Although Doctor Midnight is blind in normal light, she has the superhuman ability to see clearly in darkness, not matter how complete it is ; she also appears to be able to see through smoke, opaque gasses and other suspended particles. Doctor Midnight has unusual physical strength (quite possibly superhuman for a person of her size and weight, in fact) and is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and athlete ; she is also a highly gifted physician.

Doctor Midnight has in the past used some of Doctor Mid-Nite’s “blackout bombs”, which release clouds of pitch black gas in which she can see clearly - but in which adversaries with normal vision cannot. She has also been known to cooperate with Obsidian, who can extend his form to become a darkness field.

History

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.

Land of the blind

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. She and Mid-Nite later told each other that they both knew the other’s secret identity. After an initial period of activity, however, Chapel came to realise she could not cram both her heroic career and her medical career into her schedule.

Doctor Midnight joined Infinity, Inc. on the condition that she would only be called upon to act in her costumed identity when absolutely necessary (so she could devote her time to patients) and that she become the team’s official physician. Seconds after she was accepted, she grounded her friend Hourman II, arguing that the Miraclo pills were far too much of a health risk for Rick and that signs of addiction were already apparent ; this seemingly was her plan with Skyman all along. Further medical contributions included monitoring Nuklon after he was exposed to, and mutated by, thorium ; saving Mister Bones’ life after one of his legs was bitten off by Carcharo - then later having him fitted with a sophisticated prosthetic to replace his leg ; treating Hank King after he was wounded in the head and started experiencing hallucinations of his father ; and working on a new, non-addictive Miraclo formula for Rick.

During her part-time career with Infinity Inc., the JSA (including Doctor Mid-Nite) was summoned to serve in a seemingly eternal battle against the forces of annihilation at Ragnarok, and thus disappeared. After a period of mourning her mentor, she continued her medical career and her very occasional costumed exploits.

Chapel eventually managed to produce a working formula based on Tyler and McNider’s research on a way to make Miraclo safe for Rick Tyler. Her Miraclo allowed Rick to become Hourman again (though it only worked for him and, potentially, his father), and she changed the packaging so it would now be delivered as hourglass-shaped skin patches. After the Calgary incident, she further counselled and helped Hourman II cope with his apparent murder of the villain the Wizard.

After Infinity is gone

After Infinity, Inc. disbanded in the wake of Skyman’s death, Dr. Chapel seemingly concentrated on her medical career and became a surgeon at the LAGH. In 1993, she was one of the minor heroes contacted by Amanda Waller for a super-powered strike on the small island nation of Parador, which had been taken over by Eclipso with atrocious consequences - it is possible that it was Yolanda Montez (Wildcat II), also a part of the operation, who referred her in.

Dr. Midnight was seeming killed by Eclipso whilst attempting to save Wildcat II, who had suffered a similar fate seconds before. Several of the number of superhumans killed during that operation have since come back, though - usually without much of an explanation, since the story arc was poorly regarded and prone to being ignored.

Description

See illustration.

Personality

Dr. Chapel is one very sharp cookie. Given her youth this tends to make her brash and cocky, and to want to be in charge if she does not have reasons to believe in the competence of the current leaders. She has a tendency toward sarcasm, but not in a particularly aggressive way (though she will occasionally give people a good-natured ribbing) ; this may stem from the social pressure she gets for being a young, black, female doctor in the 1980s. She’s very frank, but generally not in an insulting way, and has a good sense of humour.

After the explosion, Chapel had a crisis of faith, but she returned to the fold after recovering a form of vision.

Chapel’s job as a doctor is more important to her than her career as Dr. Midnight, and she prefers to spend time at the hospital rather than in costume. Likewise she is very serious, even bossy, about health risks for people around her. She’s by far the most responsible, collected and serious member of Infinity, Inc., even compared to the significantly older Skyman.