Silk Spectre

Silk Spectre's History

The first Silk Spectre was former frizzy haired red head waitress and burlesque dancer Sally Jupiter (her real last name was Juspeczyk; she wished to hide her Polish heritage), who entered action sometime around 1938 when she was only 18 years old. In her time, she was a sex symbol who villains and criminals didn't really mind getting caught by. She was basically 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 and her reaction to learning of a Tijuana bible that was based on her, much to her daughter's disapproval.

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, who was about three years younger than her and was apparently prone to flirting with her before the incident. He was stopped by fellow Minuteman Hooded Justice, who gave him a vicious beating, but 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 Zandt, 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 crimefighting and married her agent, Laurence Schexnayder, while keeping in touch with Hollis Mason (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.