Nite Owl (Dreiberg)

Background

History

Origin

Dan Dreiberg was inspired by Hollis Mason’s career and his love of predatory birds (especially Owls). With an inherited wealth he purchased and/or designed and constructed a variety of superheroic paraphernalia, notably the Owlship called ‘Archie’ (after Archimedes). Archie was an airship armed with flame-throwers, missiles, and all the other gadgets necessary to begin a war on crime without any sort of metahuman power.

Dreiberg was somewhat self-conscious and clearly liberal, and a sensitive intellectual in his everyday dealings. He would tend to over-think before acting, and had an apparent fetish for superheroics and all its trappings. He was most effective when in costume, quickly shedding his inhibitions. He was considered to be the most "human" character in Watchmen, which played as a wonderful contrast to Dr. Manhattan. Dan was very romantic in the sense that he adored the little things like Disney and knights in shining armor. In a way he was childish, but all of that would come off once he put on his cape and cowl, which would "awaken the beast within", who, apparently, had a big appetite!

Dreiberg asked Mason’s permission in using the Nite Owl name and so began his career. He teamed up with Rorschach (Walter Kovacs) and was part of an abortive attempt by Captain Metropolis to form the Crime Busters.  

Retirement

Dreiberg retired in 1977 when the Keene Act was passed, outlawing vigilantism. After his retirement he quietly mastered in aeronautics and zoology at Harvard, contributing scholarly articles to ornithological journals.

In 1985 Dreiberg was contacted by a still very active Rorschach, who was investigating the murder of Edward Blake ( The Comedian). Rorschach believed that someone was targeting masked heroes and warned Dreiberg, possibly out of professional courtesy, or maybe because of their history together. Rorschach seemed to genuinely care about Dreiberg, and in many respects considered him as his only friend.

Soon, Dreiberg was forced to return to vigilantism, along with the Silk Spectre II, Laurie Juspeczyk, who later became his wife,  and who was the daughter of the original Silk Specture, Sally Jupiter. This was necessary to break Rorschach out of prison and to stop Ozymandias from his scheme to ‘save the world from itself’. They failed. After the incident he and Juspeczyk took the names of Sam and Sandra Hollis, and briefly visited Laurie's mother, where Dan jokingly brought up the subject of children.  

Character Design & Inspiration

Watchmen movie