NIGHT MAN duplicate
Earth-93060

Real Name: John "Johnny" Domino (duplicate)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-93060) human mutate ("Ultra") duplicate, magic user

Occupation: Adventurer, saxophonist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Lt. Carleton Briggs, Eddie Domingo, Mantra (Lauren Sherwood), Topaz, Gale Yee;
    formerly Rhiannon;
    Earth-616 natives: Jaine Cutter, Daimon Hellstrom, Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett);
    formerly Candra

Enemies: Barbieri (thug), Calhoun (thug), Candra of Earth-616, Lord Pumpkin, Mangle (Jeremiah Sturm), the Night Man (Johnny Domino), Rasputin, Rhiannon, Romeo (thug), Sanders (thug), Wolf (Nikolai Apocaloff)

Known Relatives: John Domino (Night Man, genetic template)

Aliases: "Animal," "Big Fella," "Boy," "Doppelganger," "Friend," "Moron," "Pal," "Sir," "Varlet," "Vile Postule"

Base of Operations: San Francisco, California, USA

First Appearance: (seen in shadow) The Night Man I#22 (July, 1995);
    (fully seen) The Night Man I#23 (August, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: The Night Man duplicate originally possessed the same superhuman powers as the true Night Man, including the ability to psychically "hear" the intentions of those who sought to commit evil acts and the ability to survive without any sleep at all. The duplicated piece of shrapnel in his brain also left his eyes permanently dilated, granting him the ability to see in perfect darkness.

    Following his transformation by Celtic magic, the Night Man duplicate gained magical abilities tied to the four main elements, although that mostly involved him using Celtic to mimic some of the tech both he and the true Night Man used. For example, the Night Man duplicate could mentally manipulate his nearly-unbreakable rope at will (similar to telekinesis) and he could generate bursts of magical electricity from his hands at will, an ability that mimicked the technology-based tasers that both he and the original Night Man utilized. He also gained the chameleon-like ability to blend into the shadows, rendering himself nearly invisible and his ability to sense evil intent in beings evolved to allow him to see a black aura surrounding beings with evil intent rather than psychically "hear" their thoughts. He could also mystically summon forth bladed weapons and seemingly magically repair any damage to his costume, reflecting the true Night Man's inherent sewing skills (see comments). The representation of the water element in his Celtic abilities allowed him to transform puddles of water into scrying pools that allowed him to view events occurring elsewhere, though he had very little control over this ability and what events and/or people he precisely saw in the scrying pool. As a side effect of these abilities, the Night Man duplicate no longer required dark sunglasses to see in the daylight but he hungered for and was forced to consume human organs to survive, much like how a vampire requires blood to survive.

    After being transformed by Earth-616's Candra into a feral state, the Night Man duplicate did not seem to possess his Celtic magic powers although the transformation might have simply lowered his mental faculties to the point where he no longer had the acuity to utilize the Celtic magic. In this form, he possessed razor-sharp teeth and claws capable of rending Kevlar armor.

    As a duplicate of the true Night Man, the duplicate shared a connection to the original Night Man, at first allowing him to retain a sense of the true Night Man's location and status. This connection eventually evolved to the point where the cellular breakdown experienced by the true Night Man also affected the duplicate and the two ultimately could not survive without the other's presence.

    Originally, the Night Man duplicate utilized all of the same technology and weapons used by the true Night Man including a grappling hook equipped with rope composed of a nearly-unbreakable fiber. He also wore a padded, fireproofed Kevlar costume equipped with infrared lenses that allowed him to see heat signatures, the larger of which also had telephoto capabilities for zooming and enhancing anything seen out of it. The gloves of the costume housed built-in tasers that allowed the duplicate to generate short range electrical bursts and the costume was also equipped with several pouches used to store additional weaponry such as knock-out gas bombs and a small laser torch capable of burning through at least metal locks. Following his transformation by Celtic magic, the Night Man duplicate also carried a Skean Dhu dagger that, once stabbed into a target, could only be removed by the Night Man duplicate and no one else. The knife also "called" to him, allowing the Night Man duplicate to track the knife's location, and it could cut doorways to other locations in space, effectively creating teleportational portals to other locations.

    Existing as an exact duplicate of the true Night Man, the Night Man duplicate shared all of the true Night Man's memories and emotional connections up until to the point of his creation, including the true Night Man's expert training in the martial art of aikido, his years of experience playing the saxophone and the lessons in morality taught by the real Johnny Domino's life growing up with his father.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 180 lbs.)
Eyes: (as "Johnny Domino") Brown; (as "the Night Man") red
Hair: Brown

History:
(The Night Man I#22/The Night Man I#∞ (fb)) - Following an attempt to keep Reality-616's Asgardian god Loki from acquiring the cosmic Reality Gem that resulted in Reality Gem-spawned duplicates of himself for every choice he made, the nearly-driven-mad vigilante Night Man ultimately turned over the Reality Gem to a returning Loki, thankful to be finished with the taxing situation and unaware that Loki had one last prank that resulted in one last Reality Gem-created duplicate that lurked in the shadows behind him.

(UltraForce I#10 - BTS) - After thinking how he had tricked the true Night Man out of the Reality Gem, Loki used his magic to view what he considered the "sinister" Night Man, who was perched atop a stone gargoyle. Loki then expressed interest in seeing what sort of mayhem the Night Man duplicate would stir up.

(The Night Man I#23 (fb) - BTS) - Sharing the memories of and thinking he was the true Night Man, the Night Man duplicate felt "off" and decided to put an end to the feeling by searching for Loki in the sewers in an effort to retrieve the Reality Gem from him. While searching for Loki, the Night Man duplicate came upon a group of thieves and chased them into the sewers.

(The Night Man I#23) - Recalling the true Night Man's memories of once encountering the creature Sludge in the New York sewers, the Night Man duplicate reveled in the simplicity of taking down some thugs after recent events involving magic and gods. After taking down one of the thugs, the Night Man pursued the four other escaping thieves, quickly defeating three of them and dodging the gunfire of the fourth. When the fourth thug announced his plans to kill the Night Man duplicate, the duplicate expressed surprise that the thug was willing to kill over a robbery before kicking the thug in the face. Proud that he was able to take down five criminals in a five minute timespan, the Night Man duplicate looked around to see where the sewer tunnels had led him, only to spot the Blue Parrot jazz club with a poster announcing that jazz saxophonist Johnny Domino was playing there that night. Still thinking he was the true Johnny Domino/Night Man, the completely surprised duplicate entered the club and demanded to speak with Johnny Domino. Learning that Domino had already left and thinking Domino was an impostor, the Night Man duplicate rushed out to search for the supposed impostor, only to recall the true Night Man's memories of the duplicates created by the Reality Gem. Considering that the Johnny Domino who had played at the club could be one of the duplicates, the Night Man duplicate decided to put an end to the situation once and for all and he subsequently visited the true Night Man's Playland theme park headquarters, where the Night Man's father Eddie was relaxing. When the duplicate mentioned a weird situation to Eddie, Eddie mentioned how "he" had just been there half an hour earlier following the jazz club performance.

    The Night Man duplicate then unmasked and revealed to Eddie the situation involving the Reality Gem duplicates and his suspicions that the other Johnny Domino was a duplicate. Insisting that he knew his own son, Eddie then questioned the Night Man duplicate about his childhood, which the duplicate answered correctly due to the memories he shared with the real Johnny Domino. Eddie then suggested they set up a password so he would know which Night Man he was dealing with and the conversation was interrupted by a phone call from police Lt. Carleton Briggs. Venturing to Briggs' police precinct to see what he wanted, the Night Man duplicate learned that a woman had been murdered and the Night Man was seen near the scene of the crime. At first worried that the murdered woman was the real Night Man's girlfriend Gale Yee, the Night Man duplicate learned that it was a woman named Sharon Fong and he informed Lt. Briggs that someone was supposedly impersonating him. The duplicate then suggested setting up a password system with Briggs so Briggs would know whom he was dealing with if the other Night Man showed up. The duplicate then promised to apprehend the other Night Man and left, curious if perhaps the other Night Man had went insane from the experiences with Loki.

    After searching all night for the other Night Man, the Night Man duplicate decided to check on Gale Yee but when she mentioned him not getting enough of her the night before, the angry duplicate fled. Thinking the other Night Man had made things personal by involving Gale due to his own shared memories of dating Gale Yee, the duplicate spent the remainder of the day and evening roughing up thugs to find the other Night Man. Eventually, as another dawn loomed, the duplicate suspected that the other Night Man might visit another jazz club or his Playland headquarters and he decided to start checking out local jazz clubs. Soon hearing what sounded like his own saxophone riffs emanating from Rhythm & Blue's jazz club, the Night Man duplicate entered the club and witnessed Johnny Domino playing saxophone. Still thinking that he was the true Night Man and the real Johnny Domino was the impostor, the duplicate immediately tackled Domino. The two then battled one another, each insisting they were the real Night Man until Night Man's enemy Rhiannon appeared and announced herself to be the murderer of Sharon Fong.

(The Night Man II#∞) - Rhiannon then proclaimed that both Night Men knew exactly why she had killed Fong and others, to which the real Johnny Domino replied that Rhiannon was keeping herself alive while the duplicate responded that Rhiannon wanted to conquer the unknown. When Rhiannon commented that she had chosen Chinese women as her victims because Night Man was dating the Chinese Gale Yee and then made a vague comment hinting at possible other reasons, the real Domino exclaimed that Rhiannon would never get him to join or love her. However, the Night Man duplicate agreed to join Rhiannon. Domino immediately tried to talk the Night Man duplicate out of joining up with Rhiannon but the duplicate reminded him of their shared memories regarding the Reality Gem and how they had learned there was more to the universe than they had ever realized. The duplicate then insisted that Rhiannon was the key to him experiencing the unknown parts of the universe and giving him power enough to deal with such knowledge. The true Johnny Domino then reminded the duplicate about the cost for such power being the deaths of others but the duplicate claimed the costs was organs that he could harvest for those already dead rather than killing anyone. While Domino dismissed the duplicate's claims, the Night Man duplicate reminded Domino how he had always evolved to handle both the good and evil he encountered. The two continued arguing, with the duplicate claiming Rhiannon was transcendent of normal life and Rhiannon herself promising to teach the duplicate Celtic mysteries and love. Domino then attempted to fight the duplicate but he was hit in the head by a wine bottle wielded by Rhiannon and the duplicate departed for Stonehenge with Rhiannon.

    Piecing together the events that led up to his situation, the real Johnny Domino donned his Night Man gear and, determined to stop the duplicate and Rhiannon, he traveled to his Playland headquarters, where he was forced to stop his father at gunpoint when he couldn't provide the duplicate's password. Announcing that he would sort everything out and that the duplicate would not steal his life, the real Night Man set out towards Stonehenge. The duplicate and Rhiannon soon arrived at Stonehenge and when Rhiannon began raving about the Black September, the duplicate admitted that, while his shared memories with the real Night Man made him unsure whether his love for Rhiannon was real or magically created, he would remain on his guard around her despite wanting the power she promised. Rhiannon warned that she would not provide the secrets he sought without nothing in return, suggesting that she wanted his love, but the duplicate asked whether she loved the real Night Man or himself. Rhiannon explained that the two Night Men were identical, only now diverging with their separate experiences, and the duplicate asked Rhiannon didn't want the real Night Man since they were identical, at which point Rhiannon revealed that she wanted the duplicate because he wanted her. The duplicate then claimed that he only wanted what Rhiannon had, to which Rhiannon responded by offering herself and kissing the duplicate.

(The Night Man II#∞/The Night Man II#1 (fb)) - To begin the process of sharing the Celtic secrets of the universe with the Night Man duplicate, Rhiannon gave a speech about her Celtic origins and magic then beheaded a falcon, giving an organ to the duplicate to devour as she ate another part of the deceased bird. The two then touched hands and images of Celtic gods appeared around them to signify the origins of the power Rhiannon would grant the duplicate. Claiming she could not reveal the origins of the power or it would distract the Night Man duplicate, Rhiannon suggested the duplicate keep his focus on the spell being cast and prove he was Night Man by riding the oncoming power.

(The Night Man II#∞) - The Celtic gods then seemed to come alive and attacked the Night Man duplicate to test his worth.

(The Night Man II#∞/The Night Man II#1 (fb)/The Night Man II#2/2 (fb) - BTS) - As the Night Man duplicate defeated the Celtic gods, the true Night Man arrived on the scene and tackled the duplicate. The two fought and Rhiannon completed her spell, opening a doorway to Earth-616. The real Night Man was sent through the portal and the spell was completed with the disappearance of Rhiannon as well.

(The Night Man II#1 (fb)) - During the spell's completion and the disappearances of both the real Night Man and Rhiannon, the Night Man duplicate experienced a vision of the real Night Man battling Earth-616's Wolverine and for a brief moment, the duplicate glimpsed that the other Night Man was the real one and he, the duplicate.

(The Night Man II#∞/The Night Man II#1 (fb)) - The Night Man duplicate then found himself newly empowered by Celtic magic and holding the knife Rhiannon had used to kill the falcon. Sensing that he was now expanded from the man he once was, the Night Man duplicate remarked that while everything felt changed, it was definitely changed.

(The Night Man II#1 (fb)) - The Night Man duplicate stood there momentarily, thinking that he would have to find the other Night Man at some point.

(UltraForce/Avengers#1) - As Reality-93060 was restructured and recreated from the shockwave of Nemesis' destruction, both the Night Man duplicate and the true Night Man felt the pain of the restructuring reality.

(The Night Man II#1 (fb)) - The vision of the truth of the real Night Man lingering in his mind, the Night Man duplicate traveled back to San Francisco and decided that whatever happened to the real Night Man did not matter, as his headquarters and his life were the same as his shared memories recalled. Returning to Playland, the Night Man duplicate was confronted by Eddie Domingo, who demanded the password they had come up with. Confirming the password, the Night Man duplicate was embraced by Eddie, who was unaware the duplicate was not his true son. When Eddie asked the duplicate about the change in costume, the duplicate explained how he been changed by magic and displayed some of his newfound powers including mentally controlling his rope, generating electric bursts from his fists and nearly disappearing into the shadows. Eddie then commented on the knife the duplicate had and the Night Man duplicate revealed that the knife could only be removed from what it hit by the duplicate alone. When Eddie admitted the duplicate's powers were somewhat spooky, the Night Man duplicate assured Eddie that he would still be using the tactics he recalled being taught by Eddie as well as his usual gadgets such as gas bombs and lasers. The duplicate also insisted that his new abilities were all gain with nothing lost and when Eddie expressed concern for the price paid for the new powers, the duplicate commented that there was no price that he knew of.

    The Night Man duplicate then went to visit Gale Yee and picked up the relationship with her left by the real Night Man, feeling as if he essentially was Johnny Domino with the same feelings for Gale. The two went out for a night on the town and the next morning, as he was leaving Gale's home, the duplicate noticed a newspaper announcing the escape of the werewolf Nikolai Apocaloff. Spending all afternoon searching for Apocaloff to no avail, the duplicate eventually returned to Playland for food, only to find a tape from Apocaloff revealing that he had learned the Night Man's true identity and kidnapped Eddie Domingo. The tape also gave Apocaloff's location and challenged the Night Man to a duel. As night fell, the Night Man duplicated ventured to Apocaloff and found all entries into the home were trapped. He eventually entered through a skylight window, only to fall into a water tank that sealed behind him. Apocaloff then appeared and gloated about the trap, warning the duplicate against using his tasers to escape at the risk of electrocuting himself. Smiling, the duplicate used his new electric burst abilities to shatter the glass without harming himself and he confronted Apocaloff, revealing that he could see a black aura of evil surrounding the werewolf.

(The Night Man II#1) - Realizing he was not facing the actual Night Man, Apocaloff demanded to know who the duplicate was as the two battled one another. Mentally manipulating his rope to bind Apocaloff, the Night Man duplicate demanded to know where Eddie Domingo was but he soon felt weak. As the duplicate stumbled towards the door, Apocaloff escaped the rope but the duplicate managed to stab Apocaloff in the shoulder with his Celtic dagger. As Apocaloff struggled to remove the blade, the Night Man duplicate disappeared into the shadows and thought back on events that led to that moment. Feeling a strong stomach pain, the Night Man duplicate made his way to the San Francisco Morgue. Breaking into the autopsy room, the duplicate was met by a vision of Rhiannon that revealed the price of the Night Man duplicate's powers was that he would have to consume human organs once every three months. Horrified but learning that he would die unless he consumed a broth made of four hearts, the Night Man duplicate reluctantly conjured a jagged blade and removed the heart of a corpse. After removing three more hearts, the duplicate used the lab equipment to heat the hearts into a broth and downed it. Ten minutes later, the duplicate felt rejuvenated and he began his search for Apocaloff anew, soon finding that Apocaloff had now kidnapped Gale Yee as well.

(The Night Man II#2) - Tracking his Celtic dagger to an abandoned Russian fort on the coast of California, the Night Man duplicate was invited inside by Nikolai Apocaloff's ally Rasputin, only to be attacked by small demon-like creatures. Soon overwhelmed by the demons, the Night Man duplicate used his magic electrical powers against one and when it exploded, he realized his Celtic magic abilities interacted negatively with the demons' black auras. Easily destroying the remaining demons with his electrical abilities, the Night Man duplicate stood over their burning corpses and thought about his newfound power that came with the price of him having to consume human organs every three months and he then thought about the true Night Man, oddly visualizing the letter X in his mind. Despite his curiosity as to why he would visualize the letter X, the Night Man duplicate quickly refocused on his mission to save Eddie Domingo and Gale Yee from Nikolai Apocaloff, whom he still sensed within the fort thanks to his dagger. Rushing further into the fort, the duplicate found a large room with stairs magically going every which way, much like a piece of M.C. Escher art, and the duplicate was soon attacked by Apocaloff directly. Following a fierce battle in which Apocaloff slashed the Night Man duplicate across the stomach and shoulder, the Night Man duplicate defeated Apocaloff and regained the use of his dagger. With Apocaloff down, the duplicate searched for Eddie Domingo and Gale Yee, following their voices through the Escher-like room to a locked room that he used a laser torch to burn his way into. Once inside, Eddie revealed that Gale Yee had learned Johnny Domino was the Night Man from Apocaloff and Gale assured the duplicate that she had only hated the Night Man when she thought they were two different people. Recalling the true Night Man and his vision of him battling Earth-616's Wolverine, the Night Man duplicate freed Eddie and asked where Rasputin was, only to learn that Eddie had no idea where Rasputin had fled to.

(The Night Man II#3) - Returning to the Night Man's Playland headquarters, the Night Man duplicate locked Nikolai Apocaloff in the depths of theme park, feeling as if he could not turn Apocaloff over to the authorities since the werewolf knew Johnny Domino was the Night Man. Eddie Domingo and Gale Yee both disliked the idea of imprisoning Apocaloff in the park but the Night Man duplicate claimed he had no other choice. Gale argued that kidnapping Apocaloff was no different than what the Wolf had done to Eddie and herself and she accused the duplicate's excuses for keeping Apocaloff locked up as being fascist. Insisting he was no fascist, the Night Man duplicate was warned that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and Gale questioned what the duplicate planned to do with Ultra powers. The duplicate exclaimed that he was proud to be counted among the Ultras like the Strangers, Prime, Hardcase and others and that the rules of the world had to be adapted to the new world of Ultras, prompting an angry and disagreeing Gale to storm off. The duplicate rushed after her but Gale announced that she did not want to see the Night Man duplicate again, feeling as if Johnny Domino would be forever changed by his powers.

    Following the argument, the Night Man duplicate decided to investigate the former Russian fort where Rasputin and Nikolai Apocaloff had been holed up. Sensing the residual evil auras where the demons had emerged, the Night Man duplicate noticed a tear in midair and opted to pry it further open using his Celtic dagger. Upon seeing another world on the other side of the tear, the duplicate ventured inside to continue his investigation into the demons. He soon came across a pumpkin man tied to a stake and a ghostly young girl at a crossroads and the pumpkin man begged for help, claiming that demons had killed the girl and tied him up when he tried to protect her. Sensing no evil aura about the pumpkin man, the Night Man duplicate used his dagger to cut the man free and the pumpkin man leaped from the stake, revealing himself as the soulless Lord Pumpkin. Upon learning the truth that the demons had nothing to do with Lord Pumpkin being bound, the Night Man duplicate attacked Lord Pumpkin and Pumpkin released a small army of soldiers against the duplicate. Easily dispatching the soldiers, the Night Man duplicate then used his rope to swipe the candle from Lord Pumpkin's mouth and he hurled it away, distracting Lord Pumpkin enough to dive back through the portal to Earth. Feeling as if he'd like to get back to a semblance of normalcy, the Night Man duplicate visited Gale Yee, who angrily told him to leave. Walking off alone, the duplicate tried to figure out what had come over Gale but he soon heard a scream and rushed back to his motorcycle to don his Night Man costume. He then ran over to investigate and found old Night Man nemesis Mangle standing over a mangled woman. Mangle announced that he had evolved his technology and unleashed a drone that sprayed fire at the duplicate. Withstanding the fire due to his fireproofed costume, the Night Man duplicate followed up by hitting Mangle with an electric burst then slashing him with his dagger. As the battle progressed, the Night Man duplicate experienced a sense of deja vu and he quickly realized that the battle with Mangle was playing out nearly word-for-word like his earlier battle with Lord Pumpkin.

(The Night Man II#4) - Confused, the Night Man duplicate pushed Mangle back with another electric burst, just as he had with Lord Pumpkin, and Mangle slashed the duplicate in retaliation as Eddie Domingo and Gale Yee stumbled upon the battle. When they attacked Mangle as well, the Night Man duplicate, unsure whether his deja vu meant he was dreaming or not, renewed his own attack on Mangle and he soon severed a power line with his dagger that hit Mangle. Tangled in the power line, Mangle went into convulsions, backing into and knocking over a street lamp that hit Gale Yee with a piece of metallic shrapnel. Still unsure whether he was dreaming, the Night Man duplicate asked Eddie Doming to get Gale to a hospital as Mangle escaped. The anxious duplicate then sped off into the night on his motorcycle to figure things out, unaware that Mangle had sent his drone to follow the hero. Thinking back on the real Night Man and how he had somehow ended up in another reality, the duplicate wondered if perhaps the existence of two Night Men was somehow collapsing realities into one another. In an effort to understand what was going on, the duplicate returned to Rasputin's former Russian fort and reentered the portal to Lord Pumpkin's realm. Demanding to know how events in Lord Pumpkin's realm were being paralleled on Earth, the duplicate attacked Lord Pumpkin and during the battle, Lord Pumpkin claimed that the Black September event had split reality in two. Taking Lord Pumpkin's claims into consideration, the Night Man duplicate realized that he had become the bridge between the two separate parts of Reality-93060 when he had accepted the Celtic power during Black September. Determined to save his splitting reality and Gale Yee in particular, the Night Man duplicate wrapped his rope around Lord Pumpkin's head and beat him into the ground. Lord Pumpkin eventually knocked the duplicate back with an energy blast and Mangle appeared in Lord Pumpkin's realm, having tracked the duplicate there using his drone and entered the tear in reality. The duplicate attempted to explain to Mangle about the splitting parts of their reality but Mangle was only concerned with destroying the Night Man duplicate. An energy fluctuation between Mangle and Lord Pumpkin soon freed the Night Man duplicate from Mangle's attack and the two proved unable to move far from one another, eventually disappearing in a large burst of energy.

    Noticing that Lord Pumpkin's crow had been intently watching the energy fluctuations, the Night Man duplicate carefully cut the crow with his dagger, connecting him to the crow, who explained that Lord Pumpkin and Mangle were from two different aspects of Reality-93060. Learning from the crow that the two aspects should not have been able to meet but when they did, it caused an energy flux that would ultimately reconstitute them both in their proper forms and parts of reality, the Night Man duplicate realized that the energy fluctuation created by the meeting of two different incarnations from a splitting reality had eased the threat of Reality-93060's full divergence, leaving Earth-93060 free to continue on.

(The Night Man II#2/2) - Following a saxophone jam session at an after-hours nightclub as Johnny Domino, the Night Man duplicate thought about the bizarreness of his recent life involving the other Night Man and the price he would have to pay for his new Celtic powers. Thinking about how his Celtic magic was tied to the elements, the duplicate stepped in a puddle and it became a scrying pool, allowing him to see into Reality-616. The duplicate witnessed Reality-616's Daimon Hellstrom in bed with his lover, Jaine Cutter, but the two soon spotted the duplicate watching them through the scrying pool and Hellstrom hurled his drink at the duplicate. When the duplicate apologized and admitted he had not intended to see them or create a scrying pool, Daimon Hellstrom expressed suspicions that the Night Man duplicate was not native to Earth-616, thereby confirming the ill omens Hellstrom had recently felt. Having no idea what Hellstrom was talking about, the duplicate questioned him and an angry Hellstrom revealed that annihilation was looming as he hurled his trident towards the scrying pool. A burst of fire emanated from the trident through the scrying pool and, as the duplicate dove for cover, the flames formed into a fiery bird and Hellstrom warned that the Phoenix Force would soon be on Earth-93060. The scrying pool then dissolved despite the Night Man duplicate's demands that Hellstrom wait and the duplicate reluctantly continued on his way, figuring he would just have to wait until the Phoenix appeared and hoping that he would be able to stop it.

(The Phoenix Resurrection: Genesis#1) - When a similar fiery bird shape appeared in the skies, the Night Man duplicate witnessed it and questioned why it appeared and what it meant. Recalling the warning Daimon Hellstrom had given him, the Night Man duplicate cut an opening in space with his dagger and began the hunt for the Phoenix Force, instinctively having an idea of where to search first.

(The Phoenix Resurrection: Revelations#1) - Emerging from his mystic portal in the middle of a New York battle between several heroes and a Phoenix-possessed Amber Hunt, the Night Man duplicate joined the assembled heroes in chasing the Phoenix Force to a crashed space vessel near Bermuda, where it was ultimately exiled from Earth-93060.

(The Night Man/Gambit#1 (fb) - BTS) - Beginning to feel the hunger for human organs once more, the Night Man duplicate considered himself akin to a drug addict and he traveled to Gale Yee's home.

(The Night Man/Gambit#1) - Unaware he was being watched from afar by Rhiannon, the Night Man duplicate stood outside the home of Gale Yee trying to decide whether or not to go inside to visit Gale and her visitor, the real Night Man's father Eddie Domingo. The duplicate considered telling them both the entire story of his Celtic abilities, his connection to Rhiannon and the cannibalistic price he had to pay for the power. Worrying that he had become addicted to devouring human organs to survive and briefly glimpsing Earth-96334 as he thought about the worst possible outcome of his condition, the Night Man duplicate ultimately decided to venture inside and tell the Night Man's loved ones the whole story. He then discussed how he felt his Celtic power had brought on a form of madness and ripped her costume open to reveal that his body was breaking down as they spoke. Gale immediately sought to call an ambulance but the Night Man duplicate insisted that Rhiannon was the only person who could help him and that she would rather have him living a cannibalistic life like her. He then hugged Gale and remarked on how that sort of life was no life at all. As Gale began to talk the duplicate out of allowing himself to die and Eddie recognized the name Rhiannon, Rhiannon herself mystically teleported the Night Man duplicate to Earth-616 in an attempt to reunite the two Night Men. Along the way, however, the Night Man duplicate was sidelined by Earth-616's External Candra, who worked on healing his decaying body. His memory partially lost, the Night Man duplicate took a shower and as he came out, Candra asked him about the song he was singing. The duplicate had no recollection of singing and Candra soon placed a "healing" poultice on one of his wounds, soothing the duplicate. Candra then worked on manipulating the now more susceptible Night Man duplicate, promising he would be hers until he burned out. The manipulated Night Man duplicate only growled in response.

(The Night Man/Gambit#2) - The wilder, more unhinged and near mindless Night Man duplicate, his cellular breakdown again plaguing him, was sent to the Xavier Institute in New York and as he neared the true Night Man, who was also breaking down at the cellular level, the two sang the same strange song. Arriving at the Institute, the Night Man duplicate skulked around, prompting the X-Man Gambit to investigate the noise. The duplicate soon attacked Gambit by leaping in through a window but Gambit's explosive cards sent the duplicate reeling down a staircase. Upon seeing the duplicate's face that matched the Night Man he had been attending to, Gambit became momentarily distracted and the duplicate grappled Gambit, sending an electric charge through his body. Recovering and thinking the duplicate was the real Night Man, Gambit retaliated but was soon distracted again when the real Night Man entered the room, leaving him open to another attack from the feral duplicate. The real Night Man came to Gambit's aid and attempted to reach out to the duplicate, thinking Rhiannon had caused his animalistic transformation. When the duplicate sang the song he himself had been unknowingly singing, the real Night Man recognized the tune but before he could react, the feral duplicate leaped to attack him. Rhiannon then appeared and blasted both Night Men, insisting she had not caused the duplicate's transformation. She then tied up the two Night Men and Gambit and prepared to remove and devour Gambit's heart, hoping to use the power from his heart to rejoin the real Night Man and his duplicate and return home to Earth-93060. As both Night Men lay helplessly tied up, Candra arrived to confront Rhiannon.

(The Night Man/Gambit#3) - Escaping his bounds, the Night Man duplicate held up Gambit's head to see Candra, who announced that Gambit and the feral duplicate were loyal to her. As Candra and Rhiannon shared words regarding their own desires with the two Night Men and Gambit, Gambit freed himself and he soon kicked the Night Man duplicate in the face to escape his grasp. Candra ordered the duplicate to hold Gambit but the feral duplicate only continued chanting the same song he had been singing as he confronted the now-freed real Night Man. Realizing in his now-limited way that he could not exist without the true Night Man, the duplicate calmed in the presence of the real Night Man and ignored Candra's subsequent orders. When Candra then tried to kill Rhiannon with her own knife, the real Night Man leaped in the path of the thrown blade and the Night Man duplicate turned on Candra in response. Rhiannon rushed to comfort the dying Night Man, explaining that without him, the duplicate could also not be cured of his cellular breakdown. Sensing his own impending death, the feral Night Man duplicate became silent and Rhiannon, revealing that the true Night Man was her son, put the real Night Man out of his misery and used the power gained from his organs to transport both herself and the Night Man duplicate back to Earth-93060.

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Dean Zachary and Bruce McCorkindale.

    It's somewhat interesting how, after the true Night Man was sent to Earth-616, that the duplicate retained a sense of where the real Night Man was. In Night Man II#1, he recalled seeing a vision of Night Man fighting Wolverine and in #2, he saw a flash of the letter X in his mind, again signifying the real Night Man's interaction with Wolverine, who, of course, is an X-Man...

    It may need to be noted that when Loki viewed the duplicate using his magic in UltraForce I#10, the Night Man duplicate was drawn as he appeared following his transformation by Celtic magic (see above 4th image) yet that issue was published months earlier than the Night Man II#∞, where the duplicate received his Celtic powers. Given that the red crescent shape on the duplicate's face is colored fleshtone and the amount the image is shadowed in UltraForce I#10, I think Malibu might've been trying to cover the fact that the incorrect version of the duplicate was drawn months before that version of the character would debut.

    In the Night Man II#2, the Night Man duplicate's Kevlar costume takes multiple slashes from the Wolf, creating slash marks across his stomach and shoulder. The duplicate notes that the costume is made of Kevlar and can't withstand many slashes like that but a few pages later, his costume is completely restored with no slash marks whatsoever. So either artist Andrew Wildman made an error and forgot to draw the slash marks or one of the Night Man duplicate's then-new Celtic magic powers involved the ability to magically repair any damage to his costume. This could very well be possible, as many of his Celtic powers emulated technology/powers that the true Night Man used such as electrical Celtic magic bursts that emulated gauntlet tasers, the ability to mentally manipulate the nigh-unbreakable rope he used and the magical ability to see evil auras on people that mimicked the real Night Man's ability to hear evil intent. The real Night Man was also a fair seamster, often sewing up damage to his costume, so it's possible the Celtic magic mimicked that skill by allowing him to repair costume damage magically or something...

    The second story in the Night Man II#2 must take place after the rest of the Night Man mini-series, as the story is a lead-in to the Phoenix Resurrection crossover that occurred after the Night Man mini-series ended. That fact makes me agree with the Marvel Chronology Project website that the 2nd story should fall after #4, chronologically, but before the Night Man duplicate's appearances in the Phoenix Resurrection one-shots.

    Also interesting is how the Night Man II#2 established that the Ultraverse had become split into two parts (the original Malibu Ultraverse & Marvel's version) during Black September and that the Night Man duplicate was the bridge between the two versions of the Ultraverse that had not quite diverged completely from one another. While Marvel's version of the Ultraverse didn't last a year past the Night Man II#4, it would've been interesting to see some story about the duplicate and the true Night Man merging back together or something to restore the proper Ultraverse as it should be. That'd certainly be a cool way to bring it back if that were ever a possibility. Then again, both the true Night Man and the duplicate ended up apparently dying in the Night Man/Gambit mini-series so that might take a little creative storytelling...maybe the duplicate dying did restore the true Ultraverse and that's what the vague ending of the Night Man/Gambit mini-series was trying to communicate with the seemingly dead Johnny Domino being able to live a new life. I'm sure something could be come up with to restore it, though honestly, I have a feeling that if the Ultraverse ever did come back, they'd probably try to just reboot the entire thing and start over rather than continuing where they left off. Either way, the concept of the Night Man duplicate being a bridge between two parts of a single reality that was attempting divergence was an interesting idea that kind of fell to the wayside as Marvel's Ultraverse books winded down.

    Speaking of the ending of the Night Man/Gambit mini-series, it was unclear what became of the Night Man duplicate once he was returned to Earth-93060. As I mentioned above, he presumably died because Rhiannon made it clear that, without the true Night Man, the duplicate's cells would continue to break down until he died. The narrator of the story also makes it clear that the Night Man duplicate sensed his own impending death upon the death of the real Night Man. Yet, the last two pages of the mini-series show Rhiannon talking to A Johnny Domino, explaining that no one could see him for the moment and she has him move out of the way so Johnny's funeral could take place. It seemed to suggest that Johnny had somehow survived thanks to Rhiannon but no one could see him and they had a funeral for him? Maybe the duplicate was the one buried at the funeral while the true Johnny Domino lived on or vice versa? The story does seem to make it clear as mud that it's the real Johnny who seemed to be alive, as Rhiannon gives him a pair of dark glasses, which the duplicate did not need to use in the light following his Celtic transformation, but then, if the real Johnny WAS alive and no one could see him, how could he be playing saxophone on the final panel? Did he assume a new alias maybe? I guess people could now see him if they allowed him to play in their club...? Would not his loved ones know he was still alive if he was playing in a night club and if so, wouldn't they want to know who was buried at the funeral? A lot of unanswered questions...

    The Night Man duplicate was present alongside NUMEROUS Earth-93060 and Earth-616 heroes in the Phoenix Resurrection: Revelations#1 but I only included the ones he was closest to in his affiliations. He directly interacted with Wolverine and he was seen standing side-by-side with Mantra & Topaz. The other heroes he was not seen near so we really don't know if he was even in the same area as they were, much less close enough to have worked together. Therefore, I did not list all of them in the affiliations section of this profile.

    I said it in the Night Man profile and I'll say it again, the revelation in the Night Man/Gambit mini-series that Rhiannon was the Night Man/Johnny Domino's mother shines a whole new, disgusting, light on Rhiannon's attempts to seduce both the real Night Man and his duplicate. I mean, hey, I get that the duplicate is not her true son but still, he looks identical and...again, ew.

    This profile was completed 10/15/2023, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event to represent Night Man.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-93060's Night Man duplicate should be distinguished from:

• Night Man (Johnny Domino) of Earth-93060 - the true Night Man of Earth-93060 & this duplicate's genetic template--The Strangers I#1
• or any other "Night" or "Man" characters
  

Appearances:
The Night Man I#22 (July, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dean Zachary (pencils), Bruce McCorkindale (inks), Kara Lamb (editor)
UltraForce I#10 (July, 1995) - Hank Kanalz (plot, editor), Phil S. Crain (script), John Royle, Joyce Chin (pencils), Jeff Whitting, Bruce Patterson, Jim Sanders (inks)
The Night Man I#23 (August, 1995) - "Phantasm!" story - Steve Englehart (writer), Robert Ruiz (pencils), Bruce McCorkindale (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Night Man II#∞ (September, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dean Zachary (pencils), Chad Hunt, H.E.R.C. (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
UltraForce/Avengers#1 (October, 1995) - Warren Ellis (story, dialogue), George Perez (art, storyteller, inks), Paul Neary, Art Thibert, Ken Branch, Dennis Jensen, Karl Kesel, Robin Riggs, John Statema, Al Vey (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
The Night Man II#1 (October, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Night Man II#2 (November, 1995) - "The Wilder Shore" story - Steve Englehart (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Roland Mann (editor); "Red Shift" story - Ian Edgington (writer), John Royal (pencils), Steven Moncuse (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
The Night Man II#3 (December, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Gabriel Gecko (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Night Man II#4 (December, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Phoenix Resurrection: Genesis#1 (December, 1995) - Ian Edgington, Dan Abnett (writers), Darick Robertson, Mark Pacella, Greg Luzniak, Rob Haynes (pencils), Tom Wegrzyn, Art Thibert, Larry Stucker, Bob Wiacek, Philip Moy (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
The Phoenix Resurrection: Revelations#1 (December, 1995) - Ian Edgington, Dan Abnett (writers), Kevin West, John Royle, Randy Green, Rick Leonardi (pencils), Tom Wegrzyn, Philip Moy, Rick Ketcham, Jeff Whiting (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
The Night Man/Gambit#1 (March, 1996) - David Quinn (writer), Dietrich Smith (pencils), Norm Rapmund (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Night Man/Gambit#2 (April, 1996) - David Quinn (writer), Andrew Wildman, Dietrich Smith (pencils), Stephen Baskerville, Norm Rapmund (inks), Phil Crain, Roland Mann (editors)
The Night Man/Gambit#3 (May, 1996) - David Quinn (writer), Dietrich Smith (pencils), Norm Rapmund (inks), Phil Crain (editor)

First posted: 09/14/2026
Last updated: 10/15/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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