Silk Spectre

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Silk Spectre
Laurie Juspeczyk as the Silk Spectre.
Art by Dave Gibbons.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceWatchmen #1 (September 1986)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoSally Jupiter (I)
Laurie Juspeczyk (II)
Team affiliationsMinutemen (I)
The Crimebusters (II)
Notable aliases(Laurie)
Sandra Hollis
Laurie Jupiter
Laurie Blake
The Comedienne[1]

Silk Spectre is the name of two fictional superheroines in the graphic novel limited series Watchmen, published by DC Comics. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Silk Spectre, Sally "Jupiter" Juspeczyk, was a member of the crimefighting team the Minutemen, while the second, Sally's daughter Laurel "Laurie" Jane Juspeczyk, became a member of the vigilante team Crimebusters, also known as the titular Watchmen.

In the early stages of the series' development, the characters were Charlton Comics superheroes and the female superhero was supposed to be Nightshade.[2] However, Moore did not find Nightshade particularly interesting[3] and was not even very familiar with the character.[2] After the idea of using Charlton characters was abandoned, he decided to model Silk Spectre on superheroines like Phantom Lady and Black Canary (also an alias shared by mother and daughter).[3]

The Sally and Laurie Juspeczyk versions of Silk Spectre made their live-action debuts in the 2009 film

Malin Åkerman, respectively. An older version of Laurie Juspeczyk, now known as Laurie Blake, appeared in the 2019 limited television Watchmen, played by Jean Smart
.

Fictional character history

Sally Jupiter

The first Silk Spectre was a frizzy-haired, redheaded former waitress and burlesque dancer Sally Jupiter (her real last name was Juspeczyk, which she changed to hide her Polish ancestry). She assumed the identity of Silk Spectre sometime around 1938 at age 18, in order to advance her modeling career. She became a sex symbol by whom criminals didn't mind being caught (or so went her press). She was an action heroine version of a pin-up girl and, even in her old age, she was proud of her sex symbol status, apparently enjoying male attention, as indicated by her reaction to lurid fan letters and her enjoyment of a Tijuana bible based on her (much to her daughter's disapproval).

She was soon invited by Captain Metropolis to join The Minutemen, a group of costumed heroes. On October 2, 1940, after a meeting of the Minutemen, Edward Blake, alias

Captain Metropolis). In 1949, she gave birth to daughter Lauriel Jane Juspeczyk, commonly known as Laurie. It was known to both parents that Laurie was not Laurence's child, but The Comedian's, from a sexual encounter years after the assault, and this caused conflict in the family, leading the couple to divorce in 1956. While not explicitly stated, it is implied that Sally's second sexual encounter with The Comedian was consensual, and that, despite his earlier attack on her, she did have feelings for him.[4]

In the pages of Doomsday Clock, it was revealed that Ozymandias spoke at her funeral. While in an asylum, Reggie Long was taught some of Sally's moves by fellow inmate Mothman where they both heard of her death.[5]

Laurie Juspeczyk

Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1 (June 2012). Art by Jim Lee
.

Sally pushed her daughter into the "family business of crimefighting." Laurel Jane "Laurie" Juspeczyk never held much interest in becoming her mother's successor, but went along with Sally's wishes anyway. Growing up, the brunette Laurie knew Laurence Schexnayder was not her real father, and she always believed, incorrectly, that her real father was Hooded Justice. Laurie Juspeczyk is a liberal-thinking, modern woman. She is vocal in her feminist and humanitarian concerns, and is quite a conditioned fighter. At the start of the story she is shown to have a strained relationship with her mother. Driven by the memories of her own experience, Sally tries to keep Laurie from knowing some of the harsher realities of the crime fighting life. For example, she did not allow her to read the Hollis Mason (

H-bomb. Drawn to him from the moment she first saw him, Laurie worked with Doctor Manhattan in some of his various domestic assignments, including the suppression of riots during the police strike of 1977. Never exactly happy being a vigilante and not happy with the government taking advantage with her relationship with the superhuman Manhattan, Laurie was more than pleased to quit being a superhero when the Keene Act of 1977 forced all but government-sponsored superheroes to retire.[6]

Events of Watchmen

After retiring, Laurie lived with Manhattan for almost 20 years. However, their relationship became strained, owing to Manhattan's growing disconnection with humanity. Laurie eventually left him and moved in with Dan Dreiberg, a.k.a. the second

Rorschach
) decide that Ozymandias' plan should be kept secret to serve the greater good.

Shortly after these events, Laurie and Dan Drieberg adopt new appearances and identities, now calling themselves Sam and Sandra Hollis, and sporting blond hair. They visit Sally Jupiter—now living in a retirement home—and Laurie tells her mother that she has realized the truth about her father. The issue is put to rest for Laurie, who accepts that the situation between her mother and the Comedian is too complicated, and she forgives her. "Sam and Sandra" leave soon afterward, indicating that they will continue to adventure, although Laurie expresses the wish for a better superhero identity: leather for better protection, a mask to hide her identity, and a firearm to better fight. This parallels her father's,

the Comedian, change from a gaudy yellow clown suit to light leather armor with a mask to cover his scar and a variety of guns. After watching them leave, Sally picks up an old photograph of the Minutemen, which includes the Comedian, and kisses his half of the picture as tears roll down her face.[7]

2010s

The 2012 miniseries Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre revealed that Laurie got her start as a super-hero being trained by her mother to continue the family legacy, before running away from home at the age of 16[8] and relocating to San Francisco with her boyfriend.[9]

In the 2018 miniseries Doomsday Clock, it is revealed that seven years after the events of Watchmen, "Sam and Sandra Hollis" have a daughter together. They also adopt Clark, the son of two costumed villains, Mime and Marionette. After jailing the pair following an aborted bank robbery, Dr. Manhattan noted that Marionette was pregnant. He sensed that the child had a bright future ahead of him. In order to preserve that future, he took the boy as an infant following his birth in a prison hospital. Dr. Manhattan named him Clark (after Superman), raised him nearly to his teen years, and after bequeathing Clark his powers and infusing his life force into the planet, brought Clark to the Hollises to raise.[10]

Powers and abilities

Both Silk Spectres are expert gymnasts and are experts at hand-to-hand combat.[citation needed]

In other media

Television

  • Both Silk Spectre incarnations appear in Watchmen: Motion Comic, where both of them, along with every other character in the series, are voiced by Tom Stechschulte.
  • Both Silk Spectre incarnations appear in
    Dr. Manhattan's powers.[12]

Film

Both Silk Spectre incarnations appear in

Malin Åkerman portrays the second Silk Spectre, Laurie Juspeczyk, and Carla Gugino portrays the original Silk Spectre, Sally Jupiter. Haley Guiel portrays a young Laurie Jupiter in flashbacks.[13]

Video games

Silk Spectre II appears in a cutscene in Watchmen: The End Is Nigh, voiced by Andrea Baker.

References

  1. ^ "MEMORANDUM : VEIDT & RORSCHACH" (PDF). HBO. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b per Alan Moore's original character drafts, as reproduced in Absolute Watchmen, Titan Books, 2005, p. 443
  3. ^ a b Cooke, Jon B. "Alan Moore discusses the Charlton-Watchmen Connection". Comic Book Artist #9
  4. ^ Watchmen #2. DC Comics.
  5. ^ Doomsday Clock #4 (March 2018). DC Comics.
  6. ^ Watchmen #4. DC Comics.
  7. ^ Watchmen #12. DC Comics.
  8. ^ Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. "Chapter 9: The Darkness of Mere Being." Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1987. 14. Print.
  9. ^ Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1. DC Comics.
  10. ^ Doomsday Clock #12
  11. ^ "Watchmen Confirms What Happened To Nite Owl & Silk Spectre After The Comic". Screenrant.com.
  12. ^ "Jean Smart". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ "Watchmen Cast Confirmed!" on SuperHeroHype.com (July 26, 2007).
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