Midnighter

Midnighter
File:Midnighter.png Midnighter, in Stormwatch costume Bryan Hitch, artist
Publication information
Publisher	Wildstorm
First appearance	Stormwatch vol. 2 #4
Created by	Warren Ellis Bryan Hitch
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown, possibly even to himself
Team affiliations	The Authority, Stormwatch
Abilities	Artificial neural enhancements give him augmented senses, super-strength and reflexes. Artificial augmentation allows him to calculate over a million possible combat scenarios in a second. Super-enhanced immune system.

Midnighter is a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. He's very much cast in the Batman mold, but unlike Gotham City's protector, Midnighter has superpowers.

Midnighter is notable for being one of the few gay superheroes in print. He's married to fellow Authority member Apollo and both have adopted Jenny Quantum.

He's rarely seen without his costume. The few times he has appeared without a mask, have revealed both short blond or brown hair. In an issue of Stormwatch: Team Achilles he admits he's a redhead but dyes it blond.

Stormwatch

Midnighter, alongside his future husband Apollo, was part of a top secret Stormwatch team (that was an analog to the JLA) created by the first Weatherman, Henry Bendix. Nobody but Bendix himself knew of the team's existence. Bendix built them as superhuman and, when they donned their costumes and spoke their codenames, their previous identities ceased to exist.

However, this secret team was all but decimated in the first mission, Apollo and Midnighter being the only survivors. They went rogue and spent the next five years undercover fighting for a finer world in the alleyways of America, until Christine Trelane found the files about their team after Bendix's fall.

Jackson King, formerly Battalion, now the new Weatherman, ordered them found, not being sure if they were heroes or villains. Midnighter and Apollo were after weapons made in the "Garden of Nevada", a leftover of the first Engineer. He ordered Fahrenheit and Hellstrike to tag them with fetishes so they can be transported into SkyWatch. Midnighter and Apollo first attacked the Stormwatch team, believing them under Bendix's orders. However, they ceased the attack once they were told Bendix was dead. With King's help, they destroyed the Garden of Nevada, and King granted them what they asked for: new lives away from Stormwatch.

This story is available in the Stormwatch graphic novel A Finer World.

The Authority

Some time later, Jenny Sparks convinced both him and Apollo to come out of retirement and join her new group, The Authority. Unlike other groups, The Authority are ready to fight for a finer world, no matter what it takes. Midnighter and Apollo's relationship, even if it was hinted in previous issues, was revealed in The Authority # 8.

During the Transfer of Power storyline, Midnighter was the only one not captured by Seth and their replacements. He escaped with Jenny Quantum and later managed to return to the Carrier. He killed Jack Hawksmoor's replacement Street by running him over with a motorcycle and shot Teuton in the head with a nail-gun, thus rescuing his lover Apollo who was imprisoned aboard the Carrier. After he was finished with those two he proceeded to kill The Surgeon with a nail to the chest and Rush by nailing her to the wall. Afterwards he killed The Colonel by stomping on his neck. While trying to take the Carrier back, Midnighter was almost killed by the super-assassin Seth, who had pulled out his primary heart (The Midnighter apparently has a backup) but The Doctor managed to save him. Shortly thereafter Midnighter and Apollo were married and adopted Jenny (Transfer of Power graphic novel).

Later in 2006, an ongoing Midnighter series will begin, written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Chris Sprouse.

Powers

Midnighter's neural induction allowing him to calculate over a million possible combat scenarios in a second. He has fibre-lined muscle increasing his strength, durability, and reflexes. Midnighter has shown that he can move faster than the human- and even superhuman- eye in a quick speed burst. He can survive in anaerobic environments for short periods. He also has a second heart allowing him to survive wounds that would be otherwise fatal.

He possesses also a super-enhanced immune system, to the point where AIDS was defeated in six weeks and common cold never stays more than a couple of minutes. After The Doctor overdosed himself with heroin, the doctors used a shot of Midnighter's blood to jumpstart his system and remove his physical addictions/dependencies. Though not on the level of certain Marvel characters, Midnighter does heal much faster than a normal human, having survived having his neck broken at least once.

Midnighter is also quite adept at stealth, and has used both a nightstick and a telescoping staff in close combat.