Batman is arguably the world’s greatest superhero and one of the most profitable. As a result, many characters have been created with him as inspiration. One of those characters is another DC character in the form of Nite Owl II AKA Daniel Dreiberg from the Watchmen universe.
Originally created to be a parody of the second Blue Beetle, fans will agree that there are many more similarities between him and Batman. Especially if one were to just compare Batman to the film version of the character. While it’s true, they share many traits with each other but they also display many differences.
Alike: Awesome Vehicles
Batman and the Batmobile are as iconic as James Bond and the Aston Martin DB5. Sure, there are other vehicles such as the Batwing, the Batcycle, and even a Batboat but nothing compares to his famous car.
Nite Owl has something similar: an egg-shaped airship known as Archimedes or Archie for short. With a front resembling the face of an owl, Archie is equipped with tons of weapons and gadgets. It can travel through water and has carried Nite Owl and his companions across many adventures.
Unlike: No Supervillains
Batman has dealt with plenty of human villains in the past and they provide him with many troubles. However, Batman also lives in a universe heavily populated by metahumans. Some of them fit into his rogue gallery including Clayface, Bane, and Poison Ivy.
Nite Owl on the other hand exists in a more realistic take on superheroes. So while he has faced masked villains before, there are no metahuman villains except technically for Dr. Manhattan.
Alike: Unlucky With Romance
Batman has terrible luck with the women he attracts; Catwoman, Talia Al Ghul, and even Harley Quinn. One of the few times Batman found a good woman was in the Justice League animated shows with Wonder Woman. Nite Owl, unfortunately, did not fare better in his universe.
First, he lusted for Laurie Jupiter, the second Silk Spectre but she ended up with Dr. Manhattan. Next, he fell in love with a villainess known as Midnight Lady and even tried to turn her good but much like with Catwoman, it ends badly. Finally, he gets Laurie but it turns out she’s far from a likable character in either the comic or film version.
Unlike: No Sidekicks
Most superheroes are lucky to have one or two sidekicks come into their lives. Batman has had so many that he has what many fans refer to as the Bat-Family. A multitude of Robins, several Batgirls, a Nightwing, Batwoman, The Signal, Batwing, and more.
Nite Owl on the other hand is alone which is a big theme about him. Dan never had a Robin equivalent in his world and after masks were outlawed, he became even more lonely. As much as Nite Owl is Rorschach’s only friend, Rorschach is actually his only friend. That’s why they were perfect partners in fighting crime.
Alike: Lair Under House
Whether it’s a mansion on the outskirts of Gotham City or a small complex in the middle of New York City; every famous vigilante hero needs a secret lair underneath their home. It should practically be in the job requirements of crime-fighting.
Batman has the iconic Batcave while Nite Owl has his own lair built underneath his apartment. It even has a fancy exit for the aforementioned Archie to fly out of. There’s even a fancy chamber designed to hold his suits.
Unlike: More Emotional
While Batman is not emotionless, he certainly keeps his feelings locked up. Instead, he mostly remains in a constant balance between stoic and extremely angry. This allows him to stay focused on his mission to bring justice to Gotham City.
Meanwhile, Daniel Dreiberg is much more friendly and emotional than Batman. Dan shows kindness to Rorschach, he falls rather easily for Silk Spectre, and in the film version, Dan shows anguish and anger when his only friend Rorschach is killed.
Alike: Nocturnal Animal Theme
This is a pretty obvious one, Bruce Wayne uses the moniker of a bat to instill fear into the hearts of criminals. Everything of his is bat-related: Batsuit, Batmobile, Batcomputer, and even shark repellent bat-spray.
This is definitely the same for Daniel Dreiberg. As mentioned, his ship is named after a famous fictional owl. He dresses like an owl, he has moon-shaped gadgets and various other things based on owls and birds. Dan’s inspiration was much simpler: he loved birds and avionics and was a huge fan of the original Nite Owl.
Unlike: Very Different Origins
Everyone knows the origin story of Batman: Bruce Wayne lost his parents to a random act of crime when he was just a child. The trauma created a new identity that emerged over time after years of training and he became Batman.
Daniel Dreiberg on the other hand did not have as much trauma. Daniel did not want to care about the family business of banking; he loved the original Nite Owl so much that he proved himself worthy of carrying on the name. Using his brains and money, he created a bigger and better Nite Owl.
Alike: Lots Of Wonderful Toys
Both of these characters are geniuses which resulted in both of them coming up with their own gadgets. A common misconception is that Batman has Alfred and Lucius Fox create all of his technology and vehicles but that’s not true. Batman, especially in the beginning, creates most of his own gadgets.
Daniel Dreiberg does exactly the same. He uses his family’s wealth and devotes most of it to his Nite Owl tech and crusades. They both even have special suits for certain occasions along with utility belts that never run out of space. Also, like Batman, he uses his intelligence to be an amazing detective and even helps in discovering the identity of “the mask killer.”
Unlike: Dan Is A Boy Scout
Batman is a symbol of justice that will do anything to protect his city and even the world if he needs to. However, he definitely is not your traditional superhero: he is, without a doubt, psychotic since he has a strange personality disorder. His pursuit of justice borderlines on mania and he even brings children into his war.
Nite Owl on the other hand always cares about others, tries his best to keep everyone in the right direction, and provided a friendship to someone who didn’t have any. While he’s no saint, Daniel Dreiberg definitely fits the archetype of a superhero even in dark times.
