Doctor Midnight

© DC Comics / Used without permission

Origin: Transformed
Real Name: Elizabeth "Beth" Chapel
First Appearance: Infinity #21 [DC Comics December 1985]

                           Character created by Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane

ABILITIES

Prowess 4 {Fair}
Coordination 4 {Fair}
Strength 3 {Average}
Intellect 5 {Good}
Awareness 5 {Good}
Willpower 5 {Good}

Stamina: 8
Determination: 3

SPECIALTIES

Athletics
Martial Arts
Medicine Expert

POWERS

Dazzle Device 5 ["Blackout Bombs"]
Defensive Device ["Body Armor", Damage Resistance] 2
Supersenses 1
       Enhanced Vision [Darkvision: able to see in complete darkness]

QUALITIES

. Blind: Couldn't see in daylight without the aid of special lenses.
. Responsibility of Power.
. A qualified surgeon and medical researcher.

Points: 38

ORIGIN STORY

Beth Chapel is the daughter of a minister and grew up with her four rowdy brothers in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She studied medicine and became the protegée of the noted physician Dr. Charles McNider. McNider believed that Chapel had the potential to become the most brilliant surgeon he had ever known.

McNider was blind in normal light, but he had the superhuman ability to see clearly in darkness ; in his secret identity as JSA member Doctor Mid-Nite he wore goggles with infrared lenses that enabled him to see in normal light as well. Years before he admitted his secret to her, Chapel realized that her mentor was really the renowned costumed super-hero.

Chapel eventually became an intern at Sunset Medical Center in Los Angeles. It was at this hospital, very early in her internship, that she first met members of the super-hero team Infinity, Inc. During the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths, an earthquake struck L.A., causing a fire at Sunset Medical Center. While saving a patient, Chapel was blinded by the explosion of an oxygen tank.

McNider directed a surgical team in operating on the injured Chapel for five hours, using an ocular implant from her pineal gland. As a result of this unusual procedure, Chapel's vision was partially restored. Although her eyes were now too sensitive to see in normal light, she could see as clearly in darkness as McNider himself could. However, unlike him, she couldn't see in normal light using infrared lenses, and had to wear heavy sunglasses in daylight.

Chapel discovered her ability to see in darkness when she aided the second Hourman in battling some of the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons. Wanting to use this power to fight further evils and dangers, Chapel adopted a costume (designed by Hourman) and, in honor of her mentor, took the name Doctor Midnight.

Beth Chapel was one of Infinity Inc.'s 'new' versions of old heroes (joining Rick Tyler & Yolanda Montez) that just didn't pan out. Roy Thomas tried, but honestly, DC Comics destroyed Infinity Inc. for many years, and there was almost no point in using the team until they were far enough away from their All-Star retelling stories that you could just forget about what happened back in those days. The continuity restructuring was just too immense to be putting out books with these guys for a while. It didn't help that some at DC were getting into the 90s 'cool bad-ass heroes' phase. Damn Iron Age of comics! Nevertheless, Chapel has made quite an impact in our games, being our resident doctor (always handy when you're superheroing). Character revised according to rules presented in ICONS Great Power book. Streamlined, once again, according to ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition.