Before Watchmen: Nite Owl | Dr. Manhattan
Writer: J. Michael Straczynki
Artists: Adam Hughes, Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Eduardo Risso
JMS does an excellent expansion on Nite Owl and Moloch’s characters, though the Dr. Manhattan story was mostly forgettable…
Ranking: 4 stars
J. Michael Straczynki (or JMS) has recently become one of my favorite comic book writers. What attracts me to his work is his ability to create an in-depth look into the psychology of the characters his stories focus on. This quality is what has made me enjoy his run on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, as he uses this form of narrative to immerse the reader into Peter’s mind, allowing us to connect with and sympathize with him. Yeah, his writing style can be wordy at times, but his stories often strike gold in my eyes, which is why I feel that JMS’s talents make him a perfect choice for writing some of the stories of BEFORE WATCHMEN. As I’ve stated in my previous reviews of this series, the BEFORE WATCHMEN comics are a set of prequels to the original graphic novel by Alan Moore, with each focusing on a particular character or group. While the series itself has been heavily controversial among readers (Moore himself has openly announced his disapproval of the project), the series for me has been hit or miss for me. When I say that I don’t necessarily mean that most of the stories are bad, but that they range from great, to good, to okay, to boring, and one that is horrible. I’ve already reviewed the Comedian and Rorschach stories, which were heavily bogged down by Brian Azzarello’s writing (I don’t particularly care for his works), the Ozymandais story by Len Wein which I find to be the best of the prequels, as well as the Crimson Corsair story which was the worst (ironically also by Len Wein). For the NITE OWL | DR. MANHATTAN volume, I heavily enjoyed JMS’s expansion on the psychological profiles of Nite Owl and the reoccurring Watchmen villain Moloch, while the Dr. Manhattan story was okay, but nothing special in my eyes. BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL Review: Before I begin my analysis of this story, I’d like to mention that Nite Owl II was my least favorite member of the Crime-busters in the original WATCHMEN. While Dan Dreiberg did make an interesting parallel to Batman through his technological rather than direct approach in crime fighting, I felt that his character didn’t receive the same in-depth exploration of his psychology that the other characters of WATCHMEN did. Now I’m not saying that I hated his character, as I adored his romance with the Silk Spectre (they’re one of my favorite couples in comics) and his owl-airship was just awesome, but I felt his character could have been given greater attention. This might be the reason as to why I highly enjoyed the Nite Owl story here, as I felt it expanded upon Dan’s backstory, making him a more fleshed-out and three-dimensional character. The readers discover that as a child, Dan idolized the Minutemen of the 1930’s, in particular the first incarnation of the Nite Owl, Hollis Mason. His deep fascination with superheroes was born from his unfathomable home-life, as his father would frequently beat his mother, and Dan felt that he was too weak to protect her. In order to become stronger, Dan attempts to follow under Mason’s footsteps, and even begins training under Nite Owl’s tutelage after discovering his lair and identity. Years later, Dan Dreiberg becomes the second man to adopt the mantel of Nite Owl, and forms a partnership with the vigilante Rorschach. As the two tackle on the worst of New York’s criminal underworld, Dan’s loyalties are torn when he runs into the Twilight Lady, a Madam dominatrix who we learned he shared a relationship with in the original WATCHMEN comic. This strains his relationship with Rorschach (as his mother was a prostitute, causing him to develop an intense hatred for them), but Nite Owl not only develops feelings for her, but also learns that several of the prostitutes in New York are the victims of a serial killer, including the Twilight Lady’s women. Knowing that he was unable to defend his mother, Dan attempts to make amends by protecting the Twilight Lady. Will he be able to so, and what affect will this have on his partnership with Rorschach. Based on the critics reviews of the BEFORE WATCHMEN series, NITE OWL received mostly a negative response from them. I haven’t read their reviews, but I can safely say that I disagree with their opinion as I actually found the Nite Owl story to be one of the best that this series has to offer. I believe what attracted me to this one was that I was finally provided an in-depth perspective of Nite Owl’s psychological profile, which I did not experience in Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN. Like the other Watchmen, he is provided a complex backstory that makes his character feel realistic and flawed. Unlike superheroes like Superman, who is the embodiment of a perfect kind-hearted superhero, the heroes of Watchmen in my opinion act as an idea for what superheroes would be like in the real world. They wouldn’t be bound by unlimited kindness, but would be flawed, morally ambiguous, and have dark secrets that they would attempt to hide from the rest of humanity. This is what made the characters of Watchmen feel alive to the reader, and Nite Owl is finally given similar treatment. While the original intent Moore had for his character was to portray a retired hero suffering from depression, he didn’t leave much room for an analysis of his character. JMS makes Dan’s idolization of Mason’s Nite Owl more believable through connecting to him living with an abusive father. Because his mother was constantly beaten by him, and Dan himself was physically weak, he thought that by becoming a superhero that he would be able to defend those in need. He applies this pathological desire in particular to women, as it was his mother who suffered the most in his eyes, which establishes his relationship with the Twilight Lady and him wanting to protect her workers. Through careful treatment, JMS perfectly weaves all of these elements in order to establish a three-dimensional psychology for Dan, increasing my ability to connect and sympathize with him. I’m not saying I hated Nite Owl in Moore’s story, but it was through JMS’s pen that he was finally given the treatment I felt his character deserved. BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN Review: The Dr. Manhattan story is one that has seemed to derive the most praise from fans and critics, but I feel that this one is kind of overrated. I don’t hate this one, as JMS’s talents still shine on exploring Dr. Manhattan’s psychology, but I didn’t feel that this one brought anything new to his character. It was basically repeating the fourth chapter of the original graphic novel, where Dr. Manhattan is on Mars and his god-like powers make time meaningless to him. The past, present, and future are all one and the same to him, causing him to experience all at once. This was useful in gaining insight on Dr. Manhattan’s character, as well as making him more realistic, as even though he was the only character with actual powers, as his god-like abilities were causing him to feel less human, detaching himself from the rest of humanity. The story in this volume simply recycles the narrative from that chapter, by having him relive all periods of time at once, but by having it go throughout all of his life rather than his past. While it did establish untold components of his history, the story felt unnecessary as I felt I was rereading information that I already gained from a single chapter in the original graphic novel. To put it more simply, the Dr. Manhattan story felt more like an expansion pack that only serves to add extra content to an already established character and story (kind of like in video games, which doesn’t work for books). While I didn’t necessarily care for this one, it was still well written, so I can give it a pass. But it just felt like it was a story I already read. BEFORE WATCHMEN MOLOCH Review: In both the original graphic novel and the prequels, a frequent enemy of both the Minutemen and the Crime-busters was a man known only as Moloch. A deformed individual with elf-like ears and a short stature, Moloch formed an infamous reputation as a criminal mastermind who used magic to commit crimes, and owned several bars and strip clubs. He was also involved in Ozymandais’s scheme by being one of the cancer patients used to frame Dr. Manhattan, and was killed to so that Rorschach, who was investigating the Comedian’s death, would be framed and arrested. Even though he was long time enemy of both generations of crime fighters, we never knew much about his character in WATCHMEN. In this two issue story, we learn that because of his hideous appearance, Moloch was a frequent target of bullying and ridicule as a child, and attempted to gain acceptance through learning magic and escape artist tricks. He lost that chance however, when he discovered that a girl he admired cheated on him, causing him to murder her boyfriend. After that he went on the run, using his illusionary tricks and appearance get by on vaudeville, and was soon forced to turn to crime in order to make a proper living. The story then exploits on how he was made a frequent nuisance for the heroes, how he turned to religion while in prison in order to change his ways, as well as his involvement with Ozymandais. Like NITE OWL, I felt Moloch’s story also expanded upon a lesser developed character from Moore’s original work. Despite being a villain and murderer, JMS’s writing allows me to understand what motivates Moloch to do what he does, and to sympathize with him as a result. Despite Moore’s conviction against this series, I believe that when in proper hands, the BEFORE WATCHMEN prequels are useful in expanding the characters beyond what they were in the original graphic novel. JMS does exactly that for Nite Owl and Moloch, heavily expanding their psychological profiles in order to make them feel more flawed and believable. The same can’t be said for the Dr. Manhattan story however, as it simply restates what was already conveyed in the original with one or two insignificant details added. The purpose of a prequel is to both expand the history of a character and their universe, as well as taking the concept beyond what it already was. While that hasn’t been completely successful for the entirety of the BEFORE WATCHMEN series, for stories like NITE OWL and MOLOCH, they add more to good characters in order to elevate them into great characters! “Everybody has talent, it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is.” -George Lucas
