Erika Manson is the sadistic and passionate serial killer and thief known as the Marionette. She was a key player in saving her world by finding Doctor Manhattan along with her husband, Marcos Maez.
History
Origins
Erika Manson was raised by her father, a immigrant man who moved to United States of America to open a doll-making shop. One day, a mute kid named Marcos Maez enters the Manson store, and is shown around by Erika. Later, while Erika walked with her marionette puppet, she was confronted by a group of bullies, that insulted Erika's father accusing him of being a "child molester", as well as taking her puppet. She attacked the leader, but her cronies pinned Erika down, preparing to cut her hair. The bullies were then stopped by Marcos, who assaulted them with glass bottles. Erika tackled the leader, and happily asked Marcos for more bottles. After showing Marcos around his shop, Erika's father offered to make Marcos a puppet of his choosing.
However, two police officers enter the shop, offering their "grievances" for Marcos' mother. Later, Erika comes to the shop and find that her father has committed suicide, as he believed that she was safer with him gone. The corrupt officers then arrive at the scene, prompting Erika to stab one in the neck with a pair of scissors. A officer prepares to shoot her, but Marcos stops him, allowing Erika to strangle him with a cord. The two run away and began living on the streets, eventually assuming the persona's of Marionette and Mime. Following their encounter with Doctor Manhattan, Erika gives birth to their child, while Marcos remained trapped in prison. Their baby was taken and was never seen again.[1]
Doomsday Clock
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.[2]
Manson and Maez reapply their costumes while Ozymandias explains to Rorschach that he believes Marionette could be used to remind Doctor Manhattan of whom 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.[3]
They later encounter the Joker's men and after a fight, demand to see the criminal personally.[4] They rough up more of Joker's men and witness protesters that destroy the Bat-Signal.[5]
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Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Acrobatics[3]
- Intimidation[3]
- Thievery[3]
- Martial Arts
- Seduction
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Gymnastics
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Slicing String[3]
Notes
- The character is based on Charlton Comics’ Jewelee of Punch and Jewelee
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