Night Man

Published by Malibu Comics for its Ultraverse line, the comic book Night Man gained his powers from an accident. A piece of shrapnel became embedded in his head after his vehicle was struck by a cable car that had been hit by a burst of energy known as a "jumpstart". The energy is later found to originate from The Entity, an alien starship which had crashed on the Moon. Night Man jumpstarted, but the passengers of the cable car were also, some of which went on to form The Strangers. This version of Johnny Domino, while not unconditionally telepathic, could hear evil thoughts, could see in the dark and did not require sleep. His costume and equipment were merely makeshift items from hardware stores and the like, plus a kevlar vest his father lent him. His father was a former police officer turned security guard at a San Francisco Coney Island-type amusement park called "Playland", based upon the real-life Playland (San Francisco).

He used both a gun and a taser to fight crime, though the gun was only used as a last resort and even then, never used to kill. This version did not fly, but he used a grappling hook and rope to swing about the city, in addition to a used motorcycle he bought in the first issue as a means to transport himself quickly. A final difference, though minor, pertains to Johnny Domino's legal name. In the comic book, his name is Johnny Domingo (shortened to Domino as a catchy name to capitalize on his career as a saxophone musician) and his father's name was Edward Domingo (as opposed to the name his father was given on the television series).

During the series, Nightman meets and befriends the Freex, a group of super-powered teenagers on the run. In addition to dealing with his own problems, Nightman promises to watch out for them. Unfortunately he must deal with the death of one of the team, Plug, murdered by the Ultra-killer Rafferty.

Issue one was drawn by the character's designer and co-creator Darick Robertson.

Two Night Men?

In October 1994, Malibu Comics was purchased by Marvel Comics. In a drastic attempt to gain new readers, the Ultraverse was given edicts from their new owner, and various Marvel elements began popping up in the monthly Ultraverse titles.

Apart from this, Night Man becomes involved in corporate espionage, being caught between several opposing sides. He encounters the superhero team 'The Solution' and the haunted suit of super-armor, Teknight.^[1]

One Marvel storyline centered on mainstay Marvel Universe villain Loki (brother of Thor) searching for the Infinity Gems which had been stolen (and lost) by the ancient intergalactic vampire known as Rune. One such gem, the Reality Gem was discovered by the Night Man who, through trickery from Loki, began creating various other Night Men, each one the result of a simple choice he made while wielding the gem. Eventually, what appeared to be the original Night Man used the gem to eliminate all of the doppelgangers, leaving only himself and one additional Night Man. When asked by Loki if they'd reached a decision upon surrendering the gem to him, the initial version surrendered his gem, while the double vowed to stop Loki and charged towards him... only to be destroyed (alongside the duplicated Reality Gem) by the God of Mischief. Loki then left in search of other Infinity Gems to collect, and the surviving Night Man went off on his own way (eventually taking time for himself as Johnny Domino).^[2]

However, as the God Of Mischief, Loki resurrected the Night Man he'd killed, whom began to continue where the original left off. The double (not knowing he was not the original) found out that an "imposter" was living his life. Tracking the real Johnny Domino down (who was playing the saxophone at a nightclub), they engaged in a fight that was only stopped by the sudden reappearance of an old foe, Rhiannon. She offered power to both men, more specifically magick. Johnny Domino refused, but the other Night Man accepted Rhiannon's offer. Johnny tried to stop his double but was knocked out by Rhiannon. The pair made their escape to Stonehenge to prepare for the rituals that would grant this Night Man magick, while the original, recovered from being knocked out found himself in hot pursuit. The rituals were completed and the double did indeed gain the powers promised to him, but at a cost that Rhiannon had fueled her own life with: gaining and maintaining magick through cannibalism... a choice the double made willingly if it would help him defeat evil, and using the argument that "The Night Man has ALWAYS evolved when it comes to threats against the innocents".^[3] His costume also transformed as a result, becoming more Celtic in style. His long hair was now worn in matching locks, and instead of a mask, he now sported a crescent-shaped tattoo on the left side of his face, along with a floating eyepiece similar to the original look of the Night Man, and his other eye was now red. The original Night Man arrived and tackled his now-magick-enhanced double, but due to the instantaneous reality-changing events unfolding elsewhere in the Ultraverse known as Black September, a portal opened up at Stonehenge, swallowing the original Night Man and transporting him to the Marvel Universe while the double resumed the original's life as both Johnny Domino and the Night Man. The original Night Man was stuck in the Marvel Universe, where he presumably continues today.

Steve Englehart has stated on his official website that he'd pitched the idea of writing two monthly Night Man comics, one centering on the magick Night Man taking place in the Ultraverse, with the other book taking place in the Marvel Universe and centering on the original Night Man as he tries to make his way in a world that's unfamiliar to him. Unfortunately, the higher-ups at Marvel were not interested and that was one of the deciding factors which led Englehart to leave what was left of Malibu Comics.

In other media

• Night Man guest starred in the episode "Night and the Night Man" of Ultraforce animated series. The character's origin is the same, but instead of the face stealing serial killer Deathmask being the cause of Johnny Domino becoming Night Man, a completely new villain is. Chrysalis, a mutated insect who takes the form of whomever it captures in a chrysalis, targets local businessman Roger Tremain, due to believing itself to be his stepdaughter, Elly. During a fight with Chrysalis, Johnny is teleported to UltraForce’s headquarters, where Contrary attempts to recruit him onto the team. However, Johnny turns them down, due to Contrary being more focused on another case. But he does take up her idea about a "career change", and creates the alter ego of Night Man to battle Chrysalis. In the episode's climax, as Chrysalis takes Hardcase's form, Night Man battles Chrysalis and Chrysalis hits a tower, which electrocutes it and frees its victims. Chrysalis is defeated, but manages to escape, while its victims are released, and Elly, having learned about her stepfather’s cruelty through some sort of psychic link Chrysalis had with its victims, takes over her mother's company from him.
• Glen A. Larson developed for television a live-action series based on the character, starring Matt McColm as Johnny Domino, that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. Night Man's creator, Steve Englehart, wrote three episodes for the show.

References