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 ofDaredevil ofMarvel Comics by more than twenty years.
Doctor Mid-Nite made his live-action debut on thesecond season ofLegends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Kwesi Ameyaw. He also appears inStargirl, portrayed byHenry Thomas in the first season and by Alex Collins in later seasons.
Charles McNider is a surgeon who is enlisted to remove a bullet from a witness set to testify against mobsters. Mobster Killer Maroni throws a grenade into the room, killing the witness and blinding McNider.[2] McNider later discovers that he can only see in darkness and develops a special visor to let him see in the light. He then becomes the superhero Doctor Mid-Nite and adopts an owl who he names Hooty.[3]
According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "his opponents include the minstrel the Baleful Banshee, the hypnosis-wieldingDoctor Light, the angling-themedFisherman, and the gang lordTarantula".[6]
In 1953, the Shadower kills McNider's lover, Myra Mason.[2] He rescues a pregnant woman from an attack inSogndal,Norway and delivers her baby,Pieter Cross. McNider is among the JSA members who are captured and placed in suspended animation byVandal Savage before being freed by theFlash.
McNider possesses the metahuman ability to see perfectly in the dark. Utilizing specialinfrared lenses, McNider can see in light; later in his life, his lenses become more ineffective as his eyesight continues to deteriorate even further, inhibiting his daylight vision. McNider also employs "blackout bombs" which release pitch-black gas that blinds villains yet allowing McNider to see. For a time, he used a weapon called a "cryotuber" which can either control the nervous system of an opponent or fire bursts of heat or cold. He is also a brilliant doctor and a mathematician. In All-Star Comics #13, he is able to communicate with a Neptunian using mathematical equations. As Starman, McNider uses various star-themed gadgets, including anairship designed by theRed Torpedo. McNider is also a superb athlete and fighter, as well as a gifted physician and author.
An alternate universe variant of Charles McNider appears inKingdom Come.
An alternate universe variant of Charles McNider appears inJSA: The Liberty File. This version is an intelligence agent code-namedthe Owl.
An alternate universe variant of Charles McNider appears inBatman: Holy Terror. This version is a friend ofThomas andMartha Wayne who lost his sight as punishment for rebelling against the government.
The original Dr. Mid-Nite (Charles McNider) is one of seven JSA-related heroes whose solo appearances are collected in an anthology entry in theDC Archive Editions series:
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in theSmallville two-part episode "Absolute Justice" via a painting that depicts him as a member of theJustice Society of America (JSA)
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite appears inBatman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced byCorey Burton.[10] This version is a member and resident doctor of the Justice Society of America (JSA).
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite appears in theMad segment "That's What Super Friends Are For", voiced byKevin Shinick.
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite appears in thesecond season ofLegends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Kwesi Ameyaw.[11] This version is a legally blind member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), who were active in the 1940s until most of them went missing following a mission in 1956. In reality, they scattered themselves across time to protect theSpear of Destiny, with McNider going to the year 3000, where he became a researcher and used futuristic technology to restore his sight. However, he is killed by a brainwashedRip Hunter, who steals his spear fragment for theLegion of Doom.[12]
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite appears inStargirl, portrayed byHenry Thomas in the first season and by Alex Collins in the second and third seasons.[13] This version is a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA) who sports longevity and wears glasses that can sync with special goggles he developed and programmed with an A.I. modeled after him (also provided by Thomas in the first season and by Collins in the second and third seasons) and memories. In flashbacks, he was with the JSA when theInjustice Society of America (ISA) attacked their headquarters. During the battle,Shade pretended to attack McNider to save him, but accidentally lost him in the Shadowlands, leading to the latter being presumed dead. In the present,Beth Chapel assumes the mantle of Doctor Mid-Nite after she discovers McNider's googles. In the second season, McNider eventually makes contact with Chapel and later encountersCourtney Whitmore andCindy Burman afterEclipso sent them to the Shadowlands. Once Shade uses his abilities to free the trio, McNider and Chapel work to find Eclipso so their allies can defeat him. Afterward, McNider gives Chapel his blessing to continue operating as Doctor Mid-Nite before she informs him that his wife has settled in Melody Hills, where she now has a son.
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite makes a cameo appearance in the opening credits ofJustice League: The New Frontier as a member of the Justice Society of America.
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite appears inInjustice 2 #40. This version isolated himself to Norway, withTed Grant being the only one who knows of this. Grant bringsBatman to McNider to recruit the latter to perform a heart transplant onSuperboy usingGeneral Zod's heart so the former can leave thePhantom Zone.[14]
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite and Hooty received an action figure in wave twelve of theDC Universe Classics line.
Charles McNider as Doctor Mid-Nite and Hooty received an action figure fromDC Direct in 2001.[15]
TheJustice League Unlimited incarnation of Charles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite received an action figure inMattel'sJustice League Unlimited toy line in November 2011.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 92.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^ab"Dr. Mid-Nite Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedNovember 3, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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