8 Watchmen Characters Based On Charlton Comics
6. Nite Owl I (Hollis Mason) / Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett)
Watchmen, as a series, takes a gritty look at the modern superhero mythology, while also shedding a light on the golden era that came before. Night Owl II Dan Drieberg doesn’t become a superhero for the laughs, but to emulate his own hero, the original Night Owl Hollis Mason. Like Barry Allen’s origin of being a fan of the original incarnation of his character.
Mason was a police officer in the streets of New York, who by night would patrol the streets as a costumed vigilante. The “Nite Owl” persona allowed for the normally conservative Hollis, to become something bigger than himself. A skilled hand to hand fighter, Nite Owl dealt with most criminals up close, and made the streets a bit safer for those in the 1930’s.
Ironically, the first Blue Beetle comic was released in early the 1940’s. That Blue Beetle was Dan Garrett, whose father was a police officer slain in the line of duty. Garret becomes an officer as well, and as the Blue Beetle, initially fought crime with no powers as well. Both Hollis and Dan remind us of the innocent, humble beginnings of the super hero genre, before we truly started to question it.