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Overanalyzing Anime
Blog Owner & Lead Writer
In this entry of the Before Watchmen series we take an in depth look at Dan Drieberg as he studies under HollisMason - the original Nite Owl - &, eventually, inherits the mantle of the second Nite Owl.
Of all the characters in Watchmen, I had always found Nite Owl & Silk Spectre to be the least interesting, which is why I saved their stories for last. That being said, reading BW: Nite Owl has given me a newfound respect for his character. Penned by the same author as BW: Doctor Manhattan - J. Michael Straczynski- this story is excellent not only for its depiction of Nite-Owl, but also for the respect it shows the many supporting characters introduced throughout.
I’ll start first with the titular character. Surprisingly - though I suppose, not really - his home life was wrought with violence & strife. I took him for the privileged sort, & while he is, it definitely didn’t come without its own costs. While his dad was a simple brand of sadistic, his mother had levels of complexity that I really appreciated. Every scene with Dan & his mother was an absolute treat & spoke to why he became the man we know him as.
I really liked the other supporting characters as well; such as Hollis Mason, & the secrets he kept hidden in his closet; the multifaceted Elizabeth Lane, & her obtuse sense of right & wrong; &, of course, Rorschach who, in this story, was depicted nearly identical to how he was in the original text. I was *very* happy to see his character shown the respect he was denied in his own Before Watchmen story.
Two more things. 1.) I had an issue with just how ridiculous the villains’ “pile” was - the moment I saw it I thought it was like part of some sort of dream (nightmare) sequence, & when it turned out to be real I thought it was a wee-bit over the top. And 2.), I really liked the fact that a lot of this story was based on an erroneous moment from the original Watchmen story. That was really cool.
All in all, what I thought would be one of my least favorite entires turned out to be one of my favorites. I definitely suggest checking it out.
My rating 9/10
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