The end of the series is quickly approaching for Moore and Gibbons, so they need to hurry up and get all their ducks in a row. However, there’s still an obnoxious amount of pages to fill, so there’s going to be a fair share of filler here.
We are going to take quite a bit of time to show President Nixon arriving at this secure bunker. A little strange to devote this much time to him now, as he’s almost been completely absent from this story.
Fun fact, the nuclear “football” that always travels with the president is actually just an ordinary briefcase. But a metallic football with handcuffs is a more interesting visual.
Nixon’s waiting for the end and so are we. But the story can’t end until issue #12, so we need to stall just a little bit. Granted, it’s not all bad. There is a lot of interesting stuff here and it’s beautifully illustrated as always, but the narrative has kind of stalled for now.
I’m a little disappointed in this panel. It takes up two-thirds of a page for no reason at all, and it’s rather average work from Gibbons and Higgins. I know I’m holding them to unrealistically high standards, but that’s what happens when you excel at such a high level. Picky readers like me will demand absolute perfection in every single panel.
It should surprise no one that Rorschach’s only plan for detective work is to beat up alleged criminals in a bar. Surprisingly, that tactic will actually work this time.
I still am completely baffled by this whole bit of Rorschach’s landlady claiming he propositioned her. Was she actually paid to spread that lie? To what end? Rorschach was already deeply unpopular and resented by everyone except the far-right editor of The New Frontiersman. Regardless, it was somewhat surprising that Rorschach didn’t kill this woman. And I don’t think it was because of the pressing mission, or Nite Owl’s presence, or even the fact that Rorschach was slightly humbled by his experience in prison. It was the little kids reminding him of his own horrific childhood.
Ozymandias would have loved social media! But seriously, though, I love his entrance here. We don’t get a clear look of him until he’s fully dressed in his old superhero suit. And by putting it on once he arrives at his private base shows us that his Adrian Veidt public persona was the disguise. Just like Rorschach, his real identity is that of a costumed vigilante.
If Ozymandias weren’t so obsessed with the accumulation of wealth, he might actually be a somewhat sympathetic character — despite the mass murders. But he doesn’t just want to save the world. He wants to profit off the calamity he’s causing.
It makes me laugh how Rorschach is so sensitive about his odor. And how he still doesn’t value Dan’s real detective work.
Look at this! A little bit of character growth! I guess the prison did humble him after all. Well, a tiny bit. Unfortunately, these humanizing elements of Rorschach make it easier for his fanboys to idolize him.
There we go! There’s the money shot I’ve been waiting for from this art team!
The mariner begins his horrific conclusion, just as Ozymandias does. He is incapable of acknowledging or considering that his victims might be innocent. Their motivations may be different — Ozymandias is not driven by revenge — but they both succumbed to misguided notions.
I wish we could have had a few more Jehovah’s Witnesses with their Watchtower magazines in the Watchmen comic. At any rate, it’s hilarious that their talk of the end of the world completely unnerves Bernard, even though he’d been talking about it nonstop for a week.
Rorschach is soooo happy to be back to breaking people’s hands and cracking lame puns. And frankly, that’s not too different from what Batman does on a regular basis.
The revelation of Hollis Mason’s death feels a little shoehorned in here. I’m not exactly sure what purpose it serves other than to tie a neat bow on a subplot.
I guess Moore was trying to give us an emotionally compromised Nite Owl heading into the final confrontation? But that’s not what really happens. Rorschach successfully — and surprisingly — calms him down. Maybe this was Moore’s way of showing Rorschach gaining more control by witnessing his only friend lose control.
And now we get one last check-in on Adrian’s secret island. I understand why Moore kept it so secretive, but I still say we needed to see a little bit more of it.
I do love this sequence of panels. The only thing that survived the ship’s destruction was an image of the thing that will soon destroy New York.
We all know that Adrian could have done a better job at concealing his plans. In fact, he did for several years. But at this point, the endgame was already in motion, and he confidently knew he had nothing to worry about.
This was back when Computer Passwords were a new and strange idea.
I love this panel. The stunned, calm expression of Dan lit by the green of the computer screen. So simple, yet so chilling. I’m sure the temptation was to make this a much bigger deal, but I’m glad Gibbons showed restraint.
It was quite convenient that the police didn’t take Rorschach’s real journal. Moore really wanted that final scene of someone reading it. Granted, he handled this much better than J.K. Rowling did when she wanted Harry to have the Marauder’s Map again.
Look the scarecrow against the moon is another callback to the Doomsday Clock! Seriously though, I do like the haunting visual that there is no omniscient power looking out for us. Just a silent scarecrow.
Pro tip to anyone trying to expose the greatest coverup in American history: Don’t begin your manifesto by talking about dead dogs.
One of the most unique and breathtaking panels of this series. A beautiful breath of fresh air.
The absurdly magnificent airship is even graceful when it crashes. Still is really goofy-looking, though. On a completely unrelated note, I am wondering just how long Laurie spent on Mars with Dr. Manhattan. Dan and Rorschach spent a long time hiding at the bottom of the river. And this journey to Antarctica surely took even more time. Laurie’s Martian therapy session didsn’t seem to take that long. Maybe the teleportation process wasn’t quite instantaneous? That is an awfully long way to travel.
I’m really surprised Moore didn’t show Rorschach suffer from frostbite or hypothermia. He’s usually really good about keeping on top of those little details.
Think you got enough angles there, Adrian? Perhaps a couple more closeups? You apparently have an infinite amount of security cameras, so why not?
The supplemental material is papers taken from Adrian’s desk. It is quite dull and not particularly illuminating.
OK, these toys would actually be really cool. But I do understand Adrian’s hesitation to make toys based on real people, especially the murderous Rorschach.
A brief glimpse of Adrian’s post-“invasion” plans. How much did he really want to build a utopia? Or did he merely want to profit off the calamity he caused? I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive, but his relentless pursuit of money does undercut some of his loftier aims.
Was this self-improvement course a scam or a genuine attempt to improve the world? It seems like Ozymandias could have easily trained up a group of dedicated acolytes who were almost as strong as he was, and who certainly shared his insane worldview. Would have been an interesting addition, but this story was fine without it.
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