Nyctalope

For persons affected by night blindness, see Nyctalopia.
The Nyctalope on the cover of Le Mystère des XV

The Nyctalope, also known as Léon "Leo" Saint-Clair, is a pulp fiction hero and explorer created in 1911 by French writer Jean de La Hire. Along with being an athletic man with great wealth and strong scientific knowledge, the Saint-Clair has perfect night vision and enhanced eyesight due to a gunshot wound affecting his optic nerves in a unique way.[1] This, and the side-effect that his eyes now sometimes have a yellow, reflective coloring, inspires his nickname "Nyctalope" (which, in French, refers to an animal with excellent night vision, although in English the same word refers to night-blindness).[2][3] Due to an experimental surgery, the Nyctalope also possesses a mechanical, electrical heart that increases his vitality and stamina.[1] Because he has an artificial organ that grants enhanced abilities, some consider the Nyctalope to be the first adventurer in literature who is also a cyborg.

Largely unknown outside of France during the 20th century, the character is now considered by some to be an obscure precursor to the superhero genre. Most Nyctalope storylines were presented in serialized form in French publications, then quickly collected and republished as novels. In 1908, author La Hire wrote the story L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre dans l'Eau (in English, "The Man Who Could Live Underwater"). In it, a support character named Jean Sainte-Claire aids the protagonist. In 1911, La Hire presented a sequel to this story in Le Mystère des XV ("The Mystery of the Fifteen," later re-published in English as The Nyctalope on Mars). This story introduced the character as Leo Saint-Clair, a famous hero with enhanced abilities called the "Nyctalope" who investigates and fights large-scale threats such as dictators, mad scientists, terrorist organizations, and aliens (multiple books of the series directly reference or use characters from the works of H.G. Wells).[3] Like many American pulp heroes, the Nyctalope often is assisted by friends and allies, including a group he forms called the Committee of Information and Defense Against Evil.

In his early stories, it is said that the Nyctalope's father is Jean (the character seen in the first story from 1908), who was a member of the French Navy. Dismissing his own canon later, author La Hire used the Nyctalope's origin story (published in 1933) to establish that his father is an engineer and chemist named Pierre Saint-Clair.[1] The Nyctalope stories contain other contradictions and gaps regarding the character's past, physical traits, and personal life.[2][3]

Starting in the 2006, publisher Black Coat Press began releasing new stories featuring the Nyctalope. The same publisher has also released new English language editions of La Hire's original Nyctalope stories.

  1. ^ a b c L'Assassinat du Nyctalope ("The Assassination of the Nyctalope") (1933). Enter the Nyctalope, as translated by Brian Stableford and published by Black Coat Press (ISBN 1-934543-99-3).
  2. ^ a b Clute, Johne (February 12, 2016). "La Hire, Jean de". In John Clute; David Langford; Peter Nicholls; Graham Sleight (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Gollancz. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Zehr, E. Paul (2011). Inventing Iron Man: The Possibility of a Human Machine. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1421402260.