Apollo and Midnighter are thinly-veiled versions of Superman and Batman, but bloodier and married.
And if you just sat up in your chair with a “Please… tell me more” expression, you’re in the right place! I think it’s fitting that our first installment of “LGBT+ comic characters” is about Apollo and Midnighter. They’re kind of the ur-couple, after all, and I happen to adore them… One of the earliest same-sex couples in comics, existing from 1998 in the Wildstorm Comics series Stormwatch, with a romantic reveal a year later in The Authority. Warren Ellis’s brainchild, the series takes the Justice League and raises them a level in grimdark, turning the whole thing into an unsettlingly-plausible vision of how superheroes might really behave if given the keys to the universe. The first two volumes of The Authority, before Warren Ellis left, are the ones you just gotta read. (If you’re me, you just gotta read all the rest of ’em too, but those first volumes will give you what you need!)
The relationship reveal happens at the end of volume 1 — and I’m sorry I had no choice but to drop the spoiler, I mean, it’s my whole topic — but you’ll see hints all the way through.
Recommended Reading:
- The Authority Vol. 1: Relentless by Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch, 978-1563896613.
- The Authority Vol. 2: Under New Management by Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch, 978-1563897566
- The Wildstorm properties are now part of DC Comics and there’s a New 52 version of the couple in the new Stormwatch, but I haven’t read it yet!
I love, love , love those two characters! Did I say that enough times?
And yeah, I do have all the comics, too.
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Awesome! 😀
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Yay! These guys! They are cool! I will by stopping by here regularly. Great post!
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Thanks! You totally guessed them ahead of time, if I recall correctly. 🙂
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Excellent theme! I’ll be stopping by often. Really want to read that comic 🙂 and I don’t read comics. Really pleased I found your blog – I guess that’s the great thing about A to Z, getting out there and exploring.
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Thanks! Glad you’re here!
(And if you wanna start a comic, The Authority is a good choice because even though it was based on Stormwatch, there’s minimal backstory/crossovers. 🙂 )
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Your theme is so awesome and I am adding to this to my comic “to-read” list ASAP!
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Yaaaaaaaay! Thanks! 😀
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The first line of this post is the best: “… but bloodier and married.” Love it! Definitely intrigued me.
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Thanks!
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So guess what just got dropped in my cart? Haha. The art is stunning, on top of everything else.. a throwback to Jim Lee stylings. Clean and smooth. Looking forward to it. And yes, that grin is EPIC.
Alex Hurst, A Fantasy Author in Kyoto
A-Z Blogging in April Participant
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Yay! 😀
Frank Quitely does the art in some later volumes and it’s quite good too. (He’s the one who drew All-Star Superman, among other things. He has a distinctive style when given free reign.)
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Very cool!
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Reblogged this on Reckless Indulgence and commented:
This post is all sorts of fantastic. And it’s short too, so you can read it real quick if you’re in a rush. BUT THEY TALK ABOUT MIDNIGHT AND APOLLO!!!! *does all manner of happydance jigs*
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This brings me all sorts of joy to hear someone talk about them! XD
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Yay! 😀 I know they’re relatively well-known in comic circles, but not well enough, as far as I’m concerned!
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Agreed! I think only those who really “know” have any idea they exist. Everyone else is like, “Wait! There were gays back then????”
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It wasn’t even that long ago!!
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True! But some people would claim otherwise. *eyeroll* I would hope everyone who knows anything about comics would know about these two, y’know? But that might be asking too much. 😛
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Ha! We can work on that. 😉
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Let’s educate the nations! *is pumped*
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I had never heard of them – have to admit I don’t know a huge amount about comics, but I’m amazed that back in the nineties there was a comic with gay married super heroes! They were well ahead of their time considering how long it took for marriage laws to change…
I am thinking of plunging into the world of comics and I’m quite tempted to start off with Sandman from Neil Gaiman. Have you read it? I’ve heard a lot of good things.
Anyway, looking forward to more of your A to Z posts.
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I believe the “legal” marriage happens later and they’re “partners” or some such at the beginning… But it helps that it’s a strange sort of dystopian/utopian hybrid society in the comic, so they could get away with a little craziness. 😉
Sandman is great! The early issues do reference a few DC superheroes, but mostly it’s self-contained and very literary, so it may be a good choice to start out. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Oh, that smirk! Simply fantastic.
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😀 The art is pretty basic at first glance, but it’s surprisingly detailed too. Love it.
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*jots down ‘The Authority’ on comic wish list* I keep telling myself I’ll get back into buying comics regularly – this is great incentive. I definitely sat up and took notice 😉
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Yaaaay! 😀
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I am loving this theme, and taking notes of the recommended readings (I do like Warren Ellis). I also loved the “bloodier and married” line 😀
Happy A to Z!
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary – Epics from A to Z
MopDog – 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
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Thanks! I’m digging your epics and ways to die as well. 😀
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Hannah, this was a great start! And this is a fantastic theme, one of my top ten favs for this year’s challenge.
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Thank you, I appreciate that! 🙂
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Hi from a fellow traveler on the A to Z Challenge!
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Thanks for stopping by!
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I can’t even with that smirk either omg.
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:D! I turned the page and made a piercing fangirl squeal and I make the same noise every time I see it…
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I said the exact same thing! XD
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