▲ 15 r/Watchmen
Questions about the original story [Comic]
Hi, finally got around to reading the original graphic novel / comic in its entirety (I saw the ultimate cut of the 2009 film years ago) and it was - as expected - amazing. I just had some questions that were maybe left open to interpretation and wanted to know what others thought or if they knew:
(Note that i'll be using the characters' given names later for simplicity's sake)
- When Ozymandias disintegrates Dr. Manhattan and Jon comes back a few seconds later, starts scolding Adrian while tearing through the building, was Jon about to kill Adrian but stops only when Adrian tells him the plan? We know Jon is by our standards apathetic, but he is willing to kill (e.g. Vietcong, bad guys at a bar, Rorschach a bit later) and to me all that with him crashing through the building and swiping at Adrian indicated that he was pretty pissed, even more so when he boasts of his godlike powers and how insignificant Adrian is compared to him. Idk, what do y'all think?
- Was Rorschach gonna kill his landlady if it wasn't for her kids? This is after he comes back for his stuff at his apartment and he sees her, and he's mad that she lied about him to the press. I genuinely thought this was a rare moment of moral compromise and sane-ness by Rorschach's standards. Sure, he scolds her and even calls her a whore to her face, but his face after she reminds him of her kids shows that he's pretty weary. He just seems tired, even a bit sad, and moves on with Nite-Owl. In my view, Rorschach at least wants to reserve his brutality for those who commit what he thinks is evil or those who must be stopped (like Ozymandias)
- When Ozymandias is rambling about his plan to his servants, they seem to be already dead; they're perfectly still, butterflies land on their face and wine glasses and one of them is even slumped over. But he keeps talking, on and on; is this a sign of mental illness? I'm being serious, Adrian is imo portrayed as an egotistical, hubristic child (he yells out "I did it!" when witnessing the destruction of New York, as though he were a kid winning a game). This to me is really interesting; could it be that he's just a narcissist and sociopath, viewing them not as people but as props to talk at and not to, and is driven by a need to have a sort of silent audience for a victory lap? Weird. Or then again it could be the medium of the story necessitates a scene for exposition and this just happens to fit in with his characterization
- Why does he lie about killing his servants to Dan and Rorschach? Is he secretly ashamed of what he did (a death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic) or is he simply establishing a cover story for Dan and Rorschach so they can't nab him? Or is he just saying all loose ends are covered up, no one living can testify against him. And if that's the case, why does he even spare Dan and Rorschach - I might've missed it, but does he say that no one would believe them?
- One of my biggest questions, why does Adrian open the atrium and lets the wind and snow blow in and destroy all the flora and fauna he cultivated? Was it just to cover up his killing of his three servants? Because sacrificing all that life and the time and energy just for the servants' coverup is extreme, but fitting with Adrian's characterization
Sorry if these questions are a bit surface-level, but thanks for reading 🙏
u/tecrush — 6 days ago
