Midnighter

Last updated

Midnighter
Midnighter - 2016.jpg
Cover of Midnighter and Apollo #4 (2016), drawn by Aco.
Publication information
Publisher Wildstorm (DC Comics)
First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (February 1998)
Created by Warren Ellis
Bryan Hitch
In-story information
Alter egoUnknown
SpeciesHuman with artificial enhancements (Wildstorm universe)
Metahuman (DC universe)
Team affiliations The Authority
Stormwatch
Spyral
Justice League Queer
Partnerships Apollo
Notable aliasesLucas Trent
Abilities
  • Enhanced physical attributes
  • Temporary pain suppression
  • Auxiliary heart
  • Neurotactical wetware
  • Master combatant
  • Multilingualism
  • Stealth
  • Weapon expertise
  • Skilled tactician

Midnighter is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books first published by WildStorm and later DC Comics once it absorbed the former. The character was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch. The character made his first appearance in Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4, titled "A Finer World (Part 1 of 3)" (February 1998). [1] He went on to appear in various Authority books and other series, as well as his own eponymous ongoing series.

Contents

Midnighter is best known as a member of the rogue superhero team the Authority. He and his husband, Apollo, have also been interpreted as a parallel of the Batman/Superman World's Finest partnership. [2]

In an interview for Comic Values Annual (1999), edited by Alex G. Malloy, Warren Ellis described Midnighter as "The Shadow by way of John Woo". Midnighter is rarely seen without his costume and mask. [3] Recurring themes in Midnighter's adventures are his love of violence and killing, as well as comments on his sexuality.

In 2011, DC chose to integrate the characters from the Wildstorm Universe with its mainstream DC Universe setting. Since then, Midnighter has appeared in a solo series, plus the team-up books Midnighter and Apollo , [4] The Authority , and Superman and the Authority. [5] The character has also been featured as part of the supporting cast for the superhero Nightwing, Batman's protégé Dick Grayson, with whom he becomes good friends. Although until 2021 Midnighter and Batman had never met on-panel, the character has become increasingly integrated with the wider Batman supporting cast. [6]

Publication history and fictional character biography

Stormwatch

Warren Ellis created and introduced the character in 1998 in Stormwatch vol. 2 #4, soon after his appointment as writer on the title. The issue introduces Midnighter and Apollo as former Stormwatch agents from a secret black ops team known only to the first Weatherman, Henry Bendix. In the first issue of the arc, collected in trade paperback as A Finer World, Christine Trelane had cracked the files of the recently deposed Bendix and discovered Apollo and Midnighter's existence. The new Weatherman, Jackson King, intercepts them on a mission to seize weapons made in the "Nevada Garden", a bioengineering facility created by the first Engineer. Flashback sequences show Midnighter and Apollo, the sole survivors of their seven-member team's sinister first mission, escaping Bendix and going rogue to spend five years fighting crime on the streets of the US. Midnighter and Apollo initially resist their capture, believing Stormwatch still to be under Bendix's command. On learning of his death, they end their opposition and accept a mission from King to destroy the Nevada Garden. To repay their assistance, Trelane grants Midnighter and Apollo new civilian identities and lives away from Stormwatch. This story arc introduces Midnighter's trademark enhancements, his superpowered healing and ability to anticipate an opponent's moves so quickly as to win any fight, as being the product of bioengineering commissioned by Bendix.

The Authority

Wedding of Midnighter and Apollo from the Transfer of Power graphic novel (2002). Midnighter wedding.jpg
Wedding of Midnighter and Apollo from the Transfer of Power graphic novel (2002).

In 1999 Warren Ellis concluded his run on Stormwatch with the Final Orbit storyline, which saw the team destroyed. Midnighter was one of several Stormwatch characters Ellis retained for his new Wildstorm title, The Authority. In it, Midnighter (along with Apollo) was recruited by Jenny Sparks for a new team, the Authority, under her leadership. The new series picked up themes Ellis had explored in Stormwatch, including the political potential of a team more powerful than world governments and the United Nations.

A formidable fighter with a sardonic attitude, Midnighter epitomised the new team's commitment to fighting for a finer world, including against vested interests and world governments. Midnighter and Apollo's relationship, though hinted in previous issues, was revealed in The Authority #8. Midnighter was the architect of the team's first significant victory, the defeat of autocratic dictator Kaizen Gamorra, which he achieved by dropping the 50-mile-long Carrier onto Gamorra's island base.

During the Transfer of Power storyline, Midnighter was the only Authority member to evade capture when the U.S. government had the team attacked and replaced with manipulable substitutes. Presumed dead, Midnighter had in fact escaped the Carrier with baby Jenny Quantum. He returned to overthrow the puppet team and rescue Apollo from imprisonment and abuse at the hands of their replacements. Shortly thereafter Midnighter and Apollo were married and adopted Jenny.

Midnighter had a central role in Ed Brubaker and Dustin Nguyen's Revolution maxiseries. A visitation, apparently from a future Apollo, convinced Midnighter that he was on the path to becoming a malign dictator. To avoid this fate, Midnighter quit the team, precipitating its break-up, and returned to life fighting solo on the streets. Raised alone by Apollo, Jenny exploited her powers to age herself to young adulthood and reformed the Authority. Having convinced Midnighter to rejoin the team, Jenny discovered he was being manipulated by a dimension-hopping Henry Bendix, hitherto assumed dead. Midnighter fought for Bendix before the Engineer was able to break the mind-control; Midnighter then killed Bendix by ripping out his spine.

Kev

Midnighter featured in the first three of Garth Ennis's Kev miniseries, featuring Kev Hawkins, a former SAS soldier. Kev was introduced in the semi-parody The Authority: Kev, in which he killed Midnighter, Apollo and the rest of the Authority, though the Carrier resurrected them. On their last meeting they took down MI5's Royal Oak project, an attempt to replicate Bendix's experiments. Kev later featured without the Authority in the final book of his series, A Man Called Kev.

Midnighter, Grifter and Midnighter, and World's End (2006-2011)

On 1 November 2006, an ongoing Midnighter solo series began, with an initial creative partnership of Garth Ennis and Chris Sprouse. The book was part of the 2006 "Worldstorm" soft reboot of the Wildstorm universe, which saw several books relaunched, but which faltered when flagship titles The Authority and WildC.A.T.S. suffered serious delays and were cancelled after two and one issues respectively. [7] The series was originally intended as a six-issue miniseries [8] but ran for 20 issues and was cancelled in June 2008.

"I think the Midnighter is very much his own man; his sexuality is just one part of that. Never mind the fact that he doesn't kill people, would Batman do the things we’ve seen the Midnighter do? Batman fights for the status quo, the Midnighter fights to make the world better. Simple as that". [9]

— Garth Ennis on Midnighter being seen as "the gay Batman".

Midnighter idea came when Ennis was having a lunch with other WildStorm people. Beside his A Man Called Kev and Battler Britton vanity projects, Wildstorm editor Scott Dunbier asked Ennis to also do something a bit more commercial in return, so the writer suggested to "go straight for the jugular and give the best character they’ve got his own book", which in his opinion would be Midnighter. Ennis described the character as "utterly lethal and he tells it like it is. He's got a nice dark sense of humor, too". About Midnighter's sexuality, the writer stated that "his sexuality is not a complex issue: he likes screwing men. He likes screwing one man in particular – but that doesn't mean he wants to be around the guy 24/7, hence the solo book". At Midnighter presentation, Ennis said that he could do more than six issues, something that didn't happen, and would try to maintain it as a solo book, without "any major appearances by The Authority in general" ("superteam, yawn"), "Apollo in particular" ("boring blond twat") or crossovers ("They can get someone else in for that"). [9]

Keith Giffen became the ongoing writer for Midnighter's last ten issues after a request from Dunbier, since Giffen previously expressed desire to write The Authority. According to Giffen, the idea was to keep Midnighter's consistency in characterization while adding his own different feel to it. He said Midnighter was an interesting character to him because he "never quite understood his power": "The idea of somebody who faces you down, and two seconds after meeting you, knows how to defeat you? That's kind of intriguing. Just playing around with that will be interesting". The writer expressed similar feelings to Ennis about keeping Midnighter on his own and "pull him back from The Authority", saying that he didn't want "that kind of feel that Midnighter is an extension of The Authority book". Giffen also added that he wished "to keep [writing Midnighter] until they throw me off the book". [10]

The first story arc saw Midnighter attacked and kidnapped by agents of a man named Paulus while passing through the Carrier's teleportation portal. Paulus told Midnighter that he had replaced Midnighter's secondary heart with a remote-detonated bomb, and challenged him on pain of death to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Time-travelling back to the First World War trenches, Midnighter encountered Hitler as a young corporal in the German army, but was apprehended by 'time police' officers from the 95th century before carrying out his mission. In his struggle to escape, he crashed the officers' time machine at the year 1945, shortly before Hitler's expected suicide. Eventually Midnighter allied himself with the police and returned to his own time, where he threatened to erase Paulus from history by killing his kidnapped younger self; he secured Paulus's surrender without having to kill the child. Midnighter then returned to the Carrier, but was apparently just as listless as before, immediately sending himself on another mission in Iraq.

This first arc was followed by four single-issue stories. Midnighter #6 featured an apparent alternate-universe Samurai Midnighter. Midnighter #7, by Brian K. Vaughan and Darick Robertson, explored the way Midnighter's brain processes combat by running the story backwards. Midnighter #8, by Christos Gage and John Paul Leon, dealt with Midnighter's attempts to connect better with humans after a graphic and public battle with the Suicide King.

A second story arc (issues #10–16), under new creative team Keith Giffen and Jon Landry (with ChrisCross pencilling later issues), detailed Midnighter's attempts to rediscover his life before becoming superhuman. Files given to him by Jenny Quantum identified him as Lucas Trent, born 14 July 1967 (making him 40 years old in 2007), a native of Harmony, Indiana. On visiting the town he found it was the hub of a paramilitary patriotic organisation named Anthem, with ambitions to take over the United States and provide the country with the conscience they felt it had lost. While battling Anthem and its superpowered operatives, including Dawn (a reference to the phrase "dawn's early light" in "The Star-Spangled Banner"), and Rosie (patterned after Rosie the Riveter), he discovered that Jenny had falsified the documents she gave him, and that he had never been Trent – but decided to stay on in Harmony nonetheless.

The final Midnighter storyline, again by Giffen, featured a Midnighter imposter attacking the Carrier and the Authority, and Midnighter's, fight to defeat him.

The 2007 mini-series, Grifter & Midnighter, united Grifter, of WildC.A.T.s, with Midnighter. The series was written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Ryan Benjamin and inking by Saleem Crawford. [11]

The 2008 Number of the Beast Wildstorm limited series described the devastation of Earth, and set the scene for a new Authority ongoing series, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, part of the World's End storyline. In this series Midnighter appears as one of the last Authority members still able to act in the ruins of London, now called Unlondon. Separated from Apollo, who is confined to the upper atmosphere by sunlight-blocking fog over the planet's surface, Midnighter helps civilians to reach the ruins of the Carrier, now a stronghold for survivors. Midnighter is able to contact Apollo via balloons which he releases high up in the atmosphere.

Following the resolution of the World's End storyline, the Authority's Carrier is called back to its creators. Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, and the Engineer go with it, but Midnighter remains on Earth to be with Apollo, who needs to be close to the sun.

The New 52: Stormwatch, Grayson and Midnighter (2011-2016)

In the autumn of 2011, DC relaunched its production with 52 new titles, including Stormwatch (written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Miguel Sepulveda). Cornell's Stormwatch #1 debuted a radically new version of the team, which lasted until spring 2013. Featuring longtime DC character Martian Manhunter and a number of new creations, Stormwatch was posited as a modern-day version of DC's Demon Knights, and Midnighter and Apollo were introduced at the start of their careers, unaware of one another's sexualities and their mutual attraction to one another. The first issue depicts the group's attempt at recruiting Midnighter and Apollo. Lucas Trent was presented for the first time as Midnighter's actual name and his costume was redesigned drastically. [12] When Harry Tanner (who at the time was disguised as one of the Shadow Lords) framed Midnighter, he escaped, taking the Projectionist along with him. Eventually, when the team managed to capture him, Harry's ruse was revealed and Midnighter's innocence was proven. After the Engineer, who had been slowly losing her humanity, attacked them, Midnighter managed to escape with Apollo and with the help of his ally Zealot, attacked the base. After Jenny destroyed the base and killed the Engineer, the team mostly disassembled and Midnighter and Apollo realized that they had feelings for one another. For Jim Starlin's run on the title with issue #19, a time travel incident returned Midnighter and Apollo to their original designs and status as long-time lovers, before the New 52's status quo for the characters was restored in the final issue.

During the summer of 2014 he is regularly featured in the comic book series Grayson as he works to stop Spyral in collecting the body parts of a dead villain which endows those who have them the powers of the Justice League.

A portrait that purportedly displays Christopher Marlowe, described by Steve Orlando as a "writer, spy, queer man", and his main inspiration for Midnighter's characterization. Christopher Marlowe.jpg
A portrait that purportedly displays Christopher Marlowe, described by Steve Orlando as a "writer, spy, queer man", and his main inspiration for Midnighter's characterization.

The character began appearing in his own ongoing series titled Midnighter, which began in June 2015 as part of "DC You" and was written by Steve Orlando. In it, Midnighter, having broken up with Apollo, has to come to terms with being newly single, as well as tracking down a thief who stole exotic technology from the God Garden and is openly selling it to different individuals. Amongst the items stolen are files containing the origin of who Midnighter really was before the Gardener abducted and created him, and Lucas Trent is revealed to be a fake name. After teaming up with Spyral agent Dick Grayson to track down Russian vampire thrill-killers, Midnighter accompanies his new boyfriend to the latter's hometown to track down those who attacked his father and encounters the mastermind behind the theft of the God Garden technology – Prometheus.

Midnighter represented both a new path and a return to the character's roots. It re-established his over-the-top acts of graphic violence and focused on his community work with everyday people, a similar scenario to the character's early days in the WildStorm Universe before joining Stormwatch. This Midnighter, however, is considerably younger than his WildStorm counterpart, and desires to have a more social life. According to writer Orlando, he began writing Midnighter after Mark Doyle, Batman's editor, asked if he wanted to "pitch" any character. [13] In an interview with Comic Vine , Orlando described Midnighter as:

...a fighter. That is a big part of where we’re going in this book. People talk about how he’s the "anti-Batman". I think he’s very different. [...] Midnighter doesn’t brood. People think he’s like another mopey vigilante. Really, Midnighter loves his job. It just happens that his job is horrifying. Everybody knows who he is and what he does but he has to really find out how to do anything. [...] Midnighter doesn’t know if he likes bagels. He doesn’t know if he likes going to the movies. He doesn’t know if he likes any of those things because all he’s ever done is fight. He can do that. He’s the best at that but there has to be other things if he’s going to be a real person. [14]

The series had a close relationship with Grayson , a rebooted Dick Grayson solo comic. The characters Midnighter, Dick Grayson and Helena Bertinelli frequently feature in both comic books. Midnighter begins shortly after the end of his relationship with Andrew Pulaski, known as the hero Apollo. This decision, according to Orlando, was made to define Midnighter as a stand-alone character with his own sexual experiences with other people, while slowly building both characters' new interactions. [15] [16] The writer cites Christopher Marlowe, Orlando Cruz, Tab Hunter, John McClane, Emile Griffith, John Woo and Melvin Van Peebles as inspirations for the title character's personality. [17]

DC Rebirth: Midnighter and Apollo (2016-2017)

The character appears again along with his former boyfriend, Apollo for a six-issue miniseries titled Midnighter and Apollo , continuing in the New 52 canon, where the two of them have gotten back together as a couple. Apollo is attacked and his soul trapped in a hell dimension, and Midnighter plans to rescue him. He learns by Extraño where Apollo is trapped. He then goes in search of the Ace of Winchesters, killing a demon called Vodyanar to get one bullet and then going into Hell to take the Ace from the Lords of the Gun.

Midnighter is also referenced in the newly renumbered Detective Comics as a Batman Family ally; it is mentioned that Nightwing reaches out to him to access Door technology. [18] This implies that they have maintained their working relationship and friendship from Grayson and the DCYouMidnighter series.

Infinite Frontier

Following Infinite Frontier , Midnighter is recruited by an ageing Superman with weakening powers into a new incarnation of the Authority in the limited series Superman and the Authority .

Powers and abilities

Midnighter's abilities are presented in the character's first appearance, occurring in Stormwatch (vol. 2 #4). Midnighter is the product of bioengineered enhancements commissioned by the character of Henry Bendix. It is implied (as in the Midnighter solo series (issues #10–16)) that Midnighter was a normal human before enlisting with Stormwatch Black. Several storylines have featured the deactivation, [19] over-riding, [20] or removal [21] [22] of the character's enhancements to reduce Midnighter's abilities to those of a normal man. The abortive Team Achilles series suggested that Bendix had "designed" Midnighter and Apollo during his childhood.

Typically, Midnighter is presented with superhuman strength, speed, reflexes and resilience. The character is shown moving faster than both the human and superhuman eye, and in possession of a healing factor that allows him to rapidly recover from injury and illness. Storylines have shown Midnighter surviving a broken neck, broken limbs, holes through his chest and burning; the character is also portrayed clearing "AIDS in six weeks". Midnighter is capable of surviving in anaerobic environments for short time periods and possesses a secondary replacement heart. He also has the power to suppress pain so he can keep fighting when pain would stop a normal person.

Many writers have referenced Midnighter's trademark ability to predict the unfolding of a battle before it starts. Early in Ellis's run on The Authority, the character was described as having a mental combat computer, with neural-inductive implants, which he uses to run through a given combat situation millions of times in his mind, almost instantly covering nearly every possible result before the first punch is even thrown. This allows for the perfect response and counterattack, such that if Midnighter can possibly win a battle, he will. Ellis portrayed the Midnighter delivering a monologue on this ability to intimidate opponents; Keith Giffen later had the character distribute a business card to this effect, to save time. Howard Link of Stormwatch describes such an ingenious ability design as neurotactical wetware. [23] Issue #7 of the Midnighter solo series, written by Brian K. Vaughan, showed the character using this ability regressively, to visualize the desired outcome of a battle and work backwards logically to achieve it. The stand-alone Authority graphic novel Human on the Inside, by John Ridley, suggested the ability was reactive, and required an opponent to make a first move to define the possibilities for a response; however, this is contradicted by numerous earlier and later comics. Midnighter was also unable to use this ability against the Joker due to the latter's extreme insanity, implying that Midnighter's ability to predict attacks in opponents with unpredictable nature is useless. Also, his attack prediction abilities can be thrown off by enemies who are faster than him.

In The New 52, Midnighter's abilities are slightly different. His power to predict the outcome of any situation still exists, but appears to have been supplemented by a form of precognition as well as enhanced knowledge. He is able to finish other people's sentences before they have thought about it, and when Stormwatch's map of alien threats to Earth materialised in front of him and Apollo, he instantly knew what it was. He has significant resistance to telepathic attacks, as he was able to resist the Scourge of Worlds' attempt to use Martian Manhunter's telepathy on him. He mentions that he has carbon-fibre muscles that presumably enhance his strength. Harry Tanner, reputed to be the world's greatest swordsman, struggled to land even a single blow on Midnighter since the latter could predict every move he would make. After a few seconds of fighting, Midnighter immediately knew what Harry's power was. Midnighter has demonstrated the ability to move so stealthily that the Manhunter and Hawksmoor could not hear or sense his stalking until it was too late. Midnighter's suit enhances his durability; he was able to survive unaided in hyperspace for a while.

Alternate versions

Reception

In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Midnighter as #17 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics". [24] In 2015, IGN listed Midnighter (along with Apollo) on their list of "18 Awesome LGBT Characters". [25]

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedPublished dateISBN
Grifter/MidnighterGrifter/Midnighter #1-6January 2008 978-1845767297 [26]
Midnighter Vol. 1: Killing MachineMidnighter (vol. 1) #1–6November 2007 978-1845766337 [27]
Midnighter Vol. 2: AnthemMidnighter (vol. 1) #7, 10-15August 2008 978-1845767358 [28]
Midnighter Vol. 3: Assassin8Midnighter (vol. 1) #16-20January 2009 978-1848560932
Midnighter: The Complete Wildstorm SeriesMidnighter (vol. 1) #1-20, Midnighter: Armageddon #1July 2017 978-1401267919
Midnighter Vol. 1: OutMidnighter (vol. 2) #1-7February 2016 978-1401259785 [29]
Midnighter Vol. 2: HardMidnighter (vol. 2) #8-12October 2016 978-1401264932 [30]
Midnighter and ApolloMidnighter and Apollo #1-6July 2017 978-1401272012
Midnighter: The Complete CollectionDC Sneak Peek: Midnighter #1, Midnighter (vol. 2) #1-12, Midnighter and Apollo #1-6June 2022 978-1779515391

See also

Citations

  1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 202. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. Lendrum, Rob. "Queering Super-Manhood: The Gay Superhero in Contemporary Mainstream Comic Books" (PDF). Concordia University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2007. When Batman and Superman team up they are called "the World's Finest." Midnighter and Apollo are constructed with this bit of comic history in mind.
  3. One instance was in his first appearance, in Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4.
  4. Andersen, Brian (5 October 2016). "8 Questions With DC Comics' Bi Mastermind". The Advocate . Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. "The Authority: Who's Who on Superman's Next Team?". Comic Book Resources . 11 May 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  6. "Have Batman and the Midnighter Really Never Met?". Comic Book Resources . 31 July 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. Graeme McMillan (17 August 2008). "When Superheroes Fail To Save The World". io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  8. Dezago, Todd; Eric Nolen-Weathington (June 2009). Modern Masters Volume Twenty-one: Chris Sprouse. Vol. 21. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 73.
  9. 1 2 "WWLA: Garth Ennis Talks the Midnighter Ongoing Series". Newsarama . 18 March 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  10. Rogers, Vaneta (22 May 2007). "Talking Midnighter, Four Horsemen with Giffen". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  11. Rich Johnston (12 March 2012). "Emma And Grifter And Midnighter". Bleeding Cool. BleedingCool.com. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  12. Stormwatch (vol. 3) #1 (September 2011)
  13. Sava, Oliver (3 June 2015). "'Midnighter': Steve Orlando seeks to define DC's sexy, enigmatic gay hero". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  14. Guerrero, Tony 'G-Man' (11 March 2015). "Interview: Steve Orlando is Ready to Bring Midnighter to Stardom". Comic Vine . Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  15. Wheeler, Andrew (3 June 2015). "An Icon for the Pride: Steve Orlando on Embracing the Charms of Midnighter [Interview]". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. Phegley, Kiel (26 August 2015). "Orlando Makes a Gay Icon of DC's "Midnighter" and a Frenemy of Grayson". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  17. Santori-Griffith, Matt (30 November 2015). "Interview: Steve Orlando on the Men that Inspire MIDNIGHTER". Comicosity. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  18. Tynion IV, James (2016). Detective Comics #940. DC Comics.
  19. Micah Ian Wright, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, 2004
  20. Ed Brubaker, The Authority: Revolution volume 2, 2006
  21. Mark Millar, The Authority: Transfer of Power 2002
  22. Garth Ennis, Midnighter #1, 2007
  23. Stormwatch: Post Human/Earth Division (vol. 1) #18 (1 March 2009)
  24. Wheeler, Andrew (14 February 2013). "ComicsAlliance Presents The 50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  25. Yehl, Joshua (30 June 2015). "18 Awesome LGBT Characters". IGN . Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  26. "Grifter & Midnighter trade details". Dccomics.com. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  27. "MIDNIGHTER VOL. 1: KILLING MACHINE". DC Comics. 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  28. Wildstorm (2008). "Midnighter: Anthem". Comic Vine. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  29. DC Comics (2016). Midnighter: Out. DC Comics. ISBN   978-1401259785.
  30. DC Comics (2016). Midnighter: Hard. DC Comics. ISBN   978-1401264932.

Related Research Articles

Wildstorm Productions is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1998. Until it was shut down in 2010, the Wildstorm imprint remained editorially separate from DC Comics, with its main studio located in California. The imprint took its name from a portmanteau of the titles of the Jim Lee comic series WildC.A.T.S. and Stormwatch.

Stormwatch is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by WildStorm, which later became an imprint of DC Comics. Created by Jim Lee, the team first appeared in Stormwatch #1. After the WildStorm imprint was retired and its universe was merged with the main DC Universe, the group was depicted as a secretive team of superheroes who tackle dangerous missions while remaining unknown to the larger superhero community.

<i>The Authority</i> (comics) DC Comics comic book series

The Authority is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created in 1999 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Sparks</span> Comics character

Jennifer Sparks is a superhero in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series. Her first appearance was in issue #37 where she was appointed the leader of Stormwatch Black, with Swift and Jack Hawksmoor, with whom she would later create The Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo (DC Comics)</span> Fictional comic book superhero

Apollo is a superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mould of the Superman archetype.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Fabry</span> British comics artist

Glenn Fabry is a British comics artist known for his detailed, realistic work in both ink and painted colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Mahnke</span> American comic book artist and penciller (born 1963)

Douglas Mahnke is an American comic book artist, known for his work and penciling books including The Mask, JLA, Batman, Final Crisis, and Green Lantern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathblow (comics)</span> Comics character

Deathblow is a comic book character in the Wildstorm Universe. He first appears in Darker Image #1 and was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cully Hamner</span> American comic book artist (born 1969)

Cully Hamner is an American comic book artist, known for his work on such books as Green Lantern: Mosaic, Blue Beetle, Black Lightning: Year One, and Detective Comics. He is the co-creator and illustrator of the 2003 graphic novel Red, which was adapted into a 2010 feature film of the same name starring Bruce Willis, as well as a 2013 sequel. He is also the co-creator of Jaime Reyes, the DC Comics character at the center of the 2023 feature film Blue Beetle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team 7</span> Fictional comic book superhero team

Team 7 is a comic book superhero team that appeared in titles published by Wildstorm Productions. The team has appeared in 3 self-titled miniseries: Team 7, Team 7: Objective Hell and Team 7: Dead Reckoning. The first 5-issue Gen¹³ limited series also involved members of Team 7. The team's members have played a major role throughout the Wildstorm Universe. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity, bringing in Wildstorm characters, including Team 7.

<i>WildC.A.T.s/Aliens</i>

WildC.A.T.S/Aliens was a one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover event, published by Wildstorm and Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The comic was written by Warren Ellis, pencilled by Chris Sprouse, with Kevin Nowlan inking and Laura Depuy as the colorist.

Lee Garbett is a British comic book artist born in the West Midlands. He has worked on British comics. As of February 2011, he is working freelance after a period of exclusivity with DC Comics.

Jason Trent Pearson was an American comic book creator, known for his series Body Bags and for his dynamic illustration work on books featuring characters such as the Legion of Super-Heroes, Spider-Man, Batman, and Deadpool. He was one of the founding members of Gaijin Studios.

<i>Stormwatch: Post Human Division</i>

Stormwatch: Post Human Division is an American comic book published by Wildstorm comics. It is the fourth volume to bear the name Stormwatch. It was first published in November 2006 and was written by Christos Gage with art by Doug Mahnke.

<i>The New 52: Futures End</i> Weekly DC Comics miniseries, run May 2014 to April 2015

The New 52: Futures End is an eleven-month weekly comic book miniseries, published by American company DC Comics from May 2014 to April 2015. The series is set five years in The New 52's future, and is written by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire. Covers for the series are drawn by Ryan Sook.

<i>Midnighter and Apollo</i> American comic book limited series

Midnighter and Apollo is a six-issue American comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It is written by Steve Orlando and illustrated by Fernando Blanco, with covers by ACO. The series debuted in October 2016 and finished in March 2017. The story takes some time after the end of Midnighter, with Midnighter and Apollo having reunited. Following a battle with demons, Apollo's soul is dragged to Hell, and Midnighter attempts to bring him back.

<i>Midnighter</i> (2015 comic book) 2015 comic book

Midnighter is an American comic book series published by DC Comics and written by Steve Orlando that ran for twelve issues from June 2015 to July 2016, featuring Midnighter as its protagonist. The series is also known as Midnighter to differentiate itself from the character's previous series first published by WildStorm in 2006.

<i>Midnighter</i> (2006 comic book)

Midnighter is an American comic book series published by WildStorm, first issued in November 2006. It is a spin-off from The Authority, a superhero team comic book created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the solo adventures of Midnighter, "the greatest tactician in the history of mankind". The first six issues were written by Garth Ennis, followed by three issues made by different writers; the last eleven final issues were written by Keith Giffen. Midnighter ended with its twentieth issue, followed by the limited series Number of the Beast. The series is also known as Midnighter to differentiate itself from the character's 12-issue latter series first published by DC Comics in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zealot (Wildstorm)</span> Comics character

Zealot is a comic book superhero who has appeared in books published by Wildstorm Productions and DC Comics. Created by artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi, she first appeared in WildC.A.T.s #1, as a member of that titular superhero team, during the period when Wildstorm and its properties were owned by Jim Lee.

References

Interviews

Reviews