129 Sentences With "midnighter" | Random Sentence Generator

Midnighter most recently headlined his own series, which ended in March.

Mr. Orlando, 30, who is bisexual, has an affinity for Midnighter.

Sure, there are examples of queerness in comic books — please see Midnighter who identifies as gay.

The characters, who made their debut in 1998, were gay analogues of Batman (Midnighter) and Superman (Apollo).

There is no comic book romance better or more exciting than the one between Midnighter and Apollo.

With no family left to speak of, since she's disowned her father, Creek is a real Midnighter now.

While great characters like Batwoman, Mystique, Midnighter and Apollo, and even Wonder Woman do indeed exist, Snagglepuss adds more to the story.

While he wore a device that obscured his handsome face, two admirers — Batgirl, a longtime love interest, and Midnighter, a gay superhero — were able to recognize him from his derrière.

ACO's art is reminiscent of his run on Midnighter, in that he takes a sledgehammer to time and space and builds up suspenseful pockets of action in jagged, thrilling pieces.

In October the company will publish Midnighter & Apollo, the first part of a six-issue mini-series that reunites the two heroes, who are gay and have an on-again off-again relationship.

Two of The Authority's male heroes, Apollo and Midnighter — who were essentially stand-ins for Superman and Batman — were lovers, and the book was built on the question of where its heroes would derive their authority from in the absence of a UN mandate.

"With a book like Midnighter & Apollo, which from cover to cover is a love letter to queer characters and our struggle to live, be visible and love, it felt right to return to one of the first and reintroduce Gregorio to a new generation," Mr. Orlando said.

In Midnighter #6, an alternate universe single-issue story set in feudal Japan, Apollo appeared as a peaceable but skillful swordsman and lover of a samurai Midnighter.

Midnighter then goes back to Matt's father's house and attacks him, revealing him to also be an android. Matt stabs Midnighter, revealing himself as the supervillain Prometheus and confessing to stealing the tech from the God Garden with the intention of taking down all superheroes, starting with Midnighter. They begin fighting and Prometheus reveals he downloaded all of Midnighter's origin file into his brain and destroyed the original, so if Midnighter kills him, all his early history would be destroyed. Midnighter does not mind and beats down Prometheus, who manages to escape severely injured.

On the same night, Henry Bendix - the man who created Midnighter - sells the Ace of Winchesters, a magical rifle, to the Lords of the Gun, on the condition that they make Midnighter and Apollo suffer. After searching for him for days, Midnighter manages to track Bendix to his hideout. Bendix, however, informs Midnighter that he has been expecting him and has sent a demon named Mawzir to fight Apollo, which manages to kill him and send his soul to Hell. Bendix gives Midnighter the option of either letting him go and save Midnighter by teleporting, or kill him and be forced to fight his way out which will cost him time away from Apollo.

Midnighter and Apollo is a six-issue American comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It is written by Steve Orlando and illustrated by Fernando Blanco, with covers by ACO. The series debuted in October 2016 and finished in March, 2017. The story takes some time after the end of Midnighter, with Midnighter and Apollo having gotten back together.

After that, Midnighter goes to take a drink with his friend Tony.

Midnighter subsequently journeys to Gregorio's Lima, Peru home, The Sacrarium, that Gregorio shares with a man named Hugh (probably the therianthrope known as the Tasmanian Devil) and an adopted girl with wings named Suri. Gregorio agrees to help Midnighter, and locates Apollo's soul in Hell, where it was relegated after Apollo's encounter with Mawzir.Steve Orlando (w), Blanco, Fernando (a). Midnighter and Apollo #2 (January 2017).

Midnighter is an American comic book series published by DC Comics and written by Steve Orlando that ran for twelve issues (plus an un-numbered preview issue) from June 2015 to July 2016, featuring Midnighter as its protagonist. The series is also known as Midnighter (Volume 2) to differentiate itself from the character's previous series first published by WildStorm in 2006. The release of Midnighter marked the first time a gay man was the protagonist in an ongoing series released by one of the "Big Two" comic book publishers (Marvel and DC Comics). Despite its underwhelming sales, Midnighter met with critical acclaim from professional critics, who praised among other things the series' fast-paced events and its portrayal of queer characters.

Midnighter and Apollo takes place some time after the previous Midnighter solo series. The story begins with Midnighter and Apollo stopping a train that has abducted children by a man named Captain Half-Beard and his crew. Following their victory, the two of them have dinner with their friends Tony and Marina. Once their friends leave, the two of them have sex and Apollo questions Midnighter's method of killing his enemies.

Following a battle with demons, Apollo's soul is dragged to Hell and Midnighter attempts to bring him back. The series was announced shortly after the cancellation of Midnighter, that came with the end of The New 52 continuity and the DC Rebirth relaunch. With this series, Orlando wanted to explore the romantic relationship between Midnighter and Apollo, as they had only recently gotten back together when Midnighter was cancelled and believed a comic focusing on the same-sex relationship of two superheros was necessary. Due to the violent content and profanity present within the comic, the series was rated T+ (+16).

3) #1 (September 2011) He and Midnighter gradually realise they are attracted to one another over the course of 18 issues, before DC restored its pre-reboot characterisations and designs for Midnighter and Apollo in its March 2013 Stormwatch #19. It then restored them to the original New 52 designs with the series' final issue, Stormwatch #30, in preparation for DC's The New 52: Futures End comic series, which is set to heavily feature former Wildstorm characters. Vaguely remembering a few weeks in an "alternate timeline" (Stormwatch #19-29), Apollo and Midnighter are nevertheless now a couple again, and Jenny Quantum is a team member again. Beginning with the new Midnighter series of 2015, Apollo and Midnighter are no longer a couple, due to conflicts over Midnighter's violent nature.

After the timeline-altering events of the 2016 DC Rebirth relaunch, Henry Bendix tries to recruit Extraño against Midnighter and Apollo, but Gregorio De La Vega now shuns his previous persona, and refuses.Steve Orlando (w), Blanco, Fernando (a). Midnighter and Apollo #1 (December 2016). DC Comics.

The series is also known as Midnighter (Volume 1) to differentiate itself from the character's 12-issue latter series first published by DC Comics in 2015. Three Midnighter trade paperbacks were originally released. In July 2017 the complete series will be released for the first time in trade.

Midnighter first issue released in June, together with twenty other new DC Comics' titles. The series had a traditional publication, with a 20-page issue priced at $2.99 released monthly, and is codified in comics tracking as Midnighter Volume 2 to avoid confusion with the character's previous series.

Prometheus shows up to torment Midnighter using stolen technology from the God Garden that he sells to various individuals around the world. In addition, he acquires the Gardener's secret files on Midnighter's true identity and origin. When confronted by Midnighter, Prometheus uses God Garden technology to block Midnighter's tactical computer, eliminating the edge Midnighter has in analyzing an opponent's fighting techniques. Prometheus also reveals that he has downloaded all of Midnighter's own skills into his brain to use against his enemy.

" Critic Jesse Schedeen described Midnighter #3 in IGN positively as "great about exploring [Midnighter's] dichotomies." Jeff Ayers from Fanboys.Inc commended the Midnighter and Grayson pairing in Midnighter #5, writing that "Orlando is still crafting a compelling story of theft and intrigue within Midnighter's world." Matt Santori-Griffith of Comicosity reported Midnighter as "Not just the gay hero I always wanted, but it’s the comic I’ve always wanted, period. Plus it’s the gay comic I’ve always wanted, with a world I recognize so deeply and naturally in the place I’ve been looking for it all my life. It’s all of it and more, none subsumed or accelerated over the other, all in perfect harmony.

In 2008, Midnighter received a GLAAD Media Awards nomination for Outstanding Comic Book, but lost to Strangers in Paradise.

The characters Midnighter, Dick Grayson and Helena Bertinelli frequently feature in both comic books. Midnighter begins shortly after the end of his relationship with Andrew Pulaski, known as the hero Apollo. This decision, according to Orlando, was made to define Midnighter as a stand-alone character with his own sexual experiences with other people, while slowly building both characters' new interactions. The writer cites Christopher Marlowe, Orlando Cruz, Tab Hunter, John McClane, Emile Griffith, John Woo and Melvin Van Peebles as inspirations for the title character's personality.

Back home, Midnighter celebrates Thanksgiving for the first time with Matt, when they are attacked by Multiplex. Midnighter manages to defeat him, only to find out a few days later that Matt's father was also attacked. He and Matt go visit the man, who lives in a small town in Connecticut, and Midnighter begins investigating the place. While investigating at a nearby bar, he is attacked by a gang and during the fight, he discovers they are not humans, but rather androids created with God Garden technology.

In Wildstorm Winter Special 2005, a story called Apollo & Midnighter: Two Dangerous Ideas features their alternate reality analogues, Pluto and Daylighter, with inverted color schemes to match. At first the real Midnighter believed that Daylighter was homophobic, but later learned that Pluto and Daylighter were a former couple that had broken up.

The series appeared on numerous publications' end-of-year lists, and won "Best New Series" from Broken Frontier's 2015 awards program. Two Midnighter trade paperbacks were released in 2016, with seven and five issues each. A 6-issue miniseries sequel titled Midnighter and Apollo, also written by Orlando, ran from October 2016 to March 2017.

The city of Oakland (pictured) is a recurrent Midnighter setting. Oakland, California and Boston, Massachusetts, are the cities where most of Midnighters action happens. This breaks from DC tradition, as most DC stories take place in fictional DC locales. Thanks to the door technology, however, Midnighter can easily travel to any place in the world.

An image that purportedly displays alt= Midnighter represented both a new path and a return to the character's roots. It re-established his over-the-top acts of graphic violence and focused on his community work with everyday people, a similar scenario to the character's early days in the WildStorm Universe before joining Stormwatch. This Midnighter, however, is considerably younger than his WildStorm counterpart, and desires to have a more social life. According to writer Steve Orlando, he began writing Midnighter after Mark Doyle, Batman's editor, asked if he wanted to "pitch" any character.

New in the city of Oakland, Midnighter arranges a date with a man called Jason. Suddenly, the restaurant where they are is invaded by Modoran mercenaries searching for three of their countrymen, making Midnighter reveal himself and beat them in a fight. Afterwards, Midnighter takes Jason to his apartment and installs a smartalk in him, in which Jason can contact him wherever he is. He also talks about his recent breakup with Andrew Pulaski (Apollo), saying he could not handle pretending to be a normal human and that Andrew is too good for him.

Feeling too intimidated, Jason prefers to be just friends with Midnighter. Called by The Gardener, Midnighter discovers the God Garden was robbed by a mysterious intruder who took several weapons and also a file containing his past memories before he was genetically enhanced. He starts a search to recover everything that was lost while beginning to date Matt, whom he met during the Modoran attack. Midnighter finds the first weapon, a powered necklace, with Marina Lucas, who was using it to avenge her husband's death by food poisoning.

In June 2016, The New York Times published that DC Comics would release a Midnighter sequel, Midnighter and Apollo, as a 6-issue miniseries, starting in October of the same year. Steve Orlando returned to writing, with interior art by Fernando Blanco and covers by ACO. Romulo Fajardo Jr. also returned as colorist. The series lasted until March 2017.

Midnighter is an American comic book series published by WildStorm, first issued in November 2006. It is a spin-off from The Authority (which is itself a spin-off from Stormwatch), a superhero team comic book created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the solo adventures of Midnighter, "the greatest tactician in the history of mankind". The first six issues were written by Garth Ennis, followed by three issues made by different writers; the last eleven final issues were written by Keith Giffen. Midnighter ended with its twentieth issue, followed by the limited series Number of the Beast.

The Batman-like Midnighter was shown as being in a relationship with the Superman-like Apollo during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority. Midnighter and Apollo are now married and have an adopted daughter – Midnighter has gone on to star in his own title. In 2006, DC Comics could still draw widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman, even though openly lesbian minor characters such as Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya already existed in the franchise. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Panel from Batman No. 84 (June 1954), page 24.

However, the DC editorial board still censored a kiss between the two characters in 2000. Described as the "first openly gay couple in comics," Midnighter and Apollo married in a later issue and have an adopted daughter. Midnighter starred in his own solo title from 2006; the Midnighter comic was criticised by François Peneaud for ignoring the protagonist's relationship with his husband, and also for the continual use of homophobic insults by villains. Criticism has also been leveled at a storyline in which Apollo is raped, with critics saying that straight superheroes are never subjected to such treatment.

They remain friends, however, with Midnighter sending Apollo a photo of himself as a boy when he discovers a file on his secret origin.

Midnighter #1 debuted at number eighty-three on Diamond Comic Distributors best-selling comics ranking for June 2015, with 32,200 copies distributed, being the seventeenth best-selling DC comic book series debut in that month. It was the series' only issue to chart in the top 100, after Midnighter #2 had 61.5% less copies distributed next month, placing at number one hundred and twenty-nine.

Midnighter quickly kills him and fights his way out before he manages to use his teleportation door where he reaches Apollo and manages to fight off Mawzir. Three days later, Midnighter goes to the magician Extraño for help. Extraño informs him that Apollo is being held in Hell by demons. Back in Hell, Apollo is being tormented with illusions by the demon-lord Neron.

" He described the series as "a war comic", stating that this "makes this title book something that Ennis does better than most." Leroy Douresseaux from ComicBookBin also praised Ennis writing during his Midnighter #5 review, saying that "in his comics, life is precious, making it all the more appalling that so many lives come to such horrific endings." Douresseaux was positive about Midnighter's characterization too, stating that Ennis "works Midnighter with dark edgy humor as Warren Ellis did in the early days of the character." Writing for Comics Bulletin, Bruce Logan complimented Midnighter #7 story: "The brilliance of Brian K. Vaughan’s novel approach becomes evident when one reads it.

It's a little too direct a continuation of the previous Midnighter book in that regard. But writer Steve Orlando does highlight the strong love that unite the two heroes, even if Apollo himself shares but a fraction of his lover's page time. This issue also showcases Midnighter at his most bad-ass." David Pepose of Newsarama gave it a score of 9 out of 10, saying "If there's one critique I might level against this series, it's that Midnighter's headstart against his boyfriend in the characterization department has only continued to increase since the first issue - for a title called Midnighter and Apollo, the latter character still doesn't feel as wonderfully defined as his dark, brooding and witty counterpart.

When the Authority reorganises and takes the Carrier into space, Apollo elects to stay on Earth, as he might be powerless during extended space travel. Midnighter stays with him.

They arrived to find it booby-trapped. After narrowly escaping with their lives, their next mission was to eliminate the U.S. military's superhuman training camp. Midnighter returned with the declaration that the program was "not so special." In Authority: Revolution, a 12-part series by Ed Brubaker and Dustin Nguyen, Apollo was left to raise Jenny Quantum alone for three years after Midnighter, having received a sinister revelation about the future, left the Authority.

Gay male characters in Batman comics include Harper Row's brother CullenWho Was That Masked Man? CAPULLO Sketch Raises Questions About LARK, What's Wrong with BATMAN's Arm?; by Vaneta Rogers; at Newsarama; published August 15, 2014; retrieved January 11, 2019 and the superhero Midnighter. Midnighter originated as an alternative universe analogue of Batman in comics published by WildStorm, but became part of the mainstream DC Universe in September 2011 as a result of The New 52.

Soon after this revelation Jenny succeeds in freeing both Doctors, returning them to Earth. Bendix then reveals himself to the Authority, appearing on their Carrier with Rose Tattoo and a legion of his alien followers. They fight and Bendix uses mind-control to turn the Midnighter against his allies. But Jenny Quantum and the Engineer are able to free the Midnighter from Bendix's control, and then bring the fight back to him.

Apollo and Midnighter are now separated, as Midnighter stays on earth, fighting mutates and helping people, and Apollo is forced to live high in the photosphere, where enough sunlight radiations are able to pierce the smog covering the planet. A badly crippled Jack, and a completely powereless Angela Spica reside now in the dead husk that once was the Carrier, now a corpse dimensionally fused to London ruins, used as a safehouse for survivors.

Green Lantern also has a lesbian couple, Lee and Li, as supporting characters. An example of a gay character in a starring role is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter, who appears in comic books published by Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics.First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (1998) The Batman-like Midnighter was revealed to be in a relationship with the Superman- like Apollo during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority.

The Authority are plagued by a group of old superhumans called the Sons of Liberty, consisting of old patriotic superheroes from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. They rally American citizens discontented with the Authority's take-over of the US government, and lead a series of riots across the nation, answering to a mysterious man in a hood who operates his own Carrier and has an entire alien race under his control. While the team struggle to control this threat, the Midnighter receives an unsettling visit from an aged Apollo, who claims to have travelled from the future. He shows Midnighter a future in which Authority rule has reduced the world to a totalitarian dictatorship, and in which Midnighter himself has become a brain-damaged despot.

In this standalone graphic novel, the U.S. President ordered an assault on the Authority which saw them nearly defeated by doubts, depression and human foibles. Each team member's weakness was exploited; in Apollo's case this appeared to be jealousy in his relationship with Midnighter, who confessed to Apollo that he had kissed another man. Apollo, enraged, hit Midnighter hard enough to knock him through several walls. This scene remains the only canonical indication of violence between the two.

An example of a gay character in a starring role is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter, who appears in comic books first published by Wildstorm.First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (1998) The Batman-like Midnighter was revealed to be in a relationship with the Superman-like Apollo during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority. The portrayal of the relationship was initially subtle, with writer Warren Ellis not informing the artist of his intentions.

"Getting Some Authority: Christos Gage On His Upcoming Authority Arc" . Newsarama. April 5, 2007"AUTHORITY COMPLEX: Gage & Robertson Talk 'Prime'". Comic Book Resources' July 12, 2007"Gage Takes Wildstorm: Talking Midnighter: Armageddon & Authority: Prime" . Newsarama.

He finds another weapon while saving Amanda Riley, a little schoolgirl kidnapped by Multiplex, a villain in the employ of Mr. Rohmer, a corrupt businessman who sought the power of the God Garden. Rohmer reveals that he pretended to use Amanda as a guinea pig for a machine he built using God Garden technology. Beaten by Midnighter, he revealed that he acquired the tech from a Russian man named Noi Akakievitch. Midnighter then abducts Dick Grayson to help him with his mission in Russia.

Steve Orlando is an American comic book writer, known for his work for DC Comics writing characters such as Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, and two series starring Midnighter, which were nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

The first story arc (collected in the Stormwatch trade paperback A Finer World) described how, of the seven-member team, only Apollo and Midnighter survived, going rogue after their first Stormwatch Black mission and spending five years undercover fighting for a finer world in the alleyways of America. Jackson King intercepted them on a mission to seize weapons made in the "Nevada Garden", a leftover of the first Engineer. He ordered Fahrenheit and Hellstrike to tag them with fetishes so they could be transported into SkyWatch. At first Apollo and Midnighter attacked the Stormwatch team, believing them under Bendix's orders.

In The Authority #10, Apollo sterilised the moon, killing the alien parasites that were using it as a base from which to attack Earth. He formed a friendship with leader Jenny Sparks, and his relationship with Midnighter was revealed in The Authority #8, written by Warren Ellis. For the portrayal of Apollo and Midnighter, the Authority received a GLAAD award. The fourth Authority story arc saw Jenny Sparks die with the end of the 20th century and the Authority join a battle with U.S. government-backed superhumans to secure custody of her successor, Jennifer Quantum, the infant spirit of the 21st century.

Midnighter has appeared as a regular supporting character in titles featuring Dick Grayson, including Grayson and Nightwing. The television series Gotham depicts The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot) as a gay or bisexual man, a departure from depictions of the character in other media.

Brian K. Vaughan wrote an issue of the ongoing Midnighter series told in reverse chronology. The issue explored the fact that the character Midnighter has the ability to calculate millions of possible scenarios for any given situation. The issue does not have the scenes in reverse order, but rather the individual pages run backwards. Issue 43 of Bongo's "Simpsons Comics" is told in reverse order: the story opens with a depiction of a crane lifting a crashed car out of a lake; each subsequent scene (which lasts for one page) carries a caption informing the reader that it took place, for instance, "20 minutes earlier".

There, they go after a secret inn administered by Guire Grando, an employee of Akakievitch. Grando takes homeless people from the streets and makes them go through a treatment with reprogrammed martian cells (originally from the God Garden) that transform them into vampire-like creatures, who are murdered for entertainment by the hooligan youngsters that frequent the inn. Midnighter and Grayson succeed in taking down the place, attracting Akakievitch's attention, who wants to have the Midnighter's computer brain technology. Then, Midnighter and Grayson go to his lair, where they fight and beat martian cells manipulated beasts, defeating Akakievitch, who reveals that he received the technology from a mysterious supplier.

Reception towards the series has been overwhelmingly positive, being referred to as one of the best comics of 2016. Praise has been especially directed towards Midnighter's characterization, his relationship with Apollo, the storyline and the artwork. However, Apollo's secondary role in comparison to Midnighter has been somewhat criticized.

Apollo himself then burned the head off Midnighter's replacement, later doing the same to the Machine, who had taken the powers of the Engineer. Apollo and Midnighter were married and adopted Jenny Quantum at the end of Millar's run. From this point on, Apollo is referred to as Midnighter's husband, and vice versa.

Mark Merlin appears in a flashback in Xombi vol. 2 #2, in which he teamed up with Sargon the Sorcerer, Julian Parker, and Rabbi Sinnowitz to imprison a powerful magical creature. After DC Rebirth, he appears as one of the magical characters refusing to be hired by Henry Bendix to kill Midnighter and Apollo.

Midnighter idea came when Ennis was having a lunch with other WildStorm people. Beside his A Man Called Kev and Battler Britton vanity projects, Wildstorm editor Scott Dunbier asked Ennis to also do something a bit more commercial in return, so the writer suggested to "go straight for the jugular and give the best character they’ve got his own book", which in his opinion would be Midnighter. Ennis described the character as "utterly lethal and he tells it like it is. He’s got a nice dark sense of humor, too." About Midnighter's sexuality, the writer stated that “His sexuality is not a complex issue: he likes fucking men. He likes fucking one man in particular — but that doesn’t mean he wants to be around the guy 24/7, hence the solo book.

During a mission, Dick fights against Midnighter who is also keeping an eye on Spyral, causing him to question the organizations purpose and motives even more. While Grayson and Bertinelli are busy with these missions, Minos, who obscures his face using nanobot technology, secretly uses Spyral's resources to uncover the secret identities of superheroes. Grayson communicates with Batman in secret using code in order to discuss his findings and, although he expresses concerns over his safety, Dick convinces Batman that he needs to stay undercover to find out what Spyral are really planning.Grayson #1-4 Grayson and Matron continue searching for Paragon's organs, coming into frequent conflict with Midnighter, who is trying to keep them out of Spyral's possession and has discovered that Agent 37 is actually Dick.

In Midnighter and Apollo it is implied he is not only resurrected but married to Gregorio de la Vega, who refers to his husband as a therianthrope and named Hugh.Midnighter and Apollo #6 In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Tasmanian Devil is listed as a member of the Australian superhero team called the Sleeping Soldiers.Doomsday Clock #6 (July 2018). DC Comics.

In Gen¹³ vol. 4 #11 (written by Gail Simone), a teenage version of Apollo is a part of a team called "The Authori-teens" named Kid Apollo in the town of Tranquility, a fictional town in California. He and the teenage Midnighter, Daybreaker, would not appear to be out of the closet, although their romantic feelings for one another are still apparent.

Though this Doctor ultimately repented of his crimes, Apollo killed him with his eye-beams. Apollo featured also in the Transfer of Power storyline, in which the Authority was defeated, captured and usurped by sadistic, government-controlled replacements. Apollo was kept aboard the Carrier and brutalised by Midnighter's and his own replacements. The latter tried to rape Apollo before the real Midnighter returned to kill Apollo's assailant.

The Midnighter battles crime all over the world, leaving Apollo to look after their adopted daughter, Jenny Quantum. Swift has retired to a Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Tragically, the Doctor has apparently died from a drug overdose. While visiting the Doctor's grave, Jenny Quantum, now eight years old, decides to travel to the Garden of Ancestral Memory where all the previous Doctors went when they died.

Alan Moore pointed to the characters as an example of comics' "strange attitude" towards LGBT themes, describing them as "vicious muscle queens."Furey, p.1 Starting 2015, Midnighter once again stars in his own solo series, published from DC Comics, making him the first gay male superhero to have his own series in a mainstream publisher. The 1990s also brought with it more almost trans characters.

" For issue three, Stewart gave in a high 10 out of 10 score, saying "Midnighter and Apollo #3 is the strongest issue yet, packing a powerful narrative into gorgeously illustrated pages. It’s a gory but heartfelt romance, and a smart superhero update on a classic myth that captures the spirit of the tale without being so literal it broadcasts the ending upfront. It’s riveting without being overwrought, and Orlando and Blanco leave enough light touches throughout to keep the book firmly planted in the camp of darkly humorous rather than just dark - the western turn the issue takes towards the end is a particularly nice touch." For issue five, Schedeen gave an 8.0 out of 10 score, saying "At this point readers just have to accept that this series, despite its name, doesn't offer much in the way of Midnighter and Apollo actually interacting.

Tired with the Authority's interference with the activities of their governments, the G7 nations decide to replace them with a group more subject to their interests. They send their secret weapon, an American hillbilly named Seth whom they turned into a monstrous superhuman stated to have over a thousand super powers, to attack the Authority. Seth neutralizes all of the Authority except for Midnighter, who manages to escape with baby Jenny.

Karl Story (born 1967) is an American comic book artist specializing in inking. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios. Over a career of almost two decades, he has worked on books such as Nightwing, Batman, Star Trek: Debt of Honor, Aliens versus Predator, X-Men, Wildstorm Summer Special, Terra Obscura, Tom Strong, Ocean, The American Way, and Midnighter, as well as many others.

She served under Zannah as squad commander and combat instructor to the former's Coda somewhere deep within Zanzibar. She was on guard duty while a skulking Midnighter was prowling in the background. Although she took notice of him while training new coda recruits, she chose to continue the seminar instead of reporting him. She eventually called him out after finding the heart of their operation, stating Zealot wanted to see him.

Although the Guardians continued to fight evildoers behind the scenes even after their comic ended, their island base was attacked and swallowed up by the villain Entropy in the pages of Green Lantern. For a time it was assumed Extraño died during this incident, but the subsequent reappearance of other New Guardians throws this into doubt. The post-DC Rebirth incarnation of the character, from Midnighter and Apollo #1 (December 2016). Art by Fernando Blanco.

DC Comics. Writer Steve Orlando, who is bisexual, explains his decision to reintroduce the character, saying: "With a book like Midnighter & Apollo, which from cover to cover is a love letter to queer characters and our struggle to live, be visible and love, it felt right to return to one of the first and reintroduce Gregorio to a new generation".Gustines, George Gene (March 26, 2017). "Adventures in Comics and the Real World".

DC often still draws criticism for its use of stereotypes for LGBT characters. Firebrand, a superhero debuting in 1941, is thought by some to be an early example, with his pink or transparent costume. Writer Roy Thomas penned thought balloons that suggested Firebrand had been involved in a gay relationship with his sidekick and bodyguard Slugger Dunn, although these hints never moved beyond subtext. A more modern example is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter.

Grifter #13-14 (2012-2013). DC Comics. Able to deck the larger and stronger Daemonites with a mere-backhand, knock down and engage Midnighter in a fist fight whom he could barely even tickle before and much more. About 40 years in the future Cole seems to remain a man in his physical prime, meaning whatever experimentation done on him by his captors evidently extended his lifespan by decades at a time.

After Supreme ended, he and Moore created Tom Strong for America's Best Comics, for which Sprouse won two Eisner Awards in 2000, for Best Single Issue and Best Serialized Story. Sprouse was the penciller and co-creator on the 2004 Ocean mini-series, written by Warren Ellis and published by DC Comics. In 2007, Ocean was optioned for film. In 2006, he began pencilling Wildstorm's Midnighter ongoing series, a spin-off of The Authority.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Grant's history was changed. He appears to have been beaten and killed in an explosion by Midnighter, but returned after a few years trying to kill his father. Grant surreptitiously manipulates Deathstroke, by allying himself with the fathers of one of Slade's victims and sending a number of villains called Legacy to weaken the mercenary before really facing him.

Prometheus is a name used by multiple fictional supervillains appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Grant Morrison (writer) and Arnie Jorgensen (pencils), the most recognized version made his first appearance in New Year's Evil: Prometheus (February 1998). Commonly an adversary of the Justice League, Prometheus would serve as an enemy of the superheroes Batman, Green Arrow and Midnighter. In 2009, Prometheus was ranked as IGN's 80th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mould of the Superman archetype. Apollo is notable for being among the first openly gay superheroes in print, although several years behind Marvel Comics' Northstar.Emmet Furey, "Homosexuality in Comics – Part I" Comic Book Resources, 16 July 2007 He married fellow The Authority member Midnighter and both adopted Jenny Quantum.

During this battle, Apollo was severely beaten by Storm God, a Thor pastiche, and The Commander, a Captain America pastiche. In one of author Mark Millar's most controversial scenes, it was implied that the beating was followed by a rape (The Authority #14). The rape was followed by a scene of revenge, in which it is implied that Midnighter raped the Commander with a jackhammer. In another Millar-penned story, the Authority faced a rogue Doctor, intent on planetary destruction.

Authority: Coup D'État was a Wildstorm universe crossover event, in which—following a deadly mistake by U.S. leaders—Authority team leader Jack Hawksmoor decided to remove the U.S. executive branch and have the Authority itself run the country. The takeover went smoothly, but the occupation did not go as planned. Shadowy forces intervened to destroy the Authority and put corporate interests back in power. Apollo's part in the story involved traveling with Midnighter to raid the base of Stormwatch: Team Achilles.

He is later infected by the Warhol Fever, a superpower-inducing virus, that evolves and becomes sentient by incubating in his body. Claiming to be The Burn, the virus overrides his mind and attempts to escape into The Bleed. The Authority is forced to put Apollo in suspended animation, frozen and in an anaerobic room to keep the infection from spreading. He is eventually cured when Midnighter feeds him a piece of fruit he receives from the Century Baby, Gaia Rothstein.

Midnighter was released in November 2006 as a part of the Wildstorm Universe "soft reboot" Worldstorm, which included the relaunch and debut of many titles under the label. It was originally intended as a six-issue miniseries written by Garth Ennis only, but later was expanded to be an ongoing series, with following issues penned by other writers. The book was officially announced at the Wizard World Los Angeles 2006 Comic Con, together with The Boys, another Ennis project originally for WildStorm.

Solid, but at times a bit inaccessible, story and great art." For the second issue Schedeen gave it an 8.3 out of 10, saying: "The book [celebrates] their bond even if it devotes most of its attention to Midnighter. He's at his most tough and bad-ass in this issue, even as his connection to Apollo puts him in an unusually vulnerable state (physically and emotionally). Steve Orlando packs this issue with just the right blend of humor, heart, weirdness and ultra-violence.

The Authority make their first public appearance to stop Kaizen Gamorra, an old enemy of Stormwatch, who wants to take advantage of Stormwatch's breakup to take revenge upon the world. To do this he uses engineered supersoldiers to destroy first Moscow and then part of London. The Authority does not manage to stop the attack on London, then predicts the third and final attack in Los Angeles which is averted with heavy civilian casualties. Midnighter uses the Carrier to destroy the superhuman clone factory on Gamorra's island.

Englehart wanted to explore the character more, including a storyline about HIV, but Englehart later said that the editor, Andy Helfer, didn't want gay characters in his comics, and "he thought that Extraño was 'cured' at the end of Millennium." Extraño was ultimately killed by HIV infection, but it was contracted from a fight with an "AIDS vampire" supervillain called the Hemo-Goblin. The character was briefly revisited in 2016/2017 in the post-DC Rebirth universe, as a supporting character in Midnighter and Apollo, a six-issue miniseries about two gay superheroes.

In versions that do address it, Dick and Bruce seem to want to spread the belief that Nightwing started his career as an adult, the better to hide their true identities. The series Grayson seems to indicate that the public does not know, as Midnighter did not think to study Robin's techniques in preparation for his fight with Grayson, an advantage the latter exploited."Grayson" #6 During his time as Agent 37 for Spyral, Dick uses identity protection implants that ensure that neither cameras nor the memory of e.g. target persons can capture his face.

Apollo tells Midnighter this future can be avoided only if he breaks up the Authority. Soon the leader of the Sons of Liberty, a hero codenamed Paul Revere, challenges the Authority to face him and his comrades on the White House lawn. In the ensuing battle one of the combatants, a nuclear-powered member of the Sons of Liberty, becomes unstable. The resultant explosion destroys the White House, and much of Washington, D.C. Ashamed by their failure, the Authority resign as rulers of the United States, and disband.

DC Comics relaunched its DC Universe imprint in September 2011, which included the integration of the Wildstorm characters into the DC Universe. The initial wave of relaunched titles included: Voodoo and Grifter solo series, a revived Stormwatch title featuring Jack Hawksmoor, Midnighter, Apollo, the Engineer, and Jenny Quantum,DC Universe: The Source » Blog Archive » "Swords and sorcery and superheroes" and a revived version of Team 7 with non-WildStorm characters Deathstroke, Amanda Waller and Black Canary. The Teen Titans spin-off title The Ravagers featured Caitlin Fairchild and Warblade as part of the cast,Newsarama.

3) #30 (April 2014) Jim Starlin wrote Stormwatch with #19, erasing the team's history as a 1,000-year-old organization and restarting its history again. Apollo and Midnighter were returned to their original costumes as the core of a new Stormwatch team with the Engineer, Hellstrike, the Weird and new characters Jenny Soul, the Forecaster, and Force. After Starlin's run ended with #29, Sterling Gates wrote the series' 30th and final issue which restored the previous version of the team. The team then appeared in The New 52: Futures End weekly limited series.

The series released as a part of "DC You", a marketing campaign to reinvigorate DC Comics' image. In May 2015, during the Convergence event, the publisher released digital sneak previews for several of its current and upcoming titles, all featuring a new short story. Titled "Perdition Pistol", the Midnighter preview appeared in the comic book Nightwing/Oracle #2. Series promotion included video interviews with Steve Orlando and Jase Peeples, entertainment editor of The Advocate, which also presented a short history of DC's LGBT characters to celebrate the release of the series and LGBT Pride Month.

If you've been skeptical about this character - and believe me, I was one of them - get ready for a spectacular change of heart." Keith Dooley of Multiversity Comics opined that "Midnighter is imperfect, has emotional issues, and yet has a hero’s heart. Darkness and light concurrently mingle to create such a promising and exciting opening chapter to what has the potential to be something great." Writing for PopMatters, Matthew Fay felt the debut was a "reassuring and faithful reintroduction to the character" that "leaves open a lot of room for exploration.

The Spectre is revealed to be Dick himself who, uses the nanobots to cause the group to forget all trace of him before reuniting with Helena and heading for the next adventure.Grayson Annual #3 Several months later, Helena leaves Sypral, taking up the identity of Huntress and leaving Tiger in charge. Midnighter gives Dick a piece of technology that allows him to save Damian's life and outwit the Court of Owls. Back in Gotham, Dick discusses his plans with Batman, who believes that now Dick has regained his secret identity, he should spend some time living his life.

He frees his imprisoned boyfriend Apollo and between them they kill the rest of the new Authority, leaving only Seth to deal with. At a G7 reunion, Swift finds herself freed from her mind control due to the death of Machine just in time to find out about Seth's "off-button" code phrase. The original Authority regroup but Seth again takes them all down, leaving only baby Jenny—who speaks aloud the code phrase and turns Seth back into an easily defeated human. The story, and the first volume of The Authority, close with Apollo and Midnighter marrying, and adopting baby Jenny.

The Midnighters continued to draw large audiences at a rate of nearly 300 booking dates a year in the early 1960s. Davis was a flamboyant figure on stage, and he became known for his energetic stage presence, which featured guitar feedback and was accented with spins and twirls, and backflips while he played, and he was also known to play his guitar with his teeth. Davis was considered an actual Midnighter alongside the singers, and not just a member of the backing band, because of his ability to play and sing, and also do the group's dance routines.

A.T.S, Stormwatch, Gen¹³, Wetworks, and The Authority; it also produced single- character-oriented series like Deathblow, and Midnighter, and published secondary titles like Welcome to Tranquility. WildStorm also published creator-owned material, and licensed properties from other companies, covering a wide variety of genres. Its creator-owned titles included Red Menace, A god Somewhere, and Ex Machina, while its licensed titles included Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, StarCraft, the Dante's Inferno game, The X-Files, and the God of War video game series. DC shut down the WildStorm imprint in December 2010.

By the end of volume one Ellis made Henry Bendix a manipulative villain. Ellis continued to write the book into Stormwatch volume 2, until the August 1998 WildC.A.T.s/Aliens crossover (also written by Ellis) which saw the Stormwatch team decimated by xenomorphs (the creatures from the Alien film series). Most of the Stormwatch characters Ellis had not created were killed off in this story while the surviving characters he had created became the main cast of Ellis' new series, The Authority, including Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, the Midnighter, and Swift (who debuted in Stormwatch vol.

In an interview with Comic Vine, Orlando described Midnighter as ACO, the title's main artist, brought to the comic a characteristic style, which features a large number of small panels to highlight the constant action scenes present in the story. He formed a collaboration with Hugo Petrus, who was co-credited as an inker for all of their issues and as a penciller for the last four issues. Stephen Mooney, who also pencilled Grayson, was the artist of issues #4 and 5. The series had a close relationship with Grayson, a rebooted Dick Grayson solo comic.

Warren Ellis introduced the character shortly after taking over writing duties on the Stormwatch title, when he had Apollo and Midnighter encounter the then-active Stormwatch team. The story was set in 1998, immediately after Bendix's fall, when Christine Trelane had cracked Bendix's old files and discovered evidence that two rogue former Bendix agents remained alive. In flashbacks, Apollo was introduced as a member of a "black ops" Stormwatch team so secret that no one but the first Weatherman, Henry Bendix, knew of its existence. Apollo's solar- powered abilities—including super-strength, heat vision, and a high degree of invulnerability—were presented as the consequence of Bendix's bioengineering.

The 2008 Number of the Beast Wildstorm miniseries described the devastation of Earth and set the scene for a new Authority ongoing series, World's End, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. In this series, Apollo is separated from Midnighter and the rest of the Authority when a thick layer of smog covers the Earth, preventing sunlight from reaching the surface. Apollo is forced to remain in the photosphere to absorb the radiation he needs to survive, visiting the surface only briefly to help the team. While on the surface, environmental conditions sap his powers, giving him a gaunt appearance and limiting his ability to fight.

In the present, Etrigan's body lies buried in London; it is explained that he was sealed there by his own friends because of his betrayal of them, but magic emanating from it is able to possess persons above, eventually freeing the demon, who promptly attacks Midnighter and Apollo. The entire Stormwatch then battles Etrigan, but even after being defeated, he is able to possess a host and flees. During the "Trinity War" storyline, Etrigan the Demon is among the superheroes that feels the disturbance in the magical plane when Shazam picks up Pandora's Box. In the timeline of The New 52: Futures End, Zatanna is romantically involved with Etrigan.

He then moved to US publisher, DC Comics and their Wildstorm imprint. There he first worked on The Highwaymen before working with Keith Giffen on Midnighter and the DC/Wildstorm Universe crossover Dreamwar.Keith Giffen on DC/Wildstorm's Dreamwar , Newsarama, 17 January 2008DC/Wildstorm's Dreamwar #1 , Newsarama, 6 February 2008 He is also providing the art for the two-part Batman story which follows the Batman R.I.P. storyline and links into Final Crisis.Batman 682 solicitation at DC Comics Lee drew the first arc on DC comics The Outsiders, entitled "The Deep," as well as the new Batgirl title, relaunched in August 2009 following Battle for the Cowl.

He visited Sheriff Lindo during her stay in the hospital and gave her small trinkets from his world traveling days, which eventually led her to reveal that he wasn't gay, as many of the townsfolk thought due to his nature, and even going so far as to quietly provide money for Leona Terrell to have an abortion. However, after his death, the Tattler implied a past relationship with Midnighter, an openly gay superhero. After his autopsy, it was revealed that Mr. Articulate was in the final stages of cancer and had he not been murdered, he would have had a month to live, at most.

They dump them out into a realm called Re- Space, only to discover to their cost that Re-Space allows people to re- imagine their world—the refugees take the G7 leaders' wealth as their own, attack the Carrier and reimagine the Authority, transforming the newcomers into the original team. But Last Call's homophobia surges up when the re- imagined Apollo touches him; they break free and return the Earth to the way it was before. "Brave New World" continues with the previous members of the Authority having been mind-wiped and forced into humiliating new lives. Midnighter, the only one to have escaped, infiltrates the Carrier.

It is revealed that the woman is in fact Jenny Quantum's twin sister, Jenny Fractal, raised by Chinese authorities into a killing machine, hating all life and Quantum in particular, and that she is the one responsible for the Bleed fractures. In the ensuing fight, Quantum is killed. The only solution that can be found is for Midnighter to go back in time to the maternity ward where the Jenny twins were held - knowing instinctively which one is his daughter, he kills Fractal in her sleep. In the present, Fractal's body drops dead, allowing Quantum's spirit to inhabit it, taking her twin's body as her own.

They also explain that each Midnighter has a special power - Dess is a polymath, Rex is a Seer (someone who can read the lore - the ancient history of the midnighters) and Melissa is a mindcaster (meaning she has a variety of telepathic abilities). They don't know what Jessica's power is, except that it isn't the same as any of theirs. The next midnight, Jonathan, a boy from Jessica's school, arrives outside her house, and takes her flying with him - he is an Acrobat, and in the Secret Hour gravity does not have a strong hold on him. He and Rex don't get along, and the other Midnighters avoid talking about him.

In 1999, when Warren Ellis concluded his run on Stormwatch with the Final Orbit storyline which saw the team destroyed, Apollo was one of several Stormwatch characters he retained for his new Wildstorm title, The Authority. In it, Apollo (along with Midnighter) was recruited by Jenny Sparks for a new team, the Authority, under her leadership. The new series picked up themes Ellis had explored in Stormwatch, including the political potential of a team more powerful than world governments and the United Nations. Apollo featured prominently in early story arcs, producing a miles-long wall of flame to contain super clones attacking London, rescuing civilians from disaster zones, and shooting down invaders from a parallel universe.

Pinpointing her location to Berlin, Dick and Midnighter orchestrate a mission causing Sypral to send him there so he can investigate. Once there, Grayson discovers that Sypral's founder (and Luka's father) Otto Netz created Spyral to deal with superhumans but, worrying that the organization would eventually stray from his original plans once he became bored and left, he also founded rival organization Leviathan to challenge them constantly. Wishing to end the cycle of violence, Grayson and Tiger go rogue and being taking down the other Spyral agents, leading Helena to send the Syndicate, a group of the world's most powerful spies, after them. In response, Dick reaches out to Maxwell Lord and Checkmate to form an alliance.

Agent 8, revealed to be a member of Leviathan, sets off a bomb at Sypral HQ and, after subduing her, Tiger kills his former partner. Dick calls in Midnighter, who single-handedly takes down the entire Syndicate while he goes after Helena, not realizing that Otto Netz has revived himself, killed Luka and taken over Helena's body. While searching for Helena, Tiger reveals himself to have been working for Checkmate all along and he and Grayson fight numerous times while attempting to locate her. Maxwell Lord reveals that he created Minos and he arrives at Sypral HQ to retrieve the identities of the Justice League but the files are deleted before he can get to them.

John Clay, a former actor and active metahuman, has begun infecting members of the public with a highly contagious psychic virus which causes utter devotion to himself, and channels a portion of the infected's energies into him, turning him into a physical metahuman of the highest order. Members of the Authority struggle in vain to avoid "the transcendence," with only Apollo, Swift and the Engineer left active. However, Midnighter actively fights the change, and the Doctor, although infected, uses his link to the former Doctors and the Garden of Ancestral Memory to free himself, allowing him to psychically hijack Clay's psionic control network and invert it. Enormous, the Doctor plucks the beaten Clay up, and swallows him.

At the same time, Jack Hawksmoor discovers that Captain Atom can neither be sent home nor defused - to save the Wildstorm Universe, he must be killed. In the ensuing battle, the Engineer is depowered, and Apollo kills Grifter (of the Wildcats) who is fighting on Captain Atom's side. In retaliation Captain Atom kills Apollo, Midnighter, and Jenny Quantum, and the surviving members of the Authority discover too late that even Captain Atom's death would not save the Wildstorm Universe. It transpires that Wildcats superhero Void, now occupying the body of young EMT worker Nikola Hanssen, has located the missing half of her fractured essence in Captain Atom's body, and she reclaims it to fulfill her own power.

2012’s Astonishing X-Men #51 held Northstar and his long-term partner, Kyle Jinadu’s wedding. Though it is not the first same-sex marriage to be featured in superhero comics, as Apollo and Midnighter had married in The Authority, this is the first in mainstream comics. Due to flirtations with characters of various genders and sexuality, fans have speculated Deadpool as pan- or omnisexual. Writers Gerry Duggan and Gail Simone, as well as Terry Miller, the director of the Deadpool film, accepts the fan theory. However, Fabian Nicieza, one of the creators of the character, stated on Twitter that such speculation on his sexuality is invalid because his “brain cells are in CONSTANT FLUX.

The latter character doesn't see quite as deep a focus here, but hopefully that will change before the end of the series." C.K. Stewart of Newsarama gave the comic a score of 9 out of 10, stating "Midnighter and Apollo #1 is a strong debut issue for the miniseries, building on the world Orlando created in his groundbreaking Mindighter solo run but teasing a perhaps more supernaturally-imbued tale than we saw in Midnighter’s first battle against the military industrial complex run amok." John Babos of Comic Nexu gave it a 7 out of 10, saying "This was a compelling debut issue with magic likely being able to harm to Apollo ala Superman. So that cliffhanger works.

Hangman congratulated Evo on doing the right thing, activated Backlash's beacon, and left. Department PSI arrived and found five bodies, telling his subordinates to take them back to a hospital and that all others must have died. (see notes) While Marc convalesced at a hospital, Jodi Slayton, his daughter, who had become the super-hero known as Jet, decides to avenge her father by looking for the individuals involved in the riot and capturing them, spending months fighting criminals and searching for clues.Gen-Active #6 (August 2001) Midnighter was asked to do the same by former Stormwatch member Jackson King and assists Jet for a while, but allows her to handle things herself as she wishes.

The film The Rocky Horror Picture Show came about due to the tremendous success of the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show and opened in the United States at the United Artists Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, on September 26, 1975. Although the theater was selling out every night, it was noted that many of the same people were returning to see the movie. This turned out to be an exception, not the rule as it was not doing well elsewhere in the US. The film was then re-launched as a midnight movie, beginning its run at the Waverly Theatre in New York City on April 1, 1976. The Riverside Twin in Austin, Texas, became the second location to run the film as a midnighter.

A cult known as the Fist of Cain manage to acquire Paragon's brain and intend to use it to unleash a psychic pulse at an Israeli peace rally, killing thousands but Grayson convinces Midnighter that they are on the same side and they successfully team up to stop them. Minos meets with Helena and shoots her with her crossbow, leading her to play dead until he leaves before making her way to Dick. Helena explains that all Spyral operatives are on missions aside from Agent 1, codenamed Tiger, and theorizes that Minos will try to kill him next. Grayson and Tiger team up to fight Minos, who has used the organs to create a new version of Paragon that has the powers of the Justice League.

But its nature is fickle at best and rarely ever very effective, one moment healing a broken neck in seconds,WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams #7 Jan 1994 to taking months for shattered legs to mend properly, albeit without any scarring.Sleeper: Season Two #5 (December 2004) After the Worldstorm event his relatively dormant abilities have reasserted themselves in a far greater capacity, Mr. Cash being capable of more impressive psionic effects than when his powers first waxed & waned.Grifter & Midnighter #1 (September 1996) He's also an adept psionic intuit, able to perceive things well beyond the need of sensory input.Team 7 Vol 1 #3 Dec 1994Captain Atom: Armageddon #2 Jan 2006 Apart from these superhuman powers, Cole is a talented marksman and expert hand-to-hand combatant.

Sigma's Brian Coffey collaborated with Irish production company Blinder Films to produce Ciaran Foy's Citadel (2012). Foy's involvement in the film was a result of Advance Party II. The film stars Aneurin Barnard and James Cosmo and it premiered at SXSW 2012 where it won the Midnighter Audience Award. Next, Sigma produced Starred Up (2013), again directed by David Mackenzie and starring Jack O'Connell alongside Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend. The story is based upon writer Jonathan Asser's real-life experiences as a voluntary therapist in a London prison. The film was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards including the BAFTA Scotland 2014 Best Film and Best Director Awards, seven BIFA nominations and holds a remarkable 99% Rotten Tomatoes score. Sigma also co-produced Jonathan Glazer's multi-award winning Under the Skin (2013) starring Scarlett Johansson.

The ideals of the original Authority give way to the unprincipled new team, who work directly for the G7 nations, do not question orders, and have all they can wish for. The new team possess the same powers and/or distinctive appearances as the original team, and most take variations of their names. The electrically powered, Union Flag-clad Colonel (Britain) is patterned after Jenny Sparks, Swift is replaced with Rush (Canada), the Doctor is replaced with the Surgeon (France), Engineer is replaced with the Machine (Japan), Apollo is replaced with Teuton (Germany), Midnighter is replaced with Last Call (Italy), and Hawksmoor is replaced with Street (USA). On their first ride in the Carrier, the new team discover thousands of refugees whom the previous Authority had been sheltering on board the ship, some of them still alive.

Homosexual interpretations of Batman and Robin have attracted even more attention during the Modern Age of Comic Books, as sexual and LGBT themes became more common and accepted in mainstream comics. At the Worldcon costume ball in 1962, a number of fans appeared as the Justice Society of America, including Fred Patten and Rick Norwood as The Flash, Dick Lupoff as Batman, and Harlan Ellison as Robin. Lupoff and Ellison struck a homoerotic pose for the cameras. Writer Warren Ellis addressed the issue of Batman's sexuality obliquely in his comic book The Authority from Image Comics where he portrayed the character of the Midnighter, a clear Batman pastiche, as openly gay and engaged in a long term relationship with the Superman analogue Apollo. The Ambiguously Gay Duo is a 1996 animated parody previously featured on The Dana Carvey Show and Saturday Night Live, with many similarities to Batman, not least the animated title sequence of the 1960s TV series.

Getting Some Authority: Christos Gage On His Upcoming Authority Arc . Newsarama, April 5, 2007AUTHORITY COMPLEX: Gage & Robertson Talk "Prime", Comic Book Resources, July 12, 2007Gage Takes Wildstorm: Talking Midnighter: Armageddon & Authority: Prime , July 16, 2007, at Newsarama The series shipped promptly, and Gage was hired to write a new cross-universe series Wildstorm: Armageddon. Armageddon comprised six one-shots based on six of the relaunched titles,Armageddon Man: Christos Gage on Wildstorm: Armageddon , Newsarama, December 10, 2007 and led into successive bi-weekly limited series Wildstorm: RevelationsScott Beatty: Exploring The Wildstorm Universe, Newsarama, February 13, 2008Gage & Beatty on Wildstorm: Revelations, Newsarama, January 4, 2008 and Number of the Beast.Ben Abernathy on Wildstorm's: Number of the Beast , Newsarama, January 22, 2008 These culminated in the World's End storyline, beginning July 2008, which documented worldwide catastrophe and saw several Wildstorm titles relaunched with new creative teams and a new status quo for the universe.

DC Comics announced in June 2011 that the team would be incorporated into the DC Universe in a new series, written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Miguel Sepulveda, as part of the September 2011 relaunch of its comics. Peter Milligan took over the book in issue nine after leaving Justice League Dark with issue eight. This Stormwatch, an organization which has protected Earth from alien threats since the Dark Ages, is commanded by a group known as the Shadow Cabinet:Stormwatch (vol. 3) #1 (Sept. 2011) a four- member group of Shadow LordsStormwatch (vol. 3) #12 (Aug. 2012) referred to as "the dead", and represented by an entity which can negate the group's powers and is aware of their secrets (except Harry's).Stormwatch (vol. 3) #5 (Jan. 2012) Rejecting the title "superheroes", Stormwatch — Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, Midnighter, Jenny Quantum, the Engineer, the Martian Manhunter (who left the team after wiping everyone's memory of him), and three new characters: Adam One (an immortal born during the Big Bang,Stormwatch (vol. 3) #2 (Oct. 2011) who was later revealed to be Merlin),Stormwatch (vol.

Examples include the Mikaal Tomas incarnation of Starman in 1998; Colossus in the Ultimate X-Men series; Renee Montoya in DC's Gotham Central series in 2003; the Kate Kane incarnation of Batwoman in 2006; Rictor and Shatterstar in an issue of X-Factor in 2009; the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott is reimagined as openly gay following The New 52 reboot in 2011; and in 2015, a younger time displaced version of Iceman in an issue of All-New X-Men. Many new openly gay, lesbian and bisexual characters have since emerged in superhero fiction, such as Gen¹³'s Rainmaker, Apollo and Midnighter of The Authority, and Wiccan and Hulkling of the Young Avengers. Notable transgender or gender bending characters are fewer in number by comparison: the alter ego of superheroine Zsazsa Zaturnnah, a seminal character in Philippine popular culture, is an effeminate gay man who transforms into a female superhuman after ingesting a magical stone. Desire from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series, Cloud from Defenders, and Xavin from the Runaways are all characters who could (and often) change their gender at will.

None of these stories were critical to his character development or storyline at all. This was left to Keith Giffen, whose eight-issue miniseries Reign in Hell (September 2008-April 2009, including DC Universe Special: Reign in Hell #1 (August 2008)) featured an all-out war between Hell and Purgatory, which involved practically every magical superhero in the DC Universe in one way or another and reordered the position of Hell in the DC Universe (but, at the same time, it had many internal continuity errors that made its place in mainstream DC Universe canon questionable at best). Since then, there have been three further appearances, a short non-canonical joke involving Ambush Bug (Irwin Schwab) in typical Keith Giffen style in issue #3 of the six-issue miniseries Ambush Bug: Year None #1-5 and #7 (September 2008-January 2009 and December 2009 (issue #6 is missing here (and, in fact, was actually released as issue #7 deliberately)) and two canonical appearances, the first in issues #8-13 of the 13-issue miniseries Constantine: The Hellblazer (August 2015-August 2016) and the second in issues #2-6 of the six-issue miniseries Midnighter and Apollo (December 2016-May 2017).