The Comic Book Enthusiast
reading & writing about
comics
I'll be posting Watchmen in various posts with three chapters each to stay consistent with my first Watchmen post. Chapter IV I really enjoyed this chapter because it tells the origins of Doc Manhattan. The transformation of his outer self shows the way in which people treat him. He was a human before and is now but people don’t seem to recognize that. The only way for him to be “okay” in a society that no longer views him as Jon the scientist but a monster is as he says: “As long as I continue to act under U.S. government supervision, I am exempt from the law. They can hardly outlaw me when their country’s defense rests in my hands” (23). I found that to be both a curse and a good thing only in that he is allowed to be using his powers. However, he will always be seen as an outsider despite being what humankind needs. Further, I found it interesting that Jon said that: “Vigilantism is now illegal again, as it was before they altered the laws to accommodate strategically useful talents such as myself” (23). Here, shows that the government knows how useful these adventurers yet they still allow for the media and the people in the city to view these people as horrible. Well, The Comedian is an exception since he’s a monster. The way Moore keeps mentioning about the past here and there in Doc Manhattan’s dialogue to the reader is so haunting and well done. I just found it uneasy that Laurie was so young when she met Jon. I think Janey is right to be upset because the one she loves is going to stay young forever while she ages and will die. The part when he asks who makes the world and who to blame is so powerful because it seems that everything happens for a reason, but that reason is blurred sometimes and in his case often unfair. Chapter V One of my favorite features in this graphic novel are Rorschach’s journal entries because he seems to be more into the vigilante stuff than anyone else. He isn’t afraid to continue being a masked adventurer after it got illegal. I thought this line in his journal was intense: “First, peeled off face, folded it, hid inside jacket. Without my face, nobody knows me” (11) because it shows the reader that he sees himself with only the mask and he identifies with it and that is why he cannot let go. Wow, when he spills the coffee onto the napkin to form the Rorschach test really shows how much he wants his “face” on. The reveal of Rorschach’s face was so sad and I heard in my head his screaming to leave his face on. Finally, I know who has been around and the person at the funeral was him. Chapter VI I thought the first page was powerful because Walter lied to the detective because he really saw a bloody dog. Perhaps he is disturbed and the only way for him to challenge that into something good is when he is masked and being a vigilante. Jeez, he had such a rough childhood and I get it now. I know why he is the way he is. I think it takes someone really strong to be able to take such trauma to channel that into something good rather than bad. Rorschach is the character that the audience should root for but they do anyway. I understand why he doesn’t want to be called Walter, it’s because that name reminds him of the hardest times in his life. Wow, he created the mask before knowing that he wanted to use if for good. It was shocking to read that it took two years until that mask became a part of his life. The link between the woman he never met to him is powerful because she gave him his motivation. Walter is so complex: he claims that he has been just Kovacs but I think his actions and the way he carries himself tells differently. Thank you very much for reading!
-Nguyen, Alina
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