Review: Midnighter Vol. 2- Hard

Quick Summary

Pros: The storyline is compelling and interesting. Midnighter and Apollo’s romance is well done. The fight scenes show off how unique Midnighter’s powers can be.

Cons: Some of the dialogue is repetitive.

Overall: This is a great continuation of the previous volume and a nice addition to Midnighter’s legacy. Readers get nonstop action in a story that still manages to find time to get you invested in the main character’s personal life. This is a book that any fan of Midnighter will enjoy.

Review Notes

This collection ends with a variety of stories from Midnighter’s comic book history, ranging from his early days in the Wildstorm Universe to the start of his DC Universe debut. However, since these stories do not relate to the collection’s main plotline, we will not be covering them in this review. This review will cover issues #8-12 of Midnighter.

Story

In Midnighter Vol. 2: Hard, writer Steve Orlando proves, once again, that Midnighter can be one of the coolest and most interesting characters in the DC Universe, when written properly. Here he presents a compelling story, adds in a little romance, and tops it off with some of the most creative uses of superpowers out there. There are only a few flaws in this book and those can easily be overlooked when faced with the sheer number of successes. If you liked the first volume in this series, you will love this one.

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In a quick reintroduction and setup of Midnighter’s character we see him go head to head with a man obsessed with creating horrific animal hybrids. This is a quick and action packed story featuring the same classic fight sequences and bizarre enemies that readers saw last volume. It also brings back minor character Marina Lucas and throws the pair into a mission under the spy agency Spyral.

This mission forms the bulk of the story and is where the real action happens. Midnighter infiltrates one of Amanda Waller’s secret bases, faces an attack from the Suicide Squad, and eventually is driven to team back up with his friend and former lover, Apollo. The entire story is full of suspense and thrilling action while also subtly uncovering the vulnerable state of Midnighter’s mind. All the while, the workings of a mad scientist keep a constant threat in the story’s background.

This threat comes to a head at the story’s conclusion. This scientist is one of Midnighter’s “creators” and has developed a hybrid being using Kryptonian DNA and Midnighter’s fight computer. In this way, the story’s villain becomes a thematic representation of both Midnighter and Apollo. This makes their final victory over the monster far more poetic and meaningful.

Alongside all of this is the ever present romance between Midnighter and Apollo. Foreshadowed in the previous volume, here we see the two heroes finally embrace their relationship once more. The moment they reconnect is powerful and properly demonstrates the bond these two have, even when not romantically involved. Fans of these two together or just fans of well executed relationships will be satisfied with this portion of the book.

In the prior volume, Orlando excelled at writing fantastic fight scenes that showed Midnighter at his best. In this volume, instead of dipping back into this same well, he writes even more creative sequences that push Midnighter’s powers to the absolute limit. Here Midnighter punches a villainous speedster, vibrates himself loose from a chair, and defeats an unbeatable enemy through endurance. These are unusual and creative victories that most comics don’t have time for. It is undoubtable that these scenes form the best portion of this book and it’s possible that they are some of the more unique scenes in the current comic landscape.

This book isn’t without its flaws though, the most obvious of which is repetitive dialogue, specifically in regards to Midnighter’s overused mantra. Midnighter is constantly telling his enemies that he has a “computer brain” that allows him to see a “million different ways” that the fight can go down before it even starts. This is interesting the first time but becomes annoying after it is reiterated half a dozen times.

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Art

The majority of the visuals, throughout this collection, are done by artists ACO and Hugo Petrus. Instead of each artist doing individual issues on their own, these two work on nearly every issue together; half by ACO and the other half by Hugo Petrus. It is a unique technique that allows for the art to better feign the appearance of consistency despite slight differences.

In terms of quality, this book looks great. As we discussed in our review of Midnighter Vol. 1: Out (found here), ACO’s distinctive paneling enhances every fight scene in the book, drawing the eye right where it needs to be and exaggerating details to convey a point. Though Hugo Petrus’s work doesn’t quite measure up to ACO’s, especially when it comes to drawing faces, the blended style of each issue makes this far less noticeable.

Continuity

Midnighter Vol. 2: Hard directly continues from the events of Midnighter Vol. 1: Out (Review).

This series ends here, however, Midnighter’s adventures continue in Midnighter and Apollo.

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below:

• Helena mentions that Midnighter recently kidnapped Agent 37 right in front of her. This happened in Grayson Vol. 2: We All Die at Dawn (Review).
• The Suicide Squad roster seen here directly corresponds with the roster seen in New Suicide Squad Vol. 2: Monsters.
• Superman’s recent vulnerability is brought up. This is a central plot point in Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth.
• Amanda Waller makes an offhand reference to her time in Team 7. Her time with this team is chronicled in Team 7 Vol. 1: Fight Fire With Fire.