Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1.
Of all the less well-known characters in Batman: Caped Crusader, occult expert Linton Midnite is also easily the most enigmatic. So, what’s the deal with Linton Midnite in Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1?
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Batman: Caped Crusader’s Linton Midnite, Explained
Linton Midnite makes his Batman: Caped Crusader debut in Season 1, Episode 6, “Night Ride.” Here, Batman enlists Midnite’s help after several run-ins with a seemingly supernatural baddie, the Gentleman Ghost. As the owner of a prominent Gotham City occult bookstore, Midnite is the local authority on paranormal threats – an area the typically clued-up Dark Knight has zero knowledge of. Midnite lives up to his reputation, too. His prescribed blood magic ritual works and Batman takes down the Gentleman Ghost before the credits roll.
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And that’s all we really learn about Linton Midnite in “Night Ride.” We don’t get a detailed backstory or sense of what his wider goals are, other than his possible (but unconfirmed) shared history with the Gentleman Ghost. That said, Midnite’s post-victory chat with Batman reveals that ol’ Linton has a sinister side. During the conversation, Midnite takes the vial containing the Gentleman Ghost – and won’t say what he plans to do with it. It’s all a bit creepy, so much so that even the typically insistent Caped Crusader doesn’t press the subject!
What’s Linton Midnite’s Deal in the Comics?
The DC Comics version of Linton Midnite is broadly the same as his Batman: Caped Crusader counterpart (although he goes by “Papa Midnite” in the comics). He’s a morally flexible voodoo guru, just like in the show. The comics’ Midnite is rarely in the Dark Knight’s orbit, however. Midnite’s creators, Jamie Delano and John Ridgway, developed the character as a foil (and very occasionally, ally) of John Constantine. As such, he primarily appears in the Constantine-headlined Hellblazer series. Midnite has been known to show up in the wider DC Universe, though. Notably, he joined the ranks of magic-themed supervillain outfit Injustice League Dark in 2009.
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Linton Midnite’s backstory is also much more fully fleshed-out in the comics compared to Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1. It’s pretty dark stuff too; Midnite murdered his own sister and traded her soul to Hell! (Don’t worry: she eventually got her revenge.) Oh, and Midnite also betrayed a bunch of slaves planning an uprising in Colonial America. Presumably, this material was too hardcore for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1, even allowing for its more mature target audience.
Batman: Caped Crusader is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Published: Aug 15, 2024 07:13 am