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Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'' is a twelve-issue
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
created by
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
,
Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...
, and
John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
, published by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
in 1986 and 1987. ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'' focuses on six main characters: the
Comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...
,
Doctor Manhattan Doctor Manhattan (Dr. Jonathan Osterman), often shortened to Dr. Manhattan or simply Manhattan is a fictional character who appears in comics published by DC Comics. He debuted in the graphic novel limited series ''Watchmen''. Doctor Manhattan ...
, the Nite Owl,
Ozymandias "Ozymandias" ( ) is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of '' The Examiner'' of London. The poem was included the following year in Shelley's c ...
,
Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * R ...
, and the
Silk Spectre Silk Spectre is the name of two fictional superheroines in the graphic novel limited series '' Watchmen'', published by DC Comics. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Silk Spectre, Sally "Jupiter" Juspeczyk, was a member of the ...
. These characters were originally based on the Mighty Crusaders and then reworked in an unsolicited proposal to fit superhero properties DC had acquired from
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...
in the early 1980s. Moore later based the team’s predecessors, the Minutemen, off of the Mighty Crusaders. Since the publisher planned to integrate Charlton's superheroes into the main
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...
and the script would have made many of them unusable for future stories, series writer Alan Moore eventually agreed to create original characters. Moore wished the main characters to present six "radically opposing ways" to perceive the world, and to give readers of the story the privilege of determining which one was most morally comprehensible.Eno, Vincent; El Csawza.
Vincent Eno and El Csawza meet comics megastar Alan Moore
. ''Strange Things Are Happening''. May/June 1988.
The protagonists of ''Watchmen'' were reused in the prequel series ''
Before Watchmen ''Before Watchmen'' is a series of comic books published by DC Comics in 2012. Acting as a prequel to the 1986 12-issue ''Watchmen'' limited series by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, the project consists of eight limited series and on ...
'', which also gave backstories to several minor characters from the original graphic novel, and introduced new characters. Later on, several ''Watchmen'' characters reappeared in the limited series ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'', bringing them into the main
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...
. The television series ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'' is set in the same
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
as the limited series, taking place in 2019 in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...
.


Overview

* A indicates the model served as a body double, with the actor or actress's likeness superimposed onto the model. * An indicates the actor or actress lent only their likeness for his or her film character. * A indicates an appearance through a photographic still. * An indicates an appearance by an in-universe actor portraying the character. * A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.


Crimebusters

The Crimebusters are a superhero group that succeeds the Minutemen and are the main characters of ''Watchmen''. The group was short-lived when the Keene Act that forbade non-government sanctioned superheroes was passed. Among its notable members are:


The Comedian

The Comedian (Edward Morgan "Eddie" Blake) is a
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
, initially based on the
Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...
and then on the Charlton Comics character
Peacemaker Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to: Individuals and groups * UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators * Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...
, with elements of the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
spy character
Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos' ...
added. Moore and Gibbons saw the Comedian as "a kind of Gordon Liddy character, only a much bigger, tougher guy".Cooke, Jon B.
Alan Moore discusses the Charlton-Watchmen Connection
. ''Comic Book Artist''. August 2000. Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
Gibbons went with a
Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
-style appearance (mustache and cigar) for the Comedian in his design, deciding that the "clown" look had already been appropriated by the
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
supervillain
the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...
. His costume itself was noted by Gibbons as being particularly problematic; he was initially designed with a more militaristic costume which was later dropped for a black leather outfit with a "rapist mask". He believes that humans are savage in nature, and that civilization can never be more than an idea. He, therefore, chooses to become a mockery of society, fighting and killing without reservation. Blake's murder, which takes place shortly before the story begins in 1985, sets the plot of ''Watchmen'' in motion. The character appears throughout the story in flashbacks and aspects of his personality are revealed by other characters.Reynolds, p. 106 Richard Reynolds described the Comedian as "ruthless, cynical, and
nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Iva ...
, and yet capable of deeper insights than the others into the role of the costumed hero". Nicholas Michael Grant said the Comedian is "the only character in the Watchmen universe who is almost totally unlikeable." In the ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'' film, he is portrayed by
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor of television and film, best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022), for which he has received critical acclaim. He ...
. The film also places him as John F. Kennedy's assassin, as shown in the opening montage. In '' Watchmen: The End Is Nigh'', the Comedian is voiced by Mark Silverman. Due to his death in the graphic novel, he does not appear in the HBO sequel series ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'', but he is mentioned and his legacy lives on through his daughter Laurie. The Comedian is seen briefly in a flashback episode in which he is portrayed by an uncredited actor. According to a Peteypedia article, Lady Trieu's mother Bian My had encountered Blake during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
in 1971 in which he and his battalion of Blazin’ Commandos’ burned down her village.https://www.hbo.com/content/dam/hbodata/series/watchmen/peteypedia/06/lady-trieu-fact-or-fiction.pdf


Doctor Manhattan

Dr. Jonathan "Jon" Osterman is a vigilante and the only character with superpowers.Wright, p. 272 His character was based on the
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...
character
Captain Atom Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations. Publication history Captain Atom was crea ...
. He was originally a
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
who was transformed into a blue, irradiated powerful being after he was disintegrated in an Intrinsic Field Subtractor in 1959. He had returned to the chamber to retrieve his girlfriend's watch (which he had repaired), and was accidentally locked inside when the Subtractor started automatically. Osterman was blown into atoms, with nothing left of his body. Within a few months, his disembodied consciousness managed to reconstruct a physical body for itself, after several hideous partial reconstructions. Following his reanimation, he is immediately pressed into service by the
United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
, which gives him the name Doctor Manhattan, after the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
. Though he dabbles briefly in crime-fighting, his greatest influence is to grant the U.S. a strategic advantage over the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, with his most significant action taking place after he is personally asked by President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
to intervene in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, leading to an unqualified victory for the U.S. with the defeat of
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
and the
Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
, preventing the collapse of the Saigon government. Since he works for the U.S. government, he is exempt from the provisions of the Keene Act, but spends much of his time doing advanced technology research and development, and physics research. He is single-handedly responsible for the shift to electric-powered vehicles (by synthesizing the needed elements and chemicals himself) and Veidt credits him with causing a huge leap forward in myriad areas of science and technology. As a result, the technology of the alternative 1985 of the ''Watchmen'' universe is far more advanced. After the death of his father in 1969, he does not conceal his birth name and is referred to as "Jon" or "Dr. Osterman". In the ''Watchmen'' film, Doctor Manhattan is a CGI character whose body is modeled after fitness model
Greg Plitt George Gregory Plitt, Jr. (November 3, 1977 January 17, 2015) was an American fitness model and actor. He starred in the Bravo television series '' Work Out.'' He died at age 37 when he was struck by a train locomotive while filming a video. ...
, with voice,
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
, and facial performance provided by
Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, in ...
(who also portrays Osterman prior to his transformation). In ''Watchmen: The End is Nigh'', Doctor Manhattan is voiced by
Crispin Freeman Crispin Freeman is an American voice actor, voice director, and screenwriter who is best known for voicing characters in English-language dubs of Japanese anime, animation, and video games. Some of his prominent anime roles include Zelgadis Grayw ...
. In the ''Watchmen'' TV series, he is portrayed by
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ' ...
. For much of the series, he is solely known by the name Cal Abar, the husband of series protagonist Angela Abar and the survivor of an unnamed accident in 2009 which wiped all his memory. Instead, Manhattan had in fact installed a device into his forehead that suppressed his superpowers and his omniscient sense of time, allowing him to pursue a comfortable relationship with Angela, though this did remove his memory prior to 2009. Late in the series, in 2019, Angela discovers a plot by the white supremacist ring the Seventh Kavalry to destroy Manhattan and harness his powers; Angela subsequently forcibly removed the device from his forehead, causing him to regain his abilities and appearance, though immediately afterward he is captured by the Kavalry and transported into a synthetic
lithium Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense soli ...
cage. As Senator Joe Keene, the Kavalry's leader, prepares to destroy Manhattan while harnessing his powers (ultimately killing Keene in the process since the machine didn't have a component that can filter the atomic energy), Lady Trieu intervenes, kills the rest of the Kavalry, and continues the demonstration in attempt to take his powers for herself so that she can do improvements to the world which Doctor Manhattan never got around to doing. Trieu is successful in killing Manhattan and he shares a final moment with Angela before he dies, though Trieu's plans are ultimately upended by Veidt and she is killed by another of his attacks. At the end of the series, Manhattan is revealed to have maybe transferred his powers to Angela.


Nite Owl

Nite Owl II (Daniel "Dan" Dreiberg) is a superhero who uses
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
-themed gadgets, in a manner which led Dave Gibbons to consider him "an obsessive hobbyist... a comics fan, a fanboy." Nite Owl was partly based on the Ted Kord version of the DC Comics superhero
Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...
. Just as Ted Kord had a predecessor, Moore also incorporated an earlier adventurer who used the name "Nite Owl" (the retired crime fighter Hollis Mason) into ''Watchmen''. While Moore devised character notes for Gibbons to work from, the artist provided a name and a costume design for Hollis Mason he had created when he was twelve.Kallies, Christy.
Under the Hood: Dave Gibbons
. SequentialTart.com. July 1999. Retrieved on October 12, 2008
Richard Reynolds noted in ''Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology'' that despite the character's Charlton roots, Nite Owl's
modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of o ...
has more in common with the DC Comics character
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
. According to Geoff Klock, his civilian form "visually suggests an
impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
, middle-aged
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...
." The second Nite Owl is another vigilante who has not revealed his identity in the post-Keene Act era throughout the novel. "Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1" establishes that Dan Dreiberg's mother was physically abused by his father. Dreiberg's obsession with the original Nite Owl led him to plant a remote microphone device on Hollis' vehicle in order to track him down.Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1 It also establishes the events of how he was taken in as his apprentice: His father dies of an apparent heart attack while beating Dan's mother (Dan and his mother hold off calling for an ambulance) At the funeral, Hollis, having since discovered Dan's abusive childhood via police reports, confronts Dan and agrees to take him on as his sidekick. However, after training him, Hollis announces his retirement and informs Dan that he is giving him the Nite Owl identity rather than creating a sidekick persona for him. It is also revealed that Rorschach met Nite Owl on Dan's very first patrol and offered his assistance as a partner to the young rookie hero. In the ''Watchmen'' film, he is portrayed by
Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
, who put on in between the filming of his flashback scenes and the 1985 scenes, showing the physical decline of his character. He is not present in the HBO ''Watchmen'' series, having been under federal custody since the events of the graphic novel.


Ozymandias

Ozymandias (Adrian Alexander Veidt) was a former superhero who draws inspiration from his hero
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
and the Egyptian pharaoh
Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...
, for whom he is named. A child prodigy, he graduated from high school and college before he was 18 and learned the art of lying as he hid the full scope of his brilliance for most of his childhood after being accused of cheating. When he inherited his family's fortune upon his parents' death in a car accident, Adrian gave it away to see if he could be a success by himself. Veidt traced Alexander the Great's path across the globe and ultimately returned to the United States, where he became a successful businessman. However, when his business partner and would-be love interest overdosed on drugs (purchased with funds given to her by Adrian as a gift to allow her to have fun in New York City one night), Veidt decided to avenge her death as a superhero. His costume was conceived as a Halloween costume but he quickly developed a name for himself as a hero. Two years before the Keene Act passed, Veidt went public with his secret identity and began merchandising his alter ego as he became one of the most important businessmen in the USA. However, his fear of a nuclear war between the USSR and the US, plus a rivalry with the Comedian (who unknowingly planted the idea of stopping the inevitable
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
into Veidt's head), led to him engaging in the vast conspiracy at the heart of the ''Watchmen'' series. Ozymandias was directly based on
Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt is a fictional superhero character originally published by Charlton Comics. Publication history Charlton Comics The character debuted in ''Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt'' #1 (Jan. 1966), part of Charlton editor Dick Gior ...
, whom Moore had admired for using his full brain capacity as well as possessing full physical and mental control. Veidt is believed to be the smartest man on the planet, even capable of outsmarting Dr Manhattan. His combination of intelligence and highly advanced fighting skills makes him perhaps the most feared and dangerous of the mortal vigilantes. He was even able to catch a bullet fired at him (Chapter XII, page 15). He is often accompanied by his genetically engineered
lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...
, Bubastis. Richard Reynolds noted that by taking initiative to "help the world", Veidt displays a trait normally attributed to villains in superhero stories, and in a sense he is the "villain" of the series; however, he purposely acts for an objective greater good, thus avoiding the traditional "villain" classification, which is typically self-serving, delusional or evil.Reynolds, p. 110 Gibbons noted "One of the worst of his sins skind of looking down on the rest of humanity, scorning the rest of humanity." In 2008, he was ranked number 10 on the Forbes Fictional 15. '' Wizard'' magazine also ranked Ozymandias as 25th-greatest villain of all time and IGN ranked him as 21st-greatest comic book villain of all time. In the ''Watchmen'' film, Veidt is portrayed by
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's TV film feature '' Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy ''Chasing Liberty'' (2004), f ...
. His costume was designed to parody the rubber suits featuring nipples in the film '' Batman & Robin''. This incarnation of Veidt uses a German accent when speaking with friends and an American accent when speaking publicly. Instead of breeding a giant monster and placing it in New York to massacre half the city as in the comics, Veidt destroys New York, along with many major cities across the globe, with energy blasts designed to look as though Doctor Manhattan had caused it, bringing world peace. In the television series, Veidt is portrayed by
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
. In the years since 1985, he continued to run his companies and helped to advance technology beyond those of Doctor Manhattan, which the world feared due to its ties with cancer. However, Veidt became recluse, and sometime before 2019, Veidt is reported to have died with his company acquired by Lady Trieu, revealed to be his daughter through artificial insemination. However, Veidt instead had spent much of the time since 1985 in Karnak, using the same teleportation device used for the squid to send storms of smaller squids randomly across the earth as to hold up the pretense of an alien invasion and ward off further international conflict. To his dismay, the world did not become the utopia he hoped to oversee, and in 2009, he took Doctor Manhattan's offer to be transported to a closed ecosystem Manhattan had created on
Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Clif ...
to be adored by clones of two servants, Phillips and Crookshanks. Initially pleasing, Veidt soon became bored and instructed the first Phillips to become an adversary to him, the Game Warden. The Seventh Kavalry had somehow obtained pre-recorded footage that Veidt made in the event that
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...
became President of the United States. Over the next eight years, Veidt was able to briefly escape the ecosystem to leave a message to Lady Trieu for rescue, which comes in the form of an automated craft. For the trip back to Earth, Trieu turned him into a gold statue, having him revert to his human state years later so that he could witness her destruction of Manhattan and attempted harnessing of his powers. Transported back to his lair in Antarctica by Manhattan, Veidt uses his squid teleportation device to attack Tulsa so that he can stop Trieu from becoming a god. He is successful, only to be arrested by Wade Tillman and Laurie Blake for his many crimes. Prior to being knocked out by Wade, Veidt asked if the FBI was going to go after Robert Redford as well which he got a positive answer out of it.


Rorschach

Rorschach (real name Walter Joseph Kovacs) is a noir
private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
-themed vigilante who wears a white mask with constantly shifting ink blots. Rorschach continues to fight crime in spite of his outlaw status, eventually making the
FBI's Ten Most Wanted List The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William K ...
. Born to an abusive prostitute and a man whose last name she never bothered to learn, he spent much of his childhood in a home for troubled youth, after which he began working in a garment factory. After reading about the
murder of Kitty Genovese In the early hours of March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old bartender, was raped and stabbed outside the apartment building where she lived in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. Two weeks ...
and the reported complete indifference of the witnesses of the crime, he modified a special fabric that she had ordered, according to him, to create a mask and became a vigilante, eventually forming a productive partnership with Nite Owl II. In 1975, after failing to rescue a young girl, he lost all faith in humanity. When the story begins, a man is seen walking around New York carrying a sign that reads, "The End Is Nigh", but it is not until several chapters later that the reader learns that this man is Kovacs/Rorschach. Moore based Rorschach on the
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
creations the
Question A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interroga ...
and
Mr. A Mr. A is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. Unlike most of Ditko's work, the character of Mr. A remained the property of Ditko, who wrote and illustrated the stories in which the character appeared entirely himself. The characte ...
. Moore said he was trying to "come up with this quintessential Steve Ditko character—someone who's got a funny name, whose surname begins with a 'K,' who's got an oddly designed mask".Stewart, Bhob. "Synchronicity and Symmetry". ''The Comics Journal''. July 1987. As a result, Rorschach's real name is given as Walter Kovacs. Ditko's Charlton character the Question also served as a template for creating Rorschach. Comics historian Bradford W. Wright described the character's
world view A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...
as "a set of black-and-white values that take many shapes but never mix into shades of gray, similar to the ink blot tests of his namesake". Rorschach sees existence as random and, according to Wright, this viewpoint leaves the character "free to 'scrawl isown design' on a 'morally blank world'". Moore said he did not foresee the death of Rorschach until the fourth issue when he realized that his refusal to compromise would result in him not surviving the story. Rorschach is close friends with the second Nite Owl. He is the first hero Rorschach meets with when Comedian is killed and Nite Owl organizes a rescue mission to free Rorschach from jail when he is arrested. ''Before Watchmen: Nite Owl'' reveals that Rorschach was active as a hero before Nite Owl made his debut and on the latter's first night out as a hero, Rorschach sneaks into his owl ship and offers his services to Nite Owl as a partner. In ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'', Kovacs is succeeded by Reginald "Reggie" Long, son of Dr. Malcolm Long, the psychologist in ''Watchmen'' who was assigned to evaluate Rorschach after he is apprehended. In the ''Watchmen'' film, he is portrayed by
Jackie Earle Haley Jack Earle Haley (born July 14, 1961) is an American actor and director. His earliest roles included Moocher in '' Breaking Away'' (1979) and Kelly Leak in '' The Bad News Bears'' (1976), ''The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' (1977) and ''T ...
. Due to his death in the graphic novel, he does not appear in the HBO sequel series ''Watchmen'', but his legacy and likeness are depicted in the form of the Seventh Kavalry, a white supremacist ring that was formed after Rorschach's journal was published by right-wing paper the '' New Frontiersman''. The Kavalry all wear Rorschach masks and are shown recording threatening videos in which they quote directly from Rorschach's journal. They know that Veidt orchestrated the squid attack and they plot to destroy Doctor Manhattan so that their leader Joe Keene Jr. can harness his powers. In the
season finale A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...
"
See How They Fly "See How They Fly" is the ninth episode and series finale of the HBO superhero drama miniseries ''Watchmen'', based on the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It was written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof and d ...
", Trey Butler is credited as portraying Rorschach.


Silk Spectre

Laurel Jane "Laurie" Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre) is the daughter of Sally Jupiter, the first Silk Spectre. Laurie's mother apparently wanted her to follow in her footsteps and so she fought crime for ten years before the Keene Act banned vigilantes. Unlike the other protagonists, Silk Spectre was not based on a particular Charlton character, although her relationship with Dr. Manhattan is similar to that between Captain Atom and the heroine
Nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family (biology), family of flowering plants that ranges from Annual plant, annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal ...
. Moore felt he needed a female hero in the cast and drew inspiration from comic book heroines such as
Black Canary The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...
and
Phantom Lady Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first such characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book com ...
. Laurie is kept on retainer by the government because of her relationship with Doctor Manhattan and lives on a government base at the beginning of the comic. When Doctor Manhattan leaves Earth, the government has her removed from the base and suspends her expense account, forcing her to move in with Dan, with whom she starts a romantic relationship. At the end of the eighth issue, Doctor Manhattan appears and takes her to
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
because he knows she wants to convince him to save the world. On Mars, she realizes that the Comedian was her biological father. After the final encounter with Veidt at the end of the series, she assumes the identity of Sandra Hollis and continues her relationship with Dan. An offhand comment to Dan, in which she claims to want a better costume, with leather and a sidearm, implies that she is thinking of taking up her father's role as the Comedian. In the ''Watchmen'' film, she is portrayed by
Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including '' The Utopian Society'' (2003) and ''Harold & Kumar Go to Wh ...
. In a 2003 draft script by
David Hayter David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series. He wrote the film ''X-Men'' and co-w ...
, which was reviewed by '' IGN'', Laurie uses the name Jupiter, and the alter ego name "Slingshot". The former detail seems to have been retained in the final version of the film (though the Nite Owl's goggles gave her last name as her mother's maiden name, Juspeczyk). The film gives her date of birth as December 2, 1949. Silk Spectre was ranked 24th in ''
Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. In the television series, Laurie (portrayed by
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was ...
) has given up vigilantism and joined the FBI, becoming an agent in the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. On one mission, she and her co-workers posed as bank robbers at National Bank Inc. to draw out Mister Shadow. Though hinted to think of Dan where she owns a pet owl, it is heavily hinted she pines for Doctor Manhattan. She is sent to Tusla by Senator Joe Keene Jr., who apparently offered to have Dan released from prison, to investigate the death of Judd Crawford, but in reality she is meant to help the Seventh Kavalry locate Doctor Manhattan. She is present when Veidt manufactures another squid attack in an attempt to stop Lady Trieu from becoming a godlike entity, and ultimately arrests Veidt for his many crimes. While she does not have a crime-fighting alter ego anymore, this older, hardened version of Laurie nevertheless shows several parallels with her father the Comedian, having taken her father's last name, sharing his affinity for jokes as metaphors for her worldview, and having become an FBI agent after giving up vigilantism as the Comedian did before her.


Minor characters

Key to the success of ''Watchmen'' is the wide range of characters it features beyond the 'main' stars. Moore stated in 1988 that, in ''Watchmen'', "we spend a good deal of time with the people on the street. We wanted to spend as much time detailing these characters and making them believable as we did the main characters."Christopher Sharrett, "(Interview with) Alan Moore," in '' David Anthony Kraft's
Comics Interview David Anthony Kraft (May 31, 1952 – May 19, 2021) was an American comic book writer, publisher, and critic. He was primarily known for his long-running journal of interviews and criticism, ''Comics Interview'', as well as for work for Marvel C ...
'' #65 (1988), p. 7
Moore and Gibbons deliberately wanted all their characters "to have a place in this vast organic mechanism that we call the world." The fleshing-out of the world was, in Moore's words, to demonstrate that "all the way through the entire series human life is going on with all of its petty entanglements and minor difficulties and all the rest of it."Moore, "Watchmen Round Table: Moore & Gibbons," in '' David Anthony Kraft's
Comics Interview David Anthony Kraft (May 31, 1952 – May 19, 2021) was an American comic book writer, publisher, and critic. He was primarily known for his long-running journal of interviews and criticism, ''Comics Interview'', as well as for work for Marvel C ...
'' #65 (1988), p. 37
Moore adds that it is possible to see the story as being as much about the supporting as the main characters:


Minutemen

The Minutemen are a superhero group that came before the Crimebusters. The group was founded in 1939 during the Golden Age. The group later disbanded in 1949 following some public controversies. Moore loosely based the Minutemen off the Mighty Crusaders. Among its notable members are:


Captain Metropolis

Captain Metropolis (real name Nelson Forrest Gardner) is a former
Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
. He was one of the more active members of the Minutemen, having organized its formation. Metropolis was involved in a sexual relationship with Hooded Justice. The relationship was reported to be abusive, with Hooded Justice abusing and cheating on Metropolis until H.J.'s mysterious disappearance in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, the Captain unsuccessfully attempted to recruit the second generation of superheroes into a new group called the Crimebusters. He was killed in a car accident in 1974 that left him decapitated. He was portrayed in the film by Darryl Scheelar. Two versions of the character appeared in the HBO series. One was portrayed by Chris Whitley as a fictionalized character in the series' show-within-the-show "''American Hero Story: Minutemen''", which details his relationship and affair with Hooded Justice. The real Captain Metropolis, seen in the episode "
This Extraordinary Being "This Extraordinary Being" is the sixth episode of the HBO superhero drama miniseries '' Watchmen'', based on the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jeffers ...
", was portrayed by
Jake McDorman John Allen McDorman IV (born July 8, 1986) is an American actor. On television, he headlined the CBS comedy-drama '' Limitless'' (2015–2016) and was the male lead of the sitcoms '' Are You There, Chelsea?'' (2012) and ''Manhattan Love Story'' ...
. In this episode, Nelson Gardner finds the identity of Hooded Justice and recruits him to the Minutemen as well as developing a secret affair with him. However, their alliance is superficial as Nelson is more preoccupied with the Minutemen's publicity than earnest crimefighting. When Will Reeves / Hooded Justice discovers the location of the white supremacist group Cyclops, Nelson declines to rally the support of the Minutemen, telling Will "black unrest" is his issue to deal with. Gardner's last will and testament, published on the tie-in website Peteypedia, reveals that he died in regret and bequeathed his estate and property to Will, where he is still living in 2009.


Dollar Bill

Dollar Bill (real name William Benjamin "Bill" Brady) is a bank-sponsored member of the Minutemen who was created by National Bank Inc. for publicity purposes. While he is described as having no actual superpowers, Dollar Bill was known for having apparently supernatural luck, surviving many things that should have outright killed him. Socially conservative, he is portrayed in ''Before Watchmen'' as
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
(barely tolerating his homosexual Minutemen colleagues) and good friends with the ultra-right-wing Comedian, voting to let him stay after the attempted rape of Sally Jupiter. He dies during a bank robbery at National Bank Inc. in 1947 when his cape is caught in the bank's revolving doors, allowing the robbers to shoot him at point-blank range. This was a problem he warned his employers at National Bank Inc. about, but they insisted the cape had to be part of the costume as Mason laments in his book. Even Rorschach, who dislikes Ozymandias for making his superhero alter-ego into a toy line, laments Dollar Bill's death while Hollis Mason commented in his book that his death would've been averted if Dollar Bill designed his own costume. In the film, he is portrayed by
Dan Payne Daniel Payne (born August 4, 1972) is a Canadian actor best known for playing the role of John in the television series '' Alice, I Think''. Career In his early 20s, Payne was a professional volleyball player. After his retirement, he was convin ...
. In the
first episode A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...
of the
TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
, a racist poster with Dollar Bill on it was seen in one of the hideouts of the Seventh Kavalry. The same poster also appears in the subsequent sixth episode as a part of the Minutemen's promotional materials. In episode 3, Laurie Blake used National Bank Inc. to fake a bank robbery in order to draw out Mister Shadow.


Hollis Mason

Hollis Mason is the first Nite Owl who retired in 1962, and author of the autobiography "Under The Hood" which appears in excerpts throughout the story. Hollis was the only member of the Minutemen who did not have any social problems and mainly enjoyed being a costumed adventurer. On Halloween 1985, The Knot-Tops led by Derf assault Hollis in retaliation for the release of Rorschach, which was caused by Nite Owl II (Daniel Dreiberg) and Silk Spectre II (Laurie Juspeczyk). Derf hits Hollis on the head with Mason's own Nite Owl trophy killing the former superhero (in the film, this event is only depicted in the director's cut version). Hollis' death was avenged when Derf is among those killed by Ozymandias' giant monster. ''Before Watchmen: Night Owl #1'' showed that Dan Dreiberg's obsession with the original Nite Owl led him to plant a remote microphone device on Hollis' vehicle in order to track him down. At the funeral of Dreiberg's father, Hollis discovered Dan's abusive childhood via police reports. He confronted Dan and agrees to take him on as his sidekick. After training Dan, Hollis instead announced his retirement and granted Dan the Nite Owl identity, rather than creating a sidekick persona for him. In the film, he is portrayed in old age by
Stephen McHattie Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3, 1946)Other sources cite 1945, 1947, and 1948. is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Sup ...
and in youth by Clint Carleton.


Hooded Justice

Hooded Justice is the first masked vigilante, often initialled "H. J." by his teammates. His real identity is never conclusively revealed but in Hollis Mason's book it is suggested to be circus
strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...
Rolf Müller. This is
retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
heavily in ''Before Watchmen: Minutemen'' #6, where we learn that he is not Rolf Muller (a character that sexually abused and killed children), but it is strongly implied that he is Muller's son or ward, Jacob. Assuming that he himself was a victim of Muller's abuse, it explains a great deal about his violent persona, costume, and mask. A violent vigilante, Hooded Justice shared a romantic homosexual relationship with Captain Metropolis and a deep-seated rivalry with Comedian, after he prevented Blake from sexually assaulting Silk Spectre. Hooded Justice's relationship with Metropolis was a fractured one; Justice repeatedly cheated on his boyfriend with male prostitutes, physically abusing them in
sadomasochist Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
sexual encounters. This resulted in bribery of his lovers and the usage of Silk Spectre as his public girlfriend. He ultimately disappeared in the 1950s after refusing to cooperate with
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
's new policy on costumed vigilantes. In the original novel it is suggested that he was murdered either by the Comedian for voting him out of the Minutemen (as Ozymandias believes), or by the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state autho ...
of his native
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
. In the retcon we learn that Hollis Mason, mistakenly believing him to be Muller, attacked Hooded Justice and snapped his neck, killing him. He was never actually unmasked, and Metropolis burned down the headquarters with his former lover's body inside; it later turns out that the Comedian was the one who misdirected Mason to believe that Justice was Muller, so Ozymandias was partially right. Much of the "Under the Hood" information on Muller and HJ is revealed to be a deliberate lie on Mason's part. This may be contrary to the intent of the original novel. In chapter 1, the fourth panel of page 25 focuses on two old men sitting affectionately together near Dan and Laurie in Rafael's restaurant. They look very much like older versions of Rolf Muller and Nelson Gardner, and it was speculated by many fans that these were in fact Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis, who had faked their deaths in order to retire and be together. Dave Gibbons said this was unintended but allowed that it might be true. In the retconned world of ''Before Watchmen'', it is obviously not the case. In the film, Hooded Justice was portrayed by Glenn Ennis who speaks the character's few lines with a subtle German accent. In the TV series, Hooded Justice is revealed to have been Will Reeves, a black man who had escaped from the 1921
Tulsa race riot The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...
(portrayed by Louis Gossett Jr. as an old man and
Jovan Adepo Jovan Adepo (born September 6, 1988) is a British-American actor. He is known for his role as Cory Maxson in the film adaptation of ''Fences'' (2016), and also had starring roles in the 2018 film ''Overlord'' and as Lionel Jefferson in CBS' '' ...
as a young man). He became one of the first black officers in the New York City police force. After stumbling into a plot by the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
called "Cyclops" which sought to incite violence between black people, Reeves was nearly lynched by white officers as a warning to stay out of their business. While still wearing the noose and hood, Reeves helped a young couple fend off thugs that were trying to rob him, and his deed named him a hero the next day. Reeves took up the name Hooded Justice, using the costume to mask his race. He was invited into the Minutemen by Captain Metropolis, but cautioned from revealing his race to the other members. When Reeves found further clues to "Cyclops" including the use of hypnotic strobe effects to coerce black people into violence, the Minutemen refused to help, and Reeves took it on himself to end the New York City operation. This led to Reeves becoming disillusioned to his role, staying behind when his wife and son returned to Tulsa. In 2019, Reeves reveals himself to Angela, his granddaughter, and uses a modified version of the Cyclops hypnosis effect to chase down those with association with Cyclops. When Angela restores Doctor Manhattan's memories, he sends their adopted children to Reeves where they were when Veidt caused frozen squids to rain down on Lady Trieu and her followers. Will even wrote out a speech for Lady Trieu to read to the Seventh Kavalry and the Cyclops leadership. Angela found that he and her adopted children took refuge in a theater where Reeves stated that he saw the movie that inspired him to become Hooded Justice. In addition within the fictional show-within-a-show ''American Hero Story'', a mock version of Hooded Justice is portrayed by Cheyenne Jackson.


Mothman

Mothman (real name Byron Alfred Lewis) is a former member of the Minutemen who suffered from alcoholism and mental illness later in life. Lewis had a privileged upbringing and sought to help the less fortunate and fight oppression and corruption as a crimefighter. To this end, Lewis created a costume with special wings that helped him glide, dubbing himself "Mothman". However, a series of near death experiences in perfecting his wings left Lewis in constant pain, a
drug addict Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
and an
alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
, with him requiring a drink each time before he flew for "courage". Lewis' mental stability ultimately deteriorated after he was called before
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, leading to him being forcibly brought to a
mental asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...
in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
, but was briefly released for the Minutemen's reunion. In ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'' #2, the obituary in the newspaper reveals that Mothman is dead. In ''Doomsday Clock'' #4, a flashback involving the earlier history of Reggie reveals that he met Mothman at the same asylum following the alien monster's attack. Reggie and Mothman grow closer as Mothman plans to train Reggie to defend himself against the guard Jason. When Reggie sees the news that exposed Veidt's involvement with the alien monster attack, he sets fire to the asylum. When Mothman sees the fire, he states that it is calling to him and walks towards (and presumably into) it. Mothman is also notoriously stinky. In the film, he is portrayed by
Niall Matter Niall Matter ( ; born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian-American actor. Following recovery from a serious accident sustained while working on an oil rig, Matter chose to pursue a full-time acting career. He received his first significant break in ...
. In the TV series, he is portrayed by Brennan Kerr.


Sally Jupiter

Sally Jupiter (real name Sally Juspeczyk) is the first Silk Spectre and founding member of the Minutemen who is now retired. She is later the domineering " stage mom" of Laurie Juspeczyk (who becomes Silk Spectre II). Sally married her manager, Laurence Schexnayder, shortly after retiring. She narrowly avoided being raped by the Comedian, although years later she had a consensual affair with him, and ultimately bore his child. Sally adores the attention she receives from fans of "The Silk Spectre", though Laurie is repulsed at her mother's sexually explicit exploits in promoting herself. In the film, she is portrayed by
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001� ...
.


Silhouette

The Silhouette (real name Ursula Zandt) was a gun-toting vigilante and member of the Minutemen. ''Before Watchmen'' gave a new backstory, that Ursula was motivated by the deaths of her parents and sister at the hands of the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
in their native Austria. According to the first Nite Owl, Silhouette was the first member of the Minutemen who went public with her career as a super-hero, when she busted a child pornography ring in New York. She had a close working relationship with Nite Owl and, after being forced out of the Minutemen (upon being publicly outed as a
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
), continued to work with Nite Owl. She investigated a string of child murders until she and her lover Gretchen were killed by The Liquidator, a criminal she had fought years earlier as seen in ''Before Watchmen: Minutemen'' #4. In the film, the words "lesbian whores" scrawled on the wall at the scene of her murder implied that her killer was motivated by homophobia and not necessarily revenge. She is portrayed by
Apollonia Vanova Apollonia Vanova ('' Slovak: Apolónia Váňová'') is a Slovak-born actress and opera singer, known for her roles as Silhouette in the film version of ''Watchmen'' and as the leading Wraith Queen and leader of a Wraith Alliance in the '' Starg ...
in the film.


Adversaries

The following are villains in ''Watchmen'':


Big Figure

Big Figure (real name Tom Ryan) is jailed dwarfish
crime lord A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
and former adversary of Nite Owl and Rorschach. He tries to get revenge when Rorschach is imprisoned in the same prison as he is, only for him and his minions to get killed by Rorschach during a prison riot. In the film, he is portrayed by an uncredited
Danny Woodburn Daniel Charles Woodburn (born July 26, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and activist for the disability rights movement linked to his dwarfism. He played Mickey Abbott on the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He has more than 150 television and 30 ...
.


Captain Carnage

Captain Carnage showed up in New York City around 1976 and began attempting to entice costumed adventurers into beating him. Carnage would pretend to be a supervillain in order to get beaten up, constantly yelling things like "Punish me!" Carnage once devised an elaborate fake theft ring that continued on for months, eventually ending when Silk Spectre II discovered the clues to his location he had planted at the scene of his crimes and crashed his "hideout" – a mirrored room in SoHo with soft music playing and flashing red lights on the walls. When she attacked Carnage, she noticed that he was turned on by the beating. He started following Nite Owl II, only to be ignored. He tried the same thing on Rorschach, who dropped Carnage down an elevator shaft, killing him. Captain Carnage is only mentioned in passing when Laurie and Daniel are talking on the rooftop garden of Rafael's restaurant, reminiscing about the past. It is possible that the purpose of the character is to prefigure Laurie and Daniel's sexual frustration when in their normal roles, only being able to function when they are dressed and acting as superheroes.


Moloch the Mystic

Moloch the Mystic (real name Edgar William "Eddie" Jacobi, also known as Edgar William Vaughn, and William Edgar Bright) is a crime lord who fought the Minutemen and other superheroes for several decades. Moloch was jailed for a time during the 1970s, after which he retired from crime. In ''Watchmen'', he is dying of cancer, which he received from Adrian Veidt. Moloch is later murdered by Adrian, who frames Rorschach. Supplementary materials for the television series reveal that Moloch was the supervillain active the longest and ran a series of crime syndicates, all of which were destroyed in 1958 by Ozymandias after he had first become a vigilante, which is heavily implied to have been a factor in Moloch's jail time and subsequent retirement. In the film, he is primarily portrayed by
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...
, with Mike Carpenter playing Moloch as a younger man in various flashbacks.


Twilight Lady

Twilight Lady (real name Elizabeth "Liz" Lane) is a
dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...
-styled villain of Nite Owl II, seen only in an autographed photograph and erotic dream sequence in the original novel. The character has two completely different origins in later material written by other writers. In the video game '' Watchmen: The End is Nigh'' which is set in the 1970s, Twilight Lady (voiced by
Courtenay Taylor Courtenay Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her video game voice roles as Jack in the '' Mass Effect'' series, Ada Wong in the '' Resident Evil'' series, and the female Sole Survivor in '' Fallout 4''. Career Taylor has been ...
) is established as a madam whose clients include many high-profile Washington politicians, whom she blackmails for state secrets and money. In the game, Nite Owl II and Rorschach must fight her and the Comedian, the latter of whom is ultimately sent to kill the Sin Queen to stop her extortion racket. However, ''Before Watchmen: Nite Owl'' portrays her as a dominatrix who befriends Nite Owl II when a fight between Dan and a crook spills over into her place of work. Falling for the hero and inspired by his heroic actions, she adopts the "Sin Queen" alias and becomes a super-hero, investigating a series of prostitute murders along with Nite Owl and a jealous Rorschach. The murderer of the prostitutes turns out to be a fire and brimstone minister whom Rorschach is friends with; Nite Owl rescues the Sin Queen, whom the minister kidnaps and threatens to burn alive. The near death experience causes her to give up her would-be career as a hero. Dan lied to Laurie about her being a former lover of his, and passed her off as a criminal who was fixated on him to hide their relationship.


Other characters


Alien Monster

The Alien Monster (referred to by fans as the Squid) is a 100-foot,
giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Tra ...
-like monster with one eye, dozens of long muscular tentacles, and an exposed brain. It was created by Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt) as part of his plan to avert a
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
. Veidt had invited science fiction writers Max Shea and James Trafford March, surreal artist Hira Manish, and an assortment of other writers, artists, and scientists to his private island under the impression that they were taking part in a top secret movie production. Genetically engineering the monster took several months; its brain was the cloned brain of deceased psychic Robert Deschaines, augmented by a psychic resonance device. Once completed, Veidt had the ship that was transporting the artists home blown up to hide his involvement in the events. At midnight on November 2, 1985, Veidt
teleported Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is o ...
the Alien Monster to the heart of New York City where it exploded, unleashing a massive psychic
shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...
that caused millions of deaths. The monster's body was discovered by Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre. In ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'' #3, the Alien Monster was seen in Reggie Long's nightmare. In the film, the Alien Monster was replaced with exploding energy reactors that generate a radioactive decay signature similar to Doctor Manhattan as a way to frame him for the retaliated attack in light of the cancer allegations against him. In the TV series, it is shown that "squidfalls", unexplained meteorological occurrences in which thousands of smaller alien monsters fall from the sky, occur around the world as late as 2019. These are revealed to be the continuing work of Adrian Veidt, believing them necessary to maintain fear of the "aliens" and thereby world peace. Episode 5 shows the effect of the psychic shockwave in Looking Glass' flashback where its body was shown and a younger Looking Glass is among the survivors of the attack. It also shows Veidt recording a message for future President Robert Redford in front of the Squid moments before its teleportation. In the season one finale, Veidt engineers a frozen squidfall over the city of Tulsa, killing Lady Trieu and thousands of others in the surrounding area before she is able to absorb Doctor Manhattan's powers. In the same episode, Wade was able to obtain the recording of Veidt's message to Redford to be used as evidence.


Bernard

Bernard is a newsdealer who appears periodically on the central New York street corner. Bernard is amongst the many characters who dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York, and he dies trying to protect his young namesake. Moore has stated that he "is in some ways every man, because he's a complete prat and doesn't know what's going on... is like a lot of people, he is a function of the news... egurgitating news headlinesthink ngthat's an opinion."


Bubastis

Bubastis is a genetically altered red
lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...
with stripes that was created by Ozymandias to serve as his sole companion. When meeting with a toy company, Adrian Veidt asked for the toy company to make a toy of Bubastis as well. When Doctor Manhattan was lured into the intrinsic field subtractor, Veidt regretfully apologizes to Bubastis and turns on the machine which kills Bubastis and temporarily disassembles Doctor Manhattan. In the sequel "
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
", Bubastis's DNA was used by Ozymandias to create Bubastis II in his plot to find Doctor Manhattan in the DC Universe. In the film, Bubastis has blue fur.


Doug Roth

Doug Roth is a
reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
for Nova Express. He is present at Dr. Manhattan's interview with
Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for ''Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broadc ...
and reveals that several of his coworkers died of cancer, presumably from Manhattan. This leads to Manhattan's self-imposed exile on Mars. Roth is portrayed by John Shaw in the film.


Gloria Long

The wife of Malcolm Long and mother of Reggie, the second Rorschach. She dies in the New York massacre caused by Ozymandias' alien monster.


Janey Slater

Janey Slater is the first girlfriend of Dr. Jon Osterman. She leaves him in 1966 after she perceives a relationship building between Osterman and Laurie. Veidt gives Janey cancer as part of his scheme to exile Dr. Manhattan. Janey erroneously believes that Jon Osterman gave it to her. In the film, she is portrayed by Laura Mennell.


Detective Joe Bourquin

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
Joe Bourquin is the partner to Detective Steven Fine. Bourquin dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York. In the film, he is renamed Detective Gallagher and is portrayed by Don Thompson.


John David Keene

John David Keene Sr. is a Senator who is responsible for the Keene Act that banned superheroes that were not government-sanctioned. In the TV series, he is portrayed by Ted Johnson. Now an old man and using a wheelchair, John is present at his son Joe Keene's plans to inherit Doctor Manhattan's powers. Laurie comments that she did not suspect that Keene Sr. would be part of Cyclops. After Joe Keene is turned into ooze because he did not have a component in the machine he used that would filter the atomic energy, Keene Sr., the rest of the Seventh Kavalry, and the Cyclops leadership are all vaporized by Lady Trieu where Keene Sr.'s wheelchair is left behind.


Malcolm Long

Malcolm Long, Ph.D. is the
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the pre ...
who is assigned to evaluate Rorschach after he is apprehended. He is initially very hopeful of curing Rorschach, even though his utter lack of emotion makes Long's psychological evaluation techniques useless. Rorschach's unveiling of events that shaped his uncompromising mindset greatly affects Dr. Long's own outlook and marriage. Malcolm and his wife die when Veidt's monster appears in New York. In ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'', Malcolm has a son named Reggie who became the second Rorschach. In the film, he is portrayed by William S. Taylor.


Seymour David

Seymour David is a junior worker at the ''New Frontiersman'' magazine offices, designed by Moore to be "the ordinary common slob". He is the final character in ''Watchmen'', playing a pivotal role in the final pages, whom Moore describes as "the most low-life, worthless, nerdy sort of character in the entire book who finally has the fate of the world resting in his pudging fingers". When a planned article for the ''New Frontiersman'' has to be scrapped, the editor leaves it up to Seymour to find something usable in the magazine's "crank file" submissions, which include Rorschach's journal. It is revealed in ''
Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...
'' #1 that the journal was published and that Seymour was "brutally beaten to death" afterward. In the film, Seymour is portrayed by
Chris Gauthier Christopher Gauthier (born 27 January 1976) is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his work in '' Need for Speed: Carbon''. He had a recurring role on the SyFy Channel series '' Eureka'', as Café Diem owner Vincent. While filming the f ...
.


Detective Steven Fine

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
Steven Fine is the
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
that investigates Edward Blake's murder, and captures Rorschach. He deduces that Dan Dreiberg is Nite Owl II, and hints at this to Dreiberg in an effort to warn him away from further activity. Fine dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York. Supplementary materials for the television series reveal that the investigation of Blake's murder, Rorschach, and Dreiberg were abandoned after Fine was killed during the attack. He is portrayed by
Jerry Wasserman Jerry Wasserman (born November 2, 1945) is an American professor and film and television actor. Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is working on his role in ''Alien Trespass'' in post-production. He is a Professor of English and Thea ...
in the film.


Television series

The HBO television series is set after the events of the original limited series comic, taking place in 2019 in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma.


Sister Night

Sister Night (portrayed by
Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, '' Time'' magazine named her o ...
as an adult, Faithe Herman as a child) is the masked identity of Angela Abar. Angela was born in Vietnam (by that point, the 51st state). Her parents were killed by a suicide bomber and her grandmother June came to bring her to the continental United States only to suffer a heart attack. In 2009, she met Doctor Manhattan in Vietnam where he asked her on a date and informed her they would fall in love. Due to her hatred of Manhattan and skepticism of his identity, she initially refuses to believe him but nonetheless goes on the date with him to humor him; they quickly fall in love and he assumes the physical form of the deceased Calvin Jelani so that they can be together in public. When Angela grows frustrated with Manhattan's omniscient view of time, they agree to install a device into his forehead that suppresses his supernatural abilities, though this also temporarily removes his memories. Following the implementation of the device, Angela tells Manhattan that his name is Cal Abar and that he has suffered amnesia following an accident. Together, they move to Tulsa where Angela joins the
Tulsa Police Department The Tulsa Police Department (TPD) is the principal law enforcement agency for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies It is the second largest munici ...
. On Christmas Eve 2015, Angela and Cal were attacked by members of the Seventh Kavalry, a white supremacist group who were upset at the police's enforcement of special reparations for victims of racial injustice stemming from the
Tulsa race riot The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...
in 1921. Angela survived the attack, but learned from her superior Chief Judd Crawford that the homes of 39 other officers were attacked, and of those that survived, only Angela and Judd were staying on the force. To protect officers, a law was passed to require officers to disavow their profession and disguise themselves. Angela opted to take up the Sister Night costume, itself inspired by the fictional
blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...
70s film ''Sister Night: The Nun with the Motherf%&$ing Gun''. Her outfit consists of black spraypaint going across her eye areas, a black
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
's
habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
, a black balaclava going over her nose and mouth, a white shirt, black trousers, and long black boots with heels. In her day-to-day life, Angela is a
baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Si ...
who runs a bakery called "Milk and Hanoi" where the sign on it still says "Opening Soon". She and Cal also adopted three children whose parents were killed during White Night. Angela investigates Judd Crawford's death in 2019, quickly deducing that he was a KKK member as well as a founding member of the Seventh Kavalry, though initially covering up this information as she investigates the identity of Crawford's killer, Will Reeves, who claims to be her grandfather. When she is incarcerated for covering up the details of Crawford's death, Angela impulsively swallows an entire bottle of Nostalgia, pills that contain Reeves's memory, and she learns that he was the Hooded Justice, the first-ever masked vigilante. Angela later learns of the Seventh Kavalry's plans to destroy Doctor Manhattan and forcibly removes the device from Cal's forehead, causing him to regain his memories, his omniscience, and his normal appearance. Another flashback revealed that Cal used his Doctor Manhattan abilities to take down some attackers during Angela's fight with them. Shortly afterwards, they are attacked by the Kavalry and, despite both Angela's and Manhattan's attempts to stop them, he is captured. Keene prepares to harness Manhattan's powers, but it is thwarted by Trieu and Keene is reduced to ooze because the machine he used did not have a component to filter the atomic energy. Angela watches as Trieu kills the entire Kavalry and plans to claim Manhattan's powers for herself. Accepting the inevitable, Manhattan transports Blake, Tillman, and Veidt away from the Kavalry's base but keeps Angela by his side so that they can be together when he dies; he assumes Cal's appearance for a final time and tells Angela that he loves her as he is finally destroyed by Trieu. When Veidt manufactures another squid attack to upend Trieu's plans to harness Manhattan's powers, killing her in the process, Angela finds safety in a local theater, where Will Reeves has taken her kids. She shares a moment of clarity with Will and she finally accepts him as her grandfather, allowing him to stay with them as they take her children home. Her oldest son Topher learns at this time that she is Sister Night. When she arrives home, Angela realizes that Manhattan may have transferred his powers into an egg, something he indicated was possible on the first night they met. Angela eats the raw egg. She then starts to see if she can walk across water as the episode abruptly ends. It is implied that she obtains Manhattan's powers as a result.


Judd Crawford

Judd Crawford (portrayed by
Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
) was the
chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...
of the Tulsa Police Department. During his tenure, Judd was also the leader of a separate
KKK The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cath ...
-eqsue cell of the secret white supremacist, domestic terrorist organization Cyclops. Judd conspired with Senator Joe Keene to orchestrate the "White Night", an event that resulted in Tulsa police officers and their families being killed in their homes where the ones that were sleeping in bed took the brunt of the attacks. Judd had to make it look like that he was attacked. After the incident, Keene passed a new law which forced police officers to wear masks, partly to protect the identities of officers and appear "tough on crime", while secretly fomenting public mistrust of the police. Following one of the fights with the Seventh Kavalry, Judd was hypnotized by Will Reeves to hang himself. Judd's death allowed Senator Keene to invite Laurie Blake to Tulsa to investigate, secretly luring her there for his own purposes. While Sister Night discovered Judd's connection with the KKK, Looking Glass learned from Keene Jr. that Judd led the police department on Joe's behalf while Joe led the Seventh Kavalry. It is revealed in the final episode that after the White Night event, Judd and his wife discerned that Cal was actually Doctor Manhattan and purposely got close to the Abar family so he could help the Kavalry in their plot to destroy Manhattan.


Looking Glass

Looking Glass (portrayed by
Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in '' Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pend ...
as an adult, Phil Labes as a teenager) is the masked identity of Wade Tillman. Wade was a
Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
from Tulsa, visiting
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...
on the night of November 2, 1985 to try to preach to the crowds there. A female member of the Knot Top Gang lured him into a hall of mirrors with the promise of sex, but instead ran off with his clothes except for his shoes and socks. Before he could give chase, psychic waves from the appearance of the alien monster in New York City shook the area, and Wade found himself one of the few survivors. This left Wade with a
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...
, leaving him fearful of squids, building a bunker in his backyard, and pushing him towards isolation. Though he married Carolyn, they split after about seven years due to Wade's stress, though they remain on amicable terms. Wade, normally a focus group analyst for an advertising agency, joined the Tulsa police as Looking Glass, wearing a fully reflective mask made of material purportedly able to protect him from psychic waves. As Looking Glass, he uses his "Pod", a small chamber with various screens on its walls, to interrogate subjects: he flashes various images on the screens to judge their responses. In "Little Fear of Lightning", Wade is captured by the Seventh Kavalry and is shown the video in which Veidt confesses to having manufactured the alien squid attack. Senator Keene shows Wade the video on the condition that Wade bring Angela to the Kavalry in return. Disillusioned by what he has seen, Wade has Angela turned in for her having covered up the details of Judd's death. Despite his compliance, he is that night attacked in his home by Kavalry members. After killing all the attackers, Looking Glass disappears. It is revealed several episodes later that he has infiltrated the Kavalry where he guarded Laurie. Present for the attempted destruction of Manhattan by the Kavalry and by Trieu, Wade is transported by Manhattan to Veidt's office in Antarctica alongside both Veidt and Blake, and aids Veidt in manufacturing a frozen squid attack to stop Trieu from absorbing Manhattan's powers. Subsequently, Wade and Blake both arrest Veidt for his many crimes. Wade knocked out Veidt after he got a positive answer on if the FBI was going to go after Robert Redford.


Red Scare

Red Scare (portrayed by
Andrew Howard Andrew Howard (born June 12, 1969, in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh theatre, television and film actor. Training Howard trained at Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter in the late 1980s, touring in productions of ''A Christmas Carol'', ''Twelfth Night ...
) is a robust communist member of the Tulsa Police Department who wears a predominantly red outfit consisting of a red ski mask, a red jacket, and a red trainer pants. Not much is known about his past. Red Scare named his alias after the real "
Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...
" which saw the United States gripped in fear of Communism and communist sympathizers in the nation. Red Scare is often seen paired with Pirate Jenny.


Panda

Panda (portrayed by Jacob Ming-Trent) is a desk cop for the Tulsa Police Department who wears a
giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...
mask that covers his face except for his jaw area where the panda mask's lower jaw should be.


Pirate Jenny

Pirate Jenny (portrayed by Jessica Camacho) is a member of the Tulsa Police Department who wears a
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
-themed outfit. She is often seen paired with Red Scare.


Dale Petey

Dale Petey (portrayed by
Dustin Ingram Dustin Kyle Ingram (born January 25, 1990) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Bert in the 2016 remake of ''Cabin Fever'', as Duane Ogilvy in Nickelodeon's ''Unfabulous'', and as Agent Petey in HBO's ''Watchmen''. ...
) is an FBI Agent who accompanies Laurie Blake in her investigation in Judd Crawford's murder. Having a Doctorate in Superhero History, he has a profound knowledge of the history of the Minutemen and the Crimebusters, and his writings on the matter have filled in much of the show's backstory via the HBO subsite "Peteypedia". Petey is all but directly confirmed to be Lube Man, a costumed vigilante that wears a skin-tight suit and able to cover himself in an oily substance to escape from Angela in " If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own", based on "Peteypedia" material related to Petey's dismissal from the FBI after the end of the events in the series. According to showrunner
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...
, Lube Man was introduced as "just going to be a scene in episode 4 that's in the midst of other insane things happening" and did not expect the character or his identity to take off in popularity with fans of the show, pointing readers to Peteypedia "to reach the obvious conclusion" to his identity.


Mr. Phillips

Mr. Phillips (portrayed by
Tom Mison Thomas James Mison (born 23 July 1982)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. Ancestry.com; accessed 6 February 2014. is an English film, television, and theatre actor, voice artist, and writer. He has had leading ...
) is a series of male clones that serve Adrian Veidt on Europa. They were cloned from the original Mr. Phillips that knew a younger Jon Osterman. When one clone dies, their bodies would be made use of by Veidt and a new clone will be grown in their place.


Game Warden

The Game Warden (portrayed by
Tom Mison Thomas James Mison (born 23 July 1982)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. Ancestry.com; accessed 6 February 2014. is an English film, television, and theatre actor, voice artist, and writer. He has had leading ...
) is a powerful clone of Mr. Phillips that was made to antagonize Adrian Veidt. His presence was first seen when fires a warning shot towards Veidt after he shot an
American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...
and later sent a letter of warning to him. The Game Warden was fully seen when he busts Veidt for having left the area of Europa. He places him under arrest and quotes "May god have mercy on your soul." Adrian quotes that their god left them years ago. The Game Warden had placed Adrian on trial where he was found guilty before a jury of his peers which happened to be pigs. He then subjected Adrian to public humiliation. When Veidt gets out of his prison thanks to a horseshoe hidden in a cake by one of the servants, he makes his way towards Lady Trieu's rocket. The Game Warden tries to stop him only to be killed when Veidt stabs him with the horseshoe. Before dying, the Game Warden asks Veidt if he was a worthy opponent. Veidt just tells him "no."


Mrs. Crookshanks

Mrs. Crookshanks (portrayed by
Sara Vickers Sara Louise Vickers (born 1985) is a Scottish theatre, television and film actress best known for playing Joan Thursday in the British television detective drama series '' Endeavour''. Early life and education Vickers was born in 1985, in Stra ...
) is a series of female clones that serve Adrian Veidt on Europa. They were cloned from the original Mrs. Crookshanks that knew a younger Jon Osterman. When one clone dies, their bodies would be made use of by Veidt and a new clone will be grown in their place.


Christopher Abar

Christopher "Topher" Abar (portrayed by Dylan Schombing) is the adopted son of Angela and Cal Abar. They took him in after his biological parents the Doyles were killed during the White Night.


Rosie Abar

Rosie Abar (portrayed by Lily Rose Smith) is the older adopted daughter of Angela and Cal Abar.


Emma Abar

Emma Abar (portrayed by Adelynn Spoon) is the younger adopted daughter of Angela and Cal Abar.


Lady Trieu

Lady Trieu (portrayed by
Hong Chau Hong Chau (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress who gained recognition for her supporting role in the 2017 film '' Downsizing'', in which she played the character Ngoc Lan Tran. For her performance, she was nominated for several supporting ...
) is a scientist and the owner of Trieu Industries which bought out Veidt Enterprises following news of Adrian Veidt's "death". Trieu is the daughter of Adrian Veidt after her mother Bian, in a show of defiance against Veidt, inseminated herself with one of Veidt's own sperm samples without his knowledge. Trieu is highly intelligent due to Veidt's genetics, and calls herself the "smartest woman on Earth." Trieu came up with a means to capture
Doctor Manhattan Doctor Manhattan (Dr. Jonathan Osterman), often shortened to Dr. Manhattan or simply Manhattan is a fictional character who appears in comics published by DC Comics. He debuted in the graphic novel limited series ''Watchmen''. Doctor Manhattan ...
's powers in a quantum centrifuge, but was rebuffed by Veidt when she approached him for financial help in 2008. Instead, she established Trieu Enterprises, not only making it a trillion-dollar company, but using it as a front to construct her quantum centrifuge in Tulsa as the "Millennium Clock." During this time, she had expected to find Manhattan on Europa, but discovered a message from Veidt there and sent an automated craft to recover him and bring him to Earth by 2019 when her plan was to be completed. Lady Trieu has also created a clone of her mother Bian to assist her. Through Will Reeves, Lady Trieu learned of Manhattan's identity on Earth as Cal Abar, husband to Angela. She also learned the Seventh Kavalry had discovered this as well and planned to capture Manhattan themselves and Will asks for her help to wipe the Kavalry and Cyclops out. As Trieu's quantum centrifuge activates following the Seventh Kavalry's capture of Manhattan, Trieu teleports the Kavalry, Manhattan, Angela, Laurie, and Wade to downtown Tulsa with Bian and Veidt in attendance as her men use their special shields to disarm the Seventh Kavalry of their weapons. When the ooze that used to be Joe Keene emerged from the machine, Lady Trieu stated that they didn't add a component to the machine to filter the atomic energies which can have that effect on anyone. After briefly reading a speech written to her by Will Reeves, she vaporized the Kavalry alongside the Cyclops leadership and triggers the centrifuge as Jane Crawford predicted. Manhattan teleports Veidt, Laurie, and Wade to Karnak, where they use Veidt's squid-rain-making device to send frozen squid projectiles in the immediate area. Though Trieu is able to destroy Manhattan before this, the squids destroy the centrifuge and kill Trieu before the transfer of power can be complete.


Bian My

Bian My (portrayed by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) is the "daughter" of Lady Trieu. In reality when she speaks with a recuperating Angela, Lady Trieu states that Bian is actually a younger clone of her mother, and has received some of the memories of Trieu's mother through Trieu's technology. The original Bian named Bian My (portrayed by Elyse Dinh) was once a
cleaning lady A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning ope ...
of Adrian Veidt, present for his creation of the "Squid" in 1985. She inseminated herself with Veidt's sperm and escaped from Karnak as a sign of retribution against Veidt as seen in a flashback. According to a Peteypedia article, Bian My had encountered Comedian during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
in 1971 in which he and his battalion of Blazin’ Commandos’ burned down her village. This would explain why her clone has recurring nightmares of that event. When Veidt was freed from his gold encasing by Trieu, he saw Bian and noted that she cloned her own mother. She accompanied her mother to her plot. When Lady Trieu teleported everyone to her, Bian gave Lady Trieu the speech that Will Reeves wrote for her to read in front of the Seventh Kavalry and the Cyclops leadership. Bian later found Angela on the ground following Doctor Manhattan's death and helped her up while advising her to inform her fellow police officers to get away while they still can. Bian survives Veidt's second squid attack by ducking into one of the phone booths. She is last seen being comforted by Red Scare and Pirate Jenny over what had transpired.


Seventh Kavalry

The Seventh Kavalry is a white supremacist group with connections to the Cyclops organization. Each of its members wear Rorschach masks. On Christmas Eve of 2015, the Seventh Kavalry committed the "White Night" event orchestrated by Senator Joe Keene where they attacked the houses of 40 known police officers and their families. The ones who were asleep at the time took the brunt of the attack. Angela Abar and Judd Crawford were the only confirmed survivors of this attack. It was later revealed during the "White Night" event that the Seventh Kavalry learned that Doctor Manhattan was Cal Abar when he used his powers on some of the attackers where one of them was teleported to the Grand Canyon. Their plan is to capture and destroy Doctor Manhattan so that they can harness his powers. Some members of the Seventh Kavalry were able to do that at the cost of some of its members who were beheaded by Doctor Manhattan. The laser that aided them transported him to a synthetic lithium cage that was created from melting down a lot of watch batteries. With Laurie as their prisoner and Looking Glass hiding amongst its ranks, the Seventh Kavalry sent out invites to the Cyclops leadership to meet with them at an abandoned building where all was revealed to them by Joe Keene. Despite the warning from Angela that Lady Trieu is coming for them, Joe began his plot by using a machine to gain Doctor Manhattan's abilities. Upon its activation, Lady Trieu teleported everyone to her location where her men used their special shields to disarm the Seventh Kavalry of their weapons. Lady Trieu opened the machine to find that Joe was dissolved by the machine because it didn't have the component to filter the atomic energy. As Lady Trieu reads from a speech written out by Will Reeves of what Cyclops and the Seventh Kavalry did to all non-whites, Jane Crawford anticipated that Lady Trieu was going to kill them. Lady Trieu does that by vaporizing the Seventh Kavalry and the Cyclops leadership.


Joe Keene

John Joseph "Joe" Keene Jr. (portrayed by
James Wolk James Wolk (born March 22, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the CBS comedy series ''The Crazy Ones'' (2013–2014), the AMC period drama series ''Mad Men'' (2013–2014), the CBS drama thriller series ''Zoo'' (2015 ...
) is a Republican Senator and leader of the Seventh Kavalry who aims to become President. His father is responsible for a 1977 law banning masked vigilantism. Looking Glass was the first to learn of Joe Keene's involvement with the Seventh Kavalry while having one of its members fake an attempt on his life. In addition, he also showed Looking Glass the footage that Ozymandias pre-taped for Robert Redford in the event that he became President of the United States. After Laurie Blake was dropped down a trap door by Jane Crawford and taken captive, Joe revealed to her their plans to capture and destroy Doctor Manhattan so that they can harness his powers. Later, the Kavalry is successful in capturing Manhattan as the Cyclops leadership gathers. However, the Kavalry was unsuccessful in harnessing his powers with Keene's body being dissolved in the process because he didn't have a component in the machine to filter the atomic energies according to Lady Trieu as the energies of Doctor Manhattan can do that to anyone. The rest of the Kavalry and the Cyclops leadership are subsequently killed by Lady Trieu.


Jane Crawford

Jane Crawford (portrayed by
Frances Fisher Frances Louise Fisher (born May 11, 1952) is a British-born American actress. She began her career in theatre and later starred as record executive Suzette 'Red' Saxon in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Guiding Light'' (1985). In film, she is ...
) is Judd's wife who is secretly a high-ranking member of the Seventh Kavalry. Due to Angela's ramblings when recuperating from Will's Nostalgia, Laurie visits Jane about Judd's connection with the Seventh Kavalry. This causes Jane to open the trap door beneath Laurie and inform Joe Keene of her capture. Jane is also present for the capture of Doctor Manhattan and is outed as a high-ranking member of Cyclops. After figuring out what Lady Trieu will do to them, Jane is among the Cyclops members vaporized by Lady Trieu.


Renee

Renee (portrayed by
Paula Malcomson Paula Malcomson (born 1 June 1970) is a Northern Irish actress. She is sometimes credited as Paula Williams. She is known as Trixie in ''Deadwood'' (2004-2006), Maureen Ashby in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2010), and as Abby Donovan in ''Ray Donovan'' ...
) is a radiologist who is a member of the Seventh Kavalry. She is the one responsible for luring Looking Glass to the Seventh Kavalry's hideout.


See also

* List of DC Comics characters * List of ''Doomsday Clock'' characters


Citations


General sources

* Gibbons, Dave. ''Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Graphic Novel''. Titan Books, 2008. . * Klock, Geoff. ''How to Read Superhero Comics and Why''. Continuum, 2002. . * Reynolds, Richard. ''Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology''. B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1992. . * Wright, Bradford W. ''Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America''. Johns Hopkins, 2001. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Characters Of Watchmen Watchmen characters, List of