Midnighter Book 2: Hard (#8-12)

"Almost too late Apollo.  You have something better to do?" - Midnighter

Well it's Valentine's Day so time for something a little romantic.  And what could be more romantic than a superhuman combat machine in black leather beating the shit out of people. OK, you'll have to bear with me for the romantic bit. First an introduction to Midnighter if you haven't read the previous books of his I've covered.  Originally a member of The Authority in the Wildstorm universe where he was the Batman expy.  He was and still is an openly gay man who ended up marrying his lover Apollo, the Wildstorm Superman expy.  When the Wildstorm universe was merged with the main DCU with the launch of the New 52, he and Apollo were members of Stormwatch and still together.  When the DCYou launched him in this, his solo series, he broke up with Apollo and hit the club scene.  He ended up falling for a man who got very close to him only to reveal he was the supervillian Prometheus who wanted the Midnighter's tech and had memorised and destroyed the file on who Midnighter really was as a kid before he was kidnapped and filled with battle computers and enhanced strength and healing by the Gardener of The God Garden.  He thought Midnighter wouldn't kill him as he would lose his chance to find out who he really was but Midnighter punched his head into jelly. But while this betrayal hurt Midnighter a lot he won't let himself brood over it. Now with the DC Rebirth this series was cancelled and it's obvious this final storyline is a little rushed because of the need to tie up the end of an arc in time.  So we won't hold that against it as we take a look at the second and final volume of Midnighter written by Steve Orlando and art by Aco.

In the subway tunnels under New York is a weird blend of gorilla and rhino. It gets shot by a man with a high powered rifle who declares himself "top of the food chain". Elsewhere in the city an man called "Mr. Mndawe" arrives by plane and is greeted superciliously.  He says he is there  "tying up loose ends".

Midnighter tells his story.

We then cut to Midnighter telling his story to an interviewer called Robert who is making a documentary about him.  He tells him that he was experimented on as a kid, designed from the ground up to win fights.  This ended his first relationship and when he tried to move on and let someone close to him he was betrayed.  The person tried to use the only record of Midnighter's childhood against him and Midnighter killed him.  Robert says this person "tried to hurt you, did he?"  Midnighter responds "Do I look hurt Robert?" Robert says he looks "great".

Midnighter: "I don't look back.  Midnighteris who I am.  No matter where I am.  There are certain realities to that. Some people are good.  Some people play games.  People lie. But when it happens to me, there's armour and energy weapons. The guy was garbage.  I punched his face into his brain.  I'm working through it.  That's my style".

Robert says that's a lot to take in.  Will, Robert's roommate says "Robert does have a line between professional fascination and unrepentant lust." Will says this documentary on Midnighter will help a lot of people and he hears there may be photography. "I do have a reputation as an exhibitionist of sorts" jokes Midnighter. 

Then he gets a call from one of his "assets" (people he tags who can communicate with him via a patch he puts on them).  The caller tells him "something large, toothy and elaborate just exploded out of the ground. Should be your type of thing".  Midnighter calls up one of his doors that allow him to travel instantaneously anywhere on the planet telling Robert and Will, "to be continued boys".

The Ele-leopard.

A few minutes earlier two hunters missed their shot at the monster they were hunting and it got free out onto the streets. Midnighter jumps out in front of a huge tusked cat monster.   He chucks something at it and hits it in the face.  It looks sad and Midnighter says "I've seen that look before.  Although usually not on four legs".  Before he can lay into it further  a man in costume appears and stops him.  He says the animals are innocent.  Animals plural, queries Midnighter.  Then the man touches the beast and de-merges it into a leopard and an elephant.

He introduces himself as "Dominic Mndawe", his gift is a helmet and elixir that lets him merge animals to create chimeras and take them apart again.  His elixir has been synthesised by an illegal hunt club but is incomplete.  "There is no communion with the Red, the animal force that flows through us all" he says.  Fat designer wallets prey on the artifical chimeras.  He has shut down the main organisation, there is just the one satellite group here.

Dominic: "The creatures they create die scared, hurt and confused. These are people in dire need of assault.  Will you follow me?"

Midnighter agrees and they follow the elephant who Dominic is communing telepathically with. She takes them to where she was changed and Domonic and Midnighter bust their way in and start beating the scumbag hunters up.

One of them says "you assholes better be ready for something you've never seen before" and sets a huge spider monster on them.   Midnighter says to it that it's not it's fault "someone made you a monster.  I can relate" and he knocks the creature out rather than killing it.  He drops to the ground and a man holds a gun to his head. Unphased Midnighter says he can hit him before he can pull the trigger and then does so.  He holds the man who was in charge of the place in a choke hold, and Dominic merges him with a mosquito.

Dominic, one of the Karma Police.

Midnighter goes to squash him, but Dominic stops him. "It's over.  Let nature take it from here" he says.  So Midnighter flicks it in the path of a bat which eats it.  Oh dear. What a shame. Never mind.  Dominic thanks him for his help.

Midnighter: "The hurt never need worry.  The hurters are on borrowed time."

Dominic asks him if he thinks death is the end of something.  It is when he does it, says Midnighter and tells Dominic the team-up was fun.

Later he goes to the women's prison and picks up a woman called Marina Hyde who was arrested and jailed in book one and he made her one of his assets.  Now she's been released he is there to pick her up.  But before he can drive her somewhere he gets an emergency call and walks through a door. There he is confronted by two women, Susan and Helena Bertinelli who work for "Spyral" one of the zillion secret quasi-governmental organisations in the DCU.

After some tense chat, Helena tells Midnighter some dangerous tech has gone missing, "the Perdition Pistol" has to be retrieved before it is weaponised on a global scale.  Midnighter says "I won't work for you.  But I will work with you" and she shows him the targets.  It's Task Force X more commonly known as "The Suicide Squad."

Oh, those guys.

Midnighter is told that the pistol is most likely being held at an orbiting station called "The Crows Nest" and they fire a capsule containing Midnighter at it.  He crashes inside and notes "Waller's team uses a single, two way teleport tube to get in and out.  Old school, like dark internet".  That will be his way out and it'll be heavily guarded.  Midnighter hopes so, he's up for a fight and has armed himself with a crowbar.

He walks into the control room and confronts the head of The Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller.  They are another shadowy government agency but one opposed to Spyral. Amanda says maybe she should add Midnighter to her "collection".   He walks to where the pistol is being held then suddenly a man with electricity arcing round him appear in front of him.

The man gleefully says he's wearing a "mercury mantle" which makes him the fastest killer alive at the cost of years off his life. "And you punch things" he sneers at Midnighter who grins and says "but I am really good at it".   He tells the man that he maybe faster than him fifty-nine seconds out of a minute, "but I've got that one second.  And I'll make it count.  That's all I need to cripple you" and with that he snaps the man's achilles tendon.

Ow.

He then takes the pistol.  As he walks through the station he sees a monitor with schematics of a human body and the name Henry Bendix at the bottom which Midnighter recognises.  He then jumps out into space and falls through one of his doors just after blowing the pistol up, much to Helena's annoyance as he arrives back at base.  He tells her they have bigger problems the harness the man was wearing was like something from The God Garden only more advanced. "Task Force X is working with a bad man" he tells her.

He shows her an image of Henry Bendix.  If the Gardener is his mother, Bendix is his father until he crossed a line and was thrown out of the God Garden.  Waller has dug him up and is backing a project he abandoned when it went beyond his control:

Midnighter: "The Unified.  A military killer fueled by Kryptonian DNA and a fight computer like mine.  I won't allow them to achieve this and neither will you".

Helena tells Midnighter to "bring me his head."  Later at the diner/bar he frequents he's hanging out with Robert and Jason his mate from book one. Jason asks Robert what his take on "the worlds sexiest vigilante?"  Robert says he is undecided but Midnighter's story is powerful and needs to be told.

Midnighter talks the facts of his life.

Midnighter says these peaceful moments are a rarity for him and Robert could end up in danger.  "Nothing meaningful comes without risk" says Robert.   They go for a walk with Midnighter back in costume. Robert asks if killing all the people he does just perpetuates the cycle of violence, Midnighter says "I'd rather get my hands dirty than good people".  He calls for a door, then stops and says "you kids think I can't hear you... I noticed the moment..." and someone hits him.

Harley Quinn barges past Robert while Midnighter's mystery assailant catches one of his punches. Then Midnighter takes a heavy blow to the head.  Robert demands to know who they are and why they are attacking Midnighter.  Midnighter shouts to Robert to get away from the open door, which explodes.

With Midnighter lying stunned in the rubble Task Force X - Harley Quinn, Deadshot and the mystery assailant - stand over him and gloat, and I don't know how this version of Harley Quinn has anything in common with the freewheeling lunatic of her solo series.  Midnighter runs through the fight in his head and can't understand how his assailant dodged his strikes. He asks the man how. 

The man says his name is "Afterthought"  he's been infused with a chrono-chemical substance, "every moment, I'm seeing five seconds into the future, so no matter what move you make I always know what it's going to be".  Deadshot wants to know if that's true how did he get arrested (the gimmick behind the Suicide Squad is they are criminals put to work with bombs in their necks to keep them doing what Amanda Waller wants) and Afterthought says, "who says I was, Deadshot?"  Then he lays into Midnighter hard until he collapses into Robert's lap and Harley and Deadshot bear down on his helpless body.

Midnighter and Robert on the wrong side of a beatdown.

Shortly after Midnighter has been taken by Task Force X and Robert is left lying on the ground. Marina, now working for Spyral helps him up. Helena is with her as well.  He's in shock, Helena says he put himself "between a vigilante and a superhuman hit squad. I hope you had a good reason".  Robert asks where Midnighter has been taken, she says he'd be "way less gone if he'd worked with me, instead of in spite of me." He refused the nano virus they inject in agents to trace them so they are looking for him the old fashioned way.

Angrily Robert walks away say Midnighter works himself to the bone to help people despite the maipulation and experiments dones to him. Helena knows that and he's hanging him out to dry to "prove a point".  They better find him soon before Midnighter decides they're part of the problem.

In the Artic, Midnighter is being held in a Task Force X black site.  He is chained up securely.  Amanda Waller tells him she had plans for the Perdition Pistol, "that's what I do.  Use bad things to help good people" and now what is she going to do with Midnighter. Deadshot tries baiting him, but Waller tells him he is being stupid and tells him to step outside with her.

Deadshot (yes, he's actually white in the comics!) being an ass.

Deadshot is annoyed that Afterthought is her new "fixer" and Deadshot was saddled with the mission to relocate Bendix.  Waller tells him Henry Bendix is the most important military scientist since The Gardener.  Midnighters assault on the Crows Nest compromised the Unified project, which requires Kryptonian DNA which they can get now Superman can bleed (Superman had lost most of his powers and had his secret identity blown at this point in time). Afterthought has a higher sucess rate than Deadshots entire team, "you are te B-team son, now get to work".

Deadshot slouches off, and Waller returns to Midnighter.  She tells Midnighter they'll turn his skin to salt, crack it off over and over until he tells them about Helena Bertinelli's counter intelligence.   Midinighter tells them he's been cut open and had his muscles and bones dug out and replaced, "there is not a person on this planet.  Not a pain in this universe that could make me do something against my will".  He tells her he actually likes her more than Bertinelli, bombs in necks is a genius idea.

He respects that she "squeezes good out of bad" but he has bad news for her.  Everytime she blinked he has been vibrating the chair.  He respects her, yes, but he gave Bertinelli his word.  "So I better get to work killing you" he continues.  Waller laughs, but Midnighter has vibrated the chair so much the chains pop apart. He rises up and kicks one of his captors in the head.  Waller quickly slips away as Midnighter takes down the rest of the guards.

It's clobberin' time.

He then uses the computer to trace Bendix and the rest of the team, "time to ruin moving day". We then join Bendix, who is with Afterthought, Deadshot, Parasite and Harley Quinn.  Bendix tells Afterthought that if he and Waller can complete The Unified they'll have an unstoppable soldier.

Bendix:  "Hand-holding doesn't save lives.  Boots to necks do.  The Unified could step on every neck.  That's worth dealing with you people".

He is surprised when he realises there is only Afterthought and three others sent to move him and even more surprised when Midnighter teleports in.

Immediately the Squad attack him, he punches Parasite in the mouth and one of its teeth flies out and hits Harley in the head. He dodges Deadshot's bullets and breaks his fingers.   He was shot in the leg and his healing hasn't kicked in, because Parasite has stolen that power from him.  He ends up slumped on the ground bleeding out and Harley knocks him out wuth her giant mallet.  Midnighter comes round chained up again inside of a missile. Deadshot, his hands bandaged in "circuitry guaze" tells Harley to push the button and activate the auto destruct and the bomb explodes.

Another fine mess...

We then cut to Opal City sometime afterwards.  Midnighter wakes up and finds he is in Apollo's bed.  Apollo says he slept almost a day, "you almost died, Midnighter. Never been that close.  You called me.  Remember?"  We flash back to Midnighter chained up in the missile as the auto destruct activates.  Midnighter manages to open a communication channel to Apollo and says "I need you".  Apollo then flies off immediately to save him, yanking him out of the missile before it blows.

Back with the Suicide Squad they are bickering, with Deadshot trying to provoke Afterthought.  Waller ignores them and tells Bendix the "retrieval mission was a success" and hands him a canister which contains the Kryptonian DNA.  Waller warn him that if he loses control of The Unified she'll put them both down. He says "if I lost control, you couldn't stop it."

.. but his knight in shining armour saves him.

He's created The Unified with tactical hardware and a booby trapped nanovirus to control him with.  Because Wallet delivered the DNA he'll hold up his part of the bargain.  His door fields can transport people anywhere on the planet.  He puts them at her disposal.  Also he can track the Midnighter via his battle computer he designed.  Waller says Deadshot blew him up, but Bendix says us computer is giving off a signal, "looks like Deadshot missed".  But he won't.

Meanwhile Apollo and Midnighter are having a heart to heart.  Midnighter tells Apollo all about Prometheus and how he tried to break him with an impossible choice.  Now he'll never know his past because he killed him.  Since he broke up with Apollo he's worked hard to make himself better.  He met people  who knew who he was and didn't care.  Those people saved him, he trrusted them like he should have trusted Apollo, or Andrew as he calls him:

Midnighter: "What I did was stupid Andrew. I don't expect anything from you.  But at the end of the world, there wasn't anyone else I wanted to see."

Apollo sits next to him and says someone has to remind him he's mortal.  Midnighter says he's always known Gods walk the earth and they start to go in for a kiss when his message alarm goes off.

So close.

Marina says she knows Apollo is with him and could the both of them come in, she'll send coordinates.  At Spyral headquarters Midnighter says Bendix has what he needs to finish The Unified. It'll kill thousands of civilians to further Bendix's agenda of control through fear. Suddenly a big door opens underneath them and everyone falls through except Midnighter and Helena.  Apollo flies through and catches everyone so they fall safely.  They are stranded in Turkmenistan. Apollo races back while the displaced personal radio HQ for transport.

Then Task Force X attack Midnighter.  First he deals with Captain Boomerang easily then faces down Parasite.  He still has Midnighter's healing abilities but Midnighter tells him he knows of "some things that would slow me down" and spears Parasite through the heart. With Parasite down and out, Apollo returns and Afterthought says he hopes he's more of a challenge than Robert was.  Is Midnighter ready for round two?  "Damn right. Are you" he grins.

Harley and Deadshot are wwatching Bendix bring The Unified to life, "now costumed conscripts are obselete" Bendix says.  Harley thinks this'll mean a vacation.   The Unified pulses with crackling energy as Bendix powers him up.  Afterthought is beating up Midnighter who isn't putting up a fight.  Finally Midnighter notes he looks tired. Afterthought says he landed every punch and Midnighter says yes he did, just where he'd doubled his armour.

Midnighter: "Fighting isn't just offence, I've got to know... do you like what's coming next"

Afterthought whispers, "no" then Midnighter snaps his arm.  Helena says not to kill him, they can study him.  Helena brings up a map of the globe and says she has detected a huge energy bloom off the Florida coast. Midnighter says Bendix is debuting his new toy in public. They must mobilise everything they've got against it. Helena says Midnighters boast that he's beaten gods before better be true.  "Time to find out, isn't it?" he responds.

The Unified is activated.

At the Task Force X safehouse, Bendix opens a door and sends The Unified through.  Waller asks where he sent it, Bendix says he's giving a little demonstration, "somewhere that needs to be reminded who's in charge".  The Unified has been sent to Fando, the second most populous city in the fictional Balkan state of Modoria.  In book one Modorian terrorists attacked a Boston restaurant, "they invaded enemy soil.  Now they pay the price." 

Waller says they need to eliminate the underground militia but not attack the public.  Bendix tells her not to be niave, this is what she signed up for.  "People can't fear a big stick if they don't know you're carrying it".  Suddenly Midnighter and Apollo appear and ask him "you want to fight"

Comicdom's dream couple in action together again.

We then cut to Modoria where Appollo, Midnighter have taken out the Suicide Squad.  But The Unified is on the rampage much to Waller's horror.  She demands Bendix shut The Unified down now, but Bendix says he is going to make an example of the whole country, everyone within Modoria's borders will die. Then they won't dare question US authority.  Waller calls the Squad and tells them Bendix has gone rogue.  They must cease their attack on Spyral and Midnighter.  But Multiplex man says he really hates Midnighter (who he fought in book one) and keeps attacking him.

The Unified makes its way down the streets laser blasting vehicles and buildings as he goes.   Apollo taps him on the shoulder and then sucker punches him with an elbow to the back of the neck.  While Apollo battles The Unified in the air, Midnighter takes a high tech gun from a police officer out on the street.

Waller and Bendix are fighting he says the world must know who to respect. Waller says she's been fighting for respect her whole life.  She is about to knife him when he escapes through a door.  Apollo meanwhile has been downed, The Unified yells at him saying his battle computer is generations ahead of "your boyfriend's".  Apollo fights back saying it isn't his job to defeat him, it's Midnighter's.

Apollo takes The Unified on first.

He tosses The Unified down to where Midnighter is waiting, firing a laser that pierces The Unified's head.  Midnighter tells him he's only just been born, no way is he at full solar charge.  And Apollo just burned out his tactical nervous system.  Modorians worship sonic technology, the revolver is sonic and he's bypassed the safety's to get it to "vibrate your invulnerable blood in your invulnerable brain until it pops like a grape.  Henry made you into his Apollo and Midnighter?  Bad news.  Nothing beats the originals."

He starts frying The Unified's brain and it begins to work.  But then The Unified laser beams it and destroys it.  He beats Midnighter and tells him he had the part of his brain that feels empathy removed.   He doesn't feel anything when he kills, it's just a job and he likes being that way.  His X-ray vision spots another sonic gun under Midnighter's jacket. "Yeah but you shouldn't have blinked" says Midnighter and fires it at The Unified and his head explodes like a watermelon. Apollo comes flying down and holds him and they come close to a kiss again.

Getting closer...

Apollo flies him back to where Helena is.  She's arrested Multiplex, but the rest of the Suicide Squad are suspciously gone. Helena says they helped protect the city, today the priority is the people, tommorrow they'll be spy games.   Helena then says thankyou to Midighter saying she couldn't have done it without him. Later at the God Garden, The Gardener is being told that Bendix is alive by Midnighter.  The Gardener invites him to come work with her.  But he says he has a life down below with people who see him as a person "not a means to an end."  If she ever questions them again, he'll kill her.

Back on Earth Midnighter is hanging out with Robert and Will. He says Robert has a documentary to finish and Robert starts up the recording device asking "what's next for Midnighter?" Midnighter just grins.  Later in Detroit he has a meal in a diner with Amanda Waller.  She says he'd be more use to her than to Helena Bertinelli.  He tells her Helena is reverse engineering Afterthought as they speak.  He says he still respects Amanda "you took a better shot at me than most".

Back in Boston, Midnighter and Apollo are celebrating in the bar. Jason says he's happy to see Midnighter so relaxed.  And Apollo is a welcome sight as well. The next morning Apollo and Midnighter are getting dressed, Midnighter says working side by side with Apollo felt "right".  He knows he's made mistakes and he'll move on if Apollo tells him to, it's probably what he deserves and.... Apollo lays a great big kiss on his lips to shut him up. See there is romance!

Apollo:  "That's what you deserve.  The rest?  Trust me, not a fight computer, Do that and we can see where it goes."

Midnighter says for once he doesn't know how this will end and looks forward to finding out. Meanwhile there is a lot of work to do, "and I'm just getting started".

And they both lived happily ever after (in my head at least).

And that brings this DCYou run of Midnighter to a close.  The trade paperback has two issues of his Wildstorm series in it, which is a nice thought but they read oddly when out of context and so I am not covering them.  It's a real shame that a series with an openly gay main character, who was actually allowed to be shown kissing men and getting dressed after a wild night with them has been cancelled.  Now there is actually an Apollo and Midnighter miniseries by the same creative team which will be availiable as a trade in July.  I haven't wanted to Google it to see if it's lead to an ongoing series because I want to avoid spoilers.  At any rate this is one packed book, it obviously had to be wrapped up fast but apart from a couple of egregious infodumps it plays out pretty well.  It is nice that Midnighter realises Apollo is the man for him and it's very cute how he gets all insecure around him when he's usually such a together person.  Once again we get a battle against a superior enemy that is settled using brain power not brawn. And it's always nice to see The Suicide Squad who seem to have been treated as better and more dangerous here than in their own series, even if I still can't reconcile Harley Quinn here with Harley the crazy land-lady of Coney Island.  This series, both writing and artwise was one of the highlights of the DCYou and it's a crime it didn't sell well enough to get an ongoing as part of the DC Rebirth.  Maybe they should have waited to see how they'd sell as trades before pre-empting them with the line wide cancelling and Rebirth of a chosen few.  Still I shall await the release of Apollo and Midnighter with great anticpation and you'll surely see it on this blog before the year is out.

Midnighter Book 1: Out (#1-7)

"These people think they don't know fear. But they don't know me" - Midnighter

OK, now regular readers might remember that I've already covered Book One of The Midnighter's Wildstorm series (a surprisingly sensitive five issues penned by Garth Ennis), but this is the DCYou Midnighter, new series, newly single and carving out a place for himself as a solo hero.  I must say when I first heard he and his lover Apollo had been split up I wondered if this was some dastardly attempt by DC to "de-gay" him.  I needn't have worried, to be frank after the incredibly chaste and angsty relationship he and Apollo had in The New 52 series Stormwatch, seeing The Midnighter hit the Scene, clubbing and dating and shagging hot blokes is really fun to read and while obviously things don't get too sexually graphic, I was surprised at how raunchy he is being allowed to be. So well done DC you finally made it into the 21st century with your portrayal of an out and proud gay man heading his own series, and you haven't even slapped a "For Mature Readers" warning on it either.  In case you're reading this and don't recall much about The Midnighter, he's a genetically enhanced human with a brain like a computer capable of analysing every possible outcome of a fight in a split second plus superhuman healing abilities.  He also enjoys his "job" perhaps a little too much, he's never happier than when he is breaking heads although he's on the side of good thankfully.

This newer version of Midnighter first appeared in the Grayson (Dick Grayson having been "outed" as Nightwing now continues his work without a secret identity) series where a new backstory that is elaborated on in this volume was given to him.  The collection begins with a sneak peak from the Nightwing/Oracle mini that was part of the Convergance crossover, where we see him defeating aliens who are transporting into human bodies.  But that's only a few pages and somewhat lacking in context so I am skipping past it to begin with the series proper, just noting that has been included if you decide to pick this trade paperback up.  Onwards.

On a date with Jason.

The story begins proper at "The God Garden".  Someone has managed to get past security, the person running the place - The Gardener - tries to defend herself but the unknown person zaps her away and says they are here to take all "these wonderful, brutal, innovative treasures."  Then we cut to Oakland where Midnighter is out on a date with a man he met via his somewhat twisted online personal.

They flirt, then Midnighter's senses tell him an attack is imminent and he tells his date to get down.  In teleport some "Modorians" who want the Modorian "traitors" hiding in the USA and the restaurant is now their hostage.  As their leader rants, Midnighter gets changed into his superhero garb and tells them:

Midnighter: "Beaming in here, you must think you're pretty great.  But I have a special computer in my head that lets me see every move you're going to make...I won the moment you spoke out of your sphinchter of a mouth".

He goes on to say by letting him talk he was given time to allow his eyes to heal and he lays a brutal beatdown on them.  One of the hostages says "awesome" as he looks on.

Midnighter in action.

We rewind a bit to Midnighter at a seedy bar called "Al's Masse".  Al asks him where Apollo is, and Midnighter says they broke up.  Al commiserates, but Midnighter says it was his idea, "he's better off."  In the present, Midnighter has used his teleportation door technology to take his date Jason to Moscow.  Then they go to his "inner sanctum".

Jason: "Can anyone gain access?"

Midnighter: "No, there's a rigorous physical examination".

Jason says his life is ridiculous, a door that can go anywhere is crazy.  Midnighter says his apartment is the hub and that apartment is grown from "undifferentiated urban cells.  Superhero housing".  Jason decides to make a move and sexy times ensue.

Fredric Wertham is spinning in his grave.

Jason wakes up the next day to find Midnighter sleeping on the floor, after a few years on the streets he never got used to beds.  As Jason makes breakfast, Midnighter says to him:

Midnighter: "I'm a fighter.  I fight for normal people but will never be one.  I'm not a hero.  Some people can't handle that."

Then he slaps a GPS/Communication patch on Jason so he can be one of his "assets", reporting to Midnighter if they see anything out of the ordinary.  Jason understandably reacts a little freaked out at being tagged and asked if his last boyfriend had this done to him.

Midnighter says no, because it was Apollo a superhuman who he clicked with right from the start.  But Apollo hated Midnighter's involvement with The Gardener and the loyalty he felt to her.  Midnighter, twisted as it is, still considers her family.  Then he is called away by her.

The God Gardener.

He finds her dying and is annoyed that he is going to have to clear up the mess of the theft from The God Garden.  But that's not all that was stolen, The Gardener had a dossier on Midnighter's life before she erased his memories and that's been taken as well.

Midnighter: "And someone walked out of here with it.  Good.  He won't be walking for long."

Back in Oakland a woman called Marina is mourning the loss of her husband.  Then a mysterious figure gives her one of the weapons from the God Garden.  He tells her "Windcrest foods" knew about the fact they might poison people with a rare exotic allergy, like her husband, but they pushed for release anyway.  "Acceptable risk" they said, now with her new weapon she can get revenge.

Back at Al's Masse, Midnighter and Al are playing pool, Midnighter says Jason friend-zoned him after the whole tagging incident.  Then he is called away again.  Marina has been given the power of the "six killing words" and is storming Windcrest foods taking out security on her way to the boardroom.  Midnighter confronts her and she knocks him out briefly with one of the words. She reaches the boardroom and stands on the table ranting at them.

Marina: "You intimidate.  You settle out of court.  But this is how I settle.  Here and now.  There are always faces at the end of your business conditions."

Marina out for revenge.

Midnighter comes around and abseils in through the boardroom window.  Then we jump forwards a day to Midnighter with a man called Matt who was the one who said "awesome" in the restaurant shoot-out.  They are in a bar in Moscow holding hands.  Some thugs come over and tell Midnighter and his "girlfriend" to leave.  Midnighter smashes them through a table.

He then tells Matt how he dealt with Marina and we return to the day before.  She tries to use one of the words on him but he has blocked his ears (by ripping his eardrums out).  He knocks her down and the Windcrest board thank him and ask him to restrain her.

He however, starts breaking their limbs saying they will pay for everyone who she hurt today's medical bills, they will seek the lightest sentence against her and they will publically accept responsibility for why this happened, "because if you don't, I'll know, and I'll bring her back."  Then he cuffs her and takes her away.

On a date with Matt.

Back in Moscow, Matt is impressed.  They go to the "Izmailovsky market".  Midnighter says he and Andrew/Apollo used to go all the time.  He likes to watch people and eat the barbecue there.  Matt says he hopes he measures up, Midnighter responds, "you can. You do.  I'm just being stupid."

Matt: "We're owning moments together.  Do them with someone before?  They're ours now.  Hostile takeover."

He goes on to say anyone not impressed by what the Midnighter means is the real idiot.  "It can lose it's lustre" says Midnighter.  We flashback to him fighting with Apollo.  He admits his civilian identity "Lucas Trent" is just something he made up, he has no knowledge of his past before The Gardener erased his memories.  Apollo is furious that he has been lying to him, but Midnighter kisses him then leaves saying he knows how this fight will end.

Fighting with Apollo.

Marina is in jail but is now one of Midnighter's assets and can talk to him.  He is in an underground carpark, she say she never saw the face of the person who gave her the technology.  Then Midnighter says he is excited and it's revealed he is surrounded by many identical attackers.  "I guess I do know when my birthday is" Midnighter says.

The beings introduce themselves as "Multiplex" and Midnighter gets ready to fight them.  Cut to a few hours earlier.  Midnighter is in a nightclub with Jason, Al and Matt.  Matt is dancing and Jason encourages him to join him, but Midnighter chickens out and stays at the bar with Al.  Al says Matt is a good guy,  and "it's good to see you back on track."  Midnighter grins.

Out clubbing.

Later he visits a woman called Mrs. Riley.  He heard her daughter had gone missing and wants to talk about "beating inventively and repeatedly the people who took her."  Mrs. Riley invites him in and tells him she never came home from school one day and the police didn't care when she reported it to them.  He reassures her he'll get her back.

He finds a human trafficker and tortures the information on who took the girl out of him.  "The Zardiis" screams the man.  The stolen God Garden technology is being used to transfer the "life force" from one body to another, powered by the "raw material" who is the girl.  Midnighter busts in and crushes them all and frees the girl who is scared of him.  Midnighter says no one will hurt her now, but "what about the old man and the costume guy?" she asks.

The costume guy turns out to be Multiplex who Midnighter destroys every body of.  He discovers the old man there as well, he begs Midnighter to leave his face intact for his grandchildren's sake.  "They already know you're a prick" retorts Midnighter and kills him.

Multiplex no match for Midnighter.

He delivers the girl back home.  He reasssures her that no one will hurt her now.  He went through the same thing as a child, kidnapped and experimented on.  "I.. didn't have a me to fight those people" he says.  She invites him in for a midnight snack but he declines saying "hopefully you'll never see me again".

Midnighter and Matt do some nearly naked cuddling.  Midnighter asks Matt if the blood still on him puts him off.  Matt says his mother was a doctor, "I don't run at the sight of blood."  Later they are dressed and standing on the top of the building.  Matt says he chose to contact Midnighter and he'd do it again.

Matt: "Think I didn't expect baggage?  You are programmed for only fighting.  You give a damn.  That's why I'm here.  Not for sugar coating.  And not everything has to be a fight."

Midnighter remembers the last time he saw Apollo.  He says to him that "I don't know how to be me without you".  He says he still loves him, he just needs time.  Apollo turns his back and leaves.  We return to Matt and Midnighter who says he wants the file on his past. 

Apollo and Midnighter's last coversation.

Matt says it doesn't matter who he was, what matters is who he is now.  Next day we join Dick Grayson doing his secret agent thing until the Midnighter shows up and gets him in a choke hold saying "it's date night".

Some drunken Russian douchebros go to a secret location to pay top price to stake a "vampire".  A being chained, starved and pleading.  When they kill it they hi-five each other and say they are heroes.  Midnighter, Grayson meet another of Midnighter's assets, a man called "Evengeny Maxsimovich Baraanok" who tells them about "Noi Akakyevich" and his "thrill-kill" club.

Later Midnighter and Grayson go into a Russian sauna where the young men are.  Midnighter wants to know who attended the "Inn of Guire Grande".  The men attack them but Midnighter and Grayson eaily beat them and they confess to having gone.  As they leave Grayson says didn't they know this already? "Not the point Dick.  It's the journey" says Midnighter.

Fanservice!

Later that night the head vampire feeds on a homeless person.  Some more young men arrive to kill a vampire, chained to a wall and pleading for its life.  Then Grayson and Midnighter burst in and take down the guards.  The lead vampire grabs Midnighter and seperates him from Grayson.  Midnighter says he's not a real vampire, he can see the cellular enhancements.

Midnighter: "Thing is you might not be a vampire, but you can die like one".

He smashes the vampire in the head, it summons a hoard of rats that Midnighter deals with.  Grayson appears and warns Midnighter the vampire is back up and Midnighter slices it's head in half which finally takes it down.

Rescuing the "vampires".

Midnighter has a chat with a bored Marina.  He and Grayson freed the unwilling vampires.  The tech from the God Garden was able to weaponise folklore. "Humans treated with reprogrammed Martian cells, mimicking vampirism".  Grayson hoped he could reverse the process but the cells were booby trapped and the vampires all burn up.  "Sounds like you've got more work to do" says Marina.

In a Russian bar, Grayson says he managed to ping Akakyevich's nano-signature and knows where the cells were made.  We cut to Akakyevich talking to some military looking types, he says his vampires were a lure that worked perfectly, what he is really after to sell is Midnighter's computer brain, "coming soon" he says.

After a jog, Matt speaks with Midnighter over the phone.  Midnighter and Grayson are taking out some of Akakyevich's goons.  "You bought back up?" says Matt in surprise.  "He's an intern at best" responds Midnighter. Akakyevich meanwhile is down in his labs with his human/animal hybrids being tested.  He says that Midnighter and Grayson are "behnd schedule" so he uses the device from the God Garden that controls the teleportation doors to switch on but block an area round where the lab is.

Battling the beasts.

Midnighter detects it's been turned on and finds the place they can't door into.  It's an unmapped Metro station so they go to catch a train there.  Midnighter cuffs himself to Grayson to make sure he does things his way.  They get on the train then off at the unmapped stop and are greeted by the "beast battalion".

Grayson: "Look at these things.  If I die handcuffed to you I'm going to kill you."

Midnighter says these are mutated humans but have no higher brain functions anymore, "gruesome golems."  Grayson wonders why they have been sent to greet them if Akakyevich wants them to come right to him.  "It's called showing off" says Midnighter and they kill all the monsters ending with a huge "werewolf".  Then they bust down the lab door.

Akakyevich greets them and shows them the telekinesis powers he got from the God Garden.  He makes Grayson and Midnighter fly up and smash through the ceiling into the room above which breaks the cuffs.  Midnighter says he detected Akakyevich's TK implant and used his ego to get him to throw them exactly where he wanted.  He is able to disable the door block and teleports down behind Akakyevich and kicks him in the head, smashing the TK implant to bits.

Taking down Akakyevich.

Akakyevich angrily says that Midnighter is nothing to him, "just spare parts" that don't understand their market value.  Midnighter hurls a shard of glass at him, but Grayson smashes it with one of his billy clubs saying "no...killing".  A shard still lodges in Akakyevich's spine and he collapses in agony.  Midnighter interrogates him, but Akakyevich wasn't the one who stole from the God Garden, he was just a middle man.

Later in their hotel room, Grayson and Midnighter have a drink.  Midnighter says that he respects Grayson even if he doesn't like all his rules.  Grayson admits he admires the way Midnighter never gives up pursuing something he wants.  Back in the USA Matt has prepared a Thanksgiving dinner for them both.  Midnighter says it's his first one but as they tuck in an ominous helicopter hovers behind them and a sniper takes aim at their heads.

Midnighter senses the threat and throws himself on top of Matt to protect him.  Matt kisses him and says "go get them."  Midnighter leaps through the shattered window and grabs onto the helicopter which is being flown by more of Multiplex.  He murderises them, and lands the 'copter on the building roof.

More Multiplexes get taken out.

We then get a montage of Midnighter tracking down more stolen tech while the flat is remodelled.  Finally it is finished, he grew it using the same cells as his place.  But then Matt gets a phone call, someone has beaten up his father because they saw him and Midnighter together on TV and took it out on the old man.

The door to his house in a rural area, Matt calls it a "white picket death-trap".  Matt and his father Grant hug, then Grant says to Midnighter it's good to meet "the man who is making my son so happy".  Midnighter says he shouldn't have been hurt, "that's not a reality I can allow."  We then cut to Midnighter quizzing some local thuggish types who he lays a beatdown on, finally one screams they just don't know who did it.

Midnighter chats with Grant.

Midnighter returns to Grant saying he can frighten people but they can't tell him what they don't know.  And as the people who assaulted him left no forensic traces he is stumped.  Grant says he doesn't mind if Midnighter drops it.

Midnighter: "If I'm not keeping as many people safe as possible, I'm not doing my job."

Grant says as long as Grant keeps his son safe he is content.  Matt though is having a wobble, maybe Midnighter can't protect him.  Midnighter is still confused at how clean the area is:

Midnighter: "This never happened.  Something is wrong here, everything's too perfect and I can't.. I don't.. I don't know what's going to happen."

Then a bus tries to run them down.  Midnighter tells Matt to go home and jumps aboard.  He fights with the thugs and they end up melting.  They aren't real peope, "Holt-Griffin skin" from the God Garden.  "How long have I been blind?" says Midnighter to himself.  Then he returns to Grant's house and punches the old man's head off, it explodes in green gooey liquid.

Betrayal!

Matt is horrified.  Midnighter says now he knows what to look for he can get the people who did this, and he hugs Matt.  And Matt stabs him in the chest.  He then walks away as Midnighter slumps to the floor saying "you almost had it".  He returns in costume and is revealed as the supervillain Prometheus.

Prometheus: "You want to protect people?  Be the sword for the unheard?  So self important. So confident.  Look at you now. Time for some fire".

We get some backstory on Prometheus whose parents were gangsters who were killed in a shoot out with the cops.

Prometheus: "My parents loved me.  Justice killed them.  There's no justice in that.  I had to destroy justice at the roots."

He inherited his parents money and underworld connections, when he got older he did a Batman style training tour of the world.  He became Prometheus.  He stole the God Garden techology, his body is "hardwired to learn... I can record any skill and install it in my brain".  His Holt-Griffin skin cells blind the Midnighter's enhancements, even now.  His brain can't predict him, he has the skills of the thirty best fighters in the world including Midnighter.

Prometheus explains his evil plan.

They start to fight as Prometheus rants about the hypocrisy of heroes, "killing for the 'crime' of killing."  He wound the Midnighter up and watched him run around blind.  Now he's going to "rip out your technology and use it."  Midnighter says he won't make it easy. As they continue to trade blows, Prometheus says he has Midnighters secret file downloaded in his head.  He grew the house from Midnighter's memories.  Midnighter starts to get the upperhand.

Midnighter: "All that time you spent with me.  You didn't learn when to talk and when to punch someone in the face?"

You can't keep Midnighter down.

Then he punches Prometheus so hard his helmet shatters.  Prometheus says if he kills him he'll lose the chance to find out what his past was. "Your move fighter" he says.  And Midnighter smashes him so hard either side of his head (in a double page spread I can't scan) it looks like it gives Prometheus a pretty serious brain injury as shattered memories of Midnighter fly symbolically out of his head.  "I know exactly who I am" says Midnighter to the crippled Prometheus who manages to activate a teleport and escape.

Midnighter: "Hmph... pushover.  I wouldn't have run."

And in the debris of the house he finds a photo of himself as a teenager.  Days later back in Oakland, Midnighter is hanging out with Jason.  He is distracted and Jason says he wishes he could punch Matt/Prometheus in the mouth for him. 

Jason reassures Midnighter.

Midnighter is just sad, the second time he let someone get so close to him he was stabbed in the heart literally and metaphorically.  When he says he can't trust his judgement anymore, Jason says that just makes him as imperfect as the rest of humanity.

Jason: "I've known that all along and I'm sticking with you."

Later Midnighter has a chat with Marina who is still in jail, then we see Apollo come home and find the photo of teen Midnighter framed and left on his bed.  Then we get what looks like a sneak peak of the next big storyline involving the assassin Deadshot and we wrap up this volume with Midnighter drinking at Al's.  Al commiserates with him again, Midnighter says he never saw the betrayal coming, he didn't know that was possible:

Midnighter: "But I do know one thing.  There's one thing that will never change.  I'm never done fighting".

He gets knocked down, but he gets up again.

What an enjoyable collection of issues. It really fleshes Midnighter out in a way that hasn't really happened to him before.  His sexuality is upfront and unashamed as he navigates his way through the dating and clubbing scene making friends, finding love, getting his heart broken but bouncing back, it's all good stuff.  He's always run the risk in the past as coming over as rather one-dimensional, so contrasting his "off-duty" life with his crime fighting has proved to be a good decision on the part of writer Steve Orlando who fills the book with snappy dialogue and heartfelt moments.  The art has a nice, crisp, "gritty" feel to it and stays remarkably consistent between artists Aco, Stephen Moody and Hugo Petrus, with some good use of layouts to convey Midnighter's enhanced battle senses. Also putting him back in his pre-New 52 costume was a good move, because that stupid, neo-nineties, overbusy, chin-spiked nightmare he wore in Stormwatch was just one indication of how much DC didn't seem to "get" his character then.  He doesn't need armour and spikes, his body and mind are his weapons and his simple leather coated look is a timeless classic. His new origin and the mystery behind the theft of technology from The God Garden makes for interesting reading, and his choice to sacrifice the possibilty of knowing his real past so he can take out a larger threat is powerful stuff. His gift of the photo of his teen self to Apollo is sweet, first loves can loom very large over ones emotional life no matter how many times you fall in love afterwards.  I'm glad he is still shown caring about him, but also it's nice how he's determined to pick himself up after "Matt's" betrayal and not angst about it.  Permanent happiness might still be off-limits to major DC characters but dammit, Midnighter won't stop fighting for it.  Anyway, I'm totally sold on this series I just hope it survives the 2016 DC relaunch.

[OK so I got worried and impatient and googled if it would be continuing and... Oh Son Of A Whore, it isn't. Fuck you DC! All those nice things I said about you in the intro, I take them back! Expect some angrish about the "failure" of the DCYou when I wrap things up with a hoped for volume two, and as this relaunch decision seemed to have come about before the first wave of DCYou TPB's were released I guess I should be angriest at trade waiters like myself, because obviously our patronage means nothing in either the short or long term. Feh.]