Flash encountered a variety of colorful crooks. However, among the most deadly was the Duke of Darkness, the master villain known as Eclipso. Secretly the split personality of Doctor Bruce Gordon, a renowned solar scientist, Eclipso used his ebony gem to case shadows wherever he gazed through its prism. For several years, Eclipso wages a relentless war against his arch-enemy Gordon, very nearly defeating him scores of times. Instead, the duo kept tormenting one another, with neither finding lasting victory nor peace of mind knowing the other was ever present. Eventually, the villain's notoriety captured the attention of Flash's Justice League teammate, the Batman. During one battle between the two Dark Knights, Eclipso's fabricated body dematerialized and phased through Batman's physical form. This led to Batman capturing some of the essence of Eclipso himself, which would later link him across the Multiverse with Doctor Gordon's counterpart, Doctor Charles McNiderDoctor Mid-Nite, the heroic alter ego of Doctor McNider, did not have a fractured mind like his doppelgänger. Rather, he was a mentally well-adjusted individual, who aspired to help the helpless despite having a heinous handicap. Having been blinded in the prime of his career as a physician, McNider learned that his eyes were attuned to the darkness, allowing him to see in shadows while developing infrared goggles to see during daylight. He ended up a teammate of his Justice Society allies, the Flash and Batman. However, on one occasion, one his crimefighting partners turned him against the other in the heat of battle!
While Eclipso sought world dominating, leading his foes in pitched battle against the Justice League, Doctor Mid-Nite was manipulated with some of his teammates into attempting to subdue active members of the Justice Society. While Earth-One Batman tipped off his fellow Leaguers to their foe's modus operandi, the Earth-Two Batman in his Commissioner Bruce Wayne identity spurred his colleagues on into a conflict that sought to fracture the Society from within.
In each situation, a Scarlet Speedster opposed a Dark Doctor with varied results. Earth-One Flash was able to circumvent the darkness cast by Eclipso and contained him within a super-fast vortex. Earth-Two Flash was caught flat-footed when Doctor Mid-Nite caused him to make a tactical mistake, and slammed into the Batmobile. Eventually. Eclipso was captured and Bruce Gordon was freed of worry for one more day... while Doctor Mid-Nite, the Flash and their fellow heroes made peace with one another at the end of the day.
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