Nite Owl II

Nite Owl II's History

Born in 1945, Daniel Dreiberg relied more upon technical wizardry than toughness, which set him apart from his fellow costumed adventurers. Still, he has demonstrated more than adequate skills when defending himself. All of his gadgets and costumes are based on an owl theme. He uses an owl-shaped flying vehicle nicknamed "Archie" (Archimedes, after Merlin's owl), equipped with a variety of offensive and defensive devices.

Dreiberg's father was a banker who left him a large inheritance, which he used to design and build his crime-fighting gear. Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, was his hero and when he retired, Dan wrote to Mason, asking if he could carry on his name. Upon looking at his gear, Mason was too impressed to refuse him, so Dan started out in the 1960s. From then on, the two men became friends, and met every Saturday.

In 1965, Dreiberg (as Nite Owl) successfully teamed up with fellow costumed adventurer Rorschach to take on organized crime. Having already come to believe that his expensive activities were accomplishing little, Dreiberg retired after the passing of the Keene Act on August 3, 1977, although in 1985 (when the story takes place) he seems to regret his decision to give up crime fighting. Rorschach would later say regarding his retirement, "No staying power." Dreiberg mastered in aeronautics and zoology at Harvard University, contributing scholarly articles to ornithological journals after his retirement in 1977.