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precaution : Spoilers ahead forWatchmen
Nite Owl is n’t formally confirmed for HBO ’s newWatchmenTV series , but does he have a star part in the premier sequence anyway ? place in an alternate 2019 , the modish interpretation ofWatchmenis essentially a sequel that comply on from the events of the originalAlan Moore and Dave Gibbonscomic book set in the 1980s . As such , the HBO series equilibrize out a predominantly raw cast lead by Regina King with older versions of familiarWatchmencharacters .
Jean Smart appear as Laurie Blake , the Silk Spectre of the Watchmen vigilante group , Jeremy Irons is almost certainly playing Ozymandias / Adrian Veidt , or at least a clone of him , and Dr. Manhattan makes a abbreviated appearance in the series premiere having turned up on Mars for a Modern construction project . The Comedian andRorschachboth die in the previousWatchmenstory , which will Nite Owl , a.k.a . Dan Dreiberg , as the only major lineament who is still awake , but not confirmed for the new HBO serial .
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However , there ’s a lot of grounds at hand to suggest Nite Owldoesappear inWatchmenand is really Don Johnson ’s Judd Crawford . legion linkup between the two character reference can be draw , but there ’s been no explicit check as of yet . Here ’s why Dan Dreiberg and Judd Crawford could be one and the same .
Who Is Dan Dreiberg AKA Nite Owl In Watchmen?
Dreiberg is the secondWatchmencharacterto take over the Nite Owl mantle , the first being a New York cop by the name of Hollis Mason . After receive Mason ’s permission to continue the Nite Owl legacy , Dreiberg commence fighting crime under the same part . This member of the Watchmen could be study a mixture of superhero characters Blue Beetle and Batman , with a dark suit and no major power , relying only on hand - to - hand fighting skill , gadgetry and intelligence .
Renowned for his strong moral range , Dreiberg is , like most of the other vigilance man , retired at the start of theWatchmencomic books , but soon drawn back into the fray after the death of the Comedian . The original account saw Dreiberg team up with his adept friend , Rorschach , and new erotic love sake , Laurie , to stopOzymandiasfrom triggering a catastrophic event . The chemical group at last fail , and Rorschach is killed for his refusal to swallow the situation . Nite Owl and Silk Spectre , on the other paw , resign themselves to a quieter aliveness together in the wake of the attack .
Evidence Judd Was An Older Nite Owl
The big clue that Judd Crawford is in reality Dan Dreiberg comes during the raid on the white supremacist radical known as the Seventh Kavalry . As several masked racists make off in a small aircraft , Judd and Pirate Jenny give pursuit - in Archie from theWatchmencomics ! Archie , or the Owlship , was Nite Owl ’s flying all - purpose fomite shape like the head of an owl , and is as synonymous with the eccentric as the Batmobile is to Batman . Even during his original retreat , Dreiberg kept Archie safely locked aside close to hand , and it ’s funny that the ship would wind up in the self-possession of Tulsa ’s law chief . Unless , of path , Danisthe police honcho . Further proof of this comes when Judd forcibly takes the ascendancy of Archie from Pirate Jenny , pushing the craft to its limits as if he felt his flying experience could hold launch the day .
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Archie is n’t the only prominent link between Judd and Nite Owl . The Chief ’s situation contains several Easter ballock that all degree to Judd ’s material identity operator beingDan Dreiberg , perhaps the most notable being a transcript of " Under The Hood " lying on his desk . " Under The Hood " is aWatchmenside news report publish alongside the original comic , and is the fabricated autobiography of the first Nite Owl , Hollis Mason . evidently , this oeuvre was a major inspiration to Dreiberg , and could potentially be key reading for any law enforcement functionary permitting the use of masque and vigilantism , but its deliberate arrangement in - shot could be yet another clue to viewer as to Judd ’s true identity .
In a similar vein , the camera also lingers on an old picture of a young boy with a constabulary ship’s officer . While there ’s no setting behind this double , the guidance implies some sort of significance and the first hypothesis that spring to mind is the photo being another testimonial to Hollis Mason . Also in the elbow room is a novelty owl mug , and while admittedly not the big clue in the episode , the reference to Nite Owl is exonerated , deliberately inviting comparisons between theWatchmenhero and Judd .
Another significant link between Crawford and Dreiberg is their various philosophical system . In theWatchmentimeline , vigilantes used to be criminalise , but a chemise in the political landscape means that cops themselves are now wearing masks and work with the like of Sister Night and Red Scare . For a police chieftain to take such a benevolent stance on dissemble heroes , it would certainly help if he used to be one .
Does Judd’s Murder Bring Laurie Blake Into Watchmen?
Trailers for the difference ofWatchmenseason 1 show that Laurie Blake makes her return to the franchise as an FBI agent investigating Judd ’s death . Even assume Blake did join the FBI after retiring as a vigilance man , it ’s quite a concurrence that , of all the potential officeholder that could ’ve been assigned , the former Silk Spectre wander up in Tulsa in the middle of theWatchmenTV show ’s main narrative . Surely its more than dull luck and coincidence bringing Laurie back into the report ?
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If Judd is reveal to be Nite Owl , this would be the perfect need for Laurie to come to town , since her and Dreiberg ended the originalWatchmenstoryas a couple . Although they obviously would ’ve broken up at some point during the intervening years , the murder of an ex-wife - collaborator is bound to pique the interest group of a retired superhero . For this rationality , Laurie might not even be a licit member of the FBI , merely using the badge as screen while she works alone to investigate who killed her former buff . Even if her credentials are legitimate , Laurie in all likelihood would ’ve requested the character personally if she was aware the dupe was actually Dan , and this would provide the eccentric with a more interesting slant than only being the agentive role tasked with looking into a police chief ’s slaying .
Why Judd May NOT Be Nite Owl
There are more than a few obstacles on the path to conclude Judd Crawford and Dan Dreiberg are the same person . first , Judd is be an entirely different lifestyle , with a novel name , a new fan and a fresh line of work . Judd ’s life history is well-to-do enough to excuse - pig is the next best thing to a vigilante - and viewers can assume Dan and Laurie simply broke up . The name change , however , is somewhat more curious - why would Dreiberg go by the name of " Judd Crawford " in the unexampled millennium ? There is precedent for using aliases in theWatchmengraphic novel , with Dan call himself " Sam Hollis " after theOzymandiasincident so as to asseverate namelessness . Perhaps this pseudonym was rumble , and Dreiberg was squeeze to find another . HBO’sWatchmeneven gives a hint as to where Dan might ’ve got divine guidance for the new name - the musicalOklahoma !
Perhaps a more convincing counter - argument is that Judd simply doesn’tfeellikeNite Owl . Dreiberg’sinsecurities and hold personality were prevalent inWatchmen , but Judd is a jaunty , positive honest-to-goodness - timer with a trend for recklessness . Judd is also observably more outgoing - it ’s hard to imagine Nite Owl singe musical numbers around a dinner board . Perhaps it was the cocain .
By far the biggest reason Judd Crawford may not be Nite Owl , however , is the fact that he ’s killed off in installment 1 . hang one of theoriginal Watchmenis certainly a bold and dramatic talking point in time to start the new series with , but the encroachment is only felt if the audience have sex who the character is before the death occurs . let out that Judd is Nite Owl in a later episode will have nowhere near the same level of emotional essence or stupor factor as it would ’ve done if Judd ’s indistinguishability had been reveal before his demise . Consequently , it ’s possible that Judd is a different case altogether , and all the connections to Nite Owl are present solely because he ’s a massive fan of the superhero who somehow managed to pry Archie out of Dreiberg ’s hired man .
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Watchmencontinues with " Martial Feats Of Comanche Horsemanship " October 27th on HBO .
