DC's Darkest Version of Batman Became More Tragic Than Bruce With One Line
There are no shortage of Batman doppelgangers in DC Comics, but Midnighter stands above the rest for one simple reason: musical theatre. Originally created as part of the WildStorm Universe during the 1990s, Midnighter can be described as a more brutal version of the Dark Knight, with physical enhancements that make him an intimidating opponent in the field. While Batman traditionally relies on gadgets, martial arts training, and his detective skills, Midnighter benefits from superhuman speed, strength, accelerated healing, and a fight computer in his brain that calculates every possible outcome of a brawl before it even begins. Coupled with the fact that Midnighter lacks Batman's «no kill» rule, he makes Bruce Wayne look like a coward.
While Midnighter's brutality is part of his appeal as a character, he also has a deeply tragic backstory, one that is even sadder than Bruce Wayne's. Kidnapped as a child and brought to a woman named the Gardener, Midnighter has no memory of his life before he was turned into a living weapon. He adopted the name «Lucas Trent» as an attempt to live a «normal» life like his husband, Apollo. Midnighter has been a victim of depersonalization based on his capacity for violence, a treatment he has fought against by expressing his personality and using dark humor. So while there are some truly depressing aspects to his story, Midnighter focuses more on his present, rather than a past he'll never find the answers to.
Related: The DCAU's Dark Future Was Ahead Of Its Time, & DC Comics Proves It
Midnighter may not present himself with a façade of tragedy like Batman, but he inadvertently took the crown when he directly quoted Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon
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