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Hooty the Owl was Doctor Mid-Nite's animal ally.

Hooty was an American wood owl that happened upon the McNider estate in New York one evening. Suffering from misguided direction, Hooty crashed through an upstairs window into Charles McNider's private study. McNider cared for the bird's injuries and provided him with the name, Hooty. Hooty's presence inspired McNider to take on the garb of Doctor Mid-Nite.

How long the original Hooty lived is unknown, but McNider evidently had a succession of pet owls through the years. Hooty XIV (who had a close bond with McNider's protege Dr Beth Chapel AKA Doctor Midnight) was identified as being his pet around the time of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Hooty XIV was apparently not as bright as the original Hooty, or so McNider had told Rick Tyler.[1]


Abilities

  • Flight: Hooty is a very intelligent bird, his ability to fly allowed him to scout locations for Dr. Mid-Nite. Once, when Hooty was severely injured, he was given Miraclo and sped out to attack his attacker. Hooty punched a hole through the villain's chest.[2]
  • Talons


  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-Two era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and no longer apply.
  • Although the original Hooty's death has never been chronicled, it has been confirmed that he did in fact pass away in the intervening years. His corpse was stuffed and placed in storage, along with many other pieces of JSA memorabilia.[3]
  • Hooty's name is also spelled Hootie.
  • The origin of Hooty was revealed in Golden Age Secret Files and Origins #1, and is loosely inspired by the origin of the Golden Age Batman, who was inspired by a bat crashing through his window.
  • The current Doctor Mid-Nite, Pieter Cross, owns a pet owl that he named Charlie. He named the owl after his predecessor, Charles McNider.

See also

Related

Footnotes


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