Nite Owl (I) Part 3: Watchmen #3 (November, 1986)

This is the last issue of the series to feature bits from Under The Hood, and it deals with Hollis’ activities in the 1950’s after The Minutemen disbanded.

I have this issue in the Watchmen trade.

Hollis has a brief appearance this issue, where he’s at home watching Dr. Manhattan’s press conference. Dan stops by, and Hollis tells him about it. In the excerpts from Under The Hood, Hollis discusses the reasons behind his eventual retirement as the first Nite Owl.

Notes of Interest:
1) Hollis was forced to reveal his secret identity during the McCarthy era, but it didn’t affect him much due to his NYPD service record.

2) Costumed villains practically vanished in the fifties, replaced by drug runners and pimps.

3) After the arrival of Dr. Manhattan, Hollis realized that the world is changing, and his type of costumed hero was becoming obsolete.

4) Hollis met both Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias at a charity event in June, 1960. At 46 years old, he decided that it was time to start thinking about retirement – both from the police force, and as Nite Owl.

5) He formally retired in May, 1962, and kept in touch with Sally over the years.

6) Hollis was contacted by a fan asking his permission to use the name Nite Owl as a successor in crime fighting. After visiting the stranger’s house and seeing the technology that was to be used, Hollis said yes.

WTF? Moment: Having Under The Hood published in 1962 gives us a great snapshot of how Hollis saw the world up to that point, but why couldn’t there have been something like an addendum for the later part of that decade and into the seventies? I wonder if his opinion of Dr. Manhattan changed after Apollo 11 landed on the moon, or if he re-evaluated his view of The Comedian after Kennedy’s assassination.