Midnighter

Midnighter is a superhero appearing in 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). He 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.
== Origin ==
Midnighter was a member of an secret experimental academy team created by the insane former Stormwatch Weatherman, Henry Bendix. Bendix erased the team's memories when he gave them superpowers. Midnighter, alongside Apollo, Lamplight, Crow Jane, Amaze, Impetus, and Stalker, formed the ill-fated team that would be sent to their deaths by Henry Bendix on their first mission. When Midnighter and Apollo sought extraction during this mission, it was only to discover that Bendix has no intention of wasting time or resources to save them when he could so easily replace them with more "super-soldiers."
Betrayed, Apollo and Midnighter managed to escape with their lives, but would spend the next six years in hiding on the streets, attempting to remain invisible to the Weatherman's ever-watchful eye from the Stormwatch headquarters orbiting the earth. During this time, both team members fought to better the world on a smaller scale, and came together as lovers. Because of their self imposed exile, both Midnighter and Apollo were ignorant of Stormwatch's battle against Henry Bendix, and of his supposed death at the hands of Jenny Sparks. Only when Jackson King, the new Weatherman, discovered them on radar and brought them in for questioning (ultimately testing their loyalties by sending them on a mission) did the pair realize they were free to live in the open again as normal human beings. All files related to whom both Midnighter and Apollo were before their introduction into the team were believed to be lost, and since neither man could remember, Jackson King instead gave them new identities with which to retire from the super-soldier business.
== Story ==
Less than a year after Apollo and Midnighter's retirement, nearly the entire Stormwatch team was slaughtered in an Aliens/Stormwatch Crossover. Jenny Sparks would develop her vision for a new team, known as the Authority, and she approached Apollo and Midnighter about joining. Reluctantly (and because of Apollo), Midnighter agreed. It was then that he would take his place as "Night's Bringer of War," on a team consisting of Apollo, Swift, Jack Hawksmoor, the Engineer, the Doctor, and Jenny Sparks. His relationship with Apollo would only be hinted at until the Regis story arc, in which it was confirmed they were a couple.
Of the many foes Midnighter faced with the Authority perhaps the most life-altering was the very governments they sought to improve. At one point, the political powers of Earth attempted to overpower the Authority and replace them with The New Authority, consisting of Surgeon, Teuton, Machine, Last Call, Rush, Street, and Union Jack. Of his team members, only Midnighter (along with baby Jenny Quantum) managed to escape capture and evade detection. His skills would ultimately free and save all the other original members of the Authority, though it very nearly cost him his life. Midnighter is notable for being one of the few gay superheroes in print. After his near death at the hands of government creation Seth (where even his backup heart was ripped from his chest), he married his longtime partner, Apollo, in a civil service on the The Carrier. Together, they adopted the reincarnation of Jenny Sparks, Jenny Quantum, as their daughter.
Recently, even this happiness has been short lived. Midnighter was manipulated into believing that an Apollofrom the future contacted him to tell him how the the Authoritywould ultimately become the very world oppressors they sought to overcome. This information prompted Midnighter to leave the team, as well as his husband and daughter, and to work alone for a time. However, it was discovered he was being controlled by a still-living Henry Bendix, who then set him in battle against his previous team members after getting on board The Carrier. Fortunately, Bendix's control over Midnighter was broken by the combined efforts of Jenny Quantum and Engineer, freeing him to once again join the team and be with Apollo.
== Powers & Abilities ==
Midnighter's abilities were designed by Bendix to give him an all encompassing advantage in close-combat and tactical scenarios. He has superhuman strength, reflexes (and moving speed when necessary), healing, senses, aim and various other enhancements. He is said to have multiple redundant systems to keep him fighting in the worst of conditions. One example of this is a backup heart. Midnighter can also turn his pain receptors on and off so he can keep fighting when the pain would stop a normal man. The pain is not totally cut off though, so his healing factor is also very helpful. He's fought with, and healed from, a broken neck, broken limbs, holes through his chest, having his whole body set on fire, contracting various viruses (including AIDS) and other things. He can also function perfectly in anaerobic environments when necessary.
Category:Comic Book Heroes
Category:DC Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Freedom Fighters
Category:Fighters
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Superheroes
Category:One-Man Army
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Genius
Category:Lethal
Category:Pragmatists
Category:Mentally Ill
Category:Chaotic Neutral
Category:Military
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Pessimists
Category:Spouses
Category:Nurturers