The sun sets on Season 0 of Marvel Rivals, and a new dawn breaks with Season 1: Eternal Night Falls. This three-month season spotlights the Fantastic Four, with Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman playable in the first half, followed by the Human Torch and the Thing. The season introduces the Midnight Features event, the Eternal Night Fall Battle Pass, three new Empire of Eternal Night maps (Sanctum Sanctorum, Midtown, and Central Park), and a new game mode: Doom Match, launching January 10.
Eternal Night Descends Upon New York
Season 1’s narrative plunges New York City into an eternal night. A Timestream Entanglement traps Doctor Strange, scattering the pages of the Darkhold. Dracula and Doctor Doom seize this opportunity, manipulating the moon’s orbit to cloak the city in darkness and unleash an army of vampires. The Fantastic Four, alongside other Marvel heroes, must combine science and magic to combat this mystical threat. As explained by Creative Director Guangguang in Dev Vision Vol. 03, Dracula has harnessed the power of Chronovium, plunging the Present Timeline’s New York under his control. The curse of Eternal Night and the chaotic influence of the Darkhold present a formidable challenge.
This storyline draws inspiration from the 2024 Blood Hunt comic event, a precursor to the 2025 mega-event One World Under Doom. Penned by Jed MacKay (Avengers, X-Men) with art by Pepe Larraz (Black Cat), Blood Hunt saw Blade, the Daywalker, utilize the Darkforce Dimension to eclipse the sun, shrouding the Marvel Universe in perpetual darkness.
Blade’s Blood Hunt and the Rise of Vampire Doctor Strange
Blade’s actions in Blood Hunt were drastic. He transformed Doctor Strange and Spider-Man into vampires, his Bloodcoven overthrew the Avengers, and even Black Panther succumbed to the vampire curse. Meanwhile, Blade’s daughter, Bloodline, allied with the remaining Avengers and Vlad Dracula himself, the Lord of Vampires ruling from the vampire nation of Vampyrsk. Within the Sanctum Sanctorum, Dracula revealed to Bloodline that her vampire-hunting father was the architect of the global darkness and the vampire plague. Blade then dispatched his Bloodcoven to hunt down his daughter, believing only she possessed the power to defeat him.
The source of Blade’s malevolent actions was eventually revealed: he was possessed by Varnae, the first vampire. Varnae orchestrated the relocation of the ancient Atlantean Temple of the First Blasphemy to Central Park. Seeking a solution, Doctor Strange’s astral form journeyed to Latveria, discovering that only Doctor Doom held the power to banish the Darkforce—but at the cost of Strange relinquishing his title and powers as Sorcerer Supreme to Doom.
The Fantastic Four and Doom’s Intervention
Concurrently, in Fantastic Four #21-22 (by Ryan North and Ivan Fiorelli), Reed Richards discovered his elastic skin was impervious to vampire bites. While Reed searched for a cure, he acknowledged the limitations of science against a magical blood curse. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fantastic Four defended against a vampire onslaught in Arizona, awaiting the sun’s return. To their astonishment, it was Victor von Doom, Reed’s nemesis, who ultimately dispelled the darkness.
Possessed by Varnae, Blade intended to use the living Darkhold in a ritual at the Temple of the First Blasphemy to transform himself into the Unliving Darkforce, threatening all existence. However, as revealed in Blood Hunt #5, Doom, now Sorcerer Supreme, performed his own ritual, repelling the Darkforce and restoring sunlight. This created an opportunity for Bloodline and the vampire Miles Morales to strike the final blow, freeing Blade from Varnae’s control. With the darkness banished, Doom declared himself Earth’s superior Sorcerer Supreme.
