Somebody better call a Doctor..
I sometimes wonder, just how many of the characters we see in the DCU who have decided to place an honorific in their chosen Noms de guerre actually earned them?
Well, there's no doubt that Pieter Cross, the third person to adopt the name Doctor Mid-nite (created by Matt Wagner and John K. Snyder), has earned his.
Delivered as a baby by the first man to take the name (Charles McNider), Cross originally had no desire to follows in his famous midwife's footsteps.
A man with a strong social conscience, we first meet (adult) Pieter as he runs a free clinic in the town of Portsmouth, Washington.
Concerned by the amount of junkies, suffering from symptoms of a new Venom based derivative named "A-39", Cross sets out to find the source.
Tracking the suppliers down (former Batman foes, The Terrible Trio), Cross is caught and subjected to a forced car accident, Cross escapes the wreck, but not without cost.
His female partner killed and himself badly injured, in a twist of fate, he finds himself, like the original Doc, blinded, except for when he is in pitch darkness.
Using his new-found powers and taking a leaf from the original Mid-nite's bag of tricks, Pieter creates himself an armoured suit, black-out bombs and a pair of goggles adapted to enhance his new found powers of sight.
He too also has an owl sidekick who aids him in his adventures.
Later in the course of his career, he is contacted by the newly formed JSA.
With history destined to be repeated, Cross settles easily into his role as the teams physician.
Preferring to heal than to fight, Cross is still a valued member of the team when trouble flairs as respected for his surgical skills as his fighting abilities.
Indeed, he is held in high esteem by heroes such as Batman and the new Mr Terrific, has worked with such organisations as S.T.A.R Labs, and has been present for a number of high profile cases throughout the DCU, including the autopsy of Sue Dibney during Identity Crisis.
Notable Issues:
Dr Mid-nite #1-3 (Mini-series detailing origins)
JSA V1 #8 (First Dr-Mid-nite/Black Canary team up)
JSA V1 #28 (Deadly game of Chess vs Mr Terrific II)
JSA V1 #40 (Dr-Mid-nite spotlight issue)
JSA Classified #19-20 (Versus Roulette)
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