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Doctor Mid-Nite (sometimes spelled Dr. Mid-Nite) is a fictional comic book superhero owned by DC Comics. There have been three (if you disregard spelling) versions of the character.
The Golden Age Doctor Mid-Nite
Dr, Charles McNider has the distinction of being comic book's first blind superhero. He was a medical physician, a research scientist, and a surgeon who distinguished himself from his peers by being particularly dedicated to benefiting humanity. He was willing to interrupt his evening of research when a police officer asked him to save the life of a material witness needed to put away the local mob boss, "Killer" Maroni. While working on the poor witness, another attempt is made on his life. One of the mobsters throws a grenade in the window. The witness dies, and McNider is blinded for life.
This gives McNider a real hatred for gangsters, and he wishes that he could be the one to really strike a blow against them. With the help of his nurse, he continues his research, though struggled to accept that he would never operate again, or take a personal hand in destroying the criminals that robbed him of his sight. Though blind, he continues his exercise regimen and continues to develop his boxing skills, and takes to dictating and publishing anti-crime editorials.
He is sitting in the dark and wishing he could do more, when an owl flys in his window. In shock and surprise he is inspired to take off his bandages, and finds that he can see, though only in the dark. He develops a special infra-red visor that allows him to see in the light, and employs special “Black-Out Bombs” to create a cover of darkness in which only he can see, and becomes the crime fighter Doctor Mid-Nite. He would help put away "Killer" Maroni, with a series of daring stunts, not the least of which was to save another witness by operating on him in total darkness.
He takes to leaving a calling card with the symbol of an owl and a crescent moon. He also trains the owl, now named “Hooty”, as a kind of “sidekick”. He is a founding member of the Golden Age superhero team, the Justice Society of America. Decades later, he is killed by the villain Extant during the limited crossover series, Zero Hour (1994).
Doctor Midnight
There was a hero who tried to continue the Doctor Mid-Nite legacy, though she chose to spell the name differently. After McNider’s death, his student and medical protégé Dr. Beth Chapel was blinded by an oxygen explosion in her hospital. Discovering that, she too, could see in the dark, she tried to fill her late mentor’s shoes with some new equipment as Doctor Midnight. She was inspired by, and became good friends with, Rick Tyler, the son and inheritor of the identity of the original Hourman. They were both members of a superhero team called Infinity Inc. Her career was short-lived, as she was soon killed in a battle with the villain Eclipso.
The original Dr. Mid-Nite in action.
The Modern Age Doctor Mid-Nite
Currently unlicensed yet the possessor of a medical degree and a high degree of surgical talent, Doctor Mid-Nite operates as both a superhero and resident medical physician of the Justice Society of America. His wealth and resources, genius level intelligence, and his wide knowledge of the biological and physical sciences have made him an invaluable member of the Modern Age superhero team.
In addition to his ability to see in the dark, Mid-Nite employs his “Black Out Bombs” (sometimes referred to as a "Black Light Bomb"), which simulate darkness by emitting a swiftly expanding gas compound that condenses into an inky mist which blocks light from the area it hits. This technique, borrowed from the original goldern age hero, gives him the advantage of an environment that only he can see in.
He used his medical knowledge to develop a rapid injection system for a variety of drugs that either non-violently knock out or paralyze his opponents or induces them to reveal secret information like an effective truth serum. He also uses his expertise in anatomy to target sensitive nerve clusters, and uses this technique to defeat opponents that are far stronger than he is.
The doctor also employs a trained attack owl named Charlie as a “sidekick”. Charlie sometimes carries a camera whose pictures feed into Mid-Nite’s special goggles, giving him a unique bird’s eye view. Charlie has also been known to drop an explosive device, like a dive-bomber. These unusual techniques and his network of motley agents of the night make him an effective detective as well.
Doctor Mid-Nite is an ingenious technological inventor. His surgical training has prepared him, not only to be an excellent lock pick, but adept at miniaturization of mechanical devices. He is constantly tinkering, "adding gadgets to his arsenal of darkness" that he conceals in his costume and on his person. Recently, he has taken to throwing sharp metal crescent moons, a variation on the ninja star. His access to wealth allows him to indulge in various crime fighting transportation devices, like a plane, a boat, and an underwater one-man sub, all specifically made to order by the good doctor.
Doctor Mid-Nite speaks in endless medical metaphors. When he investigates a crime he referrs to it as "running tests," going under-cover is "exploratory surgery", a more direct confrontation at a criminal's lair is a "house call". When challenged by a powerful villain to "come out of the shadows and fight", Doctor Mid-Nite steps into view and calmly states, "The doctor will see you now."
He never hesitates to give out free medical advice to friends and foes alike. Once, after rescuing a child from a mugger who assaults her on the way home from the grocery store, he refers to the contents of her grocery bag, and cheerfully lectures the mother on the importance of good nutrition. This is more clever than it at first appears, as it serves to reassure her that this dark cloaked masked man is a friend. Administering a forced injection of a chemical to render a criminal unconscious, he admonishes him, "Relax, friend. Stress is bad for your health."
Doctor Mid-Nite continues to administer his unique “prescription” to crime and social ills, in his never ending quest “to cure the world, one night as a time”.
The New Doctor Mid-Nite premiered in his own three issue limited series.
Character Origin
Pieter Cross, a young prodigy, graduates from medical school at the age of nineteen. He becomes a gifted surgeon, developing advanced techniques in limb grafting. His inability to work within the system leads to a well-publicized battle over insurance fraud. Details on what happened are never given, but we can infer that Pieter serves as a whistle blower, embarassing some very important people. We do know that part of the fallout is Dr. Cross' loss of his hospital residency.
Dr. Cross goes underground, working outside the realm of the established medical community. He develops interests and expertise related to a wide range of scientific and medical fields, including physics, robotics, molecular chemistry, and infra red astronomy. He lives about an hour outside of Portsmouth City, in a large modernistic mansion situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean. His home is guarded by a security system with an artificial intelligence named “Door”. There he works in his large private lab facility on various experiments, constructions, and technology. He uses his money to fund certain beneficial research projects and practices.
He begins a practice of what he calls “making rounds”. On these late night walks, he begins a routine of providing medical care and otherwise helping the unfortunate and disenfranchised for whom conventional medicine has failed. He works at a clinic in the inner city of Portsmouth, provides condoms to prostitutes, as well as fresh supplies of spikes and gallons of bleach for a needle exchange program. Slowly, he builds up a network of grateful agents with varying talents whom he has benefited and who now support his work. These beneficiaries and helpers give him the name, “The Midnight Doctor”.
While working on preventing the distribution of an illegal mutagenic steroid A39, Cross’s drink is spiked with an overdose of the drug by the dealers just before his driving home. The sudden rush of adrenaline that results causes him to crash his car. He is rescuing other accident survivors when a gas tank explodes, his face receiving the direct force of the blast. When he awakens, he has lost the use of his sight, and unfairly has his medical license revoked for driving under the influence.
His doctors note that he does have “certain optical response to the lower level spectrum”. Weeks later, following the sound of a night owl into the woods, Cross is inspired to take off his bandages and is shocked to discover that he can still see, but only in darkness. He attributes this freakish ability to the mutagenic steroid that was in his blood stream at the time of the explosion. The owl is later adopted and trained to assist the doctor, who names him "Charley" after Dr. Charles McNider, the original Dr. Mid-Nite.
Cross develops a set of goggles with lenses that “focus the broad spectrum of light into his narrow range”. While wearing these goggles, he can see in the broader light spectrum (the light). His newfound handicap, in addition to his newfound ability, has created an opportunity for him to become an ideal “Doctor” who can literally and metaphorically “operate under the true cover of darkness”. Realizing that his sense of social responsibility has always lead to personal attacks on himself, he decides to create a masked identity that will allow him to operate anonymously. He reasons, “No one will connect Pieter Cross, a blind man, with this new nocturnal operative.” Inspired by the deceased 1940s hero, and vowing to uphold his legacy and noble tradition, he becomes the new Doctor Mid-Nite.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
