Masked adventurer Mothman being sectioned for admittance to a mental institution in Maine - 1953.
Mothman was the fourth masked adventurer to spawn, and was one of the eight members of the Minutemen. His real name was Byron Lewis, only mentioned by Sally Jupiter, who said "That makes just three of us Minutemen left now. Me, Hollis Mason, and poor Byron Lewis, in the bughouse in Maine."
Biography
Mothman originally came from Connecticut, according to Hollis Mason's autobiography Under the Hood. In 1939, a little after news of the Silhouette, there were reports of a man dressed like a moth who could glide through the air.
During the '50s, as Mason later mentions, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee forced all active costumed vigilantes to reveal themselves to one of their representatives. Due to left-wing friends that Mothman had cultivated while a student, his clearance was considerably more difficult than his companions. He was eventually cleared, but Mason describes the investigations as both lengthy and ruthless.
Byron in the 60s
Mason speculates that the pressure of this meeting may have prompted to his future drinking problem, but Laurence Schexnayder points out the stem of his harder drinking being after the death of Dollar Bill. After a long bout of drinking
Watchmen Portraits - Mothman
Mothman had a complete mental breakdown, and in 1962 he was admitted into a mental institution that Rorschach reveals is in Maine.
Appearance
- "Me, I hope we keep out of it. Just thinking about war, it scares me..."
- ~Mothman
With the use of the wings attached to his costume, he is the only masked adventurer who has the ability to glide through the air.
Mothman wears an expressively gaudy costume themed like a moth. Although most is gray, he has a large letter "M" across his chest in bold red, as well as a red belt with a gold star and two antennas attached to his forehead. The most pronounced of his accessories are the two considerably large, bright yellow wings that supposedly flap when he is scared or possibly when he is nervous as well.