Midnight (DC Comics)
| Midnight | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Comics/DC Comics |
| First appearance | Smash Comics #18 January 1941 |
| Created by | Jack Cole |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dave Clark |
| Team affiliations | UXAM (Radio Station) DC version only Freedom Fighters |
| Notable aliases | The Man at Midnight, The Man Called Midnight |
| Abilities | Hand Gun Expert fighter |
Midnight (real name: Dave Clark) is a fictional character owned by DC Comics. A masked detective, he was created by writer-artist Jack Cole for Quality Comics during the 1930s to 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
With writer-artist Will Eisner retaining rights to the masked-detective character the Spirit, Quality Comics 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. Arnold directed Jack Cole to create a similar character, which became Midnight. Midnight debut in Smash Comics #18 (cover-dated 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).
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. In Smash Comics #23, Midnight and Gabby face off against mad scientist 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) for the remainder of Midnight's run on the title. He 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.
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