This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2009)
After their initial appearance in Captain America #330-331 (June and July 1987), the team makes a cameo appearance in Solo Avengers #3 (February 1988). Their next battle is against the West Coast Avengers in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #40 (January 1989).
Their first appearance in the 1990s is a four-issue story arc in Avengers: West Coast #76-79 (November 1991-February 1992) titled "Infamous Monsters of Hollywood". They then return to the pages of Captain America in issue #420 (October 1993).
The team does not reappear until they are a part of the "Dark Reign" storyline,[2] getting involved in Marvel Zombies 4, where the Midnight Sons clash with the plans of Hood. Fred Van Lente explains that "the Hood doesn't just bring any group of villains with him on this jaunt. He brings a very horror-oriented group of villains with him. People know I love to dip as far back as I can into obscure Marvel-ania and a team I always enjoyed and never felt got their time was the Night Shift. So they're working for the Hood now."[3]
Their final appearance is in Moon Knight Vol. 6 #3-6 (September - December 2011) which ends with the team's death after Count Nefaria kills them for failing to defeat the Moon Knight and Echo.
A new team emerges in The Superior Octopus #1 (December 2018).
Fictional team biography
Based in California, the group is gathered and initially controlled by the Shroud. He is assisted by the Werewolf, misleading the team into believing they are forming a criminal gang, when in reality they are acting as vigilantes. The team's original lineup consists of the Brothers Grimm, Dansen Macabre, Digger, the Gypsy Moth, the Needle, the Shroud, the Tatterdemalion, Tick-Tock, and the Werewolf.
With the exceptions of Digger and the Brothers Grimm, the Shroud met the team while a fellow captive of the Locksmith.[4] In their first appearance, they help Captain America take on the Power Broker. In West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #40 (January 1989), Mockingbird witnesses Digger burying three criminals. She takes the four of them to the local police precinct, where they are arrested. The rest of the team respond by attacking the West Coast Avengers at their headquarters. The Night Shift is defeated, but the Shroud teleports them away. Later, the Shroud is shown with Hawkeye swapping opinions about the encounter.
Their next encounter with the West Coast Avengers occurs in Avengers: West Coast. The team is led by the Hangman, who calls on Satannish. The powers of the team are greatly increased, but in the end they are defeated anyway.[5]
In Marvel Zombies 4, the team is under the command of the Hood. They battle the Midnight Sons, but before they can finish fighting, they are overcome by a cloud of the airborne zombie virus. The entire team is turned into zombies. Through mystical means the virus is contained, transforming the team back into their human forms and the Hood teleports them away.
Snapdragon hires the team to kill the Moon Knight on behalf of Count Nefaria, who was operating as the Kingpin of Los Angeles. When they fail and are bailed out of prison by Snapdragon's lawyer, Count Nefaria reduces Dansen Macabre, Digger, the Needle, the Tatterdemalion, Tick-Tock, and the Misfit to ashes.[6]
During the Spider-Geddon storyline, Dansen Macabre and Digger turned up alive when they, the Brothers Grimm, and Skein rob a bus and its people of its valuables. In addition, they are now shown to have the Waxman as their latest member, as he starts to smother a security guard in his wax. Their robbery is interrupted by the Superior Octopus, who uses a sonic attack used for Symbiotes on the Waxman, had his outfit rendered immune to Skein's abilities, had his goggles tune out Dansen's hypnotic dance, and easily took down the Brothers Grimm. The Superior Octopus agrees to spare them more pain in exchange that the Night Shift becomes his agents, where he will compensate them from his own funds. They agree to the terms and are ordered to return the stolen items. The Superior Octopus leaves, advising them never to cross him or they will not live long enough to regret it.[7]
The Night Shift later helps the Superior Spider-Man in his battle against Terrax the Tamer, who appears in San Francisco, California and attacks. They deliver a device from Horizon University, which the Superior Spider-Man uses to absorb some of Terrax's cosmic powers in order to defeat him. After the battle, the Night Shift assist the Superior Spider-Man in searching and rescuing survivors from the attack.[8]
Members
the Brothers Grimm (Percy and Barton Grimes) - The Grimes brothers have the magical ability to conjure novelty weapons from their costumes. They are currently members of the Masters of Evil.
Dansen Macabre - Dansen Macabre has the ability to hypnotize, kill or become undetectable while she is dancing. She is killed with the rest of the team by Count Nefaria for failing to kill the Moon Knight,[6] though Dansen later turns up alive.[7]
Digger (Roderick Krupp) - Krupp has increased durability and seems to show no pain, regardless of the extent of his injuries. He is killed with the rest of the team by Count Nefaria for failing to kill the Moon Knight,[6] though Digger later turns up alive.[7]
the Gypsy Moth (Sybil Dvorak) - Dvorak is a telekinetic, though she uses it almost exclusively on fabrics. She uses it to levitate as well. She is a member of the Women Warriors, Delaware's Fifty State Initiative team.
the Needle (Josef Saint) - Saint has the ability to hypnotize people with his eye. He is killed with the rest of the team by Count Nefaria for failing to kill the Moon Knight.[6]
the Shroud (Maximillian Coleridge) - Coleridge has the ability to summon material from the Darkforce Dimension.
the Tatterdemalion (Arnold Paffenroth) - Paffenroth has augmented strength.
Tick-Tock - Tick-Tock has the ability to see one minute into the future.
the Werewolf (Jacob Russoff) - Russoff's lycanthropy gives him superhuman speed, strength, agility as well as sharpened senses and a healing factor. He is a member of the Midnight Sons and the Legion of Monsters.
the Hangman (Jason Roland) - Roland possesses superhuman strength and durability. He also uses a mystically enchanted rope that he can control telepathically. He joins the team in Avengers: West Coast #76 (November 1991).
the Misfit (Mitchell Godey) - Godey possesses superhuman strength and durability. He joins the team in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #40 (January 1989).
the Waxman - An unnamed scientist with a skin condition who made an experimental cure that turned him into a creature made of wax. He can shapeshift and smother his enemies with his waxy body. He joined the group in Superior Octopus #1.
Related Research Articles
The Owl is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted usually as an enemy of the superheroes Daredevil, Spider-Man and Black Cat. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Orlando, the character first appeared in Daredevil #3.
Count Luchino Nefaria is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the character first appeared in The Avengers #13. Count Nefaria is a socialite and crime boss who operates an international crime syndicate known as the Maggia.
Hammerhead is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is primarily depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man. He is a temperamental mobster who often dresses and acts in the 1920s style, and a prominent member of the Maggia, a fictional organized crime syndicate. Following an accident, he had most of his skull replaced with an inflexible steel alloy by Jonas Harrow, giving his head a flattened shape and near-indestructibility, hence his nickname. The Hammerhead crime family, of which he is the second and current head, is named after the character.
Moon Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32.
Tatterdemalion is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character wore gloves either coated with or secreting a chemical agent which dissolved any material composed of paper, such as dollar bills. His appearance suggested that he was homeless, and he was apparently insane.
The Werewolf by Night is the name of two werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2. The second incarnation, Jake Gomez, first appeared in Werewolf by Night #1.
Skein is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Madame Masque is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #97. An occasional love interest and enemy of Iron Man and the daughter of Count Nefaria, she originally wore a golden mask to cover up her disfigured face and continues to do so after her face was healed.
The Hood is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan, and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell, the character was introduced in his own self-titled limited series, which started with Hood #1. Robbins was originally a petty criminal, until an encounter with a Nisanti demon, which he defeated and robbed of its hood and boots, gaining superpowers in the process, such as levitation and invisibility. As "the Hood", he became a well-known figure in the New York City criminal underworld, and eventually formed his own crime syndicate.
The Lethal Legion is the name of seven teams of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Maggia is a fictional international crime syndicate appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The organization exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as Earth-616, as well as other Marvel universes. Its structure is somewhat similar to the real-world New York Mafia, but the Maggia differs in that it frequently hires supervillains and mad scientists to work for them. Some of the prominent Maggia members are supervillains themselves, such as Hammerhead, Silvermane, Count Nefaria and his daughter Madame Masque. The Maggia has come into conflict with various superheroes, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers.
The Shroud is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Needle is a fictional character, a mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Gruenwald, Carmine Infantino, and Al Gordon, the character first appeared in Spider-Woman #9.
The Brothers Grimm are two sets of twin supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Digger is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Hangman is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Locksmith is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Superior Spider-Man is the name of three separate superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics, following Otto Octavius as he becomes Spider-Man. The first volume, that ran between January 2013 and September 2014, was written by Dan Slott, with artwork by Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli, continuing from the events of the 2012 storyline "Dying Wish", in which Peter Parker is killed off and replaced with his nemesis Otto Octavius, who swapped consciousnesses with Parker and left him to die in his decaying body to ensure his own survival. However, Octavius becomes inspired by Parker's dying wish to have a new Spider-Man protect New York City, and decides to take on the mantle himself, becoming the self-proclaimed "Superior Spider-Man".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
