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Detective Angela Abar a.k.a. Sister Night is a main character and main protagonist in HBO's Watchmen.

Biography

Angela Abar was born in Saigon, Vietnam to parents Marcus Abar and Elise Abar. Marcus was the son of Will Reeves and June Abar, two African-Americans who were from Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma and survived the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre. Angela's grandfather, Will, would in the 1940s become a police officer and due to the racial discrimination experienced from his fellow officers and citizens (many of whom part of the KKK) would become a masked crime fighter "Hooded Justice" who would inspire superheroes to emerge and combat crime in the United States. This included the first generation of the Minutemen led by Captain Metropolis and the second generation of the Crimebusters. Angela would not learn of her superhero legacy until becoming a grown adult.

Angela's father Marcus was born in Harlem, New York City where Will and June lived during his years as an officer and crime fighter. However, Marcus would later be taken from New York back to Tulsa by June after Will Reeves' double life fighting crime as the vigilante Hooded Justice took a heavy toll on the family. Will was thus estranged from the family, and remained in Harlem and never spoken of again.

Marcus would grow up in Tulsa and later enlist in the United States military when war broke out with Vietnam in the 1960s. This was against the wishes of June, who vowed that she would never speak to him again. When Doctor Manhattan, the godlike superhero, helped ensure the defeat of Vietnam and a US victory, Marcus stayed in the country as it slowly transitioned from being a territory into a U.S. state. He would marry his wife Elise, also an African-American, in Vietnam; and the two would later have their child Angela Abar born in Saigon, two years before Vietnam was admitted into the Union as a State.

As a young child, Angela would attempt to rent movies that were too mature for her age. On one fateful day she would pick the blackxploitation movie "Sister Night" to watch, and brought it to show her father. Marcus told her to return it and explained that people who wore masks were dangerous and to be feared. Angela walked off to return the movie, when she spotted a Vietnamese puppeteer hand a man on a bicycle a backpack before he went over towards a group of US Army Forces men. The backpack had a bomb in it which detonated, killing the Americans and also both of Angela's parents who were nearby. This was all witnessed by the young Angela, who was knocked down by the blast.

Later on at some point, Angela spoke of the incident on "VVN" - a Vietnamese-American News Network. This testimony helped Vietnamese police track down the terrorist responsible.

Angela would later be taken in with other orphans, and was the only black child - and only one of American heritage - amongst them. A short time after the incident, Angela was taken out of the orphanage to speak to Saigon Police Department officers Jan and Roy who needed Angela to identify the bomber. Angela told them he was the man - recognizing him as the puppeteer - and then asked if she could stay and listen as he was executed. Officer Jan saw that Angela was a strong willed girl and handed her a Saigon Police Badge and told Angela to come find her when she got older. It was this moment - as Angela recalled during her Nostalgia treatment many years later - that sparked her to become a police officer. Angela would hold onto the badge as a memento alongside the Sister Night VHS tape.

Some time later after this, Angela Abar would be met by an elderly African-American woman at the girls home. This woman revealed to the young Angela that she was in fact Marcus' mother and Angela's grandmother, June Abar, who was still alive and whom Angela didn't know of. June would bring Angela to a restaurant where she revealed that she and Marcus were estranged due to his enlisting in the US Army. Marcus stayed in Vietnam after the war ended and at this point lost contact with June and never informed her that he had married or had a child. This is why June took so long to come for Angela, due to receiving a letter in the mail of his death. They also talked about Angela's interests to which she showed June the Sister Night VHS. Angela mentioned to her grandmother that Marcus disproved of the movie due to Sister Night wearing a mask and his belief that those in masks were dangerous. This prompted June to tell her that Marcus had a bad attitude toward masks due to a bad experience with someone in a mask. Angela would learn much later this was referring to her grandfather, Hooded Justice, finding his son dressing in his costume and applying white face paint over his eyes.

It was then June noted that Angela was fond of the movie due to a lack of African American representation in local media and environment and thus told Angela of her intentions to take her back home to Tulsa, where she and her grandfather (whom she chose not to mention due to long separating from him) were originally from. While entering a cab presumably to the airport to get back to the US, June began to have a heart attack and died on the spot. Angela watched her grandmother die and thus was left an orphan once again and remained in Vietnam.

Becoming a Police Officer

After graduating from Anh Linh High School in 1994, Abar remained in Vietnam and decided to become a police officer for the Saigon Police Department.

On December 19, 2009, Angela Abar would encounter Calvin "Cal" Jelani, an African-American who was in a confused and dazed state wandering Bom Laird Plaza. From an indention on his forehead, he was noted to likely have been in an accident. Angela took an interest in Calvin and brought him to Rampart Memorial Hospital to be seen. He was noted to have had memory loss and trouble speaking leading Angela to speak on his behalf. She also looked into his background and found he was an unemployed worker for Pyramid Industries.

This incident and Calvin's identity crisis would later be revealed as a ruse as Calvin was actually the living godlike superhero Doctor Manhattan, returned from Mars, living as a human being.

It would be after meeting Cal that Angela would grow to love and then marry him. Calvin would out of this love for Angela take on her surname, Abar. At some point prior to 2016, Angela and Calvin would leave Saigon and move to Tulsa, Oklahoma, likely due to Angela's family having ties there. As a descendant of those affected by the Tulsa Massacre in 1921 (both Will Reeves and June Abar) Angela was one of many African-Americans who was granted President Robert Redford's Reparations - via a form of tax exemption - which enabled both Angela and Calvin to build up their income alongside other African-Americans to rebuild their middle class.

As a police officer in Tulsa, Angela would become partner's with Officer Doyle who had a wife and three children. Angela and Doyle were close friends with Angela being familiar with his kids. Angela was also respectful of but not close friends of Tulsa Chief of Police Judd Crawford.

On December 24, 2016, Angela and Calvin were attacked in their home by members of the Seventh Kavalry, as were other members of Tulsa P.D. (an event that would be known as "The White Night"). Angela killed one of her attackers and was shot in the stomach by the other. She awoke in a hospital where she'd been recovering for three days. Chief Judd Crawford spoke to Angela when she awoke and revealed that all Tulsa Police officers were attacked in their homes by men in Rorschach masks, most officers being murdered. Her partner, Doyle, was also murdered along with his wife on the same night. But their children survived thanks to the efforts of the eldest child Topher. Angela would vow revenge on the Seventh Kavalry to Judd to which Judd responded that the Police force was over due to the survivors all mostly resigning. Angela told Judd she wouldn't resign and would remain an officer to which Judd accepted and agreed to stay as Chief of Police.

The Tulsa Police Department after this incident and with the help of Senator Joe Keene Jr. would implement a new form of policing. In which Police Officers would wear masks to hide and protect their identities. Alongside other officers, Angela Abar would done a mask and become "Sister Night" - in honor of the movie she revered as a child - to resume working for Tulsa P.D. and continue fighting the Seventh Kavalry. Publicly, Angela Abar would state that she resigned from the Tulsa P. D. due to the White Night but secretly continue her work as a Detective. As a cover story, she would own and operate the Vietnamese Bakery shop "Milk & Hanoi", which always was "opening soon".

Powers and abilities

Peak Physical Condition: Angela is an ordinary human being with no superpowers but is a skilled fighter and combatant. She has demonstrated the ability to fight and kill men much stronger than her along with surviving a gunshot to her abdomen on the White Night.

Master Martial Artist: Due to years of working in law enforcement, Angela is a master martial artist and has demonstrated immense fighting prowess in combating the Seventh Kavalry. Angela demonstrates an eclectic fighting style consisting of precise strikes, including punches and kicks, along with grappling techniques like throws, sweeps and takedowns to disable her opponents. Very much like her grandfather, Will Reeves, her skills are amplified by her rage as during the raid on Nixonville she not only disarmed a violent civilian of his bat, but proceeded to take him to the ground and beat the man bloody with her fists.

Expert Acrobat: Angela Abar is shown to have great athleticism as shown when fighting members of the Seventh Kavalry during a raid on Nixonville and during an operation to apprehend Kavalrymen building a dirty bomb. She is capable of cartwheels and spinning kicks and jumps, which is impressive even for ordinary humans.

Police Training: Due to being a police officer in Saigon for many years, Angela has much experience and had standard police training. Angela is also shown proficient with firearms ranging from military grade machine guns and handguns. She is also capable of improvising weapons as shown when she brandishes a kitchen knife when attacked by the Kavalry in her home.As Sister Night, Angela wields a rosary weapon and firearms. She uses the rosary beads to tie up her opponents and as throwing weapons or if need be to choke them out.

Skilled Detective/Deceiver: Angela is also a skilled detective and a skilled actress. In Episode 2, Angela tricks Will Reeves into drinking a cup of coffee in order to gather information from his DNA. In the same episode, Angela fakes fainting from stress at Judd Crawford's funeral in order to investigate and find any secrets in his home.

Physical appearance

Angela Abar is short, with her FBI file listing her height at 5'-3'; African-American woman who is dark of skin and has naturally curly hair. The FBI profile seen in She Was Killed by Space Junk states she weighs 120 pounds. Her eyes are also hazel. As a civilian her outfits consist of ordinary fashion, such as dresses, jeans, and a variety of tops. In It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice, Angela wears a blue top vest with white flowers, that may be of Vietnamese fashion as a nod to her birth in Vietnam.

As Sister Night, Angela dresses in a very similar fashion to "Sister Night" of the blaxploitation film she cherished as a child. However she wears a black hood - likely part of the black longcoat - which gives her the appearance of a nun. She wears a white shirt, black trousers, and long black boots with heels. Her eyes are concealed by black spray paint and mouth hidden by a black mask. Her Tulsa Police Badge is worn on the side of her belt.

Personality

Angela is a warm mother towards her adoptive children and a loving wife to Cal Abar. She views her children as her own and has a strong bond with Topher, who had to grow up fast and with whom Angela is more transparent. Aside from the trio being the children of her former partner Doyle, Angela likely cares for them greatly due to having tried becoming a mother before the White Night attack.

Cal and Angela are shown to be greatly in love with each other. They are also quite openly sexual with one another, having an active sex life. In a flashback to the White Night in "Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship", Angela is shown to have been in the process of seducing Cal before they were attacked. In It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice, after having dinner with the Crawfords and their children, Angela and Calvin have missionary intercorse in their bedroom closet, with Angela being held up by Calvin as he stands before her, before they are interrupted by a phone call. Later on Angela would tease Cal to meet her back in the closet for sex after he helped cover for her from Agent Blake.

Angela also shares all of her secrets with Cal such as the truth about Judd Crawford, meeting Will Reeves, and the supposed conspiracy in Tulsa. Cal is also loyal to Angela as shown in "If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own", where he reveals he lied to Agent Blake and didn't tell her what really happened the night of Judd's murder. They are both open and honest in their communication and appear to speak on a regular basis of their thoughts and feelings.

On the job, Angela is a cold, efficient Police Officer. Her skill in hunting down members of the Seventh Kavalry could be compared to a hound or tracker dog. Due to the events of the White Night, Angela has a hatred for all racists and the Seventh Cavalry in particular. Chief Judd Crawford even withholds informing Angela of a Kavalry shooting of a Police Officer due to this. When receiving the Little Big Horn the day afterwards, Angela immediately arrests a suspected Kavalry member from Nixonville without due process and later brutally beats him for information on their hideout.

Angela has a good relationship with her fellow officers. She looked up to Chief Judd Crawford and the two are casual friends, even having family dinner with his wife and her family. His death and the secrets he may have held as both a Klansman and Seventh Kavalry leader devastate Angela. She is on good terms with her fellow Tulsa Vigilantes including Wade Tillman a.k.a Looking Glass. Outside of work, she and Wade are shown to be friends, with Angela knowing where Wade lives as well as his personal life.

Angela Abar's life parallels her grandfather Will Reeves' life and struggles somewhat. They both share similar traumas, including the loss and murder of their parents, their hard upbringings which leads to their becoming of Officers of the law, to then further trauma inflicted at the hands of White Supremacists which leads to their both becoming of masked vigilantes. Startlingly, Angela Abar followed this similar path to her grandfather - even down to wearing a hooded costume and painting over her eyes - without ever having known of or meeting him.

Killed Victims

Appearances

TV series

Gallery

Trivia

  • Originally Angela's name was given as Angela Abraham. [2] Her surname changed to Abar during the creative process.
  • According to Damon Lindelof, Angela Abar was written for actress Regina King who was sent a script very early in development. Regina King responded in king agreeing to the part.
  • According to the Watchmen Podcast, "Sister Night" / Angela Abar was a character Damon Lindelof conceived as part of an original superhero story which focused on race relations and America's brutal history with them (inspired by real life incidents of fear and racial trauma by far right supporters in years such as 2016).
  • Interestingly, Sister Night's name may be a reference to "Brother Night", a concept by original Watchmen Author Alan Moore. This concept was for a masked vigilante who was African-American and who was connected to voodoo and which looked greatly similar to the design of Hooded Justice.
  • Angela doning a costume consisting mostly of black colors, holding a black and white system of morality, and a brutal approach to fighting criminals including the Seventh Kavalry, shares a lot of parallels with the famed superhero Batman. Like Batman as well, Angela lost both of her parents at a young age leaving her an orphan and - speculated by Agent Laurie Blake - wears a mask as a costumed crime fighter to "hide herself from the pain" which is long speculated to be Batman's reasons for fighting crime dressed as a Bat.
    • Also like Batman, Angela Abar has a unique black painted car specifically for use as her alter ego similar to the famous Batmobile.
    • Alongside this, Angela holds parallels with Watchmen's own commentary on Batman: Rorschach. From black and white morality to trauma experienced as a youth leading them onto the path of vigilantism. However Angela and Rorschach greatly differ from there (Rorschach being openly right wing) with Angela even being an enemy of the Rorschach inspired terrorist-cult the Seventh Kavalry.
  • Angela also has some connections to the hero Superman. Sharing alongside him being an orphaned child as well as having a loose connection with her ancestral home (Tulsa for Angela, Krypton for Superman).
  • Angela's surname - Abar - could be a reference to the 1977 blaxploitation movie "Abar, the First Black Superman", further connecting Angela to Superman like her grandfather.
  • The casting breakdown described her as the following:
Angela Abraham: African-American female cop. Independent and intelligent, she’s also a realist. She’s married to Cal, with whom she has a daughter and is fiercely protective of them both.
— Casting breakdown[3]
  • In "She Was Killed by Space Junk", the file that FBI has on Angela reveals several things;
    • She has no middle name.
    • Attended Anh Linh High School[1]
    • They know she operates as Sister Night
    • That she's the owner of Milk and Hanoi Bakery, which has yet to open.
    • Her Social Security Number is listed as: 990-10-44231.[1]
    • Listed as currently active.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Little Fear of Lightning." Damon Lindelof, Carly Wray (writer) & Steph Green (director). Watchmen. HBO. November 17, 2019. No. 5, season 1 FBI Database slide.
  2. "It's time. @NY_Comic_Con" -Twitter
  3. Eric Joseph (April 26, 2018). Character Breakdowns For HBO’s Watchmen Aren’t What We Expected (website). We Got This Covered. Retrieved on December 2, 2019.


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ve Watchmen characters
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Crimebusters Captain MetropolisDoctor ManhattanRorschachThe ComedianOzymandiasNite Owl IISilk Spectre II
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Partners & family of masked adventurers

Adrian Veidt: Ingrid Renata Veidt
Angela Abar: Cal AbarEmma AbarTopher AbarMarcus AbarRuth RobesonO.B. Williams
Eddie Blake: Vietnamese Woman
Hollis Mason: Hollis Wordsworth MasonLiantha Mason
Jon Osterman: Inge Osterman
Laurie Juspeczyk/Sally Jupiter: Bella JuspeczykLaurence Schexnayder
Nelson Gardner: Norbert Veldon
Reggie Long: Gloria LongMalcolm Long
Ursula Zandt: Blanche ZandtGretchen Slovak
Walter Kovacs: Peter Joseph KovacsSylvia Kovacs

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Notable others BernardBernieLady TrieuWill ReevesMs. CrookshanksMr. PhillipsBian My
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Celebrities Edmund TaylorIrwinJanet SmithJeremy MillerRed D'Eath
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