Nite Owl
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- For other uses of the term, see Night Owl.
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| Nite Owl | |
 Daniel Dreiberg as Nite Owl Art by Dave Gibbons |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Watchmen #1 (1986) |
| Created by | Alan Moore (story) and Dave Gibbons (art), based on Blue Beetle, created by Steve Ditko |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | - Hollis J. Mason - Daniel Dreiberg |
| Team affiliations | (Mason) Minutemen (Dreiberg) Crimebusters |
| Partnerships | (Dreiberg) Rorschach |
| Notable aliases | (Dreiberg) Sam Hollis |
| Abilities | (Dreiberg) Has technical knowledge and employs several high-tech gadgets and weaponry, notably including a flying/submarine owl shaped ship (that he affectionately refers to as "Archie"). Good fighting prowess. |
Nite Owl is the name of two fictional characters in the comic book series Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics. They are modified versions of the various Blue Beetle characters created for Fox Feature Syndicate and later sold to Charlton Comics, with the second Nite Owl bearing certain similarities to Batman.
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[edit] Hollis J. Mason
[edit] Fictional character history
Hollis J. Mason (1916-1985)
At the age of 12 his father left the family farm in Montana and moved to New York City, working at Moe Vernon's Auto Repairs.
Starting out as a New York City policeman in 1938, he was inspired by Action Comics' Superman and the real life exploits of Hooded Justice to take up the life of a vigilante. He was nicknamed Nite Owl for spending his evenings working out in the Police Gymnasiums as much as possible and going to bed at 9:00pm to rise for a 5:00am work out before donning his badge and uniform.
His costume was designed to free his arms and legs while protecting his chest, abdomen and head with a tough leather tunic. With the tunic hiding his hair, a domino mask concealed his identity.
He became a member of the Minutemen, a "masked adventurer" league in mid-1939. Mason was an "old school" crimefighter, a real "Boy Scout" in the eyes of Captain Metropolis. He stopped colorful criminals like the Screaming Skull and went on to fight supposed Axis operatives including Captain Axis during World War II. He retired in May, 1962 to open an auto business and write his memoir, Under the Hood. By reading Under the Hood, Silk Spectre II later learned of the Comedian's attempted rape of her mother Silk Spectre I.
[edit] Personality
Mason was quite possibly the most decent and "normal" of the masked adventurers presented in Watchmen. While many of his colleagues have psychological issues with regards to society, race, gender, sex or just simple megalomania, Mason is apparently free of these traits, and judging by the excerpts from his book, is something of a voice of reason in the world of the costumed adventurers. Both in person and in his book his words tend to be kindly and temperate, with a slight tendency towards light hearted self-deprecating humor.
He seems to be well liked by most of his teammates and to get along with most as well, despite sometimes being all too aware of their faults and flaws. His enmity seems to be saved for the Comedian, whom he never forgave for the attempted rape of Sally Jupiter, and whose brutal means of crimefighting proved too much for Mason to reconcile himself with.
[edit] Events of Watchmen
After Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II break Rorschach out of prison on Halloween night, the Knot-tops, led by Derf, hear of the news. Angered by it, the entire group follows the suggestion of a gang member who mistakenly believes that Mason is the same Nite Owl that had participated in the prison break. Mistaking the group for trick-or-treaters, Mason opens his door to them. They attack en masse. Mason gets in a few solid hits but is beaten down. Ignoring the protests of some of the Knot-Tops, Derf kills Mason with the very statue that was given to him as an acknowledgment and reward for his service as a costumed adventurer.
[edit] Dan Dreiberg
[edit] Fictional character history
Born in 1945, Daniel Dreiberg relied more upon technical wizardry than toughness, which set him apart from his fellow costumed adventurers. Still, he has demonstrated more than adequate skills when defending himself. All of his gadgets and costumes are based on an owl theme. He uses an owl-shaped flying vehicle nicknamed "Archie" (Archimedes, after Merlin's owl), equipped with a variety of offensive and defensive devices.
Dreiberg's father was a banker who left him a large inheritance, which he used to design and build his crime-fighting gear. Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, was his hero and when he retired, Dan wrote to Mason, asking if he could carry on his name. Upon looking at his gear, Mason was too impressed to refuse him, so Dan started out in the 1960s. From then on, the two men became friends, and met every Saturday.
In 1965, Dreiberg (as Nite Owl) successfully teamed up with fellow costumed adventurer Rorschach to take on organized crime. Having already come to believe that his expensive activities were accomplishing little, Dreiberg retired after the passing of the Keene Act on August 3, 1977, although in 1985 (when the story takes place) he seems to regret his decision to give up crime fighting. Rorschach would later say regarding his retirement, "No staying power." Dreiberg mastered in aeronautics and zoology at Harvard University, contributing scholarly articles to ornithological journals after his retirement in 1977.
[edit] Events of Watchmen
Dreiberg becomes romantically entangled with the second Silk Spectre, Laurie Juspeczyk, after she leaves Doctor Manhattan. He returns to vigilantism along with her which began with a heartening night out in costume where they successfully save the occupants of a burning building. They later break Rorschach out of prison in an attempt to stop Ozymandias' scheme to "save the world from itself." Unfortunately, breaking out Rorschach resulted in the murder of Hollis Mason, which Dan learned of only when he and Rorschach went to interrogate suspects; upon learning of Mason's death, Dan became violent, attacking the informer and loudly swearing vengeance against Mason's killers, who he believes were most likely killed by Ozymandias's plot.
Dan and Rorschach travel to Ozymandias' Antarctic fortress without Silk Spectre, as she had been teleported away by Doctor Manhattan. They battle and are swiftly defeated by Ozymandias, who reveals his plans. Dan expresses the desire to stop him and is told that the events already had happened well before the conversation itself. Millions are dead, including Mason's killers, and the world's nations agree to work together to combat this new 'threat'. Reluctantly, Dan and the returned Laurie agree to keep this secret.
Rorschach leaves anyway, attempting to take Dan's vehicle back to civilization and tell the world. Unseen by the others, Doctor Manhattan attempts to stop him, but Rorschach demands Doctor Manhattan kill him rather than live with keeping such villainy a secret, and Manhattan reluctantly complies. Dan and Laurie are offered hospitality by Ozymandias; they take it.
Much later, they are seen as Sam and Sandra Hollis, making a brief visit to Laurie's mother.
[edit] Film
- Patrick Wilson is portraying the second Nite Owl, Dan Dreiberg, in the upcoming film.[1]. Stephen McHattie will portray the elder Nite Owl, Hollis Mason. John Cusack, who is an admitted fan of the graphic novel, expressed great interest in playing the role.[1]
[edit] References
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