Nightmaster
Nightmaster is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
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Biography
Pre-Crisis
Jim Rook
Rock star Jim Rook and his girlfriend Janet Jones are pulled into another dimension where magic rules. There he finds that he is the descendant of an ancient warrior, Nacht, and must use his ancestor's Sword of Night to save Janet and the world of Myrra from the Warlocks. (Showcase v1 #82) Nightmaster and Boz meet and befriend Tark, a barbarian, and learn that the Warlocks have captured Janet so that the Warlock King can use her to make magic with which to invade Earth. (Showcase v1 #83) Nightmaster and Tark continue their search for the Warlocks, who have transformed Janet into another girl, and mentally commanded her to attempt to kill Jim Rook. (Showcase v1 #84)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
In 1969, Jim Rook, lead singer of the rock band called the Electrics, entered an abandoned store on Manhattan named Oblivion, Inc. and was magically transported to Myrra. One of Nacht's descendants, Rook reluctantly claimed his ancestor's Sword and became the new protector of Myrra – the Nightmaster. Although Rook really wanted to return to Earth, he found himself in the midst on the conflict between Myrra's King Zolto and the evil Warlocks, when the Warlocks captured Rook's girlfriend, Janet Jones. After several adventures battling the Warlocks and making new allies like the albino Boz and the brutish Tickeytarkapolis "Tark" Troutrust, Jim and Janet returned to Earth.
Jim Rook was the lead singer of The Electrics, a rock band, who entered a run-down shop named Oblivion Inc. Inside, he was somehow transported to the strange dimension Myrra, where he was the descendant of the mighty Myrra warrior Nacht.
Marvel eventually ran out of steam but drove the Spectre off. In the midst of this battle, Nightmaster suggested a name for this group where he called them the Shadowpact. (Day of Vengeance v1 #4)
When the Shadowpact team entered the mystical shield around Riverrock and defeated the murderous Pentacle, they lost a full year of their lives, though they only perceived about a day passing. Back 'home', Jim discovered his bar had been taken over by a younger man, who possessed powerful telekinetic abilities. Many other people could have easily been tossed out the door but the new 'owner' could squeeze shut a trachea. Jim handled this situation subtly, mainly by ignoring him and failing to convey needed information.
When Nightmaster, Nightshade and Ragman attempt to teleport to Washington, D.C., to break up a bank robbery, they become trapped mid-transit in the Land of Nightshades. The duo learn that Myrra, and its capital city, Arcady, are related to and likely a part of that land. Later, Rook leaves the Shadowpact in order to return to Myrra. (Shadowpact v1 #22)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Jim Rook
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
Only a descendant of the Myrran hero, Nacht, can wield or even lift the Sword.
The sword contains the ghost of the previous Nightmaster - Jim's father who can on occasion speak, or even appear, to Jim and offer him advice. Most recently Jim's father informed him that the Sword of Night could be whatever he believed it to be. The full extent of this power has not been fully revealed (or learned by Jim himself) but the sword has been shown to multiply into several swords, fly through the air as a projectile and cut through anything Jim believes it can.
He came to own an establishment called the Oblivion Bar that served as a neutral ground for all mystical beings and creatures. (Day of Vengeance v1 #1)
Notes
- Nightmaster was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti where he made his first appearance in Showcase v1 #82 (May, 1969).
- O'Neil states the following as a source of inspiration, the travel between worlds aspect of John Carter, the fantasy elements of Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Lord of the Rings, Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga, specifically Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer, and the science fiction works of Samuel R. Delany and Roger Zelazny.
- O'Neil states that the rock aspect of James Rook was inspired by The Beatles and The Doors.
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- Showcase v1: (1969)
- Nightmaster: Monsters of Rock v1:
- Justice League Dark v2:
External Links
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