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Questions tagged [watchmen]

Watchmen is a superhero comic miniseries/graphic novel, published by DC Comics, which was later made into a live-action film, as well as inspiring other spinoff media. Always use with the [dc] tag; specify which version, if applicable, with the [comics], [watchmen-2009], or [tv] tag.

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What was Silk Spectre II's relationship with superheroics?

Why did Silk Spectre II put her costume back on in Watchmen #7? What did putting on a costume and being a superheroine do for her? I know Laurie hated being a superheroine but I never got why she also ...
silver surfer's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
309 views

What was the inspiration for Dr. Manhattan's "time travel" abilities?

In Watchmen and most of its adaptations, Doctor Manhattan has the power to experience all of his life simultaneously. He can be at the formation of the Crimebusters and at his breakup with Silk ...
Donatello Swansino's user avatar
23 votes
2 answers
11k views

How is Ozymandias so strong?

In the 2009 adaptation of Watchmen, Rorschach narrates about Adrian Veidt: I cannot imagine a more dangerous opponent. Used to joke he was fast enough to catch a bullet. He could kill us both alone ...
Prometheus's user avatar
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7 votes
0 answers
152 views

Is this a hint/Easter egg in the opening titles of this Watchmen episode?

At the beginning of every episode of HBO's Watchmen, the series title is shown in different forms/contexts. In particular, in the eighth episode "A God walks into Abar", the word Watchmen is ...
Sekhemty's user avatar
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25 votes
2 answers
9k views

Why is Rorschach's mask symmetrical?

Is there is any explanation for why Rorschach's iconic black-and-white mask in Watchmen (and likewise the dress that the mask was originally made from) is symmetric about the center line? The out-of-...
Buzz's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
4k views

Did Rorshach know Edward Blake was the Comedian before the Comedian died?

In this scene, Rorshach enters the Comedian's penthouse hours after Edward Blake's death. He discovers the Comedian's costume in a secret closet within Edward Blake'...
RichS's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
588 views

Are we supposed to have some universe knowledge before watching HBO Watchmen?

I've just watched the first episode of HBO's Watchmen, with lots of confusion. A little of online search brought to my attention that the story happens in a sci-fi universe I am unfamiliar with. ...
Nathan H's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
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Is there an in-universe explanation for the American flag in HBO's series Watchmen?

In HBO's TV adaptation of the Watchmen, during the pilot episode, the American flag hanging Angela Abraham and her neighbour's porch is really different (image below). Click image to enlarge At ...
Shreedhar's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why is Dr Manhattan's method of killing so messy?

In this video we see Dr Manhattan Additionally, when he Yet, according to The Comedian, Dr Manhattan can turn a gun into steam, the bullets into mercury and the bottle into goddamn snowflakes ...
Parrotmaster's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
3k views

Was Edna Mode's "No Capes!" rule inspired by Dollar Bill?

In The Incredibles, Edna Marie "E" Mode" famously voices her opinion on capes. These examples are hardly the first cases of what TV Tropes calls a "cape snag". (...
SQB's user avatar
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16 votes
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What was the Comedian's motivation for fighting crime?

The Comedian is portrayed as a cynical, nihilistic, and sadistic thug, using unnecessary violence and even committing crimes himself, like his attempted rape of the original Silk Spectre and his ...
SQB's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
306 views

Are there any other DC characters mentioned in the Watchmen universe (prior to the Doomsday Clock crossover)?

In the movie Watchmen (2009), we can see posters of Batman during the credit sequence in beginning and 'Superman' was also mentioned during the flashback scene of Dr. Manhattan which suggests that the ...
Tango Alpha's user avatar
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31 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why does Dr Manhattan work for the US government?

Throughout the book Dr Manhattan is shown to be disinterested in human affairs. Veidt describes him as apolitical. So why was he seemingly a pawn doing the US governments bidding for so long before ...
mintsponge's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
6k views

Why didn't Ozymandias kill the Comedian with a gun, or a knife?

It just seems to me he could have gotten over the fight much faster with either of it, and made much less of a mess doing so.
cheecken0's user avatar
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19 votes
4 answers
7k views

Why was New York attacked and not Moscow or another city?

Some have argued that the film ending to Watchmen was superior to the comic because However in the graphic novel I’m going to assume that in the graphic novel, attacking more than one city was ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
855 views

Why did news media immediately assume that the squid was an alien invasion?

Major spoilers for the Watchmen graphic novel! In Issue 11, explains that they created a creature, referred to by fans as "the squid" in order to stage an alien invasion. In the next issue, we see ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
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49 votes
3 answers
15k views

How does Batman fit into the timeline of Watchmen?

In the 2009 live-action version of Watchmen, the intro shows - among other things - the original Nite Owl saving Thomas & Martha Wayne from the mugger on that fateful night. In the background, you ...
Omegacron's user avatar
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27 votes
1 answer
4k views

Was the first Nite Owl pro- or anti-Dr. Manhattan?

In Watchmen (2009), during Dr. Manhattan's flashback scenes, he mentions the retired Nite Owl and his book, in which Dr. Manhattan's arrival was described as the "dawn of the superhero," and he says ...
Tango Alpha's user avatar
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16 votes
2 answers
7k views

What does this line mean in the Watchmen movie?

At the end, when Rorschach decides to reveal Veidt's plan out to world, Manhattan gets in his way and Rorschach says: Of course, you must protect Veidt's new utopia. What did this line mean ?
Tango Alpha's user avatar
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12 votes
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What happened to Ozymandias's cat, Bubastis?

Whatever happened to Bubastis, the genetically engineered lynx owned by Ozymandias in the story, The Watchmen? In the movie, the cat stepped inside an intrinsic field chamber with Dr. Manhattan. When ...
RichS's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
9k views

What is the in-film explanation for Comedian's crying?

In Alan Moore's graphic novel, the Comedian discovers a certain plot where plans to use a psychic pseudo-alien squid to trick USSR and USA into peaceful coexistence. This plan makes the Comedian ...
Gallifreyan's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the fluid in Rorschach's mask?

Rorschach's mask consists of two black and white fluids as stated in Wikia. Rorschach's mask (which he refers to as his "face") consisted of a specialized fabric, one that was actually two layers ...
KyloRen's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
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Is there a flaw in Jon/Dr. Manhattan's logic?

First of all, I read the comic book in German. Therefore translations are mine according to my understanding. So translation might be an issue to my actual question, though I doubt it, since I watched ...
Clever's user avatar
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120 votes
6 answers
250k views

Was Rorschach's Pagliacci joke a real joke?

In Watchmen, Rorschach is reminded by The Comedian of a joke he heard once: “Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a ...
GGMG-he-him's user avatar
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11 votes
3 answers
1k views

What was Rorschach doing at the beginning of Watchmen?

So I mean this in a sort of general term. In the first entry of Rorschach's journal at the beginning of Watchmen, he pretty much just gives a monologue about how he hates humanity in its current state ...
Matthew Stevenson's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there any info about after Watchmen?

So at the end of Watchmen things aren't exactly your fairy-tale ending and I personally found the story kind of inconclusive. Were there any ever comics or books or any material that told the story ...
Matthew Stevenson's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why did Adrian Veidt choose such an obvious password?

In Watchmen, Rorschach (Kovacs) and Nite Owl (Daniel) discover Ozymandias' (Veidt) plan after breaking into his office computer. The password he used was incredibly easy to crack: Rameses II. There ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Watchmen book ending versus movie ending [duplicate]

So if it wasn't obvious, pretty big spoilers ahead. At the end of the book... At the end of the movie... Is there an out of universe reason the ending was so different in the movie? Did anyone say ...
Premier Bromanov's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
611 views

Is there a way to relate each of the characters in Moore's Watchmen to the inset "Tales of the Black Freighter"?

How analogous was Moore attempting to make the inset comic? It appears that it's echoes that of many of the characters.
Charles's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
28k views

What are the difference between the different (Graphic Novel) editions of Watchmen?

I am thinking of buying the Watchmen Graphic Novel in India but I'm confused about the different editions. They are Watchmen (448 pages) Watchmen (336 Pages) Watchmen: The Deluxe Edition Watchmen: ...
Ankit Sharma's user avatar
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19 votes
2 answers
7k views

Did anyone ever try to make another Dr. Manhattan, and if not, why?

In Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan is the only real "super" hero. He is created by Dr. Osterman being trapped inside the intrinsic field experiment. Presumably this experiment was reproducible, and if not in ...
Zoneman's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
6k views

Was Dr. Manhattan actually time blinded by tachyons?

In Watchmen, towards the end, Dr. Manhattan talks about his joy of being blind to time because of the tachyon emissions, and how exciting it is for him because he had forgotten the joy of not knowing ...
Broklynite's user avatar
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22 votes
2 answers
15k views

Did Doctor Manhattan care about Rorschach?

I understand that Doctor Manhattan was very much out of touch with humanity at the end of the graphic novel, but how did he feel about his final scene with Rorschach?
Anawny Mouse's user avatar
24 votes
1 answer
12k views

Why did Ozymandias think that the intrinsic field trick would work?

In Watchmen, Ozymandias plans to avert global war and bring about some level of world peace The only potential obstacle to his plan is Dr. Manhattan. So he creates a tachyon generator to obscure Dr. ...
KSmarts's user avatar
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11 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why did Ozymandias open his vivarium?

In Chapter XII of Watchmen, Ozymandias opened, and thus destroyed, his vivarium. I cannot see a meaningful reason for doing that. I believe he didn't destroy it per se and there must be a reason for ...
Dariusz Woźniak's user avatar
19 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why did Jon Osterman never contact his father?

In Chapter IV ("Watchmaker") of Watchmen, during Dr. Manhattan's reflection of his life, there is a scene where he mentions his father's death and says In 1969, I'm receiving news of my ...
TARS's user avatar
  • 3,193
-7 votes
1 answer
2k views

A fight between Dr Manhattan and Electro from Spider-Man [closed]

As the title suggests, in a fight between Dr Manhattan from The Watchmen and Electro from the recently released movie Spider-Man 2, who'd win and why?
AAA's user avatar
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54 votes
5 answers
12k views

Could Dr Manhattan have cured Janey's cancer?

In the comics as well as the movie, we see that Dr. Manhattan gets so upset about having given his ex-girlfriend Janey Slater cancer that he decides to remove himself from the equation and abandon the ...
Averroes's user avatar
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18 votes
5 answers
11k views

Was Dr. Manhattan able to travel through time?

I'm rewatching Watchmen, and the question occurred to me - can Doctor Manhattan actually travel through time? It is made quite clear that he can perceive all time as coexistent, but can he only look ...
eidylon's user avatar
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33 votes
5 answers
11k views

Why was Rorschach willing to forgive The Comedian's "moral lapse" with Sally Jupiter?

I do not have the book with me now so I cannot get the direct quote but when Laurie Juspeczyk confirms that The Comedian sexually assaulted Sally Jupiter, Rorschach dismisses the incident saying that ...
DQdlM's user avatar
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20 votes
4 answers
20k views

Can Dr. Manhattan cease to exist?

Jon Osterman, a.k.a. Dr. Manhattan, has complete awareness of and control over atomic and subatomic particles of his "body". He can reassemble his body even when disintegrated, which renders him ...
MartinTeeVarga's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
625 views

What is the significance of alternate "Before Watchmen" covers?

I bought most of the Before Watchmen comic books that are available until today. While doing some research on them, I found out that each issue comes with different covers, see here for an example of ...
Till B's user avatar
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16 votes
5 answers
15k views

Watchmen's The Comedian and the JFK assasination?

In the movie adaptation of Watchmen, we clearly see The Comedian assassinating President Kennedy during the opening montage. But in the new prequel Before Watchmen: ...
System Down's user avatar
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33 votes
1 answer
28k views

Did Dr. Manhattan give anyone cancer?

This is a major point of the story for Dr. Manhattan. He is confronted with the news that he has caused cancer in previous co-workers and most importantly his former lover Janey Slater. At this point ...
Kevin Howell's user avatar
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29 votes
4 answers
7k views

Why was Dr. Manhattan blue?

Dr. Manhattan clearly had some control over his appearance. The hydrogen atom on his forehead was by choice, and he adjusted his blueness for the cameras when he was told it was too bright. ...
Plutor's user avatar
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32 votes
5 answers
16k views

Did Rorschach's mask react to his emotions?

In Watchmen, did Rorschach's ever changing mask react to his emotions, or did it morph on its own?
Major Stackings's user avatar
25 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is there any information about what Alan Moore had in mind for expanding the Watchmen franchise?

Alan Moore stated back in 1985 that if the original Watchmen mini-series was well-received, he and Gibbons would possibly create a 12-issue prequel series called Minutemen featuring the 1940s ...
Beofett's user avatar
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30 votes
6 answers
15k views

Why was the end of Watchmen changed in the movie version?

Given how the movie was hyped as being a faithful rendition (and, for the most part, it was), what was the reasoning behind making such a radical change to the ending? I've seen statements from Zack ...
Beofett's user avatar
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49 votes
7 answers
109k views

What is the significance of Tales of the Black Freighter?

Alan Moore and David Gibbon's classic graphic novel masterpiece Watchmen contains an incidental character who, over the course of several parts of the series, is seen reading a comic entitled "Tales ...
Beofett's user avatar
  • 54.3k