Origin
After witnessing a man in a dark costume lose his life in a battle with a group of terrorists, the life of Dr. Kevin Trench would never be the same. He unmasked the lifeless body only to find that it was an older version of himself.
In a panic, he stripped his older self of the costume and went into hiding on an island. In a bid to avoid his violent death, he decided that if he never put on the suit, he could avoid his destiny.
Creation
Nightwatch was created by Terry Kavanagh and Alex Saviuk and first appeared in a back-up story in Web of Spider-Man issue 97 (1993). He did not appear in costume untill a few issues later in that same series. Nightwatch was created a few months after Spawn was launched by competitor publisher Image. Since Nightwatch looks an awfull lot like Spawn, it is possible that Nightwatch was ‘inspired’ by Spawn. By the time that Nightwatch received his own ongoing series, his costume was altered in a great way so that it did not resemble Spawn as much. Fun fact is that, in the comic-previews for Nightwatch issue 1, he still had his original costume on. It was however altered into an all-new costume when the first issue actually came out.
Major Story Arcs
Back in Contact
Soon after, the criminal known as Alfredo Morelli washed ashore on the island Dr. Trench had been hiding on. Trench tended to him, and restored his health. His kindness was repaid by treachery, when Morelli stole part of the costume and began calling himself “The Gauntlet”. Deciding that he couldn’t hide forever, Trench set out after him and began to investigate how the costume came to be. He became a crusader for justice as he returned to New York City and even helped a group of superheroes in fighting Carnage during the events of Maximum Carnage.
Death
After a stint as a superhero in New York City, he eventually became the victim of a battle called “The Great Game”, in which many superpowered individuals would fight one another for a reward of some sort. Nightwatch protected an innocent, but got himself killed in the process.
She-Hulk
More recently, Nightwatch was apparently alive and well. A vague story was told that he had apparently let the whole world believe that he had been Nightwatch in the past, while this may or may not have happened. What the truth is, remains to be seen.
Abilities and Accessories
Nightwatch wore a battle suit made up of self-replicating nanites. The suit could repair itself, suppress pain, and enhance his own speed, strength and senses to superhuman levels. The mask also housed an oxygen filtration system and could see into the infrared light spectrum. Utilizing his cape, Nightwatch could glide, create limited darkness and razor-sharp tentacles.