Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from award-winning author Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history—the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect.
Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, the Hugo Award-winning story chronicles the fall from grace of a group of superheroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the superhero is dissected as an unknown assassin stalks the erstwhile heroes.
The insane outlaw superhero, Rorschach, discovers a murder victim was The Comedian, and proceeds to warn his colleague about a possible conspiracy to kill them as well.
It's time for Eddie Blake's funeral, and everyone is having fond memories about the departed Comedian. Just kidding, he was a monster, as we discover through flashbacks and stories. But how much does the extremely non-comedic Comedian represent America?
This chapter revolves around the exile of Doctor Manhattan and his relationship with Janey Slater and Laurie Juspeczyk who starts to spend time with Dan Dreiberg. The main theme is the risen fear of nuclear war that spread across the city of New York.
Dr. Manhattan sits on Mars using his precognitive powers to determine when the picture he is holding will fall to the surface. Then, he starts reminiscing about his past.
This chapter focuses on the nihilistic anti-hero Rorschach and his investigation into the murder of The Comedian, a Vietnam veteran and particularly violent anti-hero
The psychiatrist begins to adopt Rorschach's cynical and bleak perspective, a process mirrored by Rorschach's own descent into darkness as a child, highlighting the dangers of fighting "monsters" and the concept of the abyss
Laurie Juspeczyk explores Dan Dreiberg's basement, finding his Nite Owl airship and accidentally setting off its flamethrower. Dan rescues her, and they examine his vigilante equipment, which Dan now views as a childhood fantasy. The chapter explores the characters' disillusionment with costumed vigilantism and touches on the outside world's news, including Rorschach's imprisonment and Soviet movements in Afghanistan.
While Rorschach faces deadly peril in prison, Dan and Laurie's decision to break him out to investigate his increasingly plausible conspiracy theory has terrible consequences.
The Darkness Of Mere Being continues directly on from the events of Old Ghosts after Doctor Manhattan has taken Laurie to Mars.
It focuses on the impending chaos and paranoia, the protagonists Nite Owl and Rorschach investigating a conspiracy, and the overwhelming sense of impending doom, drawing heavy inspiration from Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower".
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, Ye mighty, and despair" In his Antarctic fortress, Adrian Veidt voice-records a complex observation about changing perceptions and technological development.
Too late to stop their enemy, the heroes' attempt to bring him to justice finds them confronted with a profoundly agonizing moral dilemma. Too late to stop their enemy, the heroes' attempt to bring him to justice finds them confronted with a profoundly agonizing moral dilemma.