The Annotated Watchmen, Doug Atkinson [fb2 epub reader txt] 📗

The knot-topped Katie addict who kills Nite Owl I.

He's presumed killed at the Madison Square Garden Pale Horse concert. #'s

1, 8, 12?

DOCTOR MANHATTAN (1929- ): Jon Osterman. His father was a

watchmaker, and he was going to follow him until his father sent him into physics

following Hiroshima. In 1948 he entered Princeton, and in 1958 he obtained his

Ph.D. In 1959 he went to work at Gila Flats, where he met and fell in love

with Janey Slater. In August 1959, he was caught in an accident in an

intrinsic field remover, causing him to disintegrate. By November, he had

obtained sufficient control over matter to reassemble himself. He worked for

the government, becoming their nuclear war prevention (since he could

destroy incoming missiles with a thought). He was publicly revealed in 1960.

In 1963, he failed to prevent Kennedy's assassination. He was at the

meeting of the Crimebusters in 1966, following which he fell in love with

Laurie Juspeczyk. His father died in 1969. In 1971 he intervened in

Vietnam, leading to victory over the Viet Cong. He and Laurie eventually

moved to Rockefeller military base. In 1985, following allegations he'd given

cancer to people he was associated with, he left Earth and went to

Mars, returning to get Laurie at one point. He returned following the

"alien attack" in New York and went to Antarctica to confront Veidt,

following which he decided to leave Earth altogether. #'s 1-4, 6, 9, 11-12.

DOLLAR BILL (?-1946): Real name unknown (the roleplaying sourcebook

has it as Bill Brady). The best description of him comes from _Under the

Hood_: "...originally a star college athlete from Kansas who was actually

employed as an in-house super-hero by one of the major national banks, when

they realized that the masked man fad made being able to brag about having

a hero of your own to protect your customer's money a very interesting

publicity project...While attempting to stop a raid at one of his

employer's banks, he cloak became entangled in the bank's revolving

door and he was shot dead at point-blank range before he could free it."

2.

FINE, DETECTIVE STEVE (?-1985): Investigates the Blake murder. Helps

arrest Rorschach, and tries to arrest Dreiberg. He's suspended just

before being killed with his partner Joe Bourquin in New York. #'s 1, 5, 8,

11, 12.

GLASS, MILTON (?-?): Director of Gila Flats, and author of "Dr.

Manhattan: Super-powers and the Superpowers." #4.

GODFREY, HECTOR (?- ): Editor of the New Frontiersman. #'s 8,

11-12.

GORDIAN KNOT MAN, THE (?-1985): Milo's brother, he fixes Dan's lock

on several occasions. #'s 3, 11-12.

"HAPPY HARRY" (?- ): Runs a sleazy bar and grill named Happy Harry's.

's 1, 10.

HOODED JUSTICE (?-?): Real name unknown; possibly Rolf Muller, circus

strongman. He was the first costumed vigilante, making his debut

October 13, 1938. He joined the Minutemen in 1939, remaining with the group

until its demise ten years later. Until she left the group, Sally Jupiter

posed as his girlfriend, covering his preference for boys. When the

costumed adventurers were investigated by HUAC, he refused to testify and

vanished. It has been speculated that he was killed by the Comedian in the

mid-50's as revenge for stopping his rape of Sally. #2.

JOEY (?-1985): A cab driver for the Promethean. She and her

ex-girlfriend Aline were killed in the "alien attack." #'s 3, 5, 11-12.

LONG, GLORIA (?-1985): Mal's wife, who leaves him. She's killed in

the "alien attack." #'s 6, 11-12.

LONG, DR. MALCOLM (?-1985): Rorschach's prison psychiatrist. He dies

in the "alien attack." #'s 6, 11-12.

MILO (?-1985): Manager of the Promethean, brother of the Gordian Knot

man, dies in "alien attack." #'s 11-12.

MOLOCH (?-1985): Edgar William Jacobi, alias Edgar William Vaughn,

alias William Edgar Bright. A stage magician-turned-crimelord. He fought

most of the costumed adventurers up through the 1970's, which he spent in

jail. At some point during that time, he worked for Dimensional

Developments, where he was given cancer. In 1985 he was killed by Veidt to frame

Rorschach. #'s 2, 4-5.

MOTHMAN (?- ): Byron Lewis. He became a costumed hero in 1939, and

joined the Minutemen, remaining with them until they split up in '49. He

was investigated by HUAC in the early '50's, and had trouble before he

was cleared; this marked the start of his drinking problem, which he

never got over. He eventually wound up in a sanitarium in Maine. #'s 2, 9.

NITE OWL I (1916-1985): Hollis Mason. His father worked at an auto

repair shop. In 1938 he became a police officer. After reading about

Hooded Justice, he decided to become a costumed vigilante. He became Nite

Owl in 1939, and joined the Minutemen, remaining with them until they

disbanded in 1949. He testified before HUAC in the early '50's, and was cleared

quickly because of his police force background. In 1962, he retired from

superheroics to run an auto shop, and write his autobiography, _Under

the Hood._ Dan Dreiberg got permission from him to continue his name,

and they became friends. In 1985 he was murdered by a gang, who confused him

with the second Nite Owl after the Rorschach jailbreak. #'s 1, 4, 8-9.

NITE OWL II (?- ): Daniel Dreiberg. His father was a banker and left

him a good deal of money, but he was interested in "birds and airplanes and

mythology." He got degrees in aeronautics and zoology at Harvard.

In the early '60's, he took on the identity of Nite Owl from Hollis Mason,

who he became friends with. In 1965 he teamed with Rorschach to fight the

Underboss, and in 1966 he was at the meeting of the Crimebusters. He

retired in 1977 at the time of the Keene Act, devoting his time to

writing papers for ornithology journals. In 1985 he was drawn back in after

the Comedian's death, working with Silk Spectre (whom he fell in love

with) to break Rorschach from prison, and eventually confronting Veidt with

the truth about his plans. Following that, he took on the identity of

Sam Hollis. #'s 1-12.

NIXON, RICHARD (1913- ): 38th president of the U.S., from 1968 on.

He was the first president to involve Dr. Manhattan in domestic and foreign

affairs, leading to a nation-wide prosperity and victory in Vietnam.

This led to an amendment repealing the 22nd Amendment, allowing him to

serve unlimited terms. His use of Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam led to the

anti-mask movement. #'s 3, 10.

OZYMANDIAS (1939- ): Adrian Veidt. Born to immigrant parents, he was

a genius at an early age. At the age of 17, following in the footsteps

of Alexander the Great, he went to Turkey, following his route

throughout Europe and Asia. In Alexandria, he had a revelation, taking on the

identity of Ozymandias to fight crime. Following the meeting of the

Crimebusters in 1966, he realized that dangers far worse than crime

faced mankind, and he embarked upon a plan to save the world. His

corporation, Veidt, produces virtually everything, from cosmetics to tennis shoes.

He developed the patent for the spark hydrant to fund Dimensional

Developments. His plan eventually led to the plot of the series, the

death of the Comedian and Moloch (among others), the departure of Dr.

Manhattan, and eventual harmony among the superpowers (in theory). #'s 1-2,

4-5, 7, 10-12.

PHANTOM (?-1985?): Nite Owl I's dog. #'s 1, 8.

RORSCHACH (1940-1985): Walter Joseph Kovacs. His mother was a

prostitute, and his father is unknown. He was taken from his mother in 1951

after viciously attacking two bullies, and stayed in a home until 1956,

when he became a garment worker. In 1964, after reading about the death of

Kitty Genovese, he took up the identity of Rorschach, later partnering with

Nite Owl II in 1965. He was at the meeting of the Crimebusters in 1966.

In 1975, he experienced a change of philosophy after investigating the

Roche kidnapping. In 1977, he was the only non-government sponsored

vigilante not to retire after the Keene Act. In 1985, he worked to investigate

the events following the Blake murder, and was framed by Veidt for

murdering Moloch and arrested, being broken out of prison by Nite Owl and Silk

Spectre. Eventually, with Nite Owl, he worked out the truth and

confronting Veidt. He was killed by Dr. Manhattan to prevent his

spreading the truth about the "alien invasion." #'s 1-12.

ROTH, DOUG (?- ): Writer for Nova Express. He interviewed

Ozymandias in 1975, and was sent the Dr. Manhattan "cancer list" by Veidt to set up

Dr. Manhattan to leave Earth. #3.

SEYMOUR (?- ): Hector Godfrey's assistant. #'s 8, 11-12.

SHEA, MAX (?-1985): A writer, originally writing comic books such as

"Tales of the Black Freighter," who went to fiction and wrote Fogdancing.

He wound up on the island for the alien project, and was killed when the

boat blew up. #'s 8, 10.

SHEXNAYDER, LAURENCE (?-?): Sally Jupiter's agent. He married her in

1947 and divorced her in 1956 after finding out she'd slept with the

Comedian. #9.

SILHOUETTE (?-1946): Ursula Zandt. She became a crimefighter in 1939,

and joined the Minutemen. In 1946 she was expelled from the group when

it was publicly revealed that she was a lesbian; two weeks later she and her

lover were killed by an adversary seeking revenge. #2.

SILK SPECTRE I (1921- ): Sally Jupiter, nee Juspeczyk. She changed

her name to hide her Polish heritage. A former waitress and burlesque

dancer, she became a crimefighter in early 1939 on the advice of her agent,

Laurence Shexnayder. She was a member of the Minutemen; the Comedian

was expelled from the group after attempting to rape her. She left the

team and retired in 1947 to marry Shexnayder. At some point, probably in

1948, Silk Swingers of Suburbia, a bad film about her career, was

released. She slept with the Comedian in 1948 or 1949, and their daughter,

Laurie, was born in 1949. She groomed Laurie to carry on in her footsteps.

At some point she moved to the Nepenthe Gardens retirement village in

California. #'s 2, 8-9, 11-12.

SILK SPECTRE II (1949- ): Laurie Juspeczyk. Her mother was Sally

Jupiter, the original Silk Spectre; her father was the Comedian (although her

mother was married to Laurence Shexnayder until 1956). All her life she was

brought up to be a superhero, and she began in 1966 around the time

of the first meeting of the Crimebusters. Shortly thereafter she fell in

love with Dr. Manhattan and moved in with him. In 1977 she retired

following the Keene Act. In 1985 Dr. Manhattan left Earth, and she moved in

with Dan Dreiberg, eventually falling in love with him. She and Dreiberg

broke Rorschach from prison, following which Dr. Manhattan took her to

Mars, where she realized the truth about her father. They returned to

Earth shortly after the "alien attack," going to Antarctica to confront

Veidt. After that, she took up the identity of Sandra Hollis. #'s 1-9,

11-12.

SLATER, JANEY (?- ): She worked at Gila Flats, where she met and fell

in love with Dr. Manhattan; she left him in 1966 when he fell for Laurie

Juspeczyk. She worked at