Under the hood is the autobiography of Hollis Mason, (Nite-Owl I). It was written after he retired from being a masked adventurer on the streets of New York City. The first chapter chronicles his life as a young boy who had moved from Mantana. It told of working with his father in an auto shop. The second chapter details how Hollis Mason who has become a police officer by 1939, begins dressing up as an owl and fighting against crime. In chapters 3 and 4, Hollis tells his first acquaintances with the other masked vigilantes and discusses the formation of the Minutemen. In the fifth chapter Mason discusses the emergence of new super heroes. Dr. Manhattan's existence was announced to the world in 1960.