Silk Spectre
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Silk Spectre is the name shared by a mother and daughter fictional superhero pair who are central characters in the classic comic book series Watchmen by Alan Moore, and published by DC Comics. They are often said to be modified versions of the character Nightshade from Charlton Comics; however, Alan Moore has stated that he found Nightshade "boring," and that Silk Spectre was modeled on sexier characters such as the Phantom Lady and Black Canary.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Sally Jupiter
The first Silk Spectre was former waitress and burlesque dancer Sally Jupiter (her real last name was Juspeczyk; she wished to hide her Polish heritage), who entered action sometime around 1938. She is and was willful, wanting the best for Laurie and herself. In her time, she was a sex symbol who could and did take care of herself and her daughter all on her own. She was basically an action heroine version of a pin-up girl. She was soon invited by Captain Metropolis to join the Minutemen, a group of costumed heroes. On October 2nd, 1940, after a meeting of the Minutemen, she was sexually assaulted by Edward Blake, alias The Comedian. He was stopped by fellow Minuteman Hooded Justice, who gave him a vicious beating, but the event would have a profound impact on Sally's life. More celebrity than vigilante, Silk Spectre provided a cover for Hooded Justice's homosexuality by being his glamorous girlfriend (possibly her way of thanking him for intervening when the Comedian attacked her). In 1947 Sally retired from crimefighting and married her agent, Laurence Schexnayder. In 1949 she gave birth to her daughter Laurel Jane, commonly known as Laurie. It was known to both parents that Laurie was not Laurence's child, but the Comedian's, from a second encounter, and this led to conflict in the family, leading the couple to divorce in 1956.
[edit] Laurie Juspeczyk
Sally pushed her daughter into the "family business" of crimefighting. Laurie Juspeczyk never held much interest in becoming her mother's successor, but went along with Sally's wishes anyway. Laurie Juspeczyk is liberal-thinking and a "modern" woman. She is vocal in her feminist and humanitarian concerns and is quite a conditioned fighter. Driven by the memories of her own experience, Sally tried to keep Laurie from knowing some of the harsher realities of the crimefighting life; for example, she didn't allow her to read Hollis Mason (Nite Owl I)'s autobiography Under the Hood (which included the Comedian's sexual assault on Sally, something Laurie knew nothing of). Sally acted like an agent for her daughter, bringing her to the meeting of the ill-fated "Crimebusters" in a limousine and waiting outside for her to finish. After the meeting broke up, Laurie met the Comedian outside, who commented and complimented her for being the spitting image of her mother, but their conversation was broken up quickly by an angry Sally Jupiter. The following car ride home was when Sally told her daughter of her history with the Comedian. Disgusted and deeply saddened for her mother's pain, Laurie never forgave the Comedian for his actions, though it seems that as time passed, and in a complicated way, Sally was able to come to terms with it. Shortly after the meeting of the Crimebusters, Laurie met and became involved with Dr. Manhattan. She worked with Dr. Manhattan in some of his various domestic assignments, including the suppression of riots during the police strike of 1977. Never exactly happy being a vigilante nor as the spouse of the superhuman Manhattan, Laurie was more than pleased to quit being a superhero when the Keene Act of 1977 forced all but government-sponsored superheroes to retire.
[edit] Events of Watchmen
Their relationship became strained, however, owing to Manhattan's growing disconnection with humanity. Laurie soon left Dr. Manhattan and began living with Dan Dreiberg, AKA the second Nite Owl, and the two soon became romantically involved. On a whim, emboldened by the imminent nuclear war, Dreiberg and Laurie decided to don their old costumes and take Dreiberg's airship Archie out. During their flight, they found a building on fire and rescued the inhabitants. Soon after, Laurie was brought to Mars by Dr. Manhattan, where she attempted to convince him to save humanity from impending nuclear war. During their conversation, Laurie finally came to the realization that her father was really the Comedian. Moved by the sheer unlikelihood of Sally and the Comedian producing a child, and the child being Laurie, Dr. Manhattan realized the miracle and value of human life and agreed to save the planet. The pair returned to earth, only to find half of New York City destroyed by Ozymandias' creature. They then transported to Ozymandias' lair in Antarctica, where Laurie attempted to shoot Ozymandias, only to be thwarted by Ozymandias' newfound, and untried, ability to catch bullets. After realizing that Ozymandias' plan had worked, and that, despite the loss of several million lives, nuclear war had been averted while also uniting the nations of the world, the heroes (with the exception of Rorschach) decided that Ozymandias' plan should be kept secret to serve the greater good.
Shortly after these events, Laurie and Dan Drieberg adopted new appearances and identities, now calling themselves Sam and Sandra Hollis. They visited Sally Jupiter and Laurie told her mother that she had realized the truth about her father. The issue was put to rest for Laurie, who accepted that the situation between her mother and the Comedian was too complicated, and forgave her. "Sam and Sandra" left soon afterwards, indicating that they would continue to adventure, although Laurie expressed the wish for a better superhero identity, a more protective leather outfit, and a firearm (suggesting that she wanted to pick up her father's identity as the Comedian).
