Doctor Mid-Nite

Doctor Mid-Nite
Cover to JSA: All-Stars #6. Art by John Cassaday and Mark Lewis.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(McNider) All-American Comics #25 (April 1941) (Chapel) Infinity Inc. #19 (October 1985) As Doctor Midnight: Infinity Inc. (vol. 1) #21 (December 1985) (Cross) Doctor Mid-Nite #1 (September 1999)
Created by	(McNider) Charles Reizenstein Stanley Josephs Aschmeier (Chapel) Roy Thomas Todd McFarlane (Cross) Matt Wagner John K. Snyder
In-story information
Alter ego	-Dr. Charles McNider -Dr. Elizabeth Chapel -Dr. Pieter Anton Cross
Team affiliations	(McNider, Cross) Justice Society of America (McNider) All-Star Squadron U.S. Medical Corps Black Lantern Corps (Chapel) Infinity, Inc. Shadow Fighters
Notable aliases	(McNider) Starman (Chapel) Doctor Midnight
Abilities	(All) Perfect night vision Ability to see in the light via infrared lenses (McNider) Brilliant doctor and mathematician Gifted physician and author Superb athlete and hand to hand combatant Employs "blackout bombs" (Cross) Great physician and scientist Employs special ultrasonic lenses and "blackout bombs"

Doctor Mid-Nite (also Doctor Midnight) is a fictional superhero physician in DC Comics. The figure has been represented in the comics by three different individuals, Charles McNider, Beth Chapel, and Pieter Anton Cross. Dr. Mid-Nite was originally created by writer Charles Reizenstein and artist Stanley Josephs Aschmeier in 1941. The hero, represented first by Charles McNider, appeared for the first time in All-American Comics #25 (April 1941).

Like many Golden Age heroic characters, the original Doctor Mid-Nite appeared as a member of DC's Justice Society of America. His two successors were also represented as members of the group or an offshoot. Doctor Mid-Nite has never appeared as the solo protagonist of a regular title magazine, but the figure has been the subject of an anthology and a mini-series.

All three versions of Doctor Mid-Nite have exhibited the same basic features: a cowled costume featuring a crescent moon symbol, keen ability to see in the darkness at the cost of near or total blindness in sunlight, the use of special visors and “blackout” smoke bombs to gain tactical advantage in combat, a high degree of skill in martial arts, and jobs as physicians serving both normal human beings and "metahuman" superheroes. Additionally, two of the doctors have been accompanied by sidekick owls.

As a blind character, Doctor Mid-Nite is widely regarded as the first superhero in comics to exhibit a physical impairment, pre-dating the creation of Daredevil by more than twenty years.

The following biographies are presented "in universe."

Charles McNider, a surgeon, was called one night to remove a bullet from a witness set to testify against mobsters. A mobster threw a grenade into the room, killing the witness and blinding McNider, with the injury causing him to believe his career as a surgeon was over. One evening, as he was recovering, an owl crashed through his window. Removing the bandages covering his eyes, McNider discovered that he could still see, but only in perfect darkness. McNider developed a special visor allowing him to see in the light and "blackout bombs" capable of blocking out all light, becoming a costumed crime fighter. Adopting the owl that flew through his window and naming it 'Hooty', the bird became his "sidekick." He later joined the Justice Society of America (JSA) and the All-Star Squadron. In 1942, McNider enlisted in the U.S. Medical Corps as a physician during World War II, rising to the rank of Captain. Ten years after his debut, McNider briefly assumed the role of Starman after the JSA disbanded when Ted Knight, the original Starman, suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of his participation in the development of the atomic bomb.