![]() Manhattan has been likened to a superman, or God. Reborn with control over matter and a non-linear perception of time, Dr. The son of a watchmaker, Jon Osterman was a talented nuclear physicist when he was caught in a gruesome "Intrinsic Field Subtractor" accident. Manhattan/Jon Osterman (played by Billy Crudup) The Comedian's murder sets the plot of Watchmen into motion.ĭr. Part of his costume is a yellow smiley badge that, when splattered with his blood, becomes the most iconic image of the series. As a young man he attempted to rape his teammate Sally Jupiter, the reverberations of which are felt for decades. Contrary to his name, he is known for his brutality and nihilistic worldview. The Comedian/Edward Blake (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan)Ī former member of the Minutemen and a Vietnam War veteran, the Comedian is one of the two government sponsored heroes active after the Keene Act outlaws masked vigilantes. However, for the 2009 film the second generation heroes were dubbed the Watchmen for simplicity and marketing purposes.) (Note: the comic's title comes from the Juvenal quote "Who Watches the Watchmen?" and does not refer to any superhero group within the story. Manhattan), Watchmen was made into a feature film directed by Zack Snyder and released in 2009. The characters of Watchmen, particularly Rorschach, frequently appear on "Best Superhero" lists across message boards and comic book sites.Īfter nearly 20 years of development hell (including an infamous proposal with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. It won the Hugo Award upon its completion and Time magazine gave it the honor of being the only comic on their list of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century. Watchmen is one of the most important comic books of the last 25 years, influencing not only countless comics, but also popular movies and television shows such as The Incredibles and Lost. As the investigation deepens, it soon becomes clear that the truth is more horrible than they could have imagined, all while the Doomsday Clock ticks closer to nuclear annihilation. Rorschach quickly suspects that a "mask killer" is on the loose and seeks to warn his former associates-Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre, Ozymandias, and Dr. Rorschach, now past his prime, investigates and discovers that Blake was the Comedian, a member of the Minutemen and a government agent. ![]() In 1985, a man named Edward Blake is murdered by being thrown out of his penthouse window. Some retire voluntarily, others become government-sanctioned agents, but only one, Rorschach, fights crime outside the law. Amid this changing climate, public favor turns against masked heroes, and the Keene Act of '77 outlaws them entirely. However, Manhattan's very existence escalates Cold War tension until nuclear war seems inevitable. Manhattan is the United States' ultimate weapon, winning the Vietnam War. A scientist with unlimited control over matter, Dr. Those older heroes are made obsolete by the appearance of a genuine superman-Dr. Years of scandals and deaths force the group to disband, but not before heroes like Nite Owl inspire younger followers. In the 1940s, a "masked hero fad" inspired by comic books leads to the formation of the Minutemen in New York City. Nixon is still president, people drive electric cars, and superheroes have been part of the cultural and political landscape for forty years. Watchmen takes place in an alternate universe that closely resembles our world. ![]() Also groundbreaking is its depiction of superheroes as real people: the flaws and their strengths, their dreams and neuroses, their kinks and their compromises. (The hard-boiled masked detective, the millionaire inventor, the godlike superman, etc.) The story itself is a complex, dense deconstruction of the Golden and Silver Age of comic books, full of recurring imagery and motifs (for example, the bloody smiley face badge of the first panel), fictional book and magazine excerpts that flesh out the characters' histories, and even a comic book within the comic, Tales of the Black Freighter. Originally conceived as a story featuring characters from Charlton Comics, Moore and Gibbons instead used Charlton as a springboard for a brand new cast of archetypal superheroes. Watchmen is a 12-issue limited series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, first published by DC Comics in 1986. I have tried to avoid major spoilers, but please proceed with caution. ![]() Hello, I'm sandoz_iscariot and I'll be presenting the Fandom Overview for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' classic comic book series Watchmen. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |