#the only superhero doctor out there is Dr Mid-Nite | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

augustheart · 2 years

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tell me about the way they talk about henry heywood sr. in the jsa 2007 run. tell me your thoughts about it pls. i know what he did generally but unfortunately i haven't read all of the comics with the second steel (the grandson he forced into the hero life).

@scarabaebutch: WAIT WAIT I JUST SAW THAT ADDITION WHEN THE FUCK DID THE OLD GUARD JSA BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HENRY SR. WHEN AND WHY WHAT-

banging my hands on the walls over and over i am so mad all the time about this

so some backstory is that henry heywood iii aka hank aka my best pal my sweet cheese my good time boy was raised by henry sr after his father died. while the exact details of hank's origin story has changed over the course of dc retcons*, what stays the same is that henry, in an effort to make hank "perfect," forced brutal medical operations on him (often without anesthesia) in order to turn him into a superhero like him. he also forced hank to join the justice league of america during their ill-fated detroit era. being essentially experimented on by his grandfather left hank with a lifetime of chronic pain, trust and anger issues, and trauma. he explicitly calls henry mad for it.

during crisis, henry sr goes further off the deep end and, in a full supervillain phase, joins mekanique the all-star squadron villain and tricks infinity inc by telling them that the JLA is evil and corrupted his grandson so that they'll attack JLA and give him the chance to take hank back and give him more forced surgeries. when infinity inc realizes this is stupid they call the JSA (original earth-2 jsa, the members we specifically see are the flash, wonder woman, hawkman, doctor fate, and doctor mid-nite) who show up to beat the shit out of henry before mekanique shows up to help him escape. he and hank have a brawl where hank nearly kills him and barely manages to stop himself.

fast forward to 2007 (past things like hank being fatally injured and henry sr, for some reason, being put in charge of his life support and ultimately turning it off). with nate's introduction, things go off the fucking rails.

you're at least familiar with nate's character, but one thing you may not remember is that a lot of his first scenes are about him thinking about how henry heywood sr presented himself as a superhero to his family and how hank was equally exalted by them for choosing to have the surgeries that turned him into steel. this is fine to me. henry would definitely lie about that, and it took hank awhile to admit that what had happened to him was wrong. but surely when the jsa shows up they'll set him straight, right? i mean, jay is in this run. jay was also there when henry showed his true colors. he tried to fight him in the name of protecting hank, the jla, and infinity inc from him.

nope! henry is described as a hero and the fact that he violently medically abused the grandson left in his care from when he was a very young child to when he was around seventeen--hank is described at one point as not yet being a man--is never Fucking mentioned to nate or anybody. i cannot stress enough that this is an integral aspect to his character and was written by the same person who created him (conway).

tl;dr: for some reason, henry sr's superhero identity, the one he used as an excuse to torture his grandson, is forced onto another one of his grandsons who explicitly does not want to be a superhero and quits the first chance he gets. the fact that the people putting this identity on nate also fought henry for being a horrible person is not brought up. this is never once interrogated or questioned by anyone in-universe and is deeply fucked up.

(*what is specifically retconned is whether or not hank "needed" the surgeries to improve his health and henry just took it too far; originally this was not the case but some writers have implied it. additionally, jla: classified retconned it so that dale gunn, hank's only parental confidante and protector, was a part of the abuse he suffered. i ignore this because it's stupid and directly contradicts previous canon where dale talks to himself about how horrified he was when he found out what henry had done--after specifically sending dale away so he couldn't stop him. (additionally, dale has since been retconned to be a gay man, which... puts him and hank's father being "war buddies" in a new light.))

#hank heywood #nate heywood #child abuse /#extended post #scarabaebutch

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hournites · 2 years

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hmmm, you're honestly the first person I've heard with that take. Narratively, it's weird to introduce the idea of her parents excitedly wanting to create a new suit for her as one of the closers for the S2 finale and have no payout in S3. All the other closers will likely have payout - Cindy and the JSA, the crocks next door and Shade/Grundy/Rick. If Beth's costume is the only non payoff from the season closer tease that would be really weird. But just my opinion. - pt1

pt 2 - Also, suits are expensive but that won't be a surprise for them. Besides, it's between seasons, enough time to fit and create a new suit for her, same as they create new suits and outfits for new characters introduced every season on all cw shows. I honestly think it's a normal expectation based on the fact that it was a closer for the episode and payoffs for all of the other closers are expected to come.

But see, that’s the fans choosing to use that one throwaway line about a costume as what they think should be the big payout. The real payout is having Beth’s parents— especially Beth’s mother, a DOCTOR— in the loop on their daughter’s superheroing. The payout is likely having medical expertise used in the field and fleshing out Beth’s knowledge aka honing her “Dr” mantle as Dr. Mid-Nite with not just guidance by Chuck but also the support of her mother.

I know I’m the only one who is vocal about this take which is why I’m surprised. We know that it’s a tease from the comics because it’s literally Beth’s costume straight from the books. They’ve teased Hootie before too but that’s been shut down by Anj as not a real possibility to expect for the show due to the cost and management of paying a wildlife facilitator for an owl’s time on set.

Also, yes, it’s true that we’re between seasons for Stargirl but actually filming started earlier this year than last, the gap between the two seasons was much shorter. I remember that the cast for the flash knew about the suit they were developing for Killer Frost since late s4/early s5 was only finished to be introduced for s6.

As mentioned previously, they enhanced Beth’s goggles but those goggles don’t fit aesthetically with a black and yellow suit. Furthermore, I don’t think people were considering Beth’s reaction when her parents were suggesting the new suit. She didn’t look pleased at all. I think if they we’re going down that route at least they would’ve had Beth react positively? That’s not to say I don’t think the suit Beth already has can’t and won’t maybe be tailored. Maybe the cape will get cropped and she’ll get gloves that are actually her size lol.

If they are developing a new suit in the works, I can imagine it being introduced after Beth sustaining an injury or she goes blind and her OG suit gets ruined. As a gift to help her come back and restore her faith, I could see her dad investing in making that suit happen and her mom making sure it’s safer…This has like s4 or s5 vibes written to it though.

#stargirl #beth chapel #ask #anon #hn talks

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multiverseforger · 3 years

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Walter Joseph Kovacs was born on March 21, 1940, the son of Sylvia Kovacs, who was a prostitute, and an unknown father only known to Kovacs as "Charlie". His mother was frequently abusive and condescending towards him. In July 1951, at the age of 11, Kovacs became involved in a violent fight with two older bullies, and subsequently his living conditions were finally looked into. He was removed from his mother's care and put in "The Lillian Charlton Home for Problem Children" in New Jersey, where he rapidly seemed to improve, excelling at scholastics as well as gymnastics and amateur boxing. In 1956, after leaving the Charlton Home when he was 16, Kovacs took a job as a garment worker in a dress shop, which he found "bearable but unpleasant" partly because he had to handle women's clothing; it was here that he acquired a certain dress fabric that he would later fashion into the mask he wears as Rorschach. In 1962, Kovacs scavenged the material from a rejected dress that had been special-ordered by a young woman with an Italian name. Though Kovacs learned how to cut and fashion the material successfully with heated implements, he soon grew bored with it, as it served him no real purpose at the time.[14]

Two years later when buying a newspaper on his way to work in March 1964, Kovacs read about the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese, who he believed was the Italian woman who had rejected the dress. Ashamed by what he read about the unresponsiveness of her neighbors, Kovacs became disillusioned with the underlying apathy that he saw as inherent in most people. Inspired by Genovese's fate, Kovacs returned home, made "a face [he] could bear to look at in the mirror" from the dress's fabric, and began fighting crime as the vigilante Rorschach. Initially, Kovacs left criminals alive, but bloodied, for the police to arrest, leaving a calling card in the form of a Rorschach test at every crime scene. In the mid 1960s, he teamed up with Nite Owl II, a partnership which proved highly successful at battling organized crime.[14]

In 1975, an investigation into the kidnapping of a young girl named Blair Roche led to the transformation of the "soft" Kovacs into the ruthlessly uncompromising Rorschach. He tracked the kidnapping to a man named Gerald Grice. At Grice's shack, Kovacs found evidence Grice had killed the girl and had fed her remains to his dogs. Discovering this, Rorschach suffered a psychotic breakdown, killed the dogs with Grice's meat cleaver and waited for his arrival. When Grice returned, Rorschach hurled the corpses of the dogs through his windows, handcuffed him to a stove, and poured kerosene around him. Leaving Grice a hacksaw, Rorschach told him that his only chance to escape would be by cutting off his hand. Rorschach then set the shack on fire and left. No one emerged.[14] During a later psychological evaluation, the vigilante stated that Kovacs went into the shack, but that Rorschach came out.

When the Keene Act was passed in 1977 to outlaw vigilantes, Rorschach responded by killing a wanted serial rapist and leaving his body outside a police station with a note bearing one word: "never!"[15]

In WatchmenEdit

By 1985 and the events of Watchmen, Rorschach is the vigilante who continues to operate in defiance of the Keene Act, the rest having retired or become government operatives. He investigates the murder of a man named Edward Blake, discovering that he is the Comedian. He believes that someone is picking off costumed superheroes,[16] a view that strengthens when Doctor Manhattan is forced into exile[17] and when Adrian Veidt, the former vigilante known as Ozymandias, is targeted in an assassination attempt.[18] Rorschach questions Moloch, a former supervillain who unexpectedly attends Blake's funeral, who tells him what little he knows.[19] Later, after reading a note written by Moloch telling him to come over for more information, Rorschach visits him again, only to find him dead, shot through the head. The police, tipped off anonymously over the phone, surround the house. Rorschach scolds himself for falling into such an obvious trap, and is arrested after a fight, in which Rorschach tries to escape by jumping through a window, but is unmasked. After the unmasking, Rorschach is revealed to be the red-haired man who, in addition to being the first character to appear in the series, was shown several times in the early chapters carrying a sign reading "THE END IS NIGH".[18]

Rorschach is sent to a prison where many of its inmates are criminals he put away, including Big Figure, a dwarf crime boss who is hungry for Rorschach's blood. During his incarceration, he is interviewed by the prison psychologist Dr. Malcolm Long. Long believes he can help rehabilitate him; instead, Rorschach's explanation of his life and his justifications for his uncompromising worldview lead Long to question his own views.

One day during lunch, one of the inmates attempts to attack Rorschach with a shiv, whereupon Rorschach throws the boiling-oil contents of a deep-fryer into his face in self-defense.[14] As the guards grab and begin to beat him, Rorschach hoarsely yells at the watching crowd, "None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me."[20] After the inmate dies, the prison breaks out in a riot. The Big Figure and two of his associates try to kill Rorschach, but he outwits and ultimately kills them all in rapid succession. Rorschach's two former colleagues, Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II, begin to take his "mask killer" theory seriously and break him out of jail to follow up on it.[21]

After the prison break, Dr. Manhattan comes back from his self-exile to transport Silk Spectre II to Mars.[21] After acquiring a spare costume from his apartment, Rorschach, along with Nite Owl, enters underworld bars to find out who ordered the assassination attempt on Veidt. They obtain a name, a company called Pyramid Deliveries, and then break into Veidt's office. Nite Owl correctly deduces Veidt's password and finds that he runs Pyramid Deliveries. Rorschach, who has been keeping a journal throughout the duration of the novel, realizes that they may be no match for Veidt. He makes one last entry in his journal, stating his certainty that Veidt is responsible for whatever might happen next, and drops it into a mailbox.[22]

Nite Owl and Rorschach fly out to Antarctica.[22] There they learn the true nature of the conspiracy and Veidt's motivations: to unite the world against a perceived alien threat and stop the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. Veidt then reveals that he set his plan into motion well before they arrived.[23] Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre II arrive at the base after viewing the carnage Veidt's false alien has wrought on New York City. Despite their mutual horror, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre II and Doctor Manhattan all agree to keep quiet about the true nature of the events when the United States surprisingly does enter into a peace accord with the Soviet Union.

Rorschach states the others must be joking, and leaves to tell the world. Dr. Manhattan confronts him outside, telling him he cannot allow Rorschach to reveal the truth. Refusing to compromise his principles, Rorschach understands he will be killed. He removes his mask and demands that Manhattan just "do it", which he does.[24]

In the final scenes of the comic, Rorschach's journal has made it to the offices of the New Frontiersman, a right-wing newspaper. Outraged by the new accord between the Soviet Union and the United States, the editor pulls a planned two-page story. He leaves it to his assistant Seymour to decide how to fill that space, and Seymour begins to reach for the paper's "Crank File," which contains the journal. The outcome is ambiguous.[24]

Events of Doomsday ClockEdit

The events of Doomsday Clock begin with Robert Redford winning the 1992 election by using the details of Kovacs' journal, which he gained from the New Frontiersman, leading the citizens of New York to rally against Ozymandias, while the United States faces an inevitable nuclear war.[

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dickie-gayson · 4 years

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Fun Young Justice Fact!!

I straight up c r i e d during the S1 episode Coldhearted but not for the reason yall think. I've seen MANY discussions and reactions but not ONCE have I seen any love or recognition given to my boi in Coldhearted

THIS IMPORTANT DOCTOR MAN RIGHT HERE. U SEE HIM?? Y'ALL REMEMBER HIM? UR GONNA GET A LESSON ABOUT THIS LOVELY, BEAUTIFUL, INTELLIGENT DOCTOR RIGHT N O W

This doctor (he's the good one, not the goon) isn't named during the show iirc BUT his name is in the credits.

Pieter Cross.

P I E T E R C R O S S

Y'all, Pieter Cross is another dc superhero - one of my favs.

This lovely accented doctor, Pieter Anton Cross, is none other than Doctor Mid-Nite (the second). here's some pics (the first is w his bffl/platonic life partner Michael Holt aka Mister Terrific)

Pieter graduated from Harvard Medical at 19. He's essentially the Hero Community's go-to doctor for everything.

"Doctor Mid-Nite is the world's most prominent superhero doctor. He is often called upon when an autopsy is needed, or when a hero needs major surgery."

Ye, he's had to autopsy his dead friends :( he also does casual checkups. Powergirl goes to him for her check ups and to keep an eye on her powers. He's done a bunch of life-saving surgeries on not only the heroes but ALSO their loved ones! He performed surgery on Lois Lane after she got shot. When Hush removed Catwoman's heart from her body, Doctor Mid-nite and Mister Terrific were able to successfully put it back in and save her.

You not only want him in ur corner when ur hurt, u need him. There's none better! Imagine the sheer amount of crazy powerful allies he has bcus he saves all sorts of heroes and their loved ones! U don't attack the healer unless u wanna get fucked up by the rest of the squad, right? U also don't piss the healer off unless u wanna suffer, right? Same energy, fam. It helps that he can perform surgery flawlessly in the fuckin pitch dark.

He's disabled! In fact, Doctor Mid-Nite is credited as the first disabled superhero in comics! They're talking about Charles McNider, his predecessor, but Pieter Cross is also disabled. He's blind. I won't go into his whole origin but suffice to say he was unwillingly drugged and it caused him to go totally blind except for in the absolute dark.

He can only see in the dark and/or with his specialized lenses iirc. He carries smoke grenades that cause absolute blackness (think vanta black bombs) bcus he can see just fine in it and others can't. Any attack that involves having to see the attack (think Medusa's gaze) doesn't work on him cus he's conventionally blind. HOWEVER when he can see, it's fuckin crazy. Eagles got nothing on how sharp his eyes are in the right setting. Like we're talking super vision.

Those funky lenses on his cowl? They're to let him see in the light. It's kinda like infrared goggles and can let him see ultrasonic as well. Without his tools, he can't see. He got his sight back once and hated it bcus he could no longer work the way he used to.

OTHER FUN FACTS ABOUT THE GREAT DOCTOR

Doctor Mid-Nite has his own website where he provides free medical advice to registered users.

He's Norwegian-born. (That's his accent in that YJ ep)

Him and Mister Terrific are the bestest of friends (I felt the need to reiterate bcus they're Besties for Life. Read 1 comic with them in it and you'll see what I mean)

HE HAS A PET OWL NAMED CHARLIE!! He named him Charlie after the first Doctor Mid-Nite, Charles McNider!! He's trained to aid Pieter in combat! Attack owl!!! Batman has his Robins, Mid-Nite has owl sidekicks!

Highly Skilled Escapologist

He briefly dated Black Canary

His general medical license has been revoked, not that it stops him from practicing and helping ppl. He gives zero fucks. He's here to help, not politick around when ppl are dying.

He never stopped being a doctor, even after becoming a superhero. HE'S A LOVELY, KIND, COMPASSIONATE MAN WHO JUST WANTS TO HELP PPL

He's vegetarian AND he does yoga (imma cry yall, he's so fuckin great)

S1 of Young Justice appears to take place before he gets his powers and becomes Doctor Mid-nite cus he's not wearing any type of glasses. Wally interacted w (imo) one of the greatest heroes and doesn't know it!

Mid-nite is the one everyone says Tim Drake copied with his one Red Robin uniform (it's true too. I wouldn't be surprised if Tim was a Mid-nite fan, they seem like they'd get along)

T H I C C T H I G H S!!! I know everyone talks about Jason's thighs but Pieter's thighs are next level!! I ain't playing! Look at these hams!!

When his mom was pregnant with him, she got attacked. The OG Doctor Mid-nite saved her. Then, when she went into labor, he delivered lil bby Pieter. What are the odds lmaoo

BDE through the roof, fight me. Massive Meat Energy and I won't apologize for saying it

Survived 'seeing' Johnny Sorrow's face even tho it kills legit anyone who looks bcus he's blind. Used the recording his goggles took of JS' face and played it back to Johnny and beat him lmaoo

As someone summarized nicely: 'Prior to him getting blind, Dr. Pieter was a very caring man.. He would take a walk in the evening every day and helps out poor people who live in the streets, especially to those who are addicted to drugs.. He would help out missionaries in donation to help the poor and the hungry.. A Poor People Savior you might say."

"Doctor Cross uses his medical expertise as a hand-to-hand weapon. Once, when challenged to arm wrestle, he won by triggering the proper nerves in his opponent's arm." Savage Nerd Alert. Can, has, and will continue to use his Galaxy Brain (and BDE) to beat ppl, dirty technique or not.

Geoff Johns on Doctor Mid-Nite: "Doctor Mid-Nite is a visionary, figuratively and literally. Blinded by an accident, he’s able to see on all spectrums through the filters on his goggles."

Here's some of him being the Super Doctor:

Helped Alan Scott to determine if he was composed of the Green flame of Starheart

Helped Power Girl to check and test her powers

Saved Hourman's life by performing an emergency surgery

Saved Oracle by removing the Brainiac virus which possessed her body

Saved Lois Lane's Life by removing a sniper bullet after she was shot

Helped Raven to drive the demonic possession that attacked her by using Hologram Tech

I love him and would die for more content about him

Srsly I'll cry if even one(1) person acknowledges him in a YJ fic (or any fic tbh)

APPRECIATE DOCTOR PIETER ANTON 'MID-NITE' CROSS OR P E R I S H

Also if ur writing a YJ fic and have need for a doctor, pls add him. He didn't graduate med school to be ignored, yall. Or add him in just bcus he's rad af. At least do it for Charlie the owl!!

#young justice #Pieter cross #doctor mid-nite #I LOVE HIM YALL #A LOT #AND NOBODY GIVES HIM ANY ATTENTION #LOVE HIM WITH ME #am i gonna have to steer AND populate this 'Loving Doctor Mid-nite' boat myself??

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siphen0 · 4 years

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***MINOR SPOILER REVIEW***

What’s up everyone! Welcome to Beyond The Panel. Coming at you today with talk about DC’s Stargirl “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite”! “Wildcat” was a wildly emotional episode, leading up to the reintroduction of a new hero. The story continues as this week Courtney looks for her next recruits to join the new Justice Society of America. This time around looking for the new Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite in fellow outcast classmates Beth Chapel and Rick Tyler.

Where last week we got to know Yalonda’s story, this week they gave us Rex’s. I have to say, this show knows how to roll with the punches. This time around they pulled no punches jumping into a superhero scenario we don’t quite see too often. The one where the kid with superhero parents is orphaned, and left with a not so happy life growing up. This was a huge contrast form the kind of life Courtney lived. She had one parent who loved her, and now a step-father and step-brother who make her feel like she has a real family. Though Rex has none of that. Forced to believe his parents died of some unfortunate tragedy, left with a guardian who blames him for wasted opportunities. It was easy to understand why this kid was so full of anger. He wasn’t just that stereotypical kid who’s the bad boy just because.

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Stargirl — “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” — Image Number: STG105c_0055b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Cameron Gellman as Rick and Adam Aalderks as Matt — Photo: Annette Brown/The CW — © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Stargirl — “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” — Image Number: STG105c_0018b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Luke Wilson as Pat and Adam Aalderks as Matt — Photo: Annette Brown/The CW — © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What we knew was that he wasn’t going to be easy getting through to. It actually gave me chills for the fact that you don’t know the outcome of putting power in the hands of someone broken. This isn’t the same case where Yolanda was able to embrace a whole new side of her. Rex is the definition of someone unstable. So what happens when power is put in the hands of someone without a sense of responsibility to anyone but himself? The answer to that again is what gave me the chills. So much could have gone wrong if Courtney and company weren’t able to handle things the way they did.

Once more this was also much better than some of the drama we would get from the CW shows. So far they are on the right track, and need to continue prioritizing quality interactions, over cliche.

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Stargirl — “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” — Image Number: STG105a_0134b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore and Luke Wilson as Pat — Photo: Jace Downs/The CW — © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Stargirl — “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” — Image Number: STG105a_0022b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore and Luke Wilson as Pat — Photo: Jace Downs/The CW — © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

As for Beth, it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows for her either. There wasn’t anything tragic or unfortunate like with the others, but you could still experience something familiar from her story. Sometimes becoming a superhero can simply be a means of self-improvement. For Beth, that could mean something as simple as fitting in and finding connections. Since the start of the series, they have made it known that she struggles connecting with anyone her age outside of her parents or other adults. This week they threw her right into the fire when it came to putting in the work to make new friends.

That aside, you had to appreciate the effort they put into offering us a hero who doesn’t need to rely on combat expertise. One of the biggest misconceptions for these heroes is that everyone must be battle capable. How Beth interacted with the goggles proved otherwise. In fact, I think a group like this greatly benefits from someone who feeds them information they couldn’t get anywhere else. Pat isn’t always going to be there, and this was the best response to that reality.

Speaking of Pat, he does make some progress on his end towards learning which ISA members may be in Blue Valley. I only wish that we could see more fire from him in the process. For now I will let it slide, because right now they do give you the impression that the intention is to push Pat to a point where he is more take-charge, and less walking on eggshells like a sidekick would.

There was other small developments with the villains ongoing in the background despite the main objective being superhero recruitment. There was a treat here and there, though nothing significant. Though at the same time nothing to overlook either. Something is always better than nothing. Especially when with each passing week we are getting a bit more of an understanding as to what the ISA is putting together in this town. They clearly have their claws dug deep in everything that unfolds here.

All in all, DC’s Stargirl “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” was another episode which they knocked out of the park. This is excellent storytelling here, and they are setting the bar for what we should expect when investing in young superhero stories. Their stories are no lighter, and they are no darker. It’s just another experience that is full of twists and turns.

DC’s Stargirl “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” Review ***MINOR SPOILER REVIEW*** What's up everyone! Welcome to Beyond The Panel. Coming at you today with talk about DC's Stargirl "Hourman and Dr.

#Comics #DC Comics #DC Universe #DC&039;s Stargirl #DC&039;s Stargirl "Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite"#spotlight #Stargirl #Stargirl "Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite"#the cw #TV #TV Review #TV Series

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Stargirl: Who are the Justice Society Members?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Any time the Justice Society of America make it off the comics page and onto a screen, it’s a big deal. Why? Because without the Justice Society, there’s no Justice League, no Fantastic Four, no X-Men, no Avengers, and no shared superhero universes, cinematic, televisual, or otherwise. And while the DC Universe and CW Stargirl TV series isn’t the first time we’ve seen the JSA on screen, it’s looking like it will be the most faithful version of the team ever to make it to live action.

Y’see, while the comic book industry exploded in the wake of Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, and the superhero arms race was on with dozens of publishers competing for seemingly endless space on the newsstands, characters weren’t teaming up with each other. Superman, Batman, and others were published by National Periodical Publications while the original Flash (Jay Garrick) and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) were under the auspices of All-American Publications (which was soon absorbed by NPP, who later morphed into DC Comics), but there were no crossovers, no “event” stories, and certainly no superhero teams. If anything, all of these super characters were in direct competition with each other as they tried to become popular enough to break out of their anthology titles and support their own books.

Just for a little perspective here, Superman and Batman shared a title, World’s Finest Comics, for over a decade before they actually teamed up in it!

In 1940 All-American introduced All-Star Comics, an anthology title featuring big names like Flash and Hawkman (who had debuted the previous year in Flash Comics #1), as well as some second stringers like Spectre and Sandman. It was just another anthology title, though, until its third issue, which had a striking cover…

Remember that cover, because I’m going to come back to it in a few. You may already notice some familiar faces that were teased in the first episode of Stargirl.

Essentially, All-Star Comics #3 was still an anthology comic, however. The Justice Society of America promised on the cover, with a meeting of superheroes around a roundtable, ended up just as a bookend, with the heroes meeting up to tell each other stories about their solo adventures. With All-Star Comics #4, instead of telling tales, the idea was that the team would meet up for a mission, and then split up on solo missions, thus preserving the anthology format. This eventually gave way to more full-blooded superhero team stories, but that “let’s split up and tackle different aspects of this mission” is a format that still plays quite heavily in comics and on a superhero team show like Legends Of Tomorrow to this day.

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The JSA headlined All-Star Comics through the title’s demise in 1951, when superheroes were falling out of favor, and if your name wasn’t Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, you were getting shunted off to back-up stories, or worse…cancellation. But a few years later, DC revitalized their publishing line and the superhero genre when they introduced the Barry Allen version of The Flash in the paged of Showcase #4. Barry was an updated speedster who bore little in common with the original Flash other than his speedster powers and a taste for the color red. Other updates and revivals followed, including Green Lantern, and a new superhero team who went by the name of the Justice League. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.

Continuity wasn’t much of a concern for the comic book fan or creator in those days, so the original heroes of the World War II era were hardly referred to. That is, until, “The Flash of Two Worlds” which brought Jay Garrick and Barry Allen together in a story that established that Jay and his fellow Justice Society heroes existed on a parallel world. Flash team-ups became a regular feature, and that soon extended to a yearly Justice League/Justice Society party. There were a number of Justice Society revivals, with the team headlining a revived All-Star Comics for a time, and the exceptional All-Star Squadron comic launching in 1981, showcasing previously untold stories about JSA-related characters during World War II.

This all changed in 1986 when DC Comics decided to clean up their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths, eliminating their multiverse in favor of a linear timeline (sound familiar TV fans?). This gave the JSA a new mission, and perhaps a more important place in the overall DC Universe. Now, the JSA were the original heroes of a unified DC Universe, fighting during World War II and beyond, with a legacy that inspired younger heroes like Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and others.

Because of assorted comic book shenanigans that I don’t need to get into here (it’s a headache, trust me), the JSA were able to exist in the modern day, only slightly older than they were in the late 1940s/early ’50s. As a result, the JSA became the proving ground for a host of even younger heroes. The Justice League had their sidekicks break off and form the Teen Titans, but other new heroes found themselves schooled by the JSA, and heroes like Hourman, Sandman, Commander Steel (fan fave Nate Heywood over on Legends of Tomorrow), Doctor Mid-Nite, Starman, and others passed their legacy on to new characters.

Is any of that starting to sound familiar to Stargirl TV fans? It should! The TV version of Crisis on Infinite Earths eliminated the Arrowverse multiverse as it used to be, but re-established it with some new rules. The version of Earth-2 that had been introduced during the second season of The Flash was a weird, slightly darker reflection of the main universe. That was wiped out early in Crisis, but the conclusion saw the formation of this new, wholesome and kinda timeless Earth-2, and that’s where Stargirl takes place. And without getting into spoilers, the idea of legacy characters taking up the mantle of the JSA is a major theme of this season.

Justice Society Members

So let’s talk about the Stargirl TV version of the Justice Society…both the ones we actually meet in the first episode, and the ones teased via Easter eggs in the rest. Take a look at the photo that Courtney finds with Pat’s things, which looks quite a bit like that All-Star Comics #3 cover!

And now let’s break it all down…

Starman

First and foremost, we have Sylvester Pemberton (Joel McHale). In the comics, Pemberton originally went by the non-powered name of the Star-Spangled Kid (and later, briefly, Skyman). He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #1 in 1941. Here, he’s wielding the cosmic staff that was designed by and used by the original comics Starman, Ted Knight (who first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 that same year). It’s not clear what Ted Knight’s relationship to the JSA will be on this show, and it’s possible that they’ve just condensed Pemberton’s origin story a little to make things flow a little more smoothly, since the legacy of the Starman name is a long one. We’ll probably have to get into this in another article all its own at some point this season.

Green Lantern

No, not the cosmic kind. The green flames billowing out of the JSA headquarters in the episode’s opening come from the magical power ring of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. We never see his body, though, so is it possible that Alan Scott will show up later in this series?

The Flash

Visible on the ground during the battle is the helmet of original Flash, Jay Garrick. Like Alan Scott, we never see Jay’s body, so it’s possible that Jay is still running around out there. In a perfect world, this would turn out to be the same Jay Garrick that John Wesley Shipp plays on The Flash, the classic Flash of Earth-3, but his status remains unknown after Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Dr. Mid-Nite

We see the original Dr. Mid-Nite, Charles McNider, fall in battle here. McNider was a surgeon blinded by a gangster who was trying to murder a witness who could testify against him. McNider gained the ability to see, but only in the dark, and got to work fighting crime. He first appeared in All-American Comics #25 in 1941, and has passed the mantle of Dr. Mid-Nite on to several other characters…one of whom we may have already met on Stargirl.

Hourman

Also fallen in battle we see Hourman. First appearing in Adventure Comics #40 in 1940, Rex Tyler was a chemist who created a drug that could give him superhuman strength and endurance…but only for one hour. Like many other members of the JSA, he has a legacy to fulfill, and expect to see more of Hourman on this show soon enough.

Sandman

Visible on the stairs is the discarded and damaged gas mask of Wesley Dodds. The Sandman was one of the very first superheroes, first appearing in 1939 with his gas mask, gas gun, trenchcoat and fedora (he was later given a more traditional superhero costume makeover by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby). If you’re looking for some truly unique pulp noir superhero tales, check out DC’s Sandman Mystery Theater series, which took a hard edged look at the earliest days of DC superheroes, including the occasional cameo from JSA members.

And then there are the JSA members visible in the photograph that Courtney finds later on…the one that almost mirrors the All-Star Comics #3 cover discussed up above.

Wildcat

Ted Grant was a former boxing heavyweight champ who turned his skills to crime fighting. He’s also famous for teaching younger heroes how to fight. A version of the character showed up on Arrow season 3 where he trained Laurel Lance as Black Canary. He isn’t the only character to wear the ears and whiskers, though, and Stargirl will introduce another Wildcat later this season.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl

It’s not clear if we’ll see Hawkman and Hawkgirl on this series at any point other than in that photo, but fans of Legends of Tomorrow are already familiar with their story. Of course, these are the Hawkman and Hawkgirl of a different reality than the ones we met on Legends, but the broad strokes (two lovers reincarnated throughout eternity) remain the same.

Johnny Thunder

Not visible on the show yet, but definitely in that photo, is Johnny Thunder, who uses the magic word “cei u” to control a djinn…which is contained not in a lamp, but a pen. Johnny was something of a mascot for the JSA, despite harboring some of its greatest power.

Dr. Fate

Debuting in More Fun Comics #55 in 1940, Kent Nelson gains the mystical powers of Nabu when he dons an ancient helmet and cloak. Others have also worn that helmet, and perhaps we’ll meet one of them on Stargirl down the line.

If ever there was a feature of the DC Universe that set it apart from Marvel’s brand of superheroics, it was the JSA. That sense of legacy, which often drew a direct line from the era that birthed the entire superhero genre to the modern day, was lost when DC rebooted its publishing line in 2011 with the New 52 initiative, but they’ve finally returned to DC Comics continuity in all their glory. Something tells us there will be lots more Justice Society stories both in the comics and on the screen for many years to come.

The post Stargirl: Who are the Justice Society Members? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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smallcatwoman · 7 years

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Bruce Wayne outside of Batman

So I saw this:

Bruce Wayne could do a lot more to fight crime in Gotham City by funding youth programs with his immense wealth instead of dressing up like a bat and dishing out vigilante justice. (just-shower-thoughts)

And thought it would be a cool to research Bruce as a philanthropist and Wayne Enterprises as a business. You know, instead of applying to jobs or cleaning.

Basically all Bruce does all night and day is give to charity and help people.

The main organization he uses is the Wayne Foundation, an umbrella company for the Thomas Wayne Foundation and the Martha Wayne Foundation. TWF is for medicine/science and gives awards/money to research/researches, funds the Memorial Clinic in Park Row (ie Crime Alley) where Leslie Thompkins treats anyone and everyone who comes through her door (villains included), and dozens of other clinics around Gotham. The MWF is for the arts/urban revitalization of Gotham, families, and education. It runs orphanages (and built its own orphanage), creates and funds schools, preps teachers for learning disabilities, gives grants to artists, and sponsors Family Finders, which exists to reunite families. Also soo many soup kitchens. It is also the organization that gives money/scholarships to Gotham Academy. It maintains museums in Gotham, exhibits art and film festivals, as well as being a big sponsor of the theater scene.

The Wayne Foundation also funded Victims Inc, which aimed to help victims of violent crimes. Then there’s Neon Knights, which is started by Tamara Fox/Tim Drake and is funded by the Wayne Foundation. The organization basically is geared toward helping at-risk youth and.. former gang members/teenagers likely to join gangs/something about gangs, it’s been a while since I’ve read Red Robin. He also helps Selina Kyle get her own community center in the East End part of Gotham (ie Catwoman territory) using money she stole from Black Mask/a crime boss of Gotham.

And he rebuilt Gotham essentially through Wayne Enterprises after No Man’s Land, pushing Lex Luthor out of Gotham. After a huge earthquake demolishes the city, the Federal government declares Gotham a “no man’s land.” Gotham has a reputation for being a wasteland so they were mostly thinking “eh better off without it, let’s get all the good people out first tho” but a lot of people were left behind, including mostly minorities, homeless, orphaned, disabled, injured, poor, and convicted felons. They gov’t destroyed all the bridges/tunnels/roads that lead into Gotham and set up military blockades to ensure no one/no medical supplies/no food goes in or out (i always thought that was absurd until I saw the federal fumbles post-Katrina but I digress). During No Man’s Land, he worked together with Poison Ivy to feed the city and shelter various orphans.

Bruce lobbied Congress to end the No Man’s Land mandate and helped it eventually pass the Billion Dollar Build-up Federal Works Project which used the Wayne Enterprises, the Wayne Foundation, the US Army Engineers, LexCorp, and STAR Labs to rebuild. It also employs thousands of people in Gotham. Wayne Enterprises also started buying up buildings and forcing architects/engineers to “Earthquake proof” new builds so that they can survive an 8.5 Earthquake. Even before NML, all Wayne buildings (like Oracle’s watchtower) were Earthquake-proof. IN ADDITION, HE MADE SURE EVERY NEW BUILDING/REPAIRED OLD BUILDING WOULD BE MADE HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE (I bolded that because it gives me so many Oracle/Batman family friendship feels).

Bruce also always pays for property damage, especially to individual victims. Catwoman v2 #82 (2008):

He funds troops and the police force. During and after Dick Grayson’s stint as a Bludhaven Police Officer, the department—which was MASSIVELY underfunded—received huge amounts of top-of-the-line equipment, like high tech bullet proof vests and body armor to soldiers abroad. Also, in Black Mirror, the Foundation builds a high-tech, multimillion dollar forensic lab and donates it to the police force.

(sidenote, look how cute— Dick keeps pictures of Bruce, Alfred, and Babs in his locker!!!!)

Red Robin #04:

He also buys the Daily Planet, ie the pulitzer-prize winning newspaper that Lois Lane and Clark Kent work for. I can’t remember all the details but basically, the Planet is one of the few papers in Metropolis not owned by Lex Luthor and thus the only paper that’s printing critical stories of LexCorp and evil Lex/the guy who owns Metropolis. Lois negotiates ownership over to Perry and then Bruce buys it, working to keep the newspaper out of Luthor’s control/keep free press.

Wayne Foundation also funds superhero groups and superheroes like Young Justice, Teen Titans, Outsiders, the Birds of Prey (although Babs does some other things to secure funding too), and the Justice League. He bought much of the equipment Doctor Mid-Nite uses in the Justice Society of America. Then there’s Batman Incorporated, which runs all over the world, and Wayne Enterprises owns Holt Inc ie Michael Holt/Mister Terrific’s business (although you could argue that Holt Inc helps WE out, since the patents on Holt inventions like T-Spheres are extremely lucrative). He does a lot to take care of the families of superheroes, like setting up a college fund for Irey and Jai West (kids of the Flash, Wally West, and Linda Park-West), pays for Supergirl/Kara’s school/apartment/everything, sets up a trust fund for Stephanie Brown’s child which she gives away for adoption and Stephanie Brown’s whole operation as Batgirl/college tuition, arranges for the adoption of Helena Kyle (Selina’s daughter) as well as a trust fund, pays for Tim Drake’s stepmother’s medical care as well as funeral costs for his dad, gave Clark Kent/Lois Lane the apartment they live in as a wedding gift, and covers the medical expenses of various heroes, like Barbara Gordon/Oracle and Wendy Harris/Proxy. Not to mention he adopts/provides for Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain. Bruce asked Lucius Fox to invest the money Dick Grayson’s parents left him upon their deaths. He turns it into a small fortune and Dick uses it to fund his life/operation as Nightwing initially.

(sidenote: Diana/Wonder Woman sent Wally’s twins ceremonial bracelets and a sword, omg)

He helps people to the point where it’s almost comical how much money he gives out and how readily he employs people, sometimes criticized for being over-simplistic and naive. He invests in random gang bangers, prostitutes, homeless communities, and low level criminals as well as high level criminals who are mostly just victims of their circumstances or show genuine desire to go straight. He carries a whole stack of Wayne Enterprise business cards in his Utility Belt and when he stumbles upon someone he can help, he gives them a card and a job. Most entry-level positions are given to people through Community Outreach programs and they don’t discriminate against ex-cons. Like, Ellie, who goes on to be a receptionist:

and here she is later, in Batman Incorporated, not only employed as a receptionist but being heroic herself:

Not to mention, it certainly PAYS to work for Wayne Enterprises. There’s a corporate scholarship program that covers full tuition for any employee of Wayne Enterprises. Any employee, meaning also entry-level mail room people, which is the specific instance from the comics I can think of.

He also sits on the Arkham Parole board, giving criminals like Harley Quinn a chance to be rehabilitated. In the new 52, he even moves Arkham into Wayne Manor (Arkham Academy— it’s actually a totally bananas concept but I haven’t read the issues yet to really know more).

Then there are the divisions of Wayne Enterprises, which include a healthcare system for Gotham citizens. Wayne Biotech is cutting edge in training people and developing vaccinations and cures for different diseases, like the fight against AIDS and HIV and reconstructive plastic surgery. Wayne Foods focuses on ethical food production, getting rid of additives. Wayne Steel develops technology for the US Navy and WayneYards does the same. Wayne Aerospace builds for NASA and the US military. Wayne Chemicals includes Wayne Oil and Wayne Botanical and search for petrochemicals and alternative fuel sources. They came up with a way to run power generators on algae. Wayne Industries, the main R&D branch, are looking for cleaner energy among many other things. Wayne Medical is more focused on treating illnesses as opposed to researching illnesses (which is what Wayne Biotech does) and maintains/runs hospitals in Gotham through the Thomas Wayne Foundation. Wayne Institute is a thinktank and recruits up-and-coming professionals to plan future development. Wayne Research Institute basically just does research on everything. Wayne Construction built a free railway system around Gotham in the midst of government corruption. Throughout all his business endeavors, Wayne Enterprises aims to practice business ethically, cutting ties with LexCorp when they did some weird robot killer thing and Dr. Pamela Isley (later Poison Ivy) when she wanted to create some toxin that would mind-control people.

I mean, even when Bruce Wayne was being impersonated (long story, read Heart of Hush), the most sinister thing Tommy Elliot did as Bruce Wayne was give away buttloads more money to charity.

sources: my own memory and comic book collection (Batman: Hush is a good one, uhh, Superman, Superman Wedding issue, Catwoman volume 2, Red Robin 04, Nightwing, Son of Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Incorporated, Robin, Batgirl, the Outsiders, Birds of Prey, Supergirl, Flash under Wally West.. okay, there are too many to list), x, x, x, x, x

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hournites · 3 years

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still turn the switches on, just to see if it’s still gone

Stargirl fic

Warning: Blindness, Anxiety, Panic Attack

Summary: Being blind never really slowed Beth down after her accident. She had Chuck, who guided her through hallways and used the words her friends failed to find to describe what she was missing. And her voice, well that wasn’t gone. She could still talk and she could still listen and in fact, she never read social cues very well in the first place, so really when it came to talking people’s ears off things haven’t much changed.

~.~

Being blind never really slowed Beth down after her accident. She had Chuck, who guided her through hallways and used the words her friends failed to find to describe what she was missing. And her voice, well that wasn’t gone. She could still talk and she could still listen and in fact, she never read social cues very well in the first place, so really when it came to talking people’s ears off things haven’t much changed.

Her mother doted over her more, which was weird because before she was found in her own emergency room Beth swore she was trying to pull away. Her dad bought her a bookcase full of her favourite novels in braille, which was very thoughtful. Pat gifted her with Dr. Mcnider’s owl for companionship and defence during missions. Most kids at school seemed to at least try to help her out. There was no use denying the need for extra assistance. Trying to explain that her artificial intelligence sufficed well enough to adapt to a handicapped life thanks to her superheroing pursuits was hard to explain, not to mention dangerous (and owls were strictly prohibited therapy animals in the Blue Valley High handbook—She checked). So Beth often found herself smiling at those who brushed against her arm or told her what time a teacher’s office hours were, even so far as helping her pack her bag.

Unnecessary, maybe. But it was nice.

This was why when she reached into her backpack during lunch on her way from the test accommodations room, her heart dropped to her gut. Beth only felt crumpled papers, her two binders, and her pencil case. Struck with alarm, she called out his name but was met with silence. Awful, sickening silence and a draft from the half-opened window in the staircase.

Her goggles weren’t there.

“Chuck?”

Her fingers flexed against the line of her inner zipper hard enough to get a paper cut. Her phone was also missing. Her phone had Chuck programmed into its assistance system. Her phone and Chuck. Gone.

Someone stole him while she took her test. Someone who would know she was dependent on him. Someone who knew she was Dr. Mid-Nite. Someone who went to this school.

Shiv? Tigress?

Beth’s mind raced as she jutted out her hand towards the cold railing. It was so silent. Too silent. She needed to hear Chuck’s voice in her ear. That reassurance was the backbone of her strength and confidence and her eyes.

She never had to deal with quiet like this. She’d have her own thoughts probing the back of her mind while she daydreamed or took her tests. She’d have Chuck’s constant chattering and Hootie’s feather rustlings, Yolanda’s giggles, Court’s cheers, Pat’s comforting words. And maybe there’d be that part of herself that mourned what it was like not to need that: True friendship and belonging, the assurance of who and what made up her definition of home.

That chilling loneliness from those days before JSA was miserable in a matter of fact way, but Beth was used to it then, independent and resilient and unknowing anything better.

Abandoned here was reminiscent of that time exemplified. Back when she was loser Beth. Not blind Beth.

She loved JSA, she loved her friends, but sometimes she preferred the crippling isolation that came with that. The safety of before. But she had to remind herself it wasn’t safe. It wasn’t safe and it wasn’t healthy. Whether she had her sight or not, all of Blue Valley was in danger and would be brainwashed now if she hadn’t stepped up to help.

But not like this.

Her breathing grew ragged as she clutched the side of the wall, mind spiralling. She knew Blue Valley High. She knew this school. This was her school, this was her year’s wing and this was the C block stairwell. She had the entire building memorized before she ever needed to.

She couldn’t remember the number of steps. The number locked itself in the haze of her anxiety. It could be twelve or fifteen or sixteen or twenty-six. Or, there could be chocolate milk spilt in the middle for her to slip on and break her neck and Beth wouldn’t even know. If this was Cindy’s attempt at psychological warfare, it was working. She was immobilized, alone, afraid, and for the first time in too long, completely blind.

“Chuck?”

Why was she still calling out for him like a helpless child? He couldn’t help her. He wasn’t there.

Beth’s fingers shook as she felt along the dirty metal railing. She slid herself down, her back touching the wall. If Cindy was going to ambush her, she’d at least won’t make it too easy.

Two minutes morphed into five, then ten. Beth stayed in a fragile panic with her backpack clutched to her chest. Courtney was going to find her here dead because she was too afraid to walk down a flight of stairs. This was going to be by far the lamest death in JSA history and here she was, suppressing her hand over her mouth, still bawling her eyes out regardless of it.

The door from the bottom creaked open and Beth’s breathing ceased. The footsteps were slower but sounded heavy like the person was going up two at a time. Soon, two hands were on hers and she was throwing her arms around their neck, clinging tightly because she knew who they belonged to.

“Rick!”

“Beth? You weren’t answering your phone, Yolanda sent me out to find you. What happened?”

“Someone stole Chuck.”

He stilled, and she could feel through his thin shirt the way his heart sped against her ear.

“What?” His hand went straight to her hair, stroking it as his voice went harder. “Who the fuck would do that to you?”

She didn’t answer, sure that a handful of possible answers came to his mind.

“Why didn’t you come to find us?” he asked her a lot more softly.

It was hard to explain why Beth was paralyzed.

“I can’t,” she whimpered. “They took my phone. I got scared.”

Rick moved her back, pushing her from the edge of the top step. “I’ll carry you.”

“No!”

Rick paused just as the flat of his palms touched the underneath of her knees. He was going to carry her all the way to the cafeteria and everyone in the hall would stop and stare and whisper and Beth never cared about what people thought of her (she already knew—Chuck informed her weekly) but being carried around the school while clinging to Rick Tyler because she got disoriented would be the most mortifying experience of her existence.

The confusion in his voice was evident. And if she didn’t know better, she might’ve thought he felt hurt. “You don’t want me to—?”

Beth turned her head away. Of course, she wanted him to hold her again. Like she hadn’t dreamed of Hourman catching her over and over since that very first week over a year ago. She realized her fondness and interest in Rick’s friendship was less that of strong will and more of a swelling crush. That didn’t make it any less difficult to manage. She took a breath, chest still tight like half of the oxygen in her lungs had been swapped with something more noxious. This was starting to be too much.

The problem with Chuck was that she’d never really accepted being blind.

When her eyesight deteriorated after the accident, Beth had been in such deep denial she smiled and lied to her mother when asked if she felt okay enough to return to school, only to walk right into oncoming traffic. An older man yanked her by the arm of her backpack as two cars flew by fast enough to bring the rush of wind to her face. Rattled, Beth felt into her bag for Chuck, ignoring the swimming black spots in her vision. She’d rub her eyes with her fists too hard when she woke up that morning, she kept telling herself and refused to put Chuck away.

And then, when she had to confess those black spots weren’t going away, that they were only narrowing into her focal points and she tricked up her phone to get Chuck there too...That was it. She told the JSA that she was going blind after her doctor visit confirmed she was going to lose it all. They all burst into tears for her, but Beth didn’t, stuck in an accepting kind of numb.

The darkness snuck up on her like a shadow behind her back. Every blink and she wondered if it was the last one. It dragged on and her world got a little darker with every new day. Anxiety cracked at her spirit and broke her down, and she’d stay awake at night, staring up at her ceiling, practising for the familiarity of it without Chuck. Soon, she wished for it, begging the wait to be over.

Misery would not leave her until it did.

Beth could see in X-ray, infrared and pitch black when nobody else could. She used to tell herself that made her different. That she didn’t have it so bad. She knew everything there was to see, and with Hootie on her shoulder and the blackout bombs she deployed in battle, Chuck levelled the playing field. Maybe even tipped odds of success in her favour.

So really, maybe Beth had been living a disillusioned lie for the last few months.

She couldn’t be Dr. Mid-Nite all the time.

“I’ll do it myself,” she said, pushing a light hand against his chest. It was possible that her voice was trembling, and she didn’t sound all too sure, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. “I need to.”

Rick hesitated. “Beth, you’re shaking. I don’t think—”

“Please, Rick. They can take…” Her hands went to her face, wiping away her hot tears. He was right, she was shaking. “They can take my sight and my security and Chuck. But they can’t make me any less of who I am. I’ve walked down these stairs hundreds of times with sight and blindness. I can do this.” Her voice petered off, and she felt worried again at his silence. “Do you believe me?”

“I’m not the one that needs to believe it, Beth.”

Rick wasn’t the one doubting her. Her insecurities and self-doubt came from within. The words were harsh like a slap to her face, no matter how soft he uttered them. A cold reality check, but coming from his mouth, it was meaningful and not meant in any way to hurt her. Coming from Rick, it was different. And it was true.

He was a lot more clever than he let on.

She stared down where the grips on the bottom of her shoes teetered over the edge of the first step. Rick might’ve not been as close to her anymore but she knew he was hovering. It felt like a cliff or a massive waterfall. Her heart pounded like she was at the ledge of the world. She had to tell her brain to stop imagining those things. It only made it scarier. It’s like she said before. These were stairs. This was her cell block, the wing that led to the locker area. This was her school. It was familiar ground. She bit her lip, reining in the courage before it went away and held out her hand.

“Keep me steady?” Because the world could still turn at her anxiety’s whim. Or maybe she just wasn’t ready to let him go. Rick grasped her hand tight.

“How many stairs are there?”

“Twenty-three.”

Beth exhaled. Twenty-three. She could do that. Her other hand went to the railing, and she took her first blind step down. Her stomach swooped like the drop in an elevator. But then her foot hit solid ground.

That was it?

She stepped down again, and it was fine.

It was fine.

“There you go,” Rick encouraged her, squeezing her hand to let her know he was still there. “You don’t need me.”

She actually didn’t. Muscle memory and confidence guided her through, and eventually, on step thirteen, she let go.

When she reached the floor, a rush of pride flooded through her. She was perfectly fine. More than fine, she was great and not crying anymore. Whoever thought stealing Chuck would render her useless was in for a surprise because—

Beth spun around, realizing she had walked right on, pushed the door and made an angry beeline through the mercifully empty hall to get to the cafeteria, leaving Rick behind.

He grabbed her hand again after jogging after her.

“Hey!” he said, with a smile in his tone. “I didn’t mean that literally.”

Beth’s face heated up, mostly because she was acutely aware she was now clinging to his hand, deliberately locking their fingers together. “Sorry.” She wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for.

He brushed his thumb against her knuckles. He didn’t seem to mind. “It’s my fault. So who am I killing tonight?”

Beth scoffed. “You won’t kill anybody.”

“I might,” Rick muttered, tugging her quickly to the side, presumably so she wouldn’t step on something. She stumbled a bit, but only ended up bumping into Rick. Beth flushed and reoriented herself.

“Thanks,” she murmured, slowing her pace to be more careful. Then returned to the conversation. “You said you couldn’t.”

“Yeah,” Rick said. “...Well. Whoever the hell thought they could get away with stealing Chuck—”

“Someone stole Chuck?” Yolanda cried over the chattering of everyone else on lunch break.

Her shins hit the bench of the table. Beth put her hands out on the surface to climb in and Courtney immediately ended up at her side. Beth wrinkled her nose as bouncy curls flew into her face.

“Are you okay?”

“She is now,” Rick said, now sitting beside her. He touched her arm. “You are, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she answered quietly, indulging in leaning against him because he was using a soft, gentle voice that made her want to hug him forever. “I’m not freaking out anymore.” Beth lifted a reluctant shoulder and wiped at her wet face. “He’s still missing though.”

“It’s Cindy,” Courtney said, narrowing her eyes across the room.

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“No, I do,” said Court. “She’s staring at us right now.”

Rick’s warmth was gone in an instant.

“Wait—” Beth called after him just knowing he now had his hourglass. Her hand reached out to empty space.

“I’m knocking the bitch out. Court, let’s go.”

“On it!”

“You’re gonna beat her up in the middle of the caf?” Yolanda hissed at them to sit back down. “You can’t do that!”

But then Yolanda muttered something under her breath.

“What?” Beth asked when the rest went quiet, but she could sense the way all of her friends tensed up.

“She has the goggles Beth,” Court said. “She’s taunting us with them right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Yolanda said tersely. It was obvious she also was exhausted by Cindy.

“Okay.” Beth stood up. “Bring me over so I don’t trip on a wet brown napkin or something.”

“You want to go over there?!?”

“Yes,” Beth snapped with a hard glare. It probably wasn’t aimed at the right spot but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fierce. “She wanted to scare me? She did. But Cindy has been cruel for so long and I’m not giving her the satisfaction of—” She balled her hands into fists and took a long slow breath to calm down. She hadn’t realized she was almost yelling.

She released them after a moment and dropped her hands back to her sides. Beth was seething mad, that was for sure, but if she didn’t get her anger in check her plan would be no better than Courtney and Rick’s. “—I’m getting Chuck back so hurry up and get me there before I lose my nerve.”

Nobody said anything.

“Now,” she clipped.

“I—”

They realized she meant business and they all scrambled to catch up with her, realizing she wasn’t going to wait.

The three surrounded her like bodyguards. Her arm linked with Rick’s and Yolanda’s hand was on her back, guiding her to the popular table.

Beth touched her hair briefly and stiffened her spine. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but trusted herself enough to improv once she got there.

When Yolanda removed her hand, Beth knew they were in front of Cindy, Jenny and her other group of mean girls. She let go of Rick, choosing to fold her arms over her chest instead.

“What are you staring at, Beth?” Cindy drawled at her. There was a pause and she tittered. “Oh wait—”

The table straight up laughed.

“Burman!” Rick barked.

Courtney stepped up too, but both Yolanda and Beth blocked her with a warning hand.

“Hey,” Beth said coolly, with an eerie collectedness she didn’t even know she had. “I came to have a chat with you.”

“Oh, she wants to talk? That’s cute.”

“Thank you,” she said sarcastically, sailing over the condescension.

“Clearly you’re too naive and didn’t get the hint. I don’t want to talk to you. Get lost.”

Beth leaned in so close, she could hear the clinging of Shiv’s earrings. She felt movement, but she picked up on her intuition and honestly shocked herself by snatching Cindy’s bare wrist.

Cindy went still.

The worst part is that Beth knew what was underneath the soft skin and thousand dollar bangle bracelet. Cindy could so easily eject her knife and blade. She could stab Beth right through if she wanted. She’d done so to her dad in the basement of the tunnels.

But Beth wasn’t afraid.

“I don’t need to see you to know you’re smirking at me like this is the funniest thing you’ve ever done. I don’t need my eyes to know the way you were just leaning against your hand, wearing your Ralph Lauren polo shirt with one of your ridiculous berets and my visual aid dangling off the other hand like some next-season must-have accessory that you want because it’s something you can’t have.”

Beth dug her nails into Cindy’s skin. It’s not like it would scar. She continued, acutely aware of the way so much of the room seemed to have gone silent. If half the school hears her go off on Cindy Burman, maybe a few of the kids too terrified to stand up to anyone bullying them could learn a thing or two as well.

“But let me tell you something, Cindy. You can’t have it. I can’t see without them. I’m blind.”

“I know,” Cindy gritted out through her teeth.

“Yeah, I’m blind,” Beth raised her voice, just a little. “And so are you. Except you and I? We’re nothing alike. I lost my sight because of an accident, but you are blind and ignorant and grossly egocentric. And you did that to yourself. So take my phone out of your purse before I let Rick rip it from you, give me my goggles, and leave me the hell alone.”

Cindy dropped the goggles onto the floor, expecting the lenses to shatter.

They don’t.

~.~

“Rick?”

After Cindy dropped Chuck, Rick took her phone back as Yolanda ripped her a new one about being creepy with her phone theft habit, emboldened by Beth’s speech. The four left the cafeteria after, all wanting to leave, wishing the lunch period to be over with.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for holding my hand.”

He stopped walking, so Beth stopped walking. His hand in hers gave a light squeeze. Which was nice, because it meant he hadn’t let go since she put Chuck back on and blinked back at him after a shy glance, so relieved to see the outlines of his face again in any way she’s given.

“Whatever you need.”

She believed him, sure enough. Beth sighed as they walked through the hall. Courtney and Yolanda were behind them, talking about something Beth couldn’t care enough to listen to.

“Then...I need a cane. My dad bought one a while ago but I’ve left it in my room because I didn’t want it.”

“But…” He frowned at her, sounding confused. “You got Chuck back. You don’t need the cane now.”

Beth sighed. “Except, I do. I’m legally blind, Rick.”

“Yeah, but Beth—”

She shrugged her shoulders and bit her lower lip. “It’s true. I need to learn to live as I am. Not what I wish I could be.”

“You are Dr. Mid-Nite.”

“I know that,” she promised softly, patting his arm. “But I’m Beth Chapel, too. I can’t be afraid of being me.”

#stargirl #beth chapel #hournite #blind beth #angst #hournites fic #rick tyler

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