History
Erika Manson was active as Marionette at some point prior to 1985 with her husband, Marcos Maez, the Mime. During her career as a costumed villain, she encountered Rorschach, who threatened to toss her down an elevator shaft if they ever saw each other again.
Their last heist was at a bank one mile from Empire State Plaza. Manson and Maez entered the bank early on Wednesday morning, putting on an extravagant display for the cameras while they held up the bank. When Mime noticed a teller, Julia, signal for the police, the duo focused on her. Marionette used a photo of her son on the desk and thinly-veiled threats to intimidate her into revealing the identity of Mr. Mangold, the man who could open the bank's vault. When Mangold tried to bluff, saying that the vault opened on a timer, Julia was once again intimidated into revealing the truth. Mangold declared he would fire her, verbally abusing her and her child. Marionette, disgusted by this, did a display of acrobatics and cut off the man's finger. Ironically, the vault opened on a hand scanner, which they now lacked access too.
They were interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Manhattan, whose appearance left Marionette in awe. When Mime moved into a standoff with the superhuman, Manhattan prepared to kill him. However, Manson put herself in-between them, and declared that Manhattan would have to kill her first. Recognizing she was pregnant, he lowered his hand and withdrew as the authorities surrounded the couple. Police would later confirm that thirty-seven people had been killed in their crime spree prior to their capture. Erika was imprisoned for theft and mass murder until she was freed by Rorshach II. She refused to leave, at first due to her distrust of Rorschach, and then because she would not leave her husband. Rorschach II reluctantly freed Mime before taking the duo into New York City to meet with Ozymandias, who recruited them to help him locate Doctor Manhattan.[1]
Manson and Maez reapply their costumes while Ozymandias explains to Rorschach that he believes Marionette could be used to remind Doctor Manhattan of who he used to be and help to convince him to return home. The two board the Owlship with Rorschach and Ozymandias and depart just as New York City is destroyed in a nuclear blast.
After crash landing in Gotham City, Mime and Marionette are handcuffed by Veidt and Rorschach, who deem them too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. He asks them to wait patiently until they locate Doctor Manhattan, at which point they will let the duo accompany them once again. While Rorschach and Ozymandias go to determine where precisely they have landed, the criminal duo break free and flee.[2]
They later encounter the Joker's men and after a fight, demand to see the criminal personally.[3] They rough up more of Joker's men and witness protesters that destroy the Bat-Signal.[4]
Personality
Manson is fiercely protective of her family, defending Mime against even the omnipotent Doctor Manhattan, and brazenly attacking the second Rorschach trying to find the whereabouts of her missing son. While sadistic and ruthless like her husband, she also demonstrates a degree of empathy, as shown when she attacked Mangold on Julia's behalf for verbally abusing both her and her son.
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Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Acrobatics[2]
- Intimidation[2]
- Thievery[2]
- Martial Arts
- Seduction
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Gymnastics
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Slicing String[2]
Related
- 15 Appearances of Erika Manson (Watchmen)
- 4 Images featuring Erika Manson (Watchmen)
- 1 Quotations by or about Erika Manson (Watchmen)
- Character Gallery: Erika Manson (Watchmen)
Footnotes