Ghost Rider and Vengeance's rescue, Patriarch refused their help against the Fallen's threat and ordered the heroes to leave his castle. Once they had left, Patriarch teleported away and swore allegiance to Zarathos.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145/4) - Frank Drake regained consciousness inside the Cypress Hills Cemetary catacombs with a broken leg and salvaged what he could of Linda, his Exorcism Gun. Making his way through the catacombs, his presence was sensed by the ancient Dust beings, who emerged from the dirt walls of the catacombs. Threatened by their cries of "flesh!," Drake released a burst of energy from his eyepiece, prompting the Dust into an attack. Doing his best to fight back despite his injuries, Frank Drake was saved when Blade found him. Blade explained that Hannibal King had went to find the other Midnight Sons and that it was just him and Drake to fight off the Dust.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145/3) - While Patriarch informed the other Fallen of Zarathos' plans to convert all Blood members into Fallen, mentioning that the greatest risks would be the Blood members Raydar and Truthsayer, Ghost Rider and Stacy Dolan discussed Dolan's safety inside the Blood's Nightclub before the undead Speakeasy emerged from one of the Nightclub's portals, ranting about death. Noticing Speakeasy's increased strength since their last meeting, Ghost Rider told Stacy to get to safety as he battled Speakeasy. Stacy managed to put several bullets into Speakeasy and Ghost Rider soon subjected Speakeasy to the Penance Stare, which silenced the screams of the dead that were driving him mad. A calmed Speakeasy then informed Ghost Rider that Caretaker had psychically contacted him to inform the Midnight Sons that the Fallen were targeting the Blood members Raydar and Truthsayer. Once the message had been delivered by Speakeasy, Caretaker's mind returned to normal and he thought how he almost didn't make it back and the Midnight Sons would now be on their own with the information he had provided. 

(Darkhold I#16 (fb) - BTS) - The Darkhold Redeemers learned about Zarathos' plan to convert the remaining Blood members into his Fallen servants. Like the other Midnight Sons, they were assigned a Blood member to protect.

(Darkhold I#16) - The Darkhold Redeemers arrived in a Central American jungle in search of the Blood member they were sent to protect: Truthsayer. After being told that Truthsayer was a madwoman by a supposed local, the Redeemers found Truthsayer's home after noticing the mystic patterns mowed into the grass. Truthsayer quickly announced that she could not help them and accused Modred the Mystic of being deceitful, warning him that the thing he suspected was true. Satisfied with her reply, Modred left her home but Vicki Montesi persisted, explaining the threat of the Fallen, but Truthsayer still insisted that she could not help. Outside, Modred worried that he would soon lose his right mind before he was attacked by what seemed to be Truthsayer's dog Orion. The other Darkhold Redeemers emerged from Truthsayer's home to find Modred battling what appeared to be Zarathos himself but Truthsayer revealed that "Zarathos" was actually the Fallen Metarchus. Modred forced Metarchus to flee in the form of an insect before he transformed into a black mamba snake to attack Truthsayer, who easily saw through his guise. Truthsayer forced Metarchus back outside, where Metarchus adopted Vicki Montesi's form before changing to Modred's form to battle Modred once more. Modred took Metarchus down with mystic lightning. During the battle, Vicki managed to convince Truthsayer to tell her the truths she was hiding and Truthsayer sung, gifting everyone on the globe with clarity. While Vicki's mind began piecing together hints given to her earlier about her true nature, Metarchus saw a vision of Zarathos killing the Fallen and, refusing to believe the vision, incinerated Truthsayer before transforming into a bird and flying away. Having failed to protect Truthsayer, the Darkhold Redeemers also decided to leave the scene and they traveled to Los Angeles to have a funeral for Prof. Louise Hastings. They then told Jinx that he would be placed in Vittorio Montesi's care and Modred said goodbye to his apprentice, warning that when they next met, it might not be as allies. Modred was shortly after met by the Darkhold Dwarf, who informed Modred that Vicki was not Vittorio's biological daughter and that Chthon had arrived on Earth.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145 (fb) - BTS) - Morbius was assigned to locate the Blood member named James Raydar.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145) - Hannibal King secretly waited in mist form as Morbius arrived in the Blood's Nightclub and then departed on his mission to locate James Raydar. Morbius soon located a Lilin child and paused when she asked if he was going to kill her. Having followed Morbius, Hannibal King revealed himself and reminded Morbius that all Lilin had to be destroyed. Morbius then flew off and attempted to save the Lilin child's life but she died of unrelated injuries. Morbius then held Hannibal against a wall and reminded him that they were there to protect innocent lives. Hannibal admitted that he had only been able to see the black and white in what was left of reality but Morbius reminded him that Lilin have gray areas just like they did. Morbius then continued, reminding King that they were not as murderous as Zarathos' followers appeared to be and commented that King should have voiced his concerns about Morbius rather than sneaking around. Hannibal then apologized and offered to accompany Morbius in locating James Raydar.

(Marvel Comics Present  I#145/2 (fb) - BTS) - Vicki Montesi returned to the ruins of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum and found an envelope containing the final letter written by her former teammate, Prof. Louise Hastings.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145/2) - After learning from the letter that she was the daughter of the demon Chthon due to her father using a Darkhold page to sire an heir, Vicki Montesi attempted to commit suicide using Sam Buchanan's gun. Sam eventually managed to bust into her room and found that she had thrown off her own aim at the last minute, unable to go through with the act. Vicki then told Sam that it didn't matter, as she was pregnant with a resurrected Chthon. She then begged Sam Buchanan to kill her. When he found that he could not kill her, N'Garai demons attacked the duo, with Vicki deducing that they sought to make her one of their own now that she was carrying their master. The demons continued their attack, forcing Sam and Vicki to board themselves in an upstairs room. When the demons came through the floor, Dr. Strange appeared and asked what was going on.

(Morbius I#17) - Morbius and Hannibal King continued their search for James Raydar, discussing King's mistrust of Morbius and their shared vampirism. During the search, Morbius's hunger grew and he had to stop to search for deserving victim. While Morbius fed on a group of muggers, unaware that the Lilin Parasite was following him, Embyrre and Rubach of the Fallen questioned New Yorkers about the location of James Raydar. Morbius and Hannibal King eventually located Raydar at a guard post but Raydar attacked, thinking the duo were agents of Zarathos. Morbius and King managed to tell Raydar that they had been sent by Caretaker and Raydar confirmed their story when he sensed the Fallen approaching soon. Moments later, Embyrre attacked and tried to convince Raydar to join her but he refused and Morbius and King came to his defense. Parasite soon revealed himself and, after furiously battling Morbius as "Martine Bancroft," emerged from Bancroft's corpse. Surprised that Morbius would be willing to sacrifice all he held dear in "Bancroft," Embyrre turned on the Lilin, blasting Parasite and saving Morbius. Morbius soon learned that the true Martine still lived after Parasite was defeated and Embyrre turned on the Fallen, siding with her father Raydar and the Midnight Sons. As Morbius reunited with Martine and Embyrre reunited with Raydar, Hannibal King reminded them all that a battle was still going on and that they needed to get back.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#146) - Ghost Rider and Seer teleported into Cypress Hills Cemetary, where they seemingly found the nearly-dead Caretaker. Informing him that Truthsayer had been killed but that Raydar and Embyrre had joined the Midnight Sons' cause, Ghost Rider had Seer teleport them back to the Blood's Nightclub. Once inside, "Caretaker" revealed himself as the shape-shifting Metarchus and tried to kill Embyrre. The Midnight Sons' ally Stacy Dolan began shooting Metarchus, who shrugged off the bullets then shrunk out of sight. He then reappeared behind Stacy Dolan and took her hostage. Ghost Rider grappled one of Metarchus' hands and ordered Embyrre to burn both Metarchus and himself to ensure Metarchus' destruction. Assuming the form of Stacy Dolan, Metarchus startled Ghost Rider into loosing his grip momentarily, allowing Metarchus to escape just as Vengeance, Frank Drake, Blade and John Blaze returned to the Nightclub from their scouting missions. Refusing to face the entire Midnight Sons alone, Metarchus leapt through the dissipating portal, leaving the Midnight Sons with the knowledge that the true Caretaker still lived. Ghost Rider then announced that they would pick up Dr. Strange and the Darkhold Redeemers before mounting a rescue for Caretaker. 

(Marvel Comics Presents I#146/3) - Dr. Strange returned to the Blood's Nightclub to find it seemingly empty aside from a strange-looking bartender. Recognizing the bartender as Nightmare despite the gender swap into a female, Dr. Strange prepared for an attack, only to receive a warning from Nightmare, who admitted that he never intended for "her" to go so far. Unsure what Nightmare was talking about, Strange quickly found himself drawn into the Dreamscape and under attack by Salomé. During the attack, Salomé admitted to using Nightmare as a pawn to battle Strange since she was unable to access Earth and Strange demanded that she release Nightmare. Salomé pressed her attack, angry that Strange scorned her, with Nightmare constantly apologizing. Realizing that he was only besieged from within his dream, Strange fought back and Salomé attempted to force Strange to forget their encounter as she had apparently done before but she was interrupted by the Caretaker's psychic contact with Strange. Strange suggested to Caretaker regrouping the Midnight Sons at the ruins of his Sanctum Sanctorum by Caretaker insisted that Strange steer Ghost Rider and John Blaze in the proper directions first. Salomé then retreated as Dr. Strange was woken up by a splash of water from Vicki Montesi. Coming to, Strange expressed concern over an enemy that could force him into the Dreamscape quicker than he could erect proper mystic safeguards but announced that there were bigger problems at present.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#146/4) - Still in the Cypress Hills Cemetary catacombs, Blade and Frank Drake found themselves surrounded by the Dust creatures. Blade managed to fight an opening and ordered Drake to move while they could but Drake reminded Blade of his broken leg and suggested Blade leave him to die. Refusing, Blade admitted he was growing tired of Drake's martyr attitude before a Dust creature's arm emerged from the wall and knocked Blade unconscious. As the Dust surrounded Drake and the unconscious Blade, Drake noticed a mystic sigil on the wall and smashed it, summoning forth the ghostly Saints to drive away the Dust. Drake attempted to disperse the Saints but the Saints insisted that Drake need to fear them, suggesting that, at some point, Drake might become one of their number. A short time later, Frank Drake was woken up by Blade, whose punched jaw had been healed, and Drake found that his broken leg has also been mended. Blade commented that they were the only ones left in the catacombs and Drake looked over to notice that the Saints' sigil had been repaired, commenting that perhaps they were not the only ones present. Blade then revealed that he had notched the doorways on his way into the catacombs and that they could follow his notches to return to the surface. Making their way topside, Blade and Frank Drake were surprised by Hannibal King, who had returned to catacombs to gather them against the Fallen. The three Nightstalkers then reunited and left to continue the fight against the Fallen.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#61) - Salomé emerged on Earth from the same portal that spawned the Fallen, stealing energy meant for Zarathos. While the Fallen suggested letting Salomé be for a time, Dr. Strange and Vicki Montesi returned to the ruined Sanctum Sanctorum, which was covered in ever-growing magical fire. Despite the wreckage, Strange's pre-cast protective Cognitive Spines spell still surrounded the Sanctum with mystic spikes while Strange and Montesi awaited a return from the psychic summons of Caretaker. Vicki soon began experiencing complications from her Chthonic pregnancy and Caretaker managed to answer Strange's psychic call, claiming that he had to make Strange remember. Not recalling what Caretaker was talking about, a confused Dr. Strange was subsequently threatened by Sam Buchanan, who had arrived at the Sanctum pointing a gun at Strange in an effort to protect Vicki Montesi from what Sam considered the "crazy" Strange. Dr. Strange managed to mystically pull the gun from Sam's hands just as Salomé appeared and attacked, restoring Dr. Strange's memory of his past battle with Salomé. The other Midnight Sons arrived at the Sanctum moments after Salomé engaged Strange and Dr. Strange seemingly perished, depriving Salomé of his sorcerous powers and leaving only his Cloak of Levitation floating in the air. Despite Salomé's rants that the Cloak was her property, Vicki touched the Cloak, causing it too to vanish and angering Salomé, who attacked the other Midnight Sons. As the Midnight Sons scattered, Salomé's elemental fire was usurped by a new being called Strange, who emerged and defeated Salomé. Vengeance suggested finishing Salomé off but Ghost Rider reminded him that Zarathos had to come first.

(Spirits of Vengeance I#18) - The Midnight Sons traveled to Cypress Hills Cemetary to confront Zarathos. The group briefly argued against splitting their ranks but a strange dark energy erupted from the mausoleum that prevented all but Ghost Rider, John Blaze and Vengeance from entering the mausoleum. Determined to stop Zarathos on his terms or their own, the three Spirits of Vengeance ventured into the mausoleums, where they found the captive Caretaker and freed him. Caretaker angrily punched John Blaze, exclaiming that they had ran right into a trap. Vengeance and Blaze immediately prepared to battle Zarathos but Caretaker explained that the battle was between only Zarathos and Ghost Rider, reminding Ghost Rider that he must access his long-hidden memories in order to prevail. Stacy Dolan then appeared, having followed them into the mausoleum once the dark energy had faded, and shot Zarathos several times before Ghost Rider told her to return to Caretaker and the others. Ghost Rider then explained that both he and Dan Ketch would think of her before Zarathos began teleporting Ghost Rider and himself away. Refusing to let Ghost Rider possibly die alone, Stacy leapt into the teleportational portal despite Blaze's protests. Blaze immediately ordered Caretaker to follow but Caretaker replied that he was too weak and that they should regroup with the other Midnight Sons. Arriving in Glastonbury, England, Zarathos asked to speak to Ghost Rider personally before Ghost Rider attacked. Ghost Rider had Stacy Dolan take cover in a nearby castle while Zarathos informed Ghost Rider that the Fallen were essentially leading Zarathos into enacting plans that Zarathos had set in motion millennia before. When Zarathos mentioned his new world order, Ghost Rider attacked and was held in place by earth manipulated by Zarathos, who continued his speech about their destinies already being set. Zarathos then asked what Ghost Rider remembered, to which Ghost Rider replied "nothing," causing Zarathos to admit he had hoped for more before destroying Ghost Rider. Before Zarathos could do so, Ghost Rider broke free of his earthy restraints and exclaimed that Zarathos was capable of changing his own destiny. Prepared to fight a battle for the ages, Zarathos fought back, easily besting Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider then recalled what Caretaker said about removing his memories of the new. Seeing Stacy in the castle, Ghost Rider pulled himself open, exposing Zarathos to full power of a Spirit of Vengeance. Unfortunately, Zarathos was barely affected and absorbed Ghost Rider's essence, leaving only Dan Ketch, who soon withered away as well. Stacy Dolan ran out to mourn Dan and Zarathos took Ghost Rider's jacket as a trophy, claiming the battle was over. Caretaker and the Midnight Sons then arrived on the scene, warning Zarathos that the battle had only begun.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited I#4/Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I Annual#4 (fb)) - The Midnight Sons engaged Zarathos and his Fallen, with Morbius, Hannibal King and Frank Drake battling the Fallen Atrocity, Blade and Vengeance battling Metarchus and Strange, Caretaker and John Blaze fighting against Patriarch. Feeling the pain of the injured Fallen, Zarathos grew weary and ordered the Fallen to retreat. Following their retreat, the Midnight Sons noticed undead soldiers that Strange had summoned to fight the Blood. When Strange refused to help them, claiming they had served their purpose, Frank Drake reluctantly agreed to use his Exorcism Gun on them to painfully return them to the afterlife. Caretaker then announced that he would whip up an energy field to transport them all back to the Nightclub. He also insisted that Stacy Dolan and Sam Buchanan not return to the Nightclub and despite their protests, Strange teleported them away. Once Stacy and Sam were gone, Caretaker asked Strange if he had noticed the brands of a dead order. While Zarathos sent his Fallen to recruit others and tortured himself with anxiety, the Midnight Sons grumbled amongst themselves as Caretaker and Strange interrogated the former Fallen Embyrre, determined to use her one-time connection to Zarathos against the demon. As Morbius satiated his hunger, Embyrre admitted that she did not fully notice Zarathos' true motives but recommended they seek out the Blood member Foundry and Raydar suggested his powers could find Foundry. The Midnight Sons then set off for South America as Vicki Montesi and Sam Buchanan shared time together as Jack's Good Time Bar & Grill in New York. Once the Midnight Sons had located Foundry, she shared her story of how she had once sided with Zarathos in an effort to restore her child to life. She also revealed that Zarathos drew negative energy from the Fallen and that the Fallen would need to go down before Zarathos could. To further help the Midnight Sons, Foundry revealed a sword she had created capable of slaying the Fallen but also informed the group that the sword took the blood of a Blood member to temper it. When the Fallen arrived in South America to convert Foundry, John Blaze ordered Strange to take Blaze, Vengeance and himself to target Zarathos while the other Midnight Sons stayed to help defend Foundry. As the battle against the Fallen went badly, Blade and Foundry retreated inside the former temple home of Foundry, where Foundry revealed her sword's name, Justicar, and convinced Blade to wield the sword. Atrocity followed them and Blade was forced to kill Foundry with the blade in order to temper it and activate its mystic enchantments. Blade then used the sword to kill Atrocity and presented Atrocity to the other Fallen. Morbius and Hannibal King took advantage of the Fallen's shock at their teammates' death to feed on Metarchus and as Metarchus begged for mercy, Patriarch attempted to teleport away. Blade disrupted Patriarch's teleportation field with Justicar, allowing Frank Drake and Caretaker to further attack Patriarch. Blade then impaled Metarchus with Justicar, followed by the downed Patriarch. Blaze, Vengeance and Strange then noticed Zarathos' weakness and attacked, only to be easily repelled. Realizing that not all of the Fallen had been killed, Morbius sorrowfully had Caretaker send him back to the Nightclub, where he attempted to kill Embyrre. Raydar refused to allow his daughter to die but also refused to allow her to exist as a servant of Zarathos so he opened a portal to Zarathos and rushed into battle, knowing full well that Zarathos would kill him. When Zarathos did so, he realized that he had killed one of the Blood and found himself weaker from the power loss. Sensing her father's death, Embyrre followed through the portal and sacrificed herself to drain Zarathos' remaining Fallen energy. The other Midnight Sons teleported to the scene shortly after to find Zarathos on the ground. Rushing to destroy Zarathos, the Midnight Sons were repelled by Zarathos, who ranted about how the Fallen weren't his only source of power. Zarathos soon doubled-over in pain once more and Ghost Rider revealed himself,  attacking Zarathos internally after his earlier absorption by Zarathos. Seeing their chance, Vengeance and Blaze held Zarathos and Blade then stabbed Zarathos with Justicar, apparently destroying Zarathos and leaving a bundle of Ghost Rider's belongings on the ground. The battle won, Blaze commented that while Ghost Rider's things were there, neither Ghost Rider nor Dan Ketch were there. Caretaker explained that he had a plan and took the Midnight Sons back to Cypress Hills Cemetary, where they placed Zarathos' corpse atop the mausoleum. The group was then led below the surface, where Caretaker suggested the group mystically bond together as an official, new incarnation of the original, ancient Order of the Midnight Sons. Strange warned that if they accepted the union, they would be bonded together with the only escape from the bond being death. The group discussed the possibility of making their gathering mystically official, with several expressing concerns over whether Strange or Caretaker would be pulling their strings. Caretaker responded by revealing a suit of ancient Order of the Midnight Sons armor cobbled from pieces of various Order members' armors and warning that if they accepted the mystic union, the Order of the Midnight Sons brand would appear on them whenever they were needed together and would painfully burn until they gathered. Despite this warning, Frank Drake immediately wanted to join up but both Strange and Caretaker revealed that the offer to join did not extend to Drake, as he was merely human and had not suffered as much as the other Midnight Sons. Blade at first refused to join unless Frank Drake was allowed to join but Drake assured Blade that the Order's mission was more important and that he would remain as a "probationary" member. The other Midnight Sons then agreed to mystically bond together, with Caretaker extending the invite to Strange and Vengeance as well.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 7 - Midnight Sons entry - BTS) - Despite forming their mystical bond together, the Midnight Sons drifted apart, becoming involved in their own individual affairs.

(Marvel Year-in-Review 1994 - BTS) - After five of the Midnight Sons were presumed dead, Vengeance, Morbius, John Blaze and Blade opted to continue the team's mission to battle supernatural evil.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited I#5) - Morbius and Werewolf were mentally manipulated by Modred the Mystic into battling criminals near Salomé's New York headquarters as Modred trained his newest apprentice Wildpride. Upon seeing them near her home, Salomé watched, commenting to herself how she had kept these Midnight Sons in mind as potential weapons to use against Dr. Strange and thinking Dr. Strange had sent them against her. When the street ruckus was reported, Lt. Michael Badilino noticed the disturbance and transformed into Vengeance to investigate, only to see Morbius and Werewolf mystically whisked from the scene. Before he could make heads or tails of what had happened, Vengeance was also whisked away by Modred, who revealed his manipulations and claimed that he needed them to kill Salomé, commenting that Earth's Sorcerer Supreme should be one of the Midnight Sons. Angry that Modred would consider himself a Midnight Son, Morbius reminded Modred that people died to assemble the Midnight Sons. Modred then transported the Midnight Sons to Cypress Hills Cemetary, where he conjured an image of Strange to lure Salomé to their location. Despite the Midnight Sons not being ready for battle, Salomé appeared and engaged the group, mockingly commenting on her surprise that the Midnight Sons were acting as a cohesive unit. Eventually, the Midnight Sons managed to wear Salomé down and she begged for mercy from Modred, asking for him to give her emotions to feed on. Modred then turned on the Midnight Sons, offering their emotional force in exchange for Salomé's help in killing Dr. Strange. Salomé responded by knocking Modred unconscious and swearing allegiance to no one. She then escaped and without Modred to keep his madness spell going, reality around the Midnight Sons began going wild. While the Midnight Sons escaped back to Cypress Hills Cemetary, Wildpride rescued the unconscious Modred. Once back, Werewolf reverted to human form and asked Morbius what had happened, commenting that he had thought the idea of the Midnight Sons was about building power and trust. Morbius quickly reminded Jack that Modred had never actually been a member of the Midnight Sons and after that night, he never would be.

(Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#66/Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I Annual#4 (fb)) - At Cypress Hills Cemetary, Morbius, Vengeance and Blade met to discuss their recent sightings of Dr. Strange, unaware that Salomé was spying on the Midnight Sons, hoping to find a clue as to the location of the true Dr. Strange. After Salomé had grown bored with their bickering, Morbius took Blade and Vengeance into the Cemetary mausoleum, where he attempted to show them a door he had earlier seen when he met with "Dr. Strange." Blade and Vengeance remained skeptical until their desire to find Dr. Strange caused the mystic portal to open and the Midnight Sons were pulled inside. As Salomé learned of their disappearance, the Midnight Sons were mystically scanned before being deposited in front of the Lilin Sister Nil. Sister Nil then led them to Dr. Strange, who agreed to explain recent events. He then explained the versions of himself that each had recently seen were only magical semblances of him, including their own teammate Strange. Dr. Strange also explained that within the walls of that realm, he was more powerful than ever, proving himself by boosting his Strange aspect. Convinced, Blade announced that some of Dr. Strange's aspects were wrecking havoc on Earth and that they needed Dr. Strange to help against them but Dr. Strange further explained that his power was only heightened within that realm and any attempts to return to Earth would disintegrate him due to the Salomé's presence. Dr. Strange then announced that he had no more time to explain and opened a portal to return the three Midnight Sons to Earth. While Blade and Vengeance angrily threatened Dr. Strange, Morbius asked what the Midnight Sons should do about Salomé and Dr. Strange replied that they should oppose her but stay away from his own aspects.

(Morbius I#29) - Following Morbius' supposed death, Dr. Strange watched from his Sanctum realm as the funeral began, thinking to himself how Morbius had always been a loyal Midnight Son. The funeral was attended by Morbius' fellow Midnight Sons Ghost Rider and Blade, who were both unaware that Morbius had revived. Morbius soon exploded from the ground and told Dr. Jacob Weisenthal that he felt alive. The following day, Morbius' former teammate Sam Buchanan, as well as several other heroes, arrived for the funeral to find Morbius' body missing and unaware that Morbius was not truly dead.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 7 - Midnight Sons entry - BTS) - The Midnight Sons continued to be involved in their own affairs and many of its members suffered through deaths, resurrections and losses of faith. While several of the individual Midnight Sons were still active individually, they had little or no contact with the other former members.

Comments: Created by Howard Mackie, Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert.

I chose to list Ghost Rider III#28, Spirits of Vengeance I#1, Morbius I#1, Darkhold I#1 and Nightstalkers I#1 (the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" storyline) as BTS appearances of the Midnight Sons since they had not all been gathered together as full group during those appearances. Those issues involved Ghost Rider and Blaze attempted to locate the heroes seen in their visions but none accompanied them against Lilith until they were all drawn together by Dr. Strange as an informal group in Ghost Rider III#31. Similarly, I listed the "Road to Vengeance" storyline (Ghost Rider III#41-43 & Spirits of Vengeance I#14-16) as BTS appearances since the Lilin were hunting the Midnight Sons as a whole despite the storyline focusing only on Ghost Rider and Blaze.

While it was difficult to determine exactly where the Midnight Sons appeared on panel using that name since the group was alternately called both the Midnight Sons and the Nine, Nightstalkers I#14 shows the team active and being referenced by Lilith as the Midnight Sons despite the team calling themselves the Nine. I chose that as the group's first full appearance as the Midnight Sons since they were both seen and called the Midnight Sons in that issue, whereas as earlier stories had called them the Midnight Sons without the team being seen on-panel.

Despite Marvel Comics Presents I#144 being cover-labeled as "Siege of Darkness, Part 6" (which is correct), the story titles are listed as "Siege of Darkness, Part 7."

During the heyday of Marvel's Midnight Sons imprint, many of the group's members appeared in solo stories or even partnered with a few other Midnight Sons or even in their own groups such as the Darkhold Redeemers or Nightstalkers. For the sake of this profile, I only focused on appearances that involve them assembled as the larger Midnight Sons group or appearances that mention the Midnight Sons group by name. For example, the Midnight Sons Unlimited title focused on usually individual solo stories involving certain Midnight Sons characters and not on the actual group itself, therefore, I did not list every issue as an appearance of the group even if some of the group's members did appear in the stories. In case where the group did not appear but certain members did and the group was mentioned, I listed the appearances as BTS appearances.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Midnight Sons has no known connections to

• Midnight Sons (Hellstorm, Jennifer Kale, Morbius, Werewolf), ARMOR squad founded by Morbius, sent to track down the Zombie & Deadpool-2149 @ Marvel Zombies 3 I#4
• The Order of the Midnight Sons of the Pre-Atlantean era, group of powered individuals banded to fight against supernatural evil, inspiration for this team @ Midnight Sons Unlimited I#4
• or any other "Midnight" or "Sons" groups
  

images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider III#31, p10, pan1 (Midnight Sons, main image)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#59, p22, splash page (Midnight Sons battling Lilith, Centurious & Zarathos)
Amazing Spider-Man II#699.1, p18-19, pan3 (Midnight Sons fighting together)
Nightstalkers I#14, p19, pan4 (The Midnight Sons splitting up to go after Lilith)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#61, p9, pan2 (The Midnight Sons arriving at the Sanctum Sanctorum)
Midnight Sons Unlimited I#4, p44, splash page (The Midnight Sons with allies Strange, Vengeance and Caretaker)

Appearances:
Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#1 (August, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (art), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Morbius I#1 (September, 1992) - Len Kaminski (writer), Ron Wagner (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold I#1 (October, 1992) - Christian Cooper (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers I#1 (November, 1992) - D. G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#31 (November, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers I#7 (May, 1993) - D. G. Chichester (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Hildy Mesnick (editor)
Morbius I#10 (June, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer, colors), Ron Wagner (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers I#8 (June, 1993) - "Chilling" D. G. Chichester (writer), "Gargoyle" Ron Garney (pencils), "Putrefying" Tom Palmer (finishes), "Malevolent" Hildy Mesnick (editor)
Nightstalkers I#10 (August, 1993) - D. G. Chichester (writer), Kirk Van Wormer (pencils), Mark Badger (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Secret Defenders I#6 (August, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Andre Coates (pencils), Don Hudson (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Ghost Rider III#40 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold I#11 (August, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius I#12 (August, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer, colors), Ron Wagner (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#13 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert, Dan Green, Klaus Janson, Frank Spinks (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#41 (September, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#14 (September, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Manley (pencils), Tom Palmer, Jeff Albrecht, Ralph Cabrera, Tim Tuohy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#42 (October, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#15 (October, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Manley (breakdowns), Tom Palmer (finishes), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#43 (November, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#16 (November, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#59 (November, 1993) - Geof Isherwood (writer, breakdowns), Sandu Florea (finishes), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Nightstalkers I#14 (December, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Ghost Rider III#44 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#143 (Early December, 1993) - "Siege of Darkness, Part 3: Treachery" story - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (layouts), Fred Harper (finishes), Richard Ashford (editor)
Darkhold I#15 (December, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (breakdowns), Bob Downs (finishes), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius I#16 (December, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer, colors), Isaac Cordova (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#144 (Late December, 1993) - "Siege of Darkness, Part 7: Like Family, Like Enemy" story - Greg Wright (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 7: Treachery Redeemed" story - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (breakdowns), Fred Harper (finishes), Richard Ashford (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#60 (December, 1993) - David Quinn (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#17 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Nightstalkers I#15 (January, 1994) - Steve Grant (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Ghost Rider III#45 (January, 1994) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#145 (Early January, 1994) - "Siege of Darkness, Part 11: Casualties of War, Part 2 of 2" story - Greg Wright (writer), M. C. Wyman (pencils), Malcolm Jones III (inks), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 11: White Letter" story - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (layouts), Rey Garcia (finishes), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 11: Speakeasy" story - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (breakdowns), Fred Harper (finishes), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 11: Dust, Part 1 of 2" story - Steven Grant (writer), Lawrence Brown (art), Richard Ashford (editor)
Darkhold I#16 (January, 1994) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs, Mike Esposito (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius I#17 (January, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer, colors), Isaac Cordova (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#146 (Late January, 1994) - "Siege of Darkness, Part 14: Mask" story - Chris Cooper (writer), Reggie Jones (breakdowns), Fred Harper (finishes), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 14: Salomé's Dream" story - David Quinn (writer), Geoff Isherwood (art), Richard Ashford (editor); "Siege of Darkness, Part 14: Dust, Part 2 of 2" story - Steven Grant (writer), Lawrence Brown (art), Richard Ashford (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#61 (January, 1994) - David Quinn (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#18 (January, 1994) - Howard Mackie (writer), Henry Martinez (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited I#4 (January, 1994) - D.G. Chichester (writer), John Hixson, John Bridges (pencils), Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin, Scott Koblish (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited I#5 (April, 1994) - "The Beguiling" story - David Quinn (writer), John Hixson, Mark Tenney (pencils), Scott Koblish, Andrew Pepoy, Rich Rankin (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I#66 (June, 1994) - David Quinn (writer), John Hixson (pencils), Fred Harper (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme I Annual#4 (1994) - "Strangers Among Us, the Final Curtain: Salomé's Children" story - David Quinn (writer), Kyle Hotz (art), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Marvel Year-in-Review 1994 (December, 1994) - Midnight Sons section - Barry Dutter, Bruce Costa, Steve Saffel (writers), Various (art), Mariano Nicieza (editor)
Morbius I#29 (January, 1995) - Lisa Trusiani (writer), Craig Gilmore (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 7 (2009) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, David Wiltfong, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera, Chad Anderson, Chris Biggs, Eric J. Moreels, Mark O'English, Al Sjoerdsma, Jacob Rougemont, Gabriel Shechter, Markus Ettlinger, Jeph York, Rich Green, Andrew Golentz, Anthony Flamini, Jonathan Couper-Smartt, Eric Englehard, Bill Lentz, Barry Reese (writers), John Bridges (Midnight Sons main image art), Jeff Youngquist, Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Amazing Spider-Man II#699.1 (February, 2013) - Joe Keatinge, Dan Slott (writers), Valentine Delandro, Marco Checchetto (art), Stephen Wacker (editor)

First Posted: 08/27/2015
Last updated: 08/27/2015

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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