Anton Mogart is a connoisseur art thief known across the globe as the Midnight Man, a costumed criminal who steals precious relics and often gets away with it.
At the Stroke of Midnight
A known art thief across the world for stealing at the stroke of midnight, Anton Mogart dresses up as the aptly named and costumed Midnight Man to conceal his identity. Not wanting for money and obsessed with possessing priceless art pieces, he never sells what he steals, and instead revels in owning them. He lives in a lavish New Jersey mansion.
Expert Thief
Mogart is an expert thief, able to lift priceless items without anyone noticing. He eludes the police time and time again. While thieving, he wears a caped costume that hides his identity, wields a gun, and masters martial arts, making him an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant.
The Buffoons
Mogart likes to taunt those who cannot seem to catch him, including New York City’s police force and Marc Spector, AKA Moon Knight.
Family Ties and Allies
Mogart gets hired by Raoul Bushman, AKA Bushman, to steal precious items. He also has a son who later becomes the costumed Midnight and tries to work with Moon Knight.
A Thief at Midnight
As Midnight Man, Anton Mogart goes on a stealing spree, always at midnight, acquiring paintings and original manuscripts to priceless collectibles. On the 23rd night of the spree, Mogart burgled a rare Monet painting from the Ramadan Art Gallery. He also made a habit of taunting the police by mail. One note was reproduced in full within the Daily Bugle and it defied anyone, including “that gaudy buffoon” Moon Knight, to stop him.
Mogart knew that the caped crusader was the only one who might stop him. When Moon Knight showed up at his gothic mansion in New Jersey, the prepared Midnight Man sprung a trap and held him at gunpoint. He shot at Spector but missed, and a chase ensued followed by a hand-to-hand battle. Spector’s ally Marlene showed up and, upon seeing the pair battling on the roof, shot Mogart in the back with rubber bullets, precipitating a fall. Moon Knight caught him by the cape, but he slipped and plummeted into a river down below.
Mogart hid in the sewers for several days; returning to his home, he found it emptied, and picked clean by the police. Though recovered from the rubber bullets and the fall, the filthy wastes of the city burned his face, disfiguring it. Blaming Moon Knight as the reason for his plight, he then decided to take his vengeance. Midnight Man started by teaming up with Bushman and another ally to kidnap Spector’s friend and butler, Samuels. He stole back his cape from Spector’s mansion, but Moon Knight soon caught up with him.
Following a lead to Bushman, Moon Knight found him in a bizarre human spider’s den within Manhattan’s sewer system. Pulling a gun on Moon Knight, Mogart tossed Moon Knight’s Khonshu statue to the ground, shattering it. He fired several shots but Moon Knight dodged each bullet. Moon Knight then disarmed Mogart and demanded to know where Samuels was, but all Mogart would say was that he was finished. Meanwhile, Samuels was tied up and Bushman set off a bomb that unleashed sewage overflow, taking Samuels with it.
Bushman fled, leaving Mogart, Moon Knight, and Samuels to drown. Threatening Moon Knight at gunpoint, Mogart demanding he get them all to safety. Using a crescent dart and diving under water, Moon Knight dislodged a brick and kicked a hole in the wall for them to squeeze through. Mogart jumped at the opportunity and escaped.
When Mogart discovered he had cancer, which would ultimately take his life, he tracked down his son Jeff Wilde, teaching him his skills. Though, he encouraged his son to avoid taking a criminal path. Before he passed, he faced off with Moon Knight one last time. After his passing, Wilde took up his father’s mantle, going by Midnight. He attempted to assist Moon Knight, but faced rejection leading to a more villainous path.
