Sally Jupiter

From Watchmen Wiki

Sally Juspeczyk
Alias	Silk Spectre
Born	1920
Spouse(s)	Laurence Schexnayder (1947 - 1956)
Actor	Carla Gugino

Sally Jupiter (1920 - ), born Sally Juspeczyk was the first woman to hold the title of the Silk Spectre. Her daughter, Laurie Juspeczyk, being the second.

Biography

Born Sally Juspeczyk (changed to hide her Polish ancestry) in 1920, the first Silk Spectre was a runaway and former waitress and burlesque dancer who entered into action as an adventurer sometime around 1938 when she was only 18 years old. In her time, she was a sex symbol whom villains and criminals didn't really mind getting caught by.

She was said to have been an action heroine version of a pin-up girl and, even in her old age, she seemed proud of her sex symbol status, apparently enjoying male attention as indicated by her career as a dancer. However, she seems to have some serious self-esteem issues related to this quirk considering she felt responsible for the Comedian assaulting her and her pleased reaction to learning of a Tijuana bible that was based on her, much to her daughter's disapproval of it being highly demeaning of her.

She was soon invited by Captain Metropolis to join the Minutemen, a group of costumed heroes. On October 2nd, 1940, after a meeting of the Minutemen, she was sexually assaulted by Edward Blake, alias The Comedian. He was stopped by fellow Minuteman Hooded Justice, who gave him a vicious beating. The event would have a profound impact on Sally's life; her agent, Laurence Schexnayder, persuaded her not to press charges against the Comedian for fear of damaging the group's image. More celebrity than vigilante, Silk Spectre provided a cover for Hooded Justice's homosexuality by being his glamorous girlfriend (possibly her way of thanking him for intervening when the Comedian attacked her). In an interview, she admitted that she didn't really like The Silhouette, a.k.a. Ursula Vandt, who was constantly pestering her about her Polish heritage, but later expressed regret that she was expelled from the group simply because she was a lesbian, especially since there were men on the team who were gay (though she did not identify them).

In 1947 Sally retired from crime-fighting and married her agent, Laurence Schexnayder, while keeping in touch with Hollis Mason (the first Nite Owl) and Nelson Gardner (Captain Metropolis). In 1949 she gave birth to her daughter Laurel Jane, commonly known as Laurie. It was known to both parents that Laurie was not Laurence's child, but the Comedian's, from a second encounter, and this led to conflict in the family, leading the couple to divorce in 1956. While not explicitly stated, it is implied that Sally's second sexual encounter with the Comedian was consensual, and that, despite it all, she did have feelings for him. As for Laurie, she came to accept that her mother's incomprehensible affair with her would-be rapist is something she could never understand, but it's something too complicated to condemn her mother about.   Her deep devotion to her flawed mother is exemplified by Laurie's insistence on using their real surname of Juspeczyk and not the assumed Jupiter.

Of all the original Minutemen members, Sally was undoubtedly the most financially savvy. She stated in a magazine interview that her venture as a costumed heroine was motivated almost entirely by money, and she saw the entire act as merely a stepping stone to a lucrative career as a film star. Although her hoped-for Hollywood career never materialized, she accumulated enough money from modeling to purchase a luxurious house, and after her retirement, was able to move to an upscale retirement community in California and maintain an upper-class lifestyle. Her prosperity is shown in contrast to Hollis Mason's working-class circumstances in a phone conversation between them in Chapter 8 of the comic.

Film version

Carla Gugino plays Silk Spectre in the film.

Watchmen Heroes
Minutemen
Captain Metropolis • Hooded Justice • Nite Owl I • The Comedian • Silk Spectre I • Dollar Bill • Mothman • Silhouette
Crimebusters
Captain Metropolis • Doctor Manhattan • Rorschach • The Comedian • Ozymandias • Nite Owl II • Silk Spectre II