Night Man (TV series)

Night Man is an fictional superhero created by Steve Englehart and Rick Hoberg, that exists in the Ultraverse line of comics and who possesses the super ability to hear the evil thoughts of those people around him. His real name is John E. Domingo, a talented San Francisco saxophonist.[1] He was adapted in an live-action superhero television series from 1997 to 1999.

Night Man
Publication information
PublisherMalibu Comics
Marvel Comics
First appearanceStrangers #1 (June, 1993)
Created bySteve Englehart
Rick Hoberg
In-story information
Alter egoJohn E. Domingo
AbilitiesMalicious Telepathy
Night Vision
No Sleep
Neural Resistance
Celtic Magick

Publication history

The Night Man appeared as a civilian in The Strangers #1 (June 1993) and became an superhero in Night Man #1 (Oct. 1993), written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Darick Robertson. As part of the Ultraverse imprint, the comic was set within a shared universe of super-powered beings called the Ultraverse and published by Malibu Comics.

The character was depicted in his own series, that lasted 23 issues from October 1993 to August 1995. After the Black September event, The Night Man was relaunched in a new series that lasted 5 issues, from September to December 1995. He had a crossover with Wolverine in the One shot Night Man Vs Wolverine published in August 1995. Finally the character was depicted in a limited series of three issues called Night Man/Gambit that lasted from March to May 1996, in that the Night Man teamed up with Gambit from Marvel Comics.

Fictional biography

John E. Domingo was a professional saxophone player who took the stage name Johnny Domino.[2] He was living in San Francisco when his Miata car was hit by a runaway cable car. The cable car was struck by strange lighting, called the Jumpstart effect, a burst of energy that gave humans ultra-powers. As a result, John Domingo and all those aboard the cable car were transformed into Ultras.[3] Johnny become seriously injured by the car crash and was in coma for several weeks. The doctors do not believe in his survival because a fragment of shrapnel was embedded in his brain. However Johnny lived and acquired the ability to hear evil thoughts of those people around him. Also his eyes were permanently dilated, giving him incredible night vision. Finally his brain has been altered and he had prolonged insomnia. He become a costumed vigilante and called himself the Night Man.

He tried to save a girl who was in danger of murder by one criminal, but he arrived too late.[4] Then Johnny fought an ultra criminal called Mangle who was murdering young boys and was searching for the son of the industrialist I.D. Hunt. When the Night Man tried to help the boy, I.D. Hunt Jr. he discovered that he was a psychopath.[5] When a night of madness descended upon San Francisco, the Night man was looking for Mangle, and met the group of teen ultras called the Freex, who were fooled by Mangle in a quest of revenge from I.D. Hunt. Johnny managed to defeat Mangle with a gun[6] and became an ally of the Freex.[7] Later he fought the Celtic sorceress Rhiannon, when she was killing young people to absorb their energies and continue her long life. Rhiannon proposed to the Night Man that he should join her as her consort, but he refused. After the battle, Rhiannon disappeared.[8] He was separated into two people by Rhiannon. The normal Night Man was transported to the Marvel Universe when the Black September event happened.

Possibility of revival

In 2003, Steve Englehart was commissioned by Marvel to relaunch the Ultraverse with the most recognizable characters, including the Night Man, but the editors ultimately decided not to resurrect the imprint.[9][10] In June 2005, when asked by Newsarama whether Marvel had any plans to revive the Ultraverse (including the Night Man), Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada replied that:

Let's just say that I wanted to bring these characters back in a very big way, but the way that the deal was initially structured, it's next to impossible to go back and publish these books.

There are rumors out there that it has to do with a certain percentage of sales that has to be doled out to the creative teams. While this is a logistical nightmare because of the way the initial deal was structured, it's not the reason why we have chosen not to go near these characters, there is a bigger one, but I really don't feel like it’s my place to make that dirty laundry public.[11]

Live-action TV series

Night Man
Also known asNightMan
Genre
Created byGlen A. Larson
Written byMark Jones
Glen A. Larson
Steven Kriozere
James Korris
D.G. Larson
Stephen A. Miller
Steve Englehart
Directed byNick Daniel
Mark Jones
Glen A. Larson
Allan Eastman
Robert Munic
Rex Piano
David Price
David Winning
StarringMatt McColm
Derek Webster
Felecia M. Bell
Earl Holliman
Michael Woods
Derwin Jordan
Jayne Heitmeyer
Theme music composerMarc Bonilla
Glen A. Larson
ComposersMarc Bonilla
(Season One)
Graeme Coleman
(Season Two)
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersKaren Corbin
Glen A. Larson
Gary Gittelsohn
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Producers
  • Janet Curtis-Larson
  • Scott Thomas
  • Keri Young
Running time4548 minutes
Production companies
DistributorTribune Entertainment
Release
Original network
Original releaseSeptember 19, 1997 (1997-09-19) 
May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17)

Night Man is an American-Canadian live-action superhero television series, developed by Glen A. Larson, that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on the character from The Night Man comic book published, through the Ultraverse imprint, by Malibu Comics, which was later purchased by Marvel Comics, and was created by Steve Englehart, who also wrote three episodes of the series.

The show stars Matt McColm as the title character, a superhero whose real name was Johnny Domino, a saxophonist. Night Man is also one of the few series to cross over with characters from Larson's previous series. In the episode "Manimal", Johnny allies with Professor Jonathan Chase, the star of the short-lived 1980s series Manimal.

Plot summary

Johnny Domino is a well-known San Franciscan jazz musician who is accidentally struck by a lightning bolt in a freak cable-car accident. The strike allows him to telepathically recognize evil but robs him of the ability to sleep. Although Night Man has no other superhuman powers of his own, he owns a special blue-caped bulletproof black bodysuit that gives him several abilities, including flight, holographic camouflage-style invisibility and advanced sight functions through the round red lens over the left eye of his mask including the ability to see in the dark and fire a laser beam. Although he often fights new enemies in each episode as the series progresses, his nemesis is computer technologies billionaire Kieran Keyes (Kim Coates), who would slay Johnny's father, Frank Domino, in the premiere of the second and final season.

Cast

  • Matt McColm as Johnny Domino/Night Man, a saxophonist who is struck by lightning while playing inside a cable-car. As a result, his brain gains radio-like properties, able to "pick up" certain mental frequencies. He is now attuned to the "frequency of evil", which enables him to "hear" evil thoughts and evil-doers wherever he goes. He wears a bulletproof bodysuit, as well as an anti-gravity belt that enables him to fly, a cape with holographic camouflage-style invisibility properties and a mask with a round red lens over his left eye, which gives him the ability to see/aim in the dark and fire a laser beam.
  • Earl Holliman as Frank Dominus, Johnny's father and former police detective. As a result of production being moved to Vancouver, Canada for Season 2, he is killed by villain Kieran Keyes in the premiere of Season 2. In the comics, this character was named Eddie Domingo who worked as a security guard and was Night Man's sole confidante.
  • Derek Webster (Season 1) and Derwin Jordan (Season 2) as Raleigh Jordan, Johnny's friend and confidante, as well as the developer of Night Man's armor.
  • Felecia M. Bell (credited as Felecia Bell) as Jessica Rodgers, owner of the House of Soul, the club where Johnny performs. Her character was axed in Season 2 after production moved to Vancouver, though she does appear in 2 episodes.
  • Michael Woods as Lieutenant Charlie Dann, Frank's former partner and apprentice. His character was axed in Season 2 after production moved to Vancouver.
  • Jayne Heitmeyer as Lieutenant Briony Branca, a detective who investigates criminal actions in Season 2.

Guest appearances

  • Patrick Macnee as Dr. Walton, Johnny's psychiatrist in season 1. Usually advises him on how to use his newfound abilities.
  • Taylor Dayne as Carla Day, a singer who is Johnny's love interest. Although she only appeared in the pilot episode, she is mentioned a few more times during the series' run.
  • Enuka Okuma as Crystal, a singer who works at the club.
  • Fabiana Udenio as Rachel Lang, an alien villainess who approaches and hypnotizes Johnny (turning him into a hedonistic and selfish person) in order to discover NightMan's secrets and use his powers for her own will.
  • Shane Brolly as Joran/Chrome, a supervillain who uses telekinetic powers, granted to him through the same lightning bolt that struck Johnny. He seeks to take over Bay City and destroy NightMan, but is overpowered and defeated by him. He later reappears and joins forces with Rachel Lang to destroy Johnny and discover NightMan's secrets. In the end, both are defeated for good.
  • Jacinda Barrett as Lucy Devlin/Selene, a monstrous witch/sorceress who assumes a female human form. She is hired by Jessica as a magician entertainer at the House of Soul anniversary party, but she inadvertently uses black magic techniques to send Charlie, Frank and Raleigh to another dimension. After NightMan saves them and travels to his own dimension (where he reunites with his deceased mother), he is able to overcome her tricks and defeat her. However, by the end of the episode, it is unclear if the whole thing was reality or just one of Johnny's dreams.
  • Ric Young as Chang, a Chinese diplomat whose goal is to cause a third World War using a high-technology neutron cannon weapon.
  • Simon MacCorkindale as Jonathan Chase, the titular hero from the Manimal series crossing over into the episode of the same name.

In addition, Little Richard, Jerry Springer, and Donald Trump made special appearances as themselves in "Whole Lotta Shakin'", "House of Soul", and "Face to Face", respectively. David Hasselhoff also makes a surprise cameo as a villain in the first episode.

Home media releases

Lionsgate Entertainment has announced a complete series DVD release for June 12, 2018. The box proudly displays the claim that it is "based on the Marvel Comics comic book" when in actuality it is based on a Malibu Comics comic book which is a subsidiary of Marvel Comics.[12]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Episode Result
1999 Leo Awards Best Musical Score in a Dramatic Series Graeme Coleman "Dust" Won

Episodes

References

  1. The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes, Gina Misiroglu (2012), p. 377.
  2. Night Man #16 (1994) Malibu Comics
  3. The Strangers #1 (1994) Malibu Comics
  4. Night Man #1 (1994) Malibu Comics
  5. Night Man #2 (1994) Malibu Comics
  6. Night Man #3 (1994) Malibu Comics
  7. Break-Thru #2 (1994) Malibu Comics
  8. Night Man vol.1 #3-4 (1994) Malibu Comics
  9. Cronin, Brian (April 15, 2017). "Comic Legends: Was There Almost an Ultraverse Reboot at Marvel?". CBR. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. Englehart, Steve. "The Strangers (Marvel)". Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. "Joe Fridays - Week 9". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 25 October 2005.
  12. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Night-Man-Complete-Collection/24115
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