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The Authority (WildStorm)
(aka: Midnighter)

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    The Authority 
  • Audience-Alienating Era: The Robbie Morrison era. Despite being moved to an imprint that would allow more swearing, violence, and even sexual themes, Morrison did almost nothing with this new freedom, having the team face off against bland villains and pointedly avoiding the kind of controversy that Mark Millar regularly courted.
  • Complete Monster: See here.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: The leader of evil super-soldiers sent by Krigstein to destroy the French parliament in issue 16 is so ridiculously over-the-top politically incorrect that it actually makes you laugh at him rather than hate him. Of course, this also makes it all the more satisfying when he gets his just desserts, courtesy of Hawksmoor.
    Team leader: Civilians are civilized, soldier. These people are French. As much as I hate Mexicans, Asians and blacks, no racial group in the world boils my blood more than these sweaty, horse-eating yahoos.
  • Designated Hero:
    • In the beginning, the Authority were hardline with their ideals and used violence reasonably. With Jack Hawksmoor as leader receiving the position after Jenny Sparks's death, the Authority became increasingly predisposed toward unyielding moral positions and merciless brutality as time went on, but the entry of another character, Jenny Quantum/Quarx, as a member of the team softened them somewhat. Now, their level of violence is about par for Wildstorm's post-apocalyptic world, so they're no better or worse than any other group.
    • Right from the start, this was the case. Ellis has said on more than one occasion that he wrote the Authority as villains, just the kind who happened to fight even bigger ones. The first story arc does end with Midnighter plowing a giant swathe through a populated city just to reach one person, after all. If that's not enough for you, one arc later the Authority stops an invasion from a parallel Earth by totally and indiscriminately destroying a whole country to eliminate the enemy's infrastructure, even though by that point it is clear that the invaders are completely outmatched by them anyway. Starting from Millar's run, however, the comic increasingly turned into a vehicle for political Author Tracts, where the Authority were indeed designated to be heroes, although, obviously not all readers were convinced.
    • In the "Utopian" arc, their actions kill off an entire alternate earth.
  • Fanon:
    • Artists have given Midnighter several different hair colors, probably because he keeps his cowl on so much that none of them know any better. Fans have used this to draw the conclusion that the otherwise Manly Gay Midnighter just loves to dye his hair.
    • In a Stormwatch: Achilles comic, Midnighter admits that he's a natural redhead. He just likes to dye his hair.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: The "Brave New World" arc features the White House and New York City being suddenly attacked by a third-world army that suddenly gained access to advanced technology. Only a month or two after the four-part arc ended, September 11th happened.
  • My Real Daddy: An interesting variation on this. Warren Ellis created and wrote the team to acclaim but it's Mark Millar's tenure that is the most influential and popular. Though, some will argue this is not necessarily as benevolent as this trope usually is. Millar's run could easily be considered an Audience-Alienating Era but the high sales, edgy tone, and satirical jabs at mainstream comics meant that it was under his pen that the Authority found their footing and current reputation in popular culture, to the point of prompting "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" (and by extension, its animated adaptation) as a screed against the series' Darker and Edgier thesis about modern age superheroics.
  • "Seinfeld" Is Unfunny: It's hard to describe how completely influential the series was, to the point that nearly every event comic to follow for the next decade or so took inspiration. It was pretty much the formative work of the early 2000s, combining the grim tone of the 90s with the scale and creativity of classic Silver Age works and adding a sense of social consciousness and consequences — and that's before one discusses its "blockbuster"-style artwork. People who got into comics from things like Ultimate Marvel, though, which refined a lot of these elements even further, or the host of copycats since, might not find The Authority to be anything impressive. It doesn't help that much of the series's subject matter now seems less shocking and more tastelessly edgy.
  • Strawman Has a Point: Whenever a political figure, journalist, or really anyone, tried calling the team on their excessive and often times, borderline fascist-esque vigilante activity. This was especially true during Mark Millar's run, when said strawman had a very legitimate reason to be concerned with the team overstepping their jurisdiction.

    Midnighter (Solo comic book) 
  • Broken Base:
    • Certain character changes brought upon Midnighter's entry into the DCnU have left his fans with mixed feelings, most notably his eventual separation from Apollo and not (officially) being Jenny Quantum's adoptive father.
    • Some readers seem to take issue that the 2015 solo series prominently features homosexual sex scenes. Others point out that sexuality is no stranger for superhero comics that star heterosexual characters, and that Midnighter shouldn't be held to a double standard.
  • Fridge Brilliance: In the 2015 solo series, the argument that leads to Midnighter and Apollo breaking up ends with Midnighter just kissing him goodbye and leaving. At first glance, it comes across as if Midnighter being too much of an emotional coward to deal with an actual, serious argument with his lover, so he just flees. However, in his anger, Apollo had actually started to burn a hole into Midnighter's shirt with his heat vision - apparently without realizing he was doing it. It's directly after this that Midnighter's threat assessment / fight strategy computer springs into action. Midnighter choosing to leave then and there has multiple other justifications upon noting this; firstly, that he didn't want to risk Apollo accidentally hurting him, both for his own safety and because Apollo would never forgive himself if he did. Secondly, even if Apollo did control himself upon noticing what he was doing, Midnighter's fight computer wouldn't let him back down from what seems to be a fight. There's never been indication before that there was any domestic violence between them before, but Midnighter realised that there was a significant chance of just that happening if he didn't leave.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: It was one thing to make a pastiche of Batman who makes killing his modus operandi, but that the original parent company—WildStorm—would get bought out by DC Comics? And that the character would just as quickly be incorporated into the main DC Universe? And now, following his successful reception in Grayson, Midnighter could be considered a member of the extended Bat-family, up to and including an appearance in the penultimate issues of Batman and Robin Eternal!
  • Win Back the Crowd:
    • While the 2011 Stormwatch series was not well-received, his role in Grayson as a Foil and Hero Antagonist was quite popular. Reception to his newest solo series has been highly positive as well, with some critics calling it among the best comics published by DC Comics and matching, if not exceeding, Warren Ellis' take on the character.
    • The latest mini-series, Midnighter and Apollo, was widely considered one of the best comics to be published in 2016. It even got a GLAAD award nomination, for getting the titular couple back together, and even rescuing old Bronze Age Camp Gay character "Extraño"note  from the scrappy heap.
  • The Woobie: Gregorio, formerly Extraño of The New Guardians, becomes one if you know his full backstory. He, along the rest of the New Guardians, were originally empowered by the Guardians of the Universe to be their successors and to propagate the next stage of human evolution. However, the team fell apart before it could accomplish any of their goals and most of the members ended up dying and were forgotten by the world at large. Extraño also contracted HIV from a vampire in one of his earliest adventures. It's no wonder he became less jovial and more jaded about heroics. Even his annoyance about his old superhero name ("No one’s called me that in years, fewer lived.") has depressing undertones to it since most of his friends during his "Extraño" days are no longer alive.

Alternative Title(s): Midnighter

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