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unladylike's review against another edition
2.0
All the negative reviews of this one were right, unfortunately. I went in with low expectations, but as a huge fan of Warren Ellis's original run of The Authority, and the significance of the first (to my knowledge) openly gay super-couple, originally parodying Batman and Superman, I wanted this to be good. I don't know anything about Steve Orlando's personal life or affinities, but he really screwed this book up from the first issue and didn't improve it much by the end.
There are so many lines and scenes highlighting Midnighter's gayness, and it's great that they avoid a lot of stereotypes and tropes that older media have almost always focused on, and gay male visibility in superhero comics is a good thing. But almost none of the romances or flirtations in Midnighter's life aroused much emotion or excitement in me. They seemed frequently forced, and mostly unbelievable except as plot devices. It's possible my bias is showing here, though. I'm mostly a lesbian, and when it comes to men I find myself attracted to, macho beefcakes with no sensitivity are last on the list. I would much rather see (or just imagine) Tom Hardy's MMA fighter, Dave Bautista's Drax the Destroyer, or even Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk as violent masculine archetypes who shed powerful tears and might not be straight.
Midnighter worked well in dark contrast to his teammates in The Authority - similarly to Wolverine in X-Men or Deadpool in Uncanny X-Force. As a lone mercenary who insists on re-explaining his powers in every fucking confrontation, he's just not interesting to watch.
I almost tossed the book aside a few issues in, but I glanced at the last page of that chapter and saw Grayson's name, and decided to stick with it to see if he would help improve the chemistry of the book. He does, and it's only because of the team-up between Midnighter and Grayson across the remaining issues of this arc that I'm giving the book 2 stars instead of 1. But it's not enough to make me want more Midnighter comics.
If we could actually see a well-written, extensive face-off between Midnighter and Batman, I would read that. Or if DC brings back Hawskmoor or any number of the other former Authority or Planetary characters and puts them together, that *could* be good. Not this though.
There are so many lines and scenes highlighting Midnighter's gayness, and it's great that they avoid a lot of stereotypes and tropes that older media have almost always focused on, and gay male visibility in superhero comics is a good thing. But almost none of the romances or flirtations in Midnighter's life aroused much emotion or excitement in me. They seemed frequently forced, and mostly unbelievable except as plot devices. It's possible my bias is showing here, though. I'm mostly a lesbian, and when it comes to men I find myself attracted to, macho beefcakes with no sensitivity are last on the list. I would much rather see (or just imagine) Tom Hardy's MMA fighter, Dave Bautista's Drax the Destroyer, or even Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk as violent masculine archetypes who shed powerful tears and might not be straight.
Midnighter worked well in dark contrast to his teammates in The Authority - similarly to Wolverine in X-Men or Deadpool in Uncanny X-Force. As a lone mercenary who insists on re-explaining his powers in every fucking confrontation, he's just not interesting to watch.
I almost tossed the book aside a few issues in, but I glanced at the last page of that chapter and saw Grayson's name, and decided to stick with it to see if he would help improve the chemistry of the book. He does, and it's only because of the team-up between Midnighter and Grayson across the remaining issues of this arc that I'm giving the book 2 stars instead of 1. But it's not enough to make me want more Midnighter comics.
If we could actually see a well-written, extensive face-off between Midnighter and Batman, I would read that. Or if DC brings back Hawskmoor or any number of the other former Authority or Planetary characters and puts them together, that *could* be good. Not this though.
captwinghead's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I don't know if I was just in a mood or what but I couldn't really follow the plot of what was going on in this book. I won't detract from it because I still don't entirely understand Midnighter's powers. That's my fault for being a noob but I'm still not entirely clear on them having read this book. But I'm not entirely sure as to what his goal was and if the antagonist in issue 7 had been building to a conclusion or it was just a couple issues and I missed the signs? I am unsure.
That being said, I really like this character. Midnighter has a real personality that sort of reminds me of Starbuck from the one episode I saw of Battlestar Gallactica. He's brash, unashamed and protective of smaller people. He sleeps around a little bit but it's clear he doesn't just abandon these men after he's been with them. He has a soft side to him and I liked that this was all conveyed in one volume and you don't have to read a few to see it.
I must give kudos to DC for either allowing Orlando to add as many m/m scenes as he wanted or just not paying attention because I was pleasantly surprised by it. Most comics just fade to black or have the characters hold hands and tell you they slept together. This book shows not only a beginning sex scene between Midnighter and Jason but the softer moments after. We see the easy affection there which is why I get so pissy when we ask for more representation and people are like "we can't have them fucking". Affection isn't just sex and this book gets that.
I loved the issues with Dick. He and Midnighter have great series and if DC every wanted to do a short team up book with them, I would totally be on board.
So, this is an interesting book and if you like DC comics and are looking for lgbt rep, this is a great book to check out.
3.5 stars.
I don't know if I was just in a mood or what but I couldn't really follow the plot of what was going on in this book. I won't detract from it because I still don't entirely understand Midnighter's powers. That's my fault for being a noob but I'm still not entirely clear on them having read this book. But I'm not entirely sure as to what his goal was and if the antagonist in issue 7 had been building to a conclusion or it was just a couple issues and I missed the signs? I am unsure.
That being said, I really like this character. Midnighter has a real personality that sort of reminds me of Starbuck from the one episode I saw of Battlestar Gallactica. He's brash, unashamed and protective of smaller people. He sleeps around a little bit but it's clear he doesn't just abandon these men after he's been with them. He has a soft side to him and I liked that this was all conveyed in one volume and you don't have to read a few to see it.
I must give kudos to DC for either allowing Orlando to add as many m/m scenes as he wanted or just not paying attention because I was pleasantly surprised by it. Most comics just fade to black or have the characters hold hands and tell you they slept together. This book shows not only a beginning sex scene between Midnighter and Jason but the softer moments after. We see the easy affection there which is why I get so pissy when we ask for more representation and people are like "we can't have them fucking". Affection isn't just sex and this book gets that.
I loved the issues with Dick. He and Midnighter have great series and if DC every wanted to do a short team up book with them, I would totally be on board.
So, this is an interesting book and if you like DC comics and are looking for lgbt rep, this is a great book to check out.
3.5 stars.
ajsteele1699's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
raul3893's review against another edition
3.0
It kept me entertained and I liked the twist at the end, but I hated the way Steve Orlando chose to tell the story, and by that I mean the excessive amount of montages/location changes that happen after every single major event happens, they just made the story lose its momentum, a perfect example of this is when they blow up the house midnighter was in (side note but it was cool that it was a thanksgiving scene and reading it on thanksgiving day without knowing it was there) anyways they blow it up and no joke the next page is just a montage of the house just being rebuilt with dialogue that doesn’t matter, and then the montage ends and there’s no mention of the house again and there’s no sense of danger anymore. I also felt that most things needed a lot more set up and the way that the stories ended were super anticlimactic, there were literally two villain that actually could pose a threat to midnighter and could maybe become the main antagonist of this run but no, he kills them at the end of the fight, midnighter never gets defeated which in on itself is not a problem but at least make it less anticlimactic.
cassie_grace's review against another edition
3.0
I'm predisposed to like Midnighter, because of my love for the excellent Authority comics he appeared in, back before DC bought Wildstorm. I tried the New 52 Stormfront, but I remember it being mediocre. This comic just got three stars, because I had some trouble following the art, particularly the panels where they tried to illustrate action or Midnighter's predictive abilities. But the rest of it was good enough that I almost gave it 4 stars. The importance of showing a gay character engaging in relatively (for superheroes) healthy relationships in a mainstream comic book can't be understated. And he's not a third tier supporting character, he's the star.
skye16's review against another edition
4.0
Midnighter without Apollo? Hard sell, but it was quite alright. I learned a lot of new stuff about the character. The final battle seemed too easy, but I guess it was meant to be more of an emotional battle, which I did appreciate. Plus it also helped that Midnighter is still clearly hung up on Apollo.
squid7000's review against another edition
4.0
Midnighter is the gay superhero Gotham deserves. I read this book in one sitting and I love how unapologetic it is. M is gay, and he's living his life as an out gay man. Steve Orlando doesn't shy away from it, nor does he do the all-too-familiar song and dance of using one issue to proclaim a character's sexuality and never talking about it again. Midnighter is gay, it's his life, and he falls in love and flirts and kills people and it's all very organic, a sure result of hiring a nonstraight writer. It's awesome to have a gay superhero written by a bi (I think -- correct me if I'm wrong) man for nonstraight people. It feels good. And if straight people identify with M's wit, pain, ruthlessness, and struggle for identity, too, then all the better.
heresthepencil's review against another edition
5.0
rep: gay mc
I LOVE MY GAY MURDER DAD
(i also love seeing all those 1 star reviews from comics dudebros who, i can only assume, are outraged by the shamelessly gay character lmao)
I LOVE MY GAY MURDER DAD
(i also love seeing all those 1 star reviews from comics dudebros who, i can only assume, are outraged by the shamelessly gay character lmao)