Midnight Sons Unlimited #4

History

The issue was written by D.G. Chichester, the regular scripter for the Nightstalkers series and a key architect of the Midnight Sons crossover structure, with interior pencils split between John Hixson and John Bridges, inked by Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin, and Scott Koblish, and colored by Mike Worley. Editorial duties fell to Evan Skolnick, who oversaw much of the Midnight Sons Unlimited anthology run under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco; group editorial on the broader imprint was managed by Bobbie Chase. The painted cover — produced entirely by Tristan Schane — was finished with a special spot varnish treatment, a production flourish common to key installments of the Midnight Sons line. Released to shops on November 30, 1993 with a January 1994 cover date, it shipped alongside the other concluding chapters of 'Siege of Darkness,' which had been advertised with an eight-page insert distributed across Marvel's titles in the preceding months.

Trivia · 8 facts

• This issue is Part 17 of 17 of the 'Siege of Darkness' crossover — the conclusion of the Midnight Sons' final and largest event, spanning roughly two consecutive issues each of Ghost Rider, Spirits of Vengeance, Nightstalkers, Darkhold, Morbius, Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, and four issues of Marvel Comics Presents.
• The main story, titled 'Moral Courage,' is written by D.G. Chichester with interior art by John Hixson and John Bridges (inked by Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin, and Scott Koblish); the painted cover is by Tristan Schane, produced with special spot varnish.
• Characters appearing include Blade, Morbius, Doctor Strange, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch (Ghost Rider — present only as a spiritual essence), Hannibal King, Frank Drake, Vengeance (Michael Badilino), Zarathos, Lilith, and The Fallen, making it one of the most expansive ensemble appearances in the Midnight Sons anthology.
• Key plot developments: the remaining Midnight Sons battle The Fallen, travel to South America in search of the Fallen member Foundry, Blade receives a supernaturally empowered sword from Foundry, and it is revealed that Lilith has survived and is carrying Zarathos's child — a story thread left for subsequent titles to explore.
• The issue was edited by Evan Skolnick under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, with Bobbie Chase serving as group editor over the broader Midnight Sons imprint.
• Both a Direct Edition and a Newsstand Edition were published; the two variants are distinguished in the Grand Comics Database and have been separately tracked by collectors.
• The Midnight Sons Unlimited series, which housed this issue, ran quarterly from April 1993 to May 1995 across nine issues, functioning as an anthology that spotlighted characters from Ghost Rider, Spirits of Vengeance, Darkhold, Morbius, and Nightstalkers.
• The story received its first mainstream collected reprint in the Marvel Epic Collection: Ghost Rider — Danny Ketch Vol. 6: Siege of Darkness (2025), which gathered all seventeen parts of 'Siege of Darkness' together for the first time; the collection was described by Marvel as containing 'adventures that have never before been reprinted.'

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Variants (1)