Original text by Alan Kistler, additional material by Jason Kirk.
Doctor Mid-Nite created by Charles Reizenstein and Stanley Josephs Asch.
Doctor Midnight created by Roy Thomas.
"There are no dark corners for evil to hide in... no shadows too deep for the ever-vigilant eyes of Dr. Mid-Nite to penetrate." - Secret Origins #20
Personal Details
Codename: Doctor Mid-Nite
Codename: Doctor Midnight
Overview
Gifted the ability to see in total darkness by a criminal attack, Doctor Mid-Nite became the bane of the gangster and common criminal. Either from his popular newspaper column or from the night time roof tops he was an effective force. While in later years he was the one physician that both Infinity Inc. and the Justice Society turned to in emergencies.
Background
Doctor Charles McNider was a world class expert in medical research as well as a practising physician. Therefore it was not unusual for him to be called out during the night. The particular night in question he was called out by the local police to attend the bed of an informant vital to the prosecution of Boss "Killer" Maroni who had been shot. In order to finish the job one of Maroni's stooges threw a hand grenade though the window. The informant and his wife were killed along with the police officer but somehow McNider survived. Eventually McNider was released from hospital but flying glass had robbed him of his sight rendering him blind. With the help of his nurse, Myra Mason, he continued his research and began a second career as an author publishing sensational attacks on Marconi and his kind. While angered by this the gangster decided to try and ignore the written attacks.
Not naturally given to self pity McNider found himself with a lot of free time on which to reflect upon his condition. One such night he was sat alone in his darkened study, when, quite suddenly a majestic owl accidentally crashed though the window. The surprised McNider accidentally loosened the bandages covering his eyes and discovered that he could see perfectly in the pitch black of the night, however when he turned on the light he found himself blind once again. In effect his eyesight had been inverted, he could see as well by night as a normal man could by day and vice versa. McNider adopted the owl who he named "Hooty" and began researching lenses for glasses that would let him see in the daytime. Based an infra-red compound the infra-red specs shielded his eyes in the daytime effectively making it look like night time.
Angered by Marconi's continuing campaign of terror and rackets McNider decided to put his new found ability to good use. Hiding the fact that he could see from Myra he began putting together the identity of Doctor Mid-Nite. Inspired by the bomb that had blinded him he mixed trace amounts of explosives with other ingredients to create his signature Black-out Bombs, a compound that he would later share with his successor (Dr. Midnight) and the Batman, they rendered the entire area in a fog as dark as night that still allowed his altered vision to see through. Donning an old masquerade costume and gloves (to hide his fingerprints) he was, along with Hooty, ready to confront Marconi.
After saving the life of an important witness against Marconi (by operating as a physician in the dark rather than a mystery man) Dr Mid-Nite tracked down the gangster to his hideout. Blowing the fuses so that he could operate in the dark and too confuse his opponents. He attacked, easily taking down the blinded thugs. Marconi was soon out cold and all wrapped up complete with evidence for the police. Keeping the identity of Dr Mid-Nite secret McNider was able to watch Marconi brought to trial with his own commentaries covering the affair in the paper.
As a caped crusader Doctor Mid-Nite was an enigmatic and constant force against the various gangsters and criminals of New York City. However by day he maintained the image of the blind doctor and newspaper writer. Driven by his need to undermine and topple the gangsters Mid-Nite avoided collecting a colourful rogues-gallery like many of his contemporaries. When Alan Scott (Green Lantern I) and Rex Tyler (Hourman I) stepped down from the Justice Society the team asked McNider and Ted Knight (Starman I) to join them against the evil scientist Dr Elba. Then when the United States fully entered the war he was a founding member of the All-Star Squadron until the Justice Society disbanded to allow the individual members to enlist in the regular army.
Despite his blindness McNider served as a special consultant to the US Army Medical Corps with the rank of Captain in the South Pacific war theatre (he even brought Myra along with him). In due course the war department reformed the Justice Society as the Justice Battalion and McNider once again became Dr Mid-Nite. Times changed and the Doctor found himself up against true super-criminals with the likes of original Doctor Light, who used light based technology to even the odds. He stayed with the team after the war and was one of the members present at the HUAC hearings. Doctor Mid-Nite retired but Doctor Charles McNider continued his research. Unfortunately his eye-sight began to deteriorate with age and despite the occasional use of gadgets the Doctor was rendered truly blind.
During his retirement McNider took on the recently graduated physician Dr. Beth Chapel, the daughter of a South Carolina minister. She became his progeny and secretly discovered that her mentor had been Doctor Mid-Nite (she did not let on until years later). When the Justice Society came out of retirement Doctor Mid-Nite had occasion to join them but for the most part he left the crimefighting to the younger generation. In was this new second generation of superheroes that brought McNider and Chapel back into contact when he became the physician for the new team of Infinity Inc. (ergo the JSA brats). She at the time was working for the Sunset Medical Centre.
During a fire started by an earthquake (part of the universal Crisis) exploding oxygen canisters blinded her. It was McNider that directed the surgical team using a revolutionary technique that restored her vision. However the operation had the side effect that her eyesight was now so sensitive that she could not see in daylight. She discovered that she could see in darkness just like McNider while helping Hourman II battle Shadow Demons. In honour of her mentor she adopted the name Doctor Midnight (slightly different spelling). In a twist of fate McNider discovered her secret identity but decided to keep quite, eventually they would reveal to each other that they knew the others secret identity. Chapel joined Infinity Inc.
Shortly after the same Crisis that had birthed Doctor Midnight, Doctor Mid-Nite came our of retirement to join the Justice Society in limbo battling against the end of the world. Chapel would start a romance with the second Hourman Rick Tyler (son of the original Hourman) but unfortunately she was one of the heroes killed in the drawn out battle against the ancient god Eclipso. With the return of the JSA from Limbo, McNider set up a new free clinic with fellow physician Doctor Louisa Soliz. He stayed with the Justice Society helping them battle the Ultra-Humanite and others.
It was during a battle with Vandal Savage that Mid-Nite and the rest of the JSA were pulled into the Zero-Hour where the villain Extant was using the chaos created by the plans of Parallax for his own purposes. The assembled JSA met Extant at the Vanishing Point of the Linear Men. However against his mastery of time they had little chance, he systematically removed each of the checks, spells and processes that had kept the JSA and Mid-Nite with them young beyond their years. When Mid-Nite and Hourman attacked Extant they received the full brunt of his chronal powers. In the battle Hourman and Atom were killed outright while Doctor Charles McNider alias Doctor Mid-Nite died three hours later in hospital. With Beth Chapel also deceased there is currently no Doctor Mid-Nite, at least until midnight...
Powers and Abilities
Don't let the dark glasses fool you, athletically fit and expertly trained, Dr Mid-Nite was more that matched for most opponents. Over decades he has trained his body, hearing and mind to adjust for his blindness to the point where many privately wondered if he is blind at all. Beyond that he also had a true super ability in that he could see perfectly in absolute darkness and with special goggles he could see in Infra-Red during the daytime. In his advancing years Mid-Nite's eyesight worsened to the point where he could no longer use the IR goggles during the daytime. In order to level the playing field during the daytime Mid-Nite used specially designed Blackout Bombs as described above. Beth Chapel has similar abilities but could not use IR goggles to see in the day.
Recommened Reading
Overpower Cards
None
Allies
Hooty - A large owl that crashed into McNiders's darkened room. In the incident McNider discovered that he could see in the dark.
Louisa Soliz - McNider's partner in his last practice.
Myra Mason - McNider's original nurse, a highly skilled lady she served both as his assistant before his accident and as his personal nurse during his recuperation. Deep down she carried a torch for the Doctor but it is not know what happened to her.
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Alter Ego: Dr. Charles McNider.
Occupation: Author and physician. Former Captain in the US Army Medical Corps.
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation Justice Society of America, former member of the All-Star Squadron.
Base of Operations: New York and later Los Angeles.
First Appearance: ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #25 (April, 1941)
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 179 lb.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Alter Ego: Dr. Beth Chapel.
Occupation: Physician
Known Relatives: Rev. and Mrs Chapel (parents), Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (brothers)
Group Affiliation Infinity Inc.
Base of Operations: Sunset Medical Centre, Los Angeles
First Appearance: (as Chapel) INFINITY INC. #19, (as Doctor Midnight) INFINITY INC. #21
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 118 lb.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
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