Disclaimer: This article contains content that may not be suitable for younger students. It may also have spoilers!
“There is nothing else. Existence is random. Has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long. No meaning save what we choose to impose.”
-Rorschach, Watchmen
Watchmen is a 12-part limited comic series released from September 1989 to October 1987 by DC Comics. The comic was created by British writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. Watchmen was released monthly by DC Comics, eventually being collected into a single volume graphic novel. Watchmen has seen a second life with a 2009 movie and a 2019 drama series by the same name. Watchmen has an enduring legacy, continuing popularity since its release. So let’s delve into the series and see what makes Watchmen unique in the medium of comic books.
The story of Watchmen is set in an alternate timeline where superheroes emerged during the 1940’s and 1960’s. With their help, America wins the Vietnam War, and the murders of Carl Bernstien and Bob Woodword lead to the Watergate scandal staying buried, allowing Nixon to continue his presidency. Although the characters in Watchmen are referred to as “superheros,” throughout the series, Doctor Manhattan is the only one who possesses superhuman abilities. The rest are simply costumes of crime fighting vigilantes. In 1977, The Keene Act was passed, outlawing vigilantes from fighting crime, except for The Comedian (Edward Blake) and Doctor Manhattan (Jon Osterman). The central story starts with the death of Eddie Blake, The Comedian. A masked vigilante named Rorschach, one of the last active superheroes, investigates his death. The comics follow the aftermath of Blake’s death and the personal struggles between the former heroes as the investigation pulls them out of retirement.
One thing Watchmen does that makes the series intriguing is how it deals with its characters. The heroes in Watchmen challenge, and in some cases break, the conventional view that many have of Superheros. There are a main group of important characters in the Watchmen. Rorschach is a ruthless crime fighting vigilante, and is used to portray the anti hero archetype. He believes in moral absolutism, the idea that there is only good and bad with nothing in between. Rorschach by day is Walter Kovacs. A societal reject, Kovacs walks the streets with a sign reading, “The end is nigh.” Kovacs was once a rational human being, but was broken after witnessing the murder of a child. Kovacs is disgusted by the society he sees around him and believes existence is meaningless and random. His black-and-white beliefs in mortality and existence even extend to his appearance, choosing to fight crime in a white and black ink-blotched mask.
Doctor Jonathan Osterman was formerly a nuclear physicist who experienced an accident involving a radioactive test chamber. He was transformed into a god-like being, known as Doctor Manhattan. Manhattan sees all time at once, as well as being able to manipulate matter. After helping the US win Vietnam, he becomes disinterested in humanity and retires to Mars. Doctor Manhattan, despite his superhuman qualities, isn’t a perfect hero. He is unable to relate to humans. Human concerns seem meaningless to him. His view only changes after Laurie Juspeczyk, daughter of the original costumed hero Silk Specter, learns she is the daughter of the ruthless Comedian. Manhattan sees Laurie’s birth as a “thermodynamic miracle” and returns to Earth to save humanity. Manhattan is too late however. Adrian Veidt, a billionaire and former hero Ozymandias, attacks New York with a giant squid and kills three million people in an attempt to create world peace. Veidt has done a terrible act to save the world, so is Veidt a hero or a villain? The question never truly gets answered in the comics. When Veidt asks Manhattan if his plan to avert war is successful, Manhattan tells Veidt: “In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”
Rorschach makes his way to Antartica to confront Manhattan, threatening to expose the secret of Veidt’s attack. Rorschach says he doesn’t compromise his morals, even in the face of armageddon. Watchmen ends with the death of Rorshcach, vaporized by Manhattan to protect the secret of Veidt’s squid attack. Before his death, however, Rorschach sent his journal, containing information that could expose Veidt, to the office of the New Frontiersman, a right-wing newspaper. The comic ends with the line, “I leave it entirely in your hands.” Rorschach takes off his mask, screaming at Manhattan to: “Do it!” and dies as Walter Kovacs. Rorschach was a psychologically broken man who, according to author Alan Moore, had a “king-sized death wish,” and so he chose to die without a mask, dying not as a vigilante, but as a man.
Watchmen attempts to question the fundamental idea of what being a hero means. Its use of anti-heros and mature themes give it a lasting relevance. While Watchmen certainly wasn’t the first comic series to display mature, gritty themes, it did a lot of things incredibly well that put it in a league of its own. Its characters were nuanced and real. The comics have deep, biting social commentary and philosophical questioning about the nature of humanity, responsibility and heroism. Rorschach is a socially outcast criminal, Doctor Manhattan is a god unable to empathize with humanity. Adrian Veidt is a narcissistic billionaire who murders three million in his vain quest to save the world for his own glory. Perhaps the most famous question within the Watchmen series is a quote attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” translated as “Who watches the watchmen?” This is a question often posed when talking about people or groups in positions of power. Who watches over those who watch over us? Who ensures that our protectors act in our best interests? When dealing with those in power, the burden of responsibility lies on their weaknesses, and as power and responsibility increase, accountability must also increase.
Image courtesy of jessemunoz.
Sources:
https://philosophynow.org/issues/81/Watchmen#:~:text=As%20with%20much%20art%2C%20Watchmen’s,Satires%2C%20VI%2C%20347
https://watchmen.fandom.com/wiki/Watchmen_Wiki
https://www.vox.com/2019/10/18/20917361/watchmen-hbo-comic-superheroes-explained
