History Characters / TheAuthorityMidnighter

** [[spoiler: In Creator/MarkMillar's first arc on ''The Authority'' a Franchise/CaptainAmerica stand-in known as the Commander raped Apollo. The last we see of him, he's on the ground, paralyzed by Apollo, and it's implied that Midnighter intends to return the favor — with a rusty jackhammer.]]

!!Midnighter appears in:

[[AC:Notable Comics]]
Solo comics:
* ''Midnighter'' (2007-2008) (20 issues)
* ''Midnighter'' (2015-2016) (12 issues; ComicBook/{{DCYou}} continuity and spin-off from ''ComicBook/{{Grayson}}'')
** ''Midnighter and Apollo'' (2016-2017) (6-issue [[SequelSeries sequel]] miniseries to the above)

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* ''Midnighter'' (2015-2016) (12 issues; ComicBook/{{DCYou}} continuity and spin-off from ''ComicBook/Grayson'')
** ''Midnighter and Apollo'' (2016-2017) (6-issue sequel miniseries to the above)

* {{Uke}}: PlayedWith as shown in ''Midnighter and Apollo'', while he is a ManlyGay and doesn't have any feminine traits, he's depicted as being the "bottom" in a romantic moment with Apollo and it's implied it's his preferred role. Midnighter also doesn't seem to mind that Apollo transports him in a BridalCarry, though admittedly, he was badly hurt at the time. Still, considering his RatedMForManly image and grouchy personality, it stands out how easily and unselfconsciously he cooperates with the pose.

Midnighter served as a long-standing member of The Authority (and even received his own solo title) in the following years, before Wildstorm's absorption by parent company Creator/DCComics. Following the events of ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', Midnighter --along with many of his Wildstorm cohorts-- was imported into ComicBook/New52 continuity, placed on new iteration of ''Stormwatch'' led by ComicBook/MartianManhunter. After a brief ContinuityReboot, reverting he and his Stormwatch teammates back to closer recollections of their Wildstorm selves ([[RatingsStunt in a bid for boosted sales]]) proved unsuccessful, the reset was undone, and DC's ''Stormwatch'' ended at #30.

* HasTwoDaddies: He and Apollo eventually adopt Jenny Quantum.

* HitlerTimeTravelExemptionAct: Midnighter went back in time under order of an affluent man to kill Hitler or else he'd ignite a bomb he put in Midnighter's chest. [[EveryoneHasStandards Upon seeing how broken Hitler was, he refused.]] Especially after he found out the real reason his client wanted Hitler dead was to allow his father, a Nazi official, to become a more effective ruler than Hitler, implying he would have replaced Hitler and would have been a worse tyrant than Hitler ever was if Hitler was killed.

* HitlerTimeTravelExemptionClause: Midnighter went back in time under order of an affluent man to kill Hitler or else he'd ignite a bomb he put in Midnighter's chest. [[EveryoneHasStandards Upon seeing how broken Hitler was, he refused.]] Especially after he found out the real reason his client wanted Hitler dead was to allow his father, a Nazi official, to become a more effective ruler than Hitler, implying he would have replaced Hitler and would have been a worse tyrant than Hitler ever was if Hitler was killed.

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionClause: Midnighter went back in time under order of an affluent man to kill Hitler or else he'd ignite a bomb he put in Midnighter's chest. [[EveryoneHasStandards Upon seeing how broken Hitler was, he refused.]] Especially after he found out the real reason his client wanted Hitler dead was to allow his father, a Nazi official, to become a more effective ruler than Hitler, implying he would have replaced Hitler and would have been a worse tyrant than Hitler ever was if Hitler was killed.

* SimpleStaff: Midnighter's WeaponOfChoice, often used to [[OffWithHisHead decapitate people]].

* ToughSpikesAndStuds: Midnighter's original outfit has spiked gloves. Underneath his jacket, he has spiked shoulder guards.

* WolverineWannabe: While he has some [[BatmanParody similarities to Batman]], Midnighter arguably has much more in common with Wolverine. He has enhanced strength, speed, agility. and a HealingFactor. He also wears [[ToughSpikesAndStuds spiked]] gloves, [[BloodKnight has an insatiable appetite for violence]] and has a background in black ops.

* WolverineWannabe: While he has some [[BatmanParody similarities to Batman]], Midnighter arguably has much more in common with Wolverine. He has enhanced strength, speed, agility and a HealingFactor. He also wears [[ToughSpikesAndStuds spiked]] [[PowerFist gloves]], [[BloodKnight has an insatiable appetite for violence]] and has a background in black ops.

* ManlyGay: A big part of his appeal to readers, especially LGBTQ ones, is that he's a gay superhero who is also masculine.

* BatmanParody: Midnighter can best be described as Batman if he were gay, had actual superpowers and had no issues with killing.

* SimpleSolutionWontWork: Midnighter went back in time under order of an affluent man to kill Hitler or else he'd ignite a bomb he put in Midnighter's chest. Upon seeing how broken Hitler was, he refused. Especially after he found out the real reason his client wanted Hitler dead was to allow his father, a Nazi official, to become a more effective ruler than Hitler, implying he would have replaced Hitler and would have been a worse tyrant than Hitler ever was if Hitler was killed.

--> '''child hostage''': "Where's Mister Half-beard?"
--> '''Midnighter''': "Mister Half-beard is studying the interior of a ''very small'' box. He and his friends were ''not'' good people. But they're all ''gone'' now. You're ''safe''. This is ''not'' your fault. These people will help you find your parents, or find you new homes. They will ''not'' fail you."
--> '''Midnighter''': (more to the adult bystanders) "Because if they do, I'll be back to... ''encourage'' them. And ''no one'' wants to see me twice. ''Trust'' me."

* AxeCrazy: He certainly enjoys the violence he commits, especially when he especially hates the victim in question

* CombatClairvoyance: His whole shtick is that he can see how a battle plays in his head out before making a step and often frightens his opponents by saying he's played out their fight a million times in his head already. Then he tried to pull it on [[PhysicalGod Captain]] [[FlyingBrick Atom.]] Suffice to say, [[CurbstompBattle Atom was not impressed.]]

* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: He's only ever known as Midnighter.

* [[HasTwoMommies Has Two Daddies]]: He and Apollo eventually adopt Jenny Quantum.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: While Midnighter mainly just wants ethically permissable targets for his inherent violent urges and is fully aware he deserves to go to Hell someday (see the quote under IAmWhatIAm, above), Apollo has a rather unusual justification for why he often kills villains and does ''not'' feel like that makes him a bad person, even while he disapproves of Midnighter's levels of creative brutality. Basically, its because Apollo thinks their victims deserve to know that their abusers are gone ''and will never come back''. The comparison to ThouShallNotKill type superheroes like Batman or Superman isn't spelled out, but from the context[[note]]Apollo had just been explaining how his father threw him out when he came out as gay at ''age 12''. And then just a year later, aliens abducted him and torturously turned him into what he is now over the course of his teenage years. And after finally escaping, his asshole father rejected him again, now also for being "inhuman".[[/note]], it can be deduced that he thinks that these heroes are simply too privileged (white; straight; filthy rich or having a supportive family; not having been forced into their metahuman status; never having been personally tortured/abused/victimized, or at least not at a time when they were still helpless civilians, instead mostly getting {{Mangst}} type drama about ''other people'' getting hurt) to ever truly empathize with the victims of the villains they're throwing in prison only for them to escape again and again to destroy the lives of more innocent people. Note that Apollo's EstablishingCharacterMoment on the ComicBook/New52 Stormwatch reboot was taking down a [[AdultFear child pornography ring]], not dealing with some alien threat or a fantastical and crazy villain like most of Batman's rogues gallery.

* BadassNormal: [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Averted rather sharply]]; unlike his inspiration, Midnighter is most definitely not a normal, but a {{cyborg}} SuperSoldier with a computerized brain and superhuman physical abilities.

* {{Expy}}: Many see him as a "gay Franchise/{{Batman}} who doesn't mind killing people" --- which is HilariousInHindsight knowing that he currently exists within the same universe as the Bat, is loosely allied with one of Batman's former sidekicks, and getting massive amounts of HoYay with the guy.[[note]]Of course, the writers openly slash-baiting Midnighter and Dick Grayson / Nightwing is considerably less problematic than the old Ambiguously Gay Duo thing between a teenager and his father figure / legal guardian.[[/note]]
** Also jokingly alluded to in the preview short for his ComicBook/New52 solo title, that was included in a ''Convergence'' comic, in which it is revealed that he wears Batman logo boxer shorts.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: While Midnighter mainly just wants ethically permissable targets for his inherent violent urges and is fully aware he deserves to go to Hell someday (see the quote under IAmWhatIAm, above), Apollo has a rather unusual justification for why he often kills villains and does ''not'' feel like that makes him a bad person, even while he disapproves of Midnighter's levels of creative brutality. Basically, its because Apollo thinks their victims deserve to know that their abusers are gone ''and will never come back''. The comparison to ThouShallNotKill type superheroes like Batman or Superman isn't spelled out, but from the context[[note]]Apollo had just been explaining how his father threw him out when he came out as gay at ''age 12''. And then just a year later, aliens abducted him and torturously turned him into what he is now over the course of his teenage years. And after finally escaping, his asshole father rejected him again, now also for being "inhuman".[[/note]], it can be deduced that he thinks that these heroes are simply too privileged (white; straight; filthy rich or having a supportive family; not having been forced into their metahuman status; never having been personally tortured/abused/victimized, or at least not at a time when they were still helpless civilians, instead mostly getting StuffedIntoTheFridge / {{Mangst}} type drama about ''other people'' getting hurt) to ever truly empathize with the victims of the villains they're throwing in prison only for them to escape again and again to destroy the lives of more innocent people. Note that Apollo's EstablishingCharacterMoment on the ComicBook/New52 Stormwatch reboot was taking down a [[AdultFear child pornography ring]], not dealing with some alien threat or a fantastical and crazy villain like most of Batman's rogues gallery.

* EveryoneIsGay: Midnighter learns this to be true of the future, apparently to a point where the term "gay" itself is archaic and out-of-use.

[[folder: DC Universe]]