Dr. Mid-Nites
Created by Robert Kanigher & Carmine Infantino
+ History
Charles McNider apparently never reciprocated the affections of his loyal secretary, Myra Mason, and never married. Later, Dr. Mid-Nite II (Pieter Cross) claimed that "McNider loved [Myra]... more than he was ever willing to admit to her." One other "old friend," Miss Alice King appeared in All-American #90 (10.47). And in Flash #161 (a flashback to 1947), there was mention of an unnamed girlfriend who may have been Alice. Regardless, his Golden Age features left little room for the exploration of his love life. At one point however, in Sogndal, Norway, McNider rescued a pregnant woman from attack and delivered her baby. This child, Pieter Cross, eventually became Mid-Nite's successor.
For a brief time in 1951, McNider took the guise of a new Starman. He did this to help fight crime in Opal City while his friend, Ted Knight underwent psychiatric care. The stint was brief, and he gave it up to Ted's son, David (Starman VI) when the young man appeared from out of the future.
Dr. Midnight
At the time of his death during Zero Hour he had no known living relatives, although he was close to his protégé, Dr. Beth Chapel (Dr. Midnight). He only ever briefly met his successor, Dr. Pieter Cross. Charles died of injuries incurred during the "Zero Hour," in battle with Extant.
Dr.
Beth Chapel, was a colleague of Charles
McNider. She first appeared when Jade was
rushed to the hospital for treatment against Mr.
Bones' cyanide touch. Shortly thereafter, her super-hero career
kicked into fast and full gear. During the onset of the Crisis, Beth
was blinded by an oxygen explosion in her hospital. She was rescued
by Hourman's son Rick Tyler,
who took his father's Miraclo drug. Like McNider, Beth discovered
that she too could see in the dark. She and Rick assumed the mantles
of their predecessors as Dr. Midnight and Hourman II.
Along with Wildcat II,
they applied for membership in Infinity, Inc., but were not immediately
accepted. Eventually they were admitted, but their careers were short-lived.
Infinity soon disbanded and Beth and Yolanda were recruited by the
U.S. government for a mission to defeat Eclipso. Both women died
on that mission along with the Creeper, Commander
Steel, Peacemaker and Major
Victory. Before her death, Beth had begun a romantic relationship
with Rick Tyler, but she has no known relatives.
As
Beth: Infinity, Inc. #19. As
Dr. Midnight: Infinity, Inc. #21.
Dr. Mid-Nite II
Dr. Mid-Nite by Steve Uy (JSA Classified #24)
Dr. Pieter Anton Cross, the second Dr. Mid-Nite, is the son of a noted Norwegian scientist, the late Theoric Cross. In fact, Pieter was delivered from his mother's womb by the original Dr. Mid-Nite, who had just saved his mother from vagrants. Years later, Pieter was unable to save his mother from a disease called chagas, which she caught in Brazil while visiting her son. Pieter is a brilliant doctor who serves poor and at-risk patients with his sometimes experimental treatments. Operating from the city of Portsmouth, Cross ran afoul of organized crime, which was pushing a drug called A39. Cross was injected with the drug then put behind the wheel of a car. In his dementia, he crossed the median and collided with a woman named Katherine Blythe, who died. Upon waking from this accident, Pieter found he had lost his sight, but gained metahuman vision. He could see using infrared vision and even switch to ultrasonic.
Pieter keeps mostly to himself. His sense of humor is intellectual and dry. Nevertheless, he has proven indispensable to the JSA (and the larger metahuman community) as their “meta-physician.” He is a man of boundless compassion, but can be introverted in romantic situations. He shared a promising but short-lived romance with Black Canary II, which was cut short by the return of Oliver Queen (Green Arrow). He has no other known relatives, but he has an extensive network of friends and allies, including his trusted operatives "Nite Lite," "Ice Sickle," and writer Camilla Marlowe.
Recently, Ice Sickle was killed by the vengeful Spirit King. (JSA #60)
His most significant solo case may have been the recent one involving the reappearance of Delores Winters. Winters' body was the first host for the Ultra-Humanite. No one realized that her friend, Marten had also transferred her brain elsewhere. When Winters (now called Endless Winter) began stealing the body parts of metahumans, Dr. Mid-Nite was called to S.T.A.R. Labs to investigate. He escaped having his own eyes extracted and put an end to Winter's organ thievery. Afterwards, he helped restore the health of those metas she'd attacked. (JSA Classified #19-20)
Geoff
Johns Says: Dr. Mid-Nite is a visionary, figuratively and literally.
Blinded by an accident, he’s able to see on all spectrums
through the filters on his goggles. And as Troy said, in an age
of E.R. and HOUSE, Dr. Mid-Nite is more relevant and important
to the DC Universe than he’s ever been before. (from Newsarama)
+ Powers
Dr. Mid-Nite's "sight" functions much like Daredevil's; he can "see" though objects to others beneath. Like his predecessor, his primary weapon was the "blackout bomb" which released pitch-black gas, blinding his opponents and leveling the playing field. He can see in much the same was as an x-ray or MRI.
Pieter Cross is also the world's premier physician for metahuman medicine. Though his standard licence to practice medicine has been revoked, he conducts medical research and procedures from the JSA headquarters. When a hero is in critical condition, he is the first person called. He has saved his teammates' lives repeatedly; he performed the critial autopsy on Sue Dibny (JSA #67); he excised Brainiac's presence from Barbara Gordon (Oracle) (Birds of Prey #85); and worked with John Irons to deconstruct Lex Luthor's Everyman procedure. (52 #29)
Dr. Cross uses his medical expertise as a hand-to-hand weapon. Once, when challenged to arm wrestle, he won by triggering the proper nerves in his opponent's arm.
He also shares a rapport with his pet owl, Charlie. Charlie is trained to aid Dr. Mid-Nite in battle.
The original Dr. Mid-Nite possessed perfect night-vision, and the infrared lenses of his goggles allowed him to see in the light, which normally blinded him. Dr. Mid-Nite was a superb fighter and athlete. For a time he used a weapon called a "cryotuber" which could either control the nervous system of an opponent, or fire bursts of heat or cold.
Appearances + References
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Charles:
Pieter:
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