The original heroes of the Watchmen universe explained.
Warner Bros. released this publicity image from Zack Snyder’s The Watchmen the other day, showing another enticing image from a film based on what many consider the best graphic novel or comic book ever written.
These aren’t the Watchmen of the title; no, these are the Minutemen, the original super team of the very complex alternate history in which the comic and movie are set. And make no mistake – the attention to detail and accuracy, like much of the rest of the production, is painstakingly accurate.
Basically, the Minutemen protected the American homefront from Nazi spies and other assorted threats throughout the 1940s. Within the continuity of the graphic novel, its members led dark lives often marred by tragedy and violence even after their costumed careers ended. The members are, from left to right:
Silhouette: A Jewish refugee from Austria, Ursula Zandt was expelled from the group in 1946 when her homosexuality became public knowledge. She was killed by a revenge-seeking former enemy weeks later.
Mothman: Persecuted by McCarthyism, Byron Lewis (Niall Matter) succumbed to alcoholism and psychological problems that left him permanently hospitalized. Fondly remembered by the other heroes, he’s sometimes visited by the second Nite Owl, Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson).
Dollar Bill: The public spokesman and “in house superhero” for a national bank, Dollar Bill (Dan Payne) was shot dead by robbers when his flowing cape became caught in a branch location’s revolving door.
Nite Owl I: Hollis Mason (Stephen McHattie) was a police officer by day and the crimefighting Nite Owl by night. A salt-of-the-earth type who retired to a life as an auto mechanic, his tell-all autobiography Under The Hood is excerpted in the Watchmen graphic novel’s early chapters. He’s both friend and mentor to his successor, Dan Dreiberg.
Captain Metropolis: A former Marine lieutenant, Captain Metropolis was the group’s organizer and strategist. He attempts to start a similar group, the Crimebusters, in the 1960s, citing both “promiscuity” and “black unrest” as social ills. His homosexual relationship with Hooded Justice was concealed in part with help from the original Silk Spectre.
The Comedian: (kneeling) Edward Blake’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) murder sets off the events of the story’s main plotline. A hero turned government enforcer, Blake participated in America’s victory in Vietnam and later helped cover up the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. Blake assaulted teammate Sally Juspeczyk (Cala Gugino), the first Silk Spectre, after a Minutemen meeting in their headquarters but was stopped and viciously beaten by Hooded Justice.
Silk Spectre I: Sally Juspeczyk was a burlesque dancer who fought crime as a means of attracting publicity for her entertainment career. Sexually assaulted by The Comedian, a brief tryst between the two decades later produced a daughter, Laurel (Malin Akerman), who would in time become the second Silk Spectre.
Hooded Justice: The first of the costumed crimefighters to appear on the public scene, Hooded Justice’s identity remains a mystery, though some suspect he was a circus strongman with Nazi sympathies. He vanishes after questioning by the House Un-American Affairs Committee, leading many to speculate he was murdered by The Comedian in revenge for the beating Blake received after attacking Sally Juspeczyk.
- Michael Kabel
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