List of characters in Watchmen - The Minutemen era
The Minutemen were a group of superheroes that was formed in 1939, before the events of Watchmen, and disbanded ten years later. The Minutemen concept is inspired primarily by the Justice Society.
Hollis Mason was a policeman who became a "masked adventurer" after being inspired by the New York Gazette's article on Hooded Justice. After years of serving on The Minutemen, he wrote a book called Under the Hood, which exposed much about the Minutemen, most notably the attempted rape of Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre I) by The Comedian. After the dissolution of The Minutemen and the rise of Doctor Manhattan, he elected to retire and work on old cars, passing his mantle on to a fan, Dan Dreiberg, who would become Nite Owl II. Later, on Halloween, 1985, during the riot that broke out after Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II freed Rorschach from prison, a violent street gang under the influence of stimulants attacked Mason in his home, and beat him to death in one of the most gruesome scenes in the novel. The character of Nite Owl Hollis Mason) is largely inspired by the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett.
Sally Juspeczyk was an ex-waitress and burlesque dancer before becoming a crimefighter on the advice of her agent, and future husband, Laurence Schexnayder. Silk Spectre I was indecently assaulted by The Comedian, but the attack was ended upon Hooded Justice's intervention. An emotionally turbulent second encounter with the Comedian resulted in the birth of her daughter, Laurel, who would become Silk Spectre II. Silk Spectre I was involved in a tumultuous marriage with Schexnayder, which subsequently ended in divorce. Both her appearance in a Tijuana bible and her career as a burlesque dancer suggest she welcomes male attention while her printed interview suggests a seriously low self esteem in that she admits she suspects she brought on the Comedian's assault. She later retires to a rest home in California . The character of Silk Spectre (Sally) is inspired largely by Black Canary and Phantom Lady, as opposed to the Charlton character Nightshade.
Nelson Gardner, an ex-Marine Lieutenant, was one of the more active proponents of The Minutemen group; he suggested that a collaboration of forces would be the most effective way to fight crime. "Social ills" motivate him to fight crime. However, what he defines as a "social ill", for example anti-war demonstrations, promiscuity, and "Black Unrest" show that his motivations for changing the world are selfish, or at least conservative, rather than pro bono publico, although he insists that this isn't true. In 1974, he is decapitated in a car accident according to Rorschach's diary.
He was also involved in a homosexual relationship with Hooded Justice, thus necessitating a need for Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre I) and Hooded Justice's very public (but sham) relationship as a cover story to avoid any public suspicion of a relationship which would surely damage the image of The Minutemen.
An extremely large, imposing figure, Hooded Justice, whose real identity is not revealed in Watchmen but who some claim is ex-circus strongman Rolf Müller, was the first of the costumed vigilantes. His brutality towards criminals rivaled that of Rorschach. It is implied that he was in fact a homosexual. Hooded Justice interferes with The Comedian’s attempt to rape Silk Spectre I, punching The Comedian. Sally Jupiter, or Silk Spectre I, posed as his girlfriend, but this was a sham relationship set-up to avoid anti-homosexual sentiments against The Minutemen. The exchange between Hooded Justice and The Comedian puts a different slant on Hooded Justice's motives for becoming a costumed adventurer, than pure public spirit.
Hooded Justice vanished when The Minutemen were questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and was never seen again. There is speculation that he was killed by The Comedian, the results of the grudge that The Comedian held against him for interfering with his rape of Sally Jupiter.
Something of a minor character, Byron Lewis was one of the costumed adventurers that appeared after the appearance of Hooded Justice. Lewis used special wings to glide in the air while battling crime. Lewis was frightened by the idea of the second World War. Lewis was one of the four Minutemen to remain on the team even after the deaths of Dollar Bill and the Silhouette, the Comedian's removal and the Silk Spectre's retirement.
Lewis was investigated by HUAC, and had difficulty clearing his name due to several left-wing friends. The pressure from these investigations is considered to have precipitated his alcoholism and the subsequent mental health problems that eventually consigned him to a sanatorium. He is not a main focus of the storyline, but appears in flashbacks, at one point reduced in his later years to fragile sanity, unnerving the second Silk Spectre. He is regarded fondly by most of the Minutemen, and the first Nite Owl sends the second to visit him, uncostumed, on his behalf. The character of Mothman seems to be very loosely based on Hawkman and take his background story from the actual Mothman.
Dollar Bill was originally a star college athlete from Kansas who was actually employed as an in-house super-hero by one of the major, but unnamed, national banks. While attempting to stop a raid upon one of his employer's banks, his cloak became entangled in the bank's revolving door and he was shot dead at point blank range before he could free it. In "Under the Hood", Hollis Mason's tell-all book, he described Dollar Bill as an honest, friendly young man, and rues the stupidity of capes because of this. Interestingly enough, Dollar Bill's clear commercial motivations (public identity, hired by a bank) are never commented on by his peers or the subsequent generation of vigilantes who all seem to regard him as a worthy hero - even Rorschach, who condemns Ozymandias for his commercialization, laments Dollar Bill's untimely death.
In the movie The Specials, the character of U.S. Bill was originally called Dollar Bill. However, DC would not allow the use of the name for a superhero character.
Ursula Zandt became a crimefighter in 1939, and subsequently joined the Minutemen. In 1946 she was expelled from the group when it was publicly revealed that she was a lesbian; six weeks later she and her lover were killed by an adversary seeking revenge. A Jew who left Austria due to the rise of Nazism, she caused Sally Jupiter annoyance by referring to her Polish origins; Jupiter often denied her upbringing in Poland. Along with Mothman, she is one of the Minutemen about whom little is known.
From Wikipedia
Posts
Post a Comment