Midnight (Dave Clark) is a fictional character owned by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. A masked detective, he was created by writer-artist Jack Cole for

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

during the 1930s to 1940s period known as the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

. A female supervillain alien version of Midnight appeared in the fifth season of ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'', portrayed by Jennifer Cheon Garcia.

Publication history

With writer-artist

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

retaining rights to the masked-detective character the Spirit,

publisher "Busy" Arnold, who published the comic-book version of this newspaper character, desired a hedge in case Eisner were killed or incapacitated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Arnold directed Jack Cole to create a similar character, which became Midnight.Midnight
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on February 19, 2016. Midnight debuted in ''Smash Comics'' #18 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Jan. 1941). The character became popular enough to become the cover feature with ''Smash Comics'' #28 (Nov. 1941), a position he would hold for nearly eight years until the title's cancellation with issue #85 (Oct. 1949).

Fictional character biography

Dave Clark

Dave Clark is a radio announcer in Big City. He is an actor in a show named "The Man Called Midnight", about a masked crime fighter. After witnessing the collapse of a twelve-story building, he finds out that it had collapsed as a result of deliberate criminal negligence on the part of its builder, Morris Carleton. Clark decides to fight Carleton and force him to admit responsibility. To do this, he puts on a domino mask and assumes the identity of Midnight himself. After succeeding, he chooses to continue to fight crime as "Midnight, the eerie friend of the needy". In ''Smash Comics'' #21, Midnight encounters the intelligent talking monkey Gabby. By the end of the story, the death of the scientist responsible leaves Gabby in Midnight's care, and the monkey becomes Midnight's sidekick. In ''Smash Comics'' #23, Midnight and Gabby face off against

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

Doc Wackey who, once captured, is talked into reforming and joins forces with Midnight. Doc Wackey and Gabby would continue to serve as Midnight's sidekicks (and often

comic relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

) for the remainder of Midnight's run on the title. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', Midnight "fights ordinary gangsters, the magician Chango (whose spells are in

Pig Latin Pig Latin (''Igpay Atinlay'') is a language game, argot, or cant in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word a ...

), the

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

Circle, the maniacal Laughing Killer, the Men from Mars, the Amazonian Robustia, and others". Midnight was killed in ''Smash Comics'' #36, where he went to Hell at his own request so that he could attempt to fight the Devil himself. Midnight was resurrected at the end of the chapter thanks to a mad scientist. Eventually two more colorful characters joined the gang, inept private detective Sniffer Snoop and his pet Hotfoot, a baby polar bear. Like the other Quality characters, Midnight was bought by

after Quality Comics folded in 1956, but has not been extensively used. Like most other Golden Age heroes, he made an appearance in

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

' ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

'', which Thomas used to feature every Golden Age character owned by DC. He also worked with the Freedom Fighters for some time. In his sole post-

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

appearance, a revised version of Midnight's origin written by Thomas and drawn by

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

was published in ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' #28. His base of operations was

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned into

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Midnight has not appeared since, and nothing is known of his fate after the 1940s.

Robert Avery/Robert Mason

A new Midnight was introduced in the 1990s in '' Ms. Tree Quarterly'', but whether this Midnight has any connection to the original is unknown. His secret identity was not mentioned in ''Ms. Tree Quarterly'' #1 (Summer 1990), #2 (Autumn 1990), #3 (Spring 1991), or #5 (Autumn 1991). In issue #4 (Summer 1991), he was named "Robert Avery". However, in issues #6 (Winter 1991) and #7 (Spring 1992), he was named "Robert Mason". It is unclear if either of those names are his true name.

Jack Sheriden

Jack Sheriden first appeared as Midnight in the backup story of ''Bug! The Adventures of Forager'', "Midnight in the Phantom Zone" by James Harvey, from issues #3 (September 2017) to #6 (February 2018). Jack Sheriden's biography seems to be identical to that of Dave Clark's, referring to his job as a radio presenter/actor in "The Man Called Midnight", as well as his association with Doc Wackey and Gabby. Additionally, Jack refers to his time in Hell, at which point the reader is referred to ''Smash Comics'' #36. He is said to be equipped with a "vacuum gun", a "2-way radio" and a "suit equipped with light-receptive

vantablack Vantablack is a class of super-black coatings with total hemispherical reflectances (THR) below 1% in the visible spectrum. The name is a portmanteau of the acronym ''VANTA'' ( vertically aligned nanotube arrays) and ''black''. The original Van ...

filaments". This iteration of Midnight is not traditionally heroic, as he mentions that he has multiple vices and seeks monetary compensation from a homeless man for his assistance. Midnight enters the Phantom Zone against his will, handcuffed to criminal Sally Mae, to save her gang's leader, who became lost within. They are guided by a

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

named Dig. For reasons which are unclear, it was necessary for Midnight to sacrifice himself so that the other three in his party might leave the Phantom Zone.

Other versions

* In the

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

miniseries '' JLA: Destiny'', by

John Arcudi John Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on '' The Mask'' and '' B.P.R.D.'' and his series '' Major Bummer''. Early life Arcudi grew up in Buffalo, New York. He attended Columbia University as an English major and ...

and

Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm (comics), Firestorm'', ''The Spectre (DC Comi ...

, a version of Midnight, named William Cole, exists in a world where

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

do not exist. He is a former

Gotham City Police Department Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

detective and a senior member of

Thomas Wayne Dr. Thomas Wayne, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayn ...

's Justice League of America, formerly the Justice League of Gotham, as Midnight.

In other media

A female version of Midnight appears in the ''

'' episode "Event Horizon", portrayed by Jennifer Cheon Garcia. This version is an alien with vortex-based abilities who was imprisoned in the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

before being freed by Ma'alefa'ak using stolen

technology. When Midnight attacks an evening party held by Lena Luthor,

Kara Danvers Kara Danvers, also known as Kara Zor-El on her homeworld, is a fictional character in the Arrowverse franchise, mainly the television series Supergirl (TV series), ''Supergirl''. Adapted for television by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kre ...

uses a new suit created by

Brainiac 5 Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox) is a superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He is from the planet Colu and is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Brainiac 5 has been substantially adapted int ...

to defeat her before sending her back to the Phantom Zone with a Phantom Zone projector.

External links

Midnight by Jack Cole from ''Smash Comics'' #32 originally copyrighted in 1942 by E.M. Arnold

References

{{GoldenAge Golden Age superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1941 Quality Comics superheroes DC Comics superheroes Fictional actors Characters created by Jack Cole