Dollar Bill

History

Dollar Bill was originally a star athlete from a Kansas college. When banks began to notice the increase in people dressing up in costumes to work as vigilantes, they decided to hire Bill. He moved to New York and became a sort of "in house" hero. He was more like a publicity stunt because the banks would say they had a real hero to protect them and their money. He eventually became a member of the Minutemen. The banks did everything and even made a uniform for him, but it turned out to be his demise. While trying to save one of the banks he worked for, the cape from his uniform got caught in a revolving door. He couldn't get loose, and an unnamed thief shot him at point blank range.

Legacy

His death occured near Silhouette's own death. Soon afterwards the Minutemen disbanded. In "Under the Hood" Hollis Mason notes "Dollar Bill was one of the nicest and most straightforward men I ever meet". Hollis also criticised the cloak he wore blaming it for his death. After The Comedian's death Dollar Bill was mentioned by Rorschach when he was thinking about the fate of masked heroes.

Powers and abilities

Though he didn't have any powers Bill was in good shape and highly athletic.

Trivia

• Little was revealed in relation to Dollar Bill, and he was really just a supporting character.
• He is one of the many characters to never appear alive in Watchmen.
• He is likeley a deconstruction of Superman, though his color scheme matches Captain America's color scheme (red,white and blue).
• He never spoke a line.
• It is interesting to note that his clear commercial motivations (public identity, hired by banks) are never commented on by his peers or the subsequent generation of vigilantes who all seem to regard him as a worthy hero - even Rorschach who condemed Veidt for his commercialization. A possible explanation is respect for the dead.

In Other Media

Dollar Bill appears in the Watchmen movie, though he still has a minor role.His costume is slightly modified.