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| “ | Y'know, this must be how ordinary people feel. This must be how ordinary people feel around us. | „ |
| ~ Nite Owl to Rorschach. |
| “ | No! You haven't idealized mankind but you've... you've deformed it! You mutilated it. That's your legacy. That's the real practical joke. | „ |
| ~ Nite Owl to Ozymandias. |
Daniel M. "Dan" Dreiberg, better known as Nite Owl, and later as Sam Hollis, is the deuteragonist of the Watchmen franchise.
The successor to the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, Dreiberg became a costumed crime fighter who became a member of the Crimebusters. He would retire after the Keene Act, but returned during the investigation of the Comedian's murder.
He was created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, and first appeared in Watchmen #1 in September of 1986.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Daniel M. "Dan" Dreiberg was born on September 18th, 1940-1945 to an unnamed parents, and became fascinated with owls, aviation, Greek mythology, and Arthurian legends at a very young age. His fascination with owls led him to idolize the vigilante Nite Owl, and would spend his time studying engineering, ornithology, and piloting during the 1950s. After high school, Dan attended Harvard University where he received two degrees in aeronautics and zoology, and was valedictorian for his class.
Becoming Nite Owl[]
Receiving his father's inheritance, Dan declined to get a job from his uncle Alan, and invested his wealth into designing gadgets tech called the "Owl's Nest". When he learned that Mason had retired from crime fighting, Dan wrote a note to Hollis, asking could he become his successor of the mantle. When Hollis saw Dan's technology, he was too impress to reject the offer, and gave Dreiberg the mantle of "Nite Owl II". During the 1960s, Dreiberg started to fight petty crime and became the partner of Rorschach, a fellow vigilante. Both Nite Owl and Rorschach showed themselves to be a dynamic duo, with the two being able to stop infamous criminals in New York, such as Big Figure, Jimmy the Gimmick, and Underboss.
The two managed to catch the attention of Captain Metropolis, who was putting together a group of vigilantes to form a new team for the second generation. The two joined the Crimebusters, and Nite OWl felt that had a joined a fellowship of heroes, but the team didn't last and soon became defunct. Though the team was dismantled, Dan continued to work with Rorschach and kept in contact with former Crimebusters member, Laurie Juspeczyk. In 1968, Dan defeated the Twilight Lady and had her arrested, and she wrote him a letter from prison. Against Mason's advice, Dan wrote her back in an attempt to possibly reform her, but the two started a romantic relationship. The relationship would later end, and Dan started to feel his idealism dwindle after the police riots in 1977 when the Comedian shot at rioters.
When the Keene Act was passed, Dan decided to retire after seeing his heroics achieving little, which strained his friendship with Rorschach. Though he would later regret his decision to retire, Dreiberg would keep his past a secret and became an academic writer during the late 1970s and 1980s. Though Dan lost contact with Rorschach for leaving the crime fighting gig, Dreiberg stayed in contact with Laurie and would meet with Mason on Saturdays.
Watchmen[]
When the Comedian was murdered, Dan was one of the first warned by Rorschach of someone killing crime-fighters, and the two reminisced about their past. Afterward, Dan met with Laurie and attended the Comedian's funeral, where he was reunited with Adrian Vedit and Jon Osterman. When Doctor Manhattan exiled himself on Mars and Veidt was nearly killed, Dan decided to take in Laurie to protect her. The two started a romantic relationship, and returned to their secret identities by patrolling the city, and later rescuing tenets from a building that was on fire.
When Dan learned that Rorschach was taken to prison on the murder of Moloch, he decided to rescue his friend from Sing Sing. After rescuing Rorschach, Laurie was transported to Mars by Doctor Manhattan, and Dan and Rorschach decided to investigate the attempts on vigilantes. The two learn that Rorschach's prison break led to anti superhero riots, which caused the death of Mason, which angered Dreiberg. While interrogating criminals, the two came to the assumption that the one behind all of this was Vedit, and traveled to his fortress in Antarctica. The two confronted Veidt, who revealed his plan to send an alien to New York to kill millions, thus ending the threat of the Cold War so all nations could work together.
Nite Owl and Rorschach attempt to stop Veidt, but he reveals that his plans are already in motion, and the two are forced to watch the attack by the alien. Nite Owl, Doctor Manhattan, and Silk Spectre agreed to Veidt's plan except for Rorschach, who attempts to leave the fortress, but is reluctantly killed by Osterman. After the event, Dan and Laurie take on new identities of the Hollis's, and the two visited Laurie's mother, Sally Jupiter.
Portrayals[]
Film[]
- In the 2009 film adaptation directed by Zack Snyder, he was portrayed by Patrick Wilson, who also plays Ed Warren in The Conjuring series and Orm Marius in the DC Extended Universe.
Animation[]
- In the animated films Watchmen Chapter 1 and Watchmen Chapter 2, he is voiced by Matthew Rhys.
Motion Comic[]
- In the titular motion comic, he was voiced by Tom Stechschulte, who also voiced Rorschach in the same motion comic.
Gallery[]
