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Night Nurse (comics)
Encyclopedia
Night Nurse is the name of a Marvel Comics
comic-book series published in the early 1970s, as well the nom de guerre of a fictional character
, Linda Carter, known for her willingness to help injured superhero
es. Carter was one of three central characters created by writer Jean Thomas, who first appeared in Night Nurse #1 (November 1972), though she was later identified as the lead of another Marvel series published in 1961.
Carter later adopted the name "Night Nurse" for herself, and in this incarnation, first appeared as Night Nurse in Daredevil
vol. 2, #58 (May 2004), written by writer Brian Michael Bendis
. Although she uses the word "nurse" as part of her codename, she has since claimed to be a medical doctor.
/ romance
series focused on the adventures of three female roommates who worked the night shift at the fictional Metropolitan General Hospital in New York City
: Linda Carter, Georgia Jenkins, and Christine Palmer.
Night Nurse was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongside Claws of the Cat
and Shanna the She-Devil
. Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas
recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chief Stan Lee
"had the idea, and I think the names, for all three. He wanted to do some books that would have special appeal to girls. We were always looking for way to expand our franchise. My idea...was to try to get women to write them".
The series was written by Jean Thomas, then the wife of comics writer and editor Roy Thomas
, and drawn by Winslow Mortimer
. The stories, unlike most of Marvel's offerings at the time, contain no superheroes or fantastic elements. However, the night nurses encounter "danger, drama and death", as the cover tag proclaims, as they work to foil bomb plots, malpracticing surgeons, and mob hitmen. Night Nurse, like the "relevant comics" of the early 1970s, also attempted to address real-world social issues; Night Nurse #1 features a character asking why his poor neighborhood is the one always experiencing power outages. "Why not Park Avenue
for a change?".
Night Nurse #4 is the only issue of the series that takes place away from Metro General and New York City. This story shifts away from the urban drama of the first three issues and instead features Christine embroiled in a gothic
adventure, complete with a foreboding mansion, dusty secret passageways, and mysterious lights.
While it was unclear during the original publication of Night Nurse whether it took place in the mainstream Marvel Universe
, Christine Palmer reappeared in Nightcrawler
vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 2004 – 31 years after her last appearance, in Night Nurse #4). Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
, the writer of Nightcrawler, said in an interview that he was "a huge fan" of Night Nurse, and wanted to bring back the character when he realized that his first Nightcrawler story would take place in a hospital. Linda Carter also reappeared in 2004, this time sporting Night Nurse as an actual codename.
Prior to Night Nurse, the series Linda Carter, Student Nurse was published by Atlas Comics
, a precursor to Marvel Comics. It ran nine issues, cover-dated September 1961 to January 1963. These two series starred the same Linda Carter, though this was only specified years later.
Linda Carter is the daughter of a doctor
in Allentown, New York
. In Night Nurse #1, she meets and falls in love with Marshall Michaels, a wealthy businessman. However, he forces her to choose between marrying him or staying at Metro General as a nurse. She makes her decision and tearfully watches him walk away. In the following two issues of the series, Linda demonstrates that her skills are not limited to nursing practice, as she performs detective work to help expose an incompetent surgeon and also prevents a hitman from murdering one of her patients. By the time the series was canceled, she had started a budding romance with Dr. Jack Tryon, a young resident doctor.
Georgia Jenkins is an African-American nurse who comes from an inner-city neighborhood, blocks away from Metro General Hospital. On her days off from work, she provides free medical care to the people on her old block. In Night Nurse #1, she discovers that her older brother Ben was conned into nearly blowing up the hospital generator. Even though Ben has a change of heart, and is shot while trying to protect the nurses, Georgia finds out in issue #3 that Ben has been sentenced to 10-to-20 years in prison. She angrily compares the harshness of his sentence with the fact that powerful mob criminals walk around free.
In Night Nurse #1, Christine Palmer leaves her home in "an exclusive Midwestern suburb" against her father's wishes, intending to "make a new life without her father's money". In issue #2, her father comes to New York to try and convince her to return to her life as a debutante, threatening "if you don't come home by Thanksgiving, then don't come home at all!" Though she considers his offer, she elects to stay in New York and becomes a surgical nurse for Dr. William Sutton. When Dr. Sutton's career ends in disaster, she leaves New York City and her friends behind, and travels the country, finding a job as a private nurse for a paraplegic at a spooky mansion. However, this particular position is short-lived.
Palmer ended up returning to Metropolitan General Hospital, where she first encountered Storm and Nightcrawler
of the X-Men
. It is revealed in the Nightcrawler series that her mother lives in Tucson, Arizona
.
Carter is often considered to be the main character of the series, as she is portrayed prominently on three of the covers, and hers is the sole head shot featured in the "corner circle" on the cover design. However, Palmer is the protagonist of Night Nurse #4, with Linda only making a one-panel cameo, and Jenkins not appearing at all in the issue.
Originally, none of the three nurses then used "night nurse" as a label, though the "Next Issue" box in Night Nurse #1 promises, "More true-to-life adventures of Linda Carter, Night Nurse!"
for those without any means of payment, such as Spider-Man
. When she first reappeared, she took care of a seriously injured Daredevil
following his defeat by the Yakuza
. Later, she took care of a badly injured Luke Cage
, whose nearly-impenetrable skin required special treatment and who later called on her to help Iron Fist following his unsuccessful encounter with the terrorist group HYDRA
. During this time, the Night Nurse became known for her catch phrase "go to the room on the right". During the superhero "Civil War
" over government registration, the Night Nurse took Captain America's
side against the registration act, and joined his resistance group. She assisted operations from SHIELD
safe-house number 23. Though hard to recognize in Civil War #2 (Aug. 2006), editor Tom Brevoort
stated that it was her welcoming the superhero team the Young Avengers
at the new headquarters.
Carter teamed with Doctor Strange
in the five-issue miniseries
Doctor Strange: The Oath (Dec. 2006 - April 2007), in an effort to help him recover the cure for cancer, which Doctor Strange had brought back from another dimension to help cure Wong
, and which had been stolen from him. By the end of The Oath Carter and Strange have entered into a relationship, which later ended.
The New Avengers #34 (Nov. 2007) reveals that the Night Nurse is, in fact, Linda Carter from the 1970s series.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic-book series published in the early 1970s, as well the nom de guerre of a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, Linda Carter, known for her willingness to help injured superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es. Carter was one of three central characters created by writer Jean Thomas, who first appeared in Night Nurse #1 (November 1972), though she was later identified as the lead of another Marvel series published in 1961.
Carter later adopted the name "Night Nurse" for herself, and in this incarnation, first appeared as Night Nurse in Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
vol. 2, #58 (May 2004), written by writer Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
. Although she uses the word "nurse" as part of her codename, she has since claimed to be a medical doctor.
Publication history
Night Nurse was a Marvel Comics title that lasted four issues cover-dated November 1972 to May 1973. The medical dramaMedical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
/ romance
Romance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War...
series focused on the adventures of three female roommates who worked the night shift at the fictional Metropolitan General Hospital in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Linda Carter, Georgia Jenkins, and Christine Palmer.
Night Nurse was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongside Claws of the Cat
Tigra
Tigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
and Shanna the She-Devil
Shanna the She-Devil
Shanna the She-Devil is a fictional jungle adventuress in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciler George Tuska, she made her first appearance in Shanna the She-Devil #1 Shanna the She-Devil is a fictional jungle adventuress in comic books published by...
. Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chief Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
"had the idea, and I think the names, for all three. He wanted to do some books that would have special appeal to girls. We were always looking for way to expand our franchise. My idea...was to try to get women to write them".
The series was written by Jean Thomas, then the wife of comics writer and editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, and drawn by Winslow Mortimer
Win Mortimer
James Winslow "Win" Mortimer was a comic book and comic strip artist best known as one of the major illustrators of the DC Comics superhero Superman...
. The stories, unlike most of Marvel's offerings at the time, contain no superheroes or fantastic elements. However, the night nurses encounter "danger, drama and death", as the cover tag proclaims, as they work to foil bomb plots, malpracticing surgeons, and mob hitmen. Night Nurse, like the "relevant comics" of the early 1970s, also attempted to address real-world social issues; Night Nurse #1 features a character asking why his poor neighborhood is the one always experiencing power outages. "Why not Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
for a change?".
Night Nurse #4 is the only issue of the series that takes place away from Metro General and New York City. This story shifts away from the urban drama of the first three issues and instead features Christine embroiled in a gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
adventure, complete with a foreboding mansion, dusty secret passageways, and mysterious lights.
While it was unclear during the original publication of Night Nurse whether it took place in the mainstream Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, Christine Palmer reappeared in Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (comics)
Nightcrawler is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 2004 – 31 years after her last appearance, in Night Nurse #4). Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter and comic-book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the HBO drama series Big Love.-Biography:...
, the writer of Nightcrawler, said in an interview that he was "a huge fan" of Night Nurse, and wanted to bring back the character when he realized that his first Nightcrawler story would take place in a hospital. Linda Carter also reappeared in 2004, this time sporting Night Nurse as an actual codename.
Prior to Night Nurse, the series Linda Carter, Student Nurse was published by Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, a precursor to Marvel Comics. It ran nine issues, cover-dated September 1961 to January 1963. These two series starred the same Linda Carter, though this was only specified years later.
The night nurses
While the three roommates initially bicker amongst themselves, they soon bond over their shared loneliness, and become best friends.Linda Carter is the daughter of a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Allentown, New York
Allentown, Buffalo, New York
The Allentown district is a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The neighborhood is home to the Allentown Historic District.-Geography:Allentown is the first neighborhood north of the Downtown Buffalo core. It borders the downtown theater and entertainment district to its south, and runs north to...
. In Night Nurse #1, she meets and falls in love with Marshall Michaels, a wealthy businessman. However, he forces her to choose between marrying him or staying at Metro General as a nurse. She makes her decision and tearfully watches him walk away. In the following two issues of the series, Linda demonstrates that her skills are not limited to nursing practice, as she performs detective work to help expose an incompetent surgeon and also prevents a hitman from murdering one of her patients. By the time the series was canceled, she had started a budding romance with Dr. Jack Tryon, a young resident doctor.
In Night Nurse #1, Christine Palmer leaves her home in "an exclusive Midwestern suburb" against her father's wishes, intending to "make a new life without her father's money". In issue #2, her father comes to New York to try and convince her to return to her life as a debutante, threatening "if you don't come home by Thanksgiving, then don't come home at all!" Though she considers his offer, she elects to stay in New York and becomes a surgical nurse for Dr. William Sutton. When Dr. Sutton's career ends in disaster, she leaves New York City and her friends behind, and travels the country, finding a job as a private nurse for a paraplegic at a spooky mansion. However, this particular position is short-lived.
Palmer ended up returning to Metropolitan General Hospital, where she first encountered Storm and Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (comics)
Nightcrawler is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. It is revealed in the Nightcrawler series that her mother lives in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Carter is often considered to be the main character of the series, as she is portrayed prominently on three of the covers, and hers is the sole head shot featured in the "corner circle" on the cover design. However, Palmer is the protagonist of Night Nurse #4, with Linda only making a one-panel cameo, and Jenkins not appearing at all in the issue.
Originally, none of the three nurses then used "night nurse" as a label, though the "Next Issue" box in Night Nurse #1 promises, "More true-to-life adventures of Linda Carter, Night Nurse!"
Night Nurse (Linda Carter)
At some point after the conclusion of the original Night Nurse series, Carter was rescued by a superhero and afterward began to pay the superhuman community back by ministering to heroes' health, often pro bonoPro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
for those without any means of payment, such as Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. When she first reappeared, she took care of a seriously injured Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
following his defeat by the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
. Later, she took care of a badly injured Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
, whose nearly-impenetrable skin required special treatment and who later called on her to help Iron Fist following his unsuccessful encounter with the terrorist group HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
. During this time, the Night Nurse became known for her catch phrase "go to the room on the right". During the superhero "Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
" over government registration, the Night Nurse took Captain America's
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
side against the registration act, and joined his resistance group. She assisted operations from SHIELD
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
safe-house number 23. Though hard to recognize in Civil War #2 (Aug. 2006), editor Tom Brevoort
Tom Brevoort
Tom Brevoort is an American comic book editor, known for his work for Marvel Comics, where he has overseen titles such as New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four. He became Executive Editor in 2007, and in January 2011 was promoted to Senior Vice President of Publishing...
stated that it was her welcoming the superhero team the Young Avengers
Young Avengers
Young Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
at the new headquarters.
Carter teamed with Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
in the five-issue miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Doctor Strange: The Oath (Dec. 2006 - April 2007), in an effort to help him recover the cure for cancer, which Doctor Strange had brought back from another dimension to help cure Wong
Wong (comics)
Wong is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He is the sidekick and manservant of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. Wong was first mentioned in the comic Strange Tales #110 and first appeared in Strange Tales #147. In the 2006 miniseries Dr. Strange: the Oath, it was revealed...
, and which had been stolen from him. By the end of The Oath Carter and Strange have entered into a relationship, which later ended.
The New Avengers #34 (Nov. 2007) reveals that the Night Nurse is, in fact, Linda Carter from the 1970s series.