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===Watchmen (TV series)=== |
===Watchmen (TV series)=== |
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| − | + | Laurie and [[Dan Dreiberg]] had broken up in the 1990s, as he desired children while she wished to keep fighting crime, but kept working together, with Laurie assuming the identity of '''The Comedienne''' in honor of her late father, [[Eddie Blake]]. After foiling the Oklahoma City bombing, she and Dreiberg were arrested by the FBI; Dreiberg refused to cooperate, but Laurie was cooperative as she confessed the truth about how [[Rorschach]] died, [[Doctor Manhattan]] leaving the planet, and the details about [[Adrian Veidt|Adrian Veidt's]] [[Alien Monster|hoax]]. Once the FBI learned the truth about the events of November 2, 1985, the federal government helped maintain the cover-up. Laurie's cooperation allowed her to join the Bureau and utilize her lifelong expertise to help the government hunt down the new wave of costumed vigilantes operating in violation of the [[Keene Act]]. At the beginning of the series, set 34 years after the events of the novel, she is a member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force and now goes by Laurie Blake, her father’s surname. |
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| + | After the murder of [[Tulsa]] chief of police [[Judd Crawford]], Laurie and her coworker Agent [[Dale Petey]] are sent to Tulsa at the behest of Senator [[Joe Keene]], who promises to pardon Dreiberg if he becomes the next President of the United States. Attending Judd's funeral, Laurie kills a member of the white supremacist militia the [[Seventh Kavalry]] who attempts to take Keene Jr. hostage. Tensions rise between Laurie and Judd's coworker Detective [[Angela Abar]], who operates under the identity Sister Night. Suspecting Angela's knowledge of events, Laurie bugs the desk of Angela's friend Detective [[Wade Tillman]]/Looking Glass. After recording Angela admitting to Wade that her grandfather, [[Will Reeves]], was Judd's murderer, Laurie arrests Angela. Angela is first able to swallow a bottle of Nostalgia (illegal memory pills) belonging to Will; while hallucinating Will's memories, Angela reveals that Will is the true identity of [[Hooded Justice]], and in the 1930s had investigated a KKK plot called [[Cyclops]] that hypnotised African Americans into attacking each other. Will had stolen the hypnotism technology and used it to make Judd kill himself, having learned he was a member of the Seventh Kavalry. Laurie confronts Judd's widow [[Jane Crawford]], who reveals herself to also be part of the Kavalry and takes Laurie captive. Laurie is bought to Keene, the leader of Kavalry, who declares that they intend to take Doctor Manhattan's powers to enforce white supremacy. Manhattan (who had been living as a human in the guise of Angela's husband Cal) is captured, but it is revealed that the Kavalry had been manipulated by [[Lady Trieu]], a Vietnamese-American billionare who is secretly Adrian Veidt's daughter, to capture Manhattan so her involvement would not be suspected. As Trieu prepares to take Manhattan's powers, Manhattan teleports Laurie, Veidt, and Wade (who had infiltrated the Kavalry) to [[Karnak]]. Although too late to save Manhattan, Veidt manufactures another squid attack that kills Trieu before Manhattan's powers can be transferred to her body. In the aftermath, Laurie arrests Veidt for the original squid attack; when he protests, Wade knocks him out and the two drag him aboard Dreiberg's old ship ''[[Archimedes]]'' to return to civilisation. It is revealed by the supplementary resource ''Peteypedia'' that Laurie returns safely to America and is debriefed in secret. |
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| − | In 2019, Laurie, now going by Laurie Blake, is working as an FBI agent with the [[Anti-Vigilante Task Force]]. She accepts to investigate the murder of Tulsa police chief [[Judd Crawford]] after US Senator [[Joe Keene]] promises to pardon her lover Dan Dreiberg if he becomes the next President of the United States, and she travels to the Oklahoman city to solve this case. However, she gets dragged into a much more [[Seventh Kavalry|sinister]] [[Cyclops|conspiracy]]. |
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==Physical appearance== |
==Physical appearance== |
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Revision as of 01:15, 18 April 2020
Laurel Jane "Laurie" Juspeczyk is the daughter of Sally Jupiter, the first Silk Spectre, and Eddie Blake, the Comedian. Laurie's mother apparently wanted her to follow in her footsteps and so she fought crime for ten years under the moniker of Silk Spectre II before the Keene Act banned vigilantes.
After the events that transpired in 1985, Laurie adopted the moniker of Comedienne, paying homage to her father.
Biography
Early life
Laurie Juspeczyk was born in 1949 and was raised by her mother and her husband, Laurence Schexnayder; after her birth, problems in the couple's marriage began.[1]
Laurie's first memory ever was a night of 1954 when she caught her mother and her husband Laurence, arguing and fighting over their lives and how they ended up together. In reality, Laurence scolded Sally for having another affair with the Comedian. Growing up, the auburn-haired Laurie knew Laurence was not her real father, and always suspected, incorrectly, that her real father was Hooded Justice likely because they were, supposedly, dating during the 1940s.
Photograph from Laurie's 6th birthday
Since when she was little, Laurie wanted to work with animals, however, Sally pushed her into the "family business" of crime-fighting. She had bought her GI Joe with spare uniforms.[2] Laurie never held much interest in becoming her mother's successor but went along with Sally's wishes anyway.[3][2] She spent much of her childhood by working out in the gym, alone.[2]
By 1962 Laurie was living with her family in a Los Angeles villa where "Uncle Hollis" would pay them a visit, like when he came to discuss the book he was writing. This ignited Sally's motivations for Laurie's future. In 1966, she acted like an agent for her daughter, picking out her revealing costume. Sally's new passion wore thin on Laurie and soon she ran away from home with her boyfriend. The pair moved in with a group of artists in San Francisco, and Juspeczyk began to engage in independent vigilante activities. She became involved in investigating a drug ring that was pushing a mind-controlling version of LSD on unsuspecting hippies. When Laurie's boyfriend was poisoned by this drug during a party, she doubled her efforts and tracked down the dealer Gurustein. After putting the hurt on him, Laurie was able to discover the location of his boss, the Chairman, and then put an end to their plan despite the Chairman escaping.[4]
Shortly after this, Laurie's boyfriend suddenly left her to join the Army, citing his fear about her lifestyle as the reason. After he leaves, her home is attacked by the Chairman and his minions. After dealing with the minions, Laurie confronted the Chairman. He nearly beat her until she kicked him in the neck, embedding her boot heel in his throat. Gasping for breath, the Chairman stumbled out of the house and into street where he was hit by a bus, killing him.[5]
Crimebusters
Unable to remain in San Francisco, Laurie returned home to her mother. Sally decided that it was time to leave California and moved herself and Laurie back to New York City, just in time for Laurie to make her official debut as the youngest member of the ill-fated "Crimebusters". Laurie entered the home of Captain Metropolis while Sally waited outside in a limousine for her to finish. During the meeting, young Laurie exchanged awkward smiles with the Nite Owl and long glances with the superhero Doctor Manhattan, causing anger to his companion, Janey Slater.[6][7]
After the meeting broke up, Laurie met the Comedian outside, who commented and complimented her for being the spitting image of her mother, but their conversation was broken up quickly by an angry Sally. Laurie noted that the Comedian looked sad as he watched them drive away, and she felt sorry for him. The following car ride home was when Sally told her daughter of her history with the Comedian (but did not tell her that the Comedian was her father). Disgusted and deeply saddened for her mother's pain, Laurie never forgave the Comedian for his actions, though it seems that as time passed, and in a complicated way, Sally was able to come to terms with it, even to the point that she was willing to defend the Comedian from Laurie's derogatory remarks after he was murdered.
Shortly after the meeting of the Crimebusters, Laurie met and became involved with Jon Osterman aka Doctor Manhattan. Drawn to him from the moment she first saw him, Laurie worked with Manhattan in some of his various domestic assignments, such as patrolling that May near the Chrysler building. The relationship brought the anger of Slater who left him.[8][7] Her mother did not approve of it, likening Laurie's relationship with Manhattan to being the equivalent of sleeping with an H-bomb.[6]
In 1970, Gila Flats, which was Dr. Manhattan's base, closed down; on Laurie's 20th birthday they moved to their own apartment in Washington. In 1975 Adrian Veidt retired from crime-fighting and Dr. Manhattan took her to his antarctic estate of Karnak where she met and played with Adrian's genetically-engineered lynx, Bubastis, surprised at how technology had advanced.[7]
Semi-retirement
In 1977 they were together to suppress the riots during the police strike of 1977.[6] Laurie tried to hold off the ringleaders outside the White House but she was too slow, and Dr. Manhattan teleported everyone to their homes.[7]
Never exactly happy being a vigilante and not happy with the government taking advantage of 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. However, she kept some contact with Nite Owl (Dan Dreiberg)[7][3]
In 1981 Jon was transferred to Rockefeller Military Research Center and she went with him in order to keep him company in the "Special Talents Quarters". As the place was guarded, Laurie felt they were isolated but without the benefits of privacy, being observed but having nobody to talk to.[7][2]
During that time she tried twice to quit smoking but life there was so unbearable that she failed. As years passed, their relationship became strained, owing to Manhattan's growing disconnection with humanity.[2]
In August 1985 they went to Grand Central Station and bought an issue of Time commemorating Hiroshima week.[7]
Events of Watchmen
When Dr. Manhattan was informed that the Comedian was dead, Laurie was restless all morning.[7] That evening Rorschach came to warn them, but he made her feel uneasy and Jon teleported him away. That night she arranged a meeting with Dan Dreiberg at Rafael's.[3]
During the Comedian's funeral, Jon teleported her to Nepenthe Gardens to visit her mother. At first, she avoided mentioned what happened, but Sally had already read it in the papers. Laurie criticized her mother's stance saying that her laziness is "not a terminal condition" and was also was disgusted seeing an antique Tijuana bible featuring her mother.[7][6]
Laurie eventually left Manhattan and visited Dan. On their way to visit Hollis Mason, they were ambushed by Knot Tops but they fended them off. Laurie opted to spend the night in a hotel and think about her relationship with Jon over.
After Jon teleported to Mars, she had no role in the military center so after giving her a cancer scan,[8] they expelled her and suspended her expense account. Dan bought her a meal at Gunga Diner (not knowing that they were spied by Rorschach posing as a vagrant) and invited her to stay with him.[9]
The two soon became romantically involved but their first encounter was unsuccessful. After midnight, and anticipating World War III, Dreiberg and Laurie decided to don their old costumes and take the owlship, Archie, out. During their flight, they found an apartment building on fire and rescued the inhabitants.[2]
Soon after Laurie and Dan mount the successful escape of Rorshach from Sing Sing penitentiary, Laurie was brought to Mars by Manhattan, where she attempted to convince him to save humanity from impending nuclear war. During their conversation, Laurie finally came to the realization that, to her horror, her father was really the Comedian. Moved by the sheer unlikelihood of two people as different as Sally Jupiter and the Eddie Blake producing a child, and the child being Laurie, Dr. Manhattan realized the miracle and value of human life and agreed to save the planet. The pair returned to Earth, only to find half of New York City destroyed by Adrian Veidt's creature. They teleported to Karnak in Antarctica, where Laurie attempted to shoot Veidt, only to be thwarted by his newfound, and untried, ability to catch bullets. After realizing that Veidt's plan had worked, and that, despite the loss of several million lives, nuclear war had been averted while also uniting the nations of the world, the heroes (with the exception of Rorschach) decided that the plot should be kept secret to serve the greater good. She and Dreiberg found a private room in Veidt's stronghold to reflect on their decision and they settled down to make love. Manhattan later finds them asleep together and smiles at Laurie's newfound love and happiness and walks out of the room to confront Veidt.
Shortly after these events, Laurie and Dan Dreiberg adopted new appearances and identities, now calling themselves Sam and Sandra Hollis, and sporting blonde hair. They visited Sally Jupiter - now living in a retirement home - and Laurie told her mother that she had realized the truth about her father. The issue was put to rest for Laurie, who accepted that the situation between her mother and the Comedian was too complicated, and forgave her. "Sam and Sandra" left soon afterward, indicating that they would continue to adventure, although Laurie expressed the wish for a better superhero identity, a more protective leather outfit, a mask, and a firearm. This parallels the Comedian's change from a gaudy yellow clown suit to paramilitary gear, even the aforementioned firearm.
Watchmen (TV series)
Laurie and Dan Dreiberg had broken up in the 1990s, as he desired children while she wished to keep fighting crime, but kept working together, with Laurie assuming the identity of The Comedienne in honor of her late father, Eddie Blake. After foiling the Oklahoma City bombing, she and Dreiberg were arrested by the FBI; Dreiberg refused to cooperate, but Laurie was cooperative as she confessed the truth about how Rorschach died, Doctor Manhattan leaving the planet, and the details about Adrian Veidt's hoax. Once the FBI learned the truth about the events of November 2, 1985, the federal government helped maintain the cover-up. Laurie's cooperation allowed her to join the Bureau and utilize her lifelong expertise to help the government hunt down the new wave of costumed vigilantes operating in violation of the Keene Act. At the beginning of the series, set 34 years after the events of the novel, she is a member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force and now goes by Laurie Blake, her father’s surname.
After the murder of Tulsa chief of police Judd Crawford, Laurie and her coworker Agent Dale Petey are sent to Tulsa at the behest of Senator Joe Keene, who promises to pardon Dreiberg if he becomes the next President of the United States. Attending Judd's funeral, Laurie kills a member of the white supremacist militia the Seventh Kavalry who attempts to take Keene Jr. hostage. Tensions rise between Laurie and Judd's coworker Detective Angela Abar, who operates under the identity Sister Night. Suspecting Angela's knowledge of events, Laurie bugs the desk of Angela's friend Detective Wade Tillman/Looking Glass. After recording Angela admitting to Wade that her grandfather, Will Reeves, was Judd's murderer, Laurie arrests Angela. Angela is first able to swallow a bottle of Nostalgia (illegal memory pills) belonging to Will; while hallucinating Will's memories, Angela reveals that Will is the true identity of Hooded Justice, and in the 1930s had investigated a KKK plot called Cyclops that hypnotised African Americans into attacking each other. Will had stolen the hypnotism technology and used it to make Judd kill himself, having learned he was a member of the Seventh Kavalry. Laurie confronts Judd's widow Jane Crawford, who reveals herself to also be part of the Kavalry and takes Laurie captive. Laurie is bought to Keene, the leader of Kavalry, who declares that they intend to take Doctor Manhattan's powers to enforce white supremacy. Manhattan (who had been living as a human in the guise of Angela's husband Cal) is captured, but it is revealed that the Kavalry had been manipulated by Lady Trieu, a Vietnamese-American billionare who is secretly Adrian Veidt's daughter, to capture Manhattan so her involvement would not be suspected. As Trieu prepares to take Manhattan's powers, Manhattan teleports Laurie, Veidt, and Wade (who had infiltrated the Kavalry) to Karnak. Although too late to save Manhattan, Veidt manufactures another squid attack that kills Trieu before Manhattan's powers can be transferred to her body. In the aftermath, Laurie arrests Veidt for the original squid attack; when he protests, Wade knocks him out and the two drag him aboard Dreiberg's old ship Archimedes to return to civilisation. It is revealed by the supplementary resource Peteypedia that Laurie returns safely to America and is debriefed in secret.
Physical appearance
Laurie has long brown hair with bangs, brown eyes, fair skin, full lips, and a beauty mark below her right eye. She is 5,8. Laurie is said to look a lot like her mother, although she has brown hair while her mother has auburn hair. Laurie is also noted to be just as beautiful as her mother, if not more. People say that she has a very beautiful smile. She has long graceful legs and quite an athletic figure, due years of martial arts and gymnastics training. Laurie's Silk Spectre costume in the graphic novel is a black bra and thong, covered by a see-through yellow dress. She also has black high heels and a choker necklace with her costume. Her movie outfit lacks the choker and is more revealing, although it sports the same basic colors.
Abilities
- Master Martial Artist: Juspeczyk is an master martial artist. She has trained ever since she was five years old by her mother and several other teachers. She is able to hold her own against several muggers and other foes without being injured.
- Master Acrobat: Juspeczyk is also a incredible gymnast after training all her life. From practicing gymnastics, Laurie has excellent balance. She is able to perform flips and kicks while wearing high heels.
- Master Marksman: Juspeczyk is able to use firearms, as she shot a bullet at Adrian, which would have hit his chest had he not moved his hand in the bullet's path and had it lodged into his palm.
Just like many characters in Watchmen, especially in the film, Laurie is portrayed as having superhuman physical abilities, as she could break bone effortlessly with one strike and send people flying through the air. Laurie easily maneuvered in between multiple knife strikes and defeated several muggers at once. She was unfazed by the strength of opponents much larger than her and could overpower them with little effort. She could jump from a distance of over a dozen feet and perform a combat roll without any harm or weakness. Nite Owl II matched her in strength and fighting abilities, and both of them were surpassed by Adrian Veidt. These extreme physical abilities likely come from unlocking hidden human potential through a lifetime of strict training, as implied by Adrian Veidt who was researching this along with other theoretical sciences.
Character
Laurie Juspeczyk is liberal-thinking and said to be a "modern" woman. Laurie may be proud of her Polish heritage, which could account partly for her insistence to be called by her real last name, but she was not inclined towards crimefighting initially and she seems to have bitterness for the 'Miss Jupiter' christening. She is vocal in her feminist and humanitarian concerns and is quite a conditioned fighter, and at the start of the story is shown to have a strained relationship with her mother, another reason for her to not like the Jupiter name. Driven by the memories of her own experience, Sally tried to keep Laurie from knowing some of the harsher realities of the crime-fighting life; for example, she didn't allow her to read Hollis Mason's autobiography Under the Hood, which included The Comedian's sexual assault on Sally, something Laurie knew nothing of at the time.
Film version
Watchmen Portraits - Silk Spectre II
Malin Akerman plays Laurie in the film. In it, her mother's last name is never mentioned to be "Juspeczyk". (However, Laurie's last name is revealed to be "Juspeczyk" when her biographical information appears after she looks at her hand while wearing Dan's night-vision goggles.) Also, Laurie's suit is somewhat different from the graphic novel. It's tighter, made of latex and includes a pair of thigh-high boots instead of high-heels. Additionally, it lacks the skull choker around her neck.
The manner with which Laurie discovers the identity of her biological father also differs in the film: in the original story, while on Mars with Dr. Manhattan, he unlocks her repressed thoughts that she'd long blocked. In the film, Manhattan touches her head and unlocks that part of her subconscious.
Finally, neither Laurie nor Dan adopts new identities at the end of the film, because they are immune to arrest so long as the authorities believe Dr. Manhattan is still watching over them. Sally visits them at Dan's apartment.
Just like many characters in Watchmen, Laurie is portrayed as having superhuman physical abilities, as she could break bone effortlessly with one strike and send people flying through the air or cause them to flip into the air. She was unfazed by the strength of her opponents and could overpower them with little to no effort. Nite Owl II and The Comedian seemed to match her in strength and fighting abilities, but all of them were surpassed by Adrian Veldt. She also could jump from several feet and perform a combat roll without any harm or weakness.
Appearances
TV series
- "She Was Killed by Space Junk"
- "If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own"
- "Little Fear of Lightning"
- "This Extraordinary Being"
- "An Almost Religious Awe"
- "See How They Fly"
Gallery
.JPG "Nite Owl (Dan).JPG (97 KB)")
.png "Laurie Blake (TV series).png (312 KB)")
_jailbreak.jpg "Nite Owl and Silk Spectre (movie) jailbreak.jpg (176 KB)")
References
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