Silk Spectre
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Silk Spectre is the name shared by a mother and daughter fictional superheroine 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. (It is perhaps notable that Black Canary is also an alias shared by a mother and daughter.)
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Sally Jupiter
The first Silk Spectre was former frizzy haired red head 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 when she was only 18 years old. 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 and, even in her old age, she seemed proud of her sex symbol status, apparently enjoying male attention as indicated by her career as a dancer and her reaction to learning of a Tijuana bible that was based on her, much to her daughter's disapproval.
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, who was about three years younger than her and was apparently prone to flirting with her before the incident. 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; her agent, Laurece Schexnayder, persuaded her not to press charges against the Comedian for fear of damaging the group's image. 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 an interview she admitted that she didn't really like the Silhouette, a.k.a. Ursula Zandt, who was constantly pestering her about her Polish heritage, but later expressed regret that she was expelled from the group simply because she was a lesbian, especially since there were men on the team who were gay (though she did not identify them).
In 1947 Sally retired from crimefighting and married her agent, Laurence Schexnayder, while keeping in touch with Hollis Mason (Nite Owl) and Nelson Gardner (Captain Metropolis). 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. While not explicitly stated, it is implied that Sally's second sexual encounter with the Comedian was consensual, and that, despite it all, she did have feelings for him. It's possible that something of the Comedian's brutal, action oriented personality appealed to Sally's darker, more passionate side, but the reasons are never clearly given, as it is most likely an extension of the moral ambiguity Moore gives his characters (though people who suffer emotional trauma are known to react to it unusual ways).
[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; growing up, the brunette Laurie knew Laurence Schexnayder was not her real father, and she always believed, incorrectly, that her real father was Hooded Justice. Laurie Juspeczyk is liberal-thinking and a "modern" woman. She is vocal in her feminist and humanitarian concerns and is quite a conditioned fighter, and at the start of the story is shown to have a strained relationship with her mother. 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. Laurie noted that the Comedian looked sad as he watched them drive away, and she felt sorry for him. The following car ride home was when Sally told her daughter of her history with the Comedian (but did not tell her that the Comedian was her father). 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, even to the point that she was willing to defend the Comedian from Laurie's derogatory remarks after he was murdered. Shortly after the meeting of the Crimebusters, Laurie met and became involved with Doctor Manhattan, something her mother did not approve of, likening Laurie's relationship with Manhattan to being the equivalent of sleeping with an H-bomb. Drawn to him from the moment she first saw him, Laurie worked with Doctor 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 and not happy with the government taking advantage with her relationship with 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 Doctor Manhattan and began living with Dan Dreiberg, a.k.a. 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, to her horror, her father was really the Comedian. Moved by the sheer unlikelihood of two people as different as Sally Jupiter 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, and sporting blonde hair. They visited Sally Jupiter - now living in a retirement home - 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, or was at least following his example). After watching them leave, Sally picked up an old photograph of the Minutemen, which included the Comedian, and kissed his half of the picture as tears strolled down her face.
