Watching the World

You know the funny thing about Watchmen? Even though so much of the message revolves around how the world continues to struggle on, because it is a narrative medium, it necessarily concludes. We don’t get a happy wrap-up for the most part but the point is that, like all narratives, it comes to an end. Because it’s fiction, the characters end when the last page does. We could certainly imagine what happens to Adrian, Jon, and Dan and Laurie after they go their separate ways, but that would be creating narratives apart from Watchmen; A different continuum, like a different dimension, is not where the people we know live. If erbium doped fiber amplifierWatchmen has a continuation after the last page, it’s to start again at the first. The graphic novel opens and ends with the journal of Rorschach. Rorschach’s journal, unlike Watchmen itself, is a discarded tale, marginalized and tossed aside. Maybe it isn’t so unlike Watchmen after all. With the feature film in production, maybe the story that we know and love will be marginalized. Even though the movie itself works as a separate entity from the graphic novel, most people won’t see it that way. If the story is made into Hollywood fluff, like so many other superhero movies, then Watchmen will suffer more than any of them. Some critics of the movie’s production say that Moore and Gibbons designed Watchmen to be unfit for the motion picture. In a compositional way, I disagree with them. There might be some necessary changes to framing, dialogue, and whatever else, but it could be carried off in a relatively faithful manner. Of course, being a Hollywood production changes the equation altogether: Without a doubt, the story is being modified. Even that it is marketed as a superhero comic flick with big name actors in the starring roles destroys the message of the graphic novel. How are we supposed to feel about Veidt when we have real propaganda spinners and corporate big shots signing the papers for this movie? Will we be okay with Zack Snyder making the entire movie look like Sin City? (as he did with 300? That graphic novel was done in watercolor in two-page spreads, not Sin City’s claustrophobic noir!) It’s a blatant money grab, riding on the recent success of comic-movie adaptations, and even if the people behind it do actually love Watchmen, I’d be hard-pressed to believe that they understand how it functions. I’m pretty sure I won’t see it in theatres. Most likely, I won’t even have the time.

I’ve decided that I will take Amaranth Star’s offer. I’m short on leads for finding my mother on my own, and I owe her for putting me in contact with my dad. I think she genuinely wants to help me, and help defend the world, too. It seems pretty obvious that defending the world against an alien invasion is the right thing to do. I just can’t get Watchmen out of my head. Maybe it really just doesn’t matter. Maybe I’m just shooting myself in the foot if I think about it too much. I don’t think a catastrophic world event is really going to unite the nations of the world. It’d just be another Cold War with a bigger war on top of it. I don’t want to see that happen but there’s only so much control that I have over the situation. Powers get caught up in politics the same as anybody else. We may want to shut it out, ignore the rhetoric, but it’s there and it changes out lives the same as anyone else. A person who could topple an entire building with a punch can be toppled just the same by a lawsuit. It’s only by the grace of the governments of nations that dangerous people are allowed to live and work. It’s only the fear of what would happen if we dangerous people were cut loose that keeps us friendly with the authorities. It is only on the trust that we’ve built by policing our own, by the rhetoric of “good guys” and “bad guys” that we’ve stopped a war from happening. It won’t last forever.

Already the rumors are spreading about the number of American heroes involved in the Niigata quake. Already, my mother’s professional name is being slandered. The news of the fight being brought to American soil has already reached the public. Ms. Star was right about that. It’s simultaneously increasing tension between the crime fighting community and the government and keeping things status quo. They’re asking us to enlist in the military. National defense. There are a lot of people I know who have already agreed, and others who have always been with the government. I don’t know how much better it will be signing up with a UN organization, though. I’d like to say that it doesn’t matter, that all I’m trying to do is find my mom and bring her home. But it does matter. Every action that we heroes–we celebrities–make is watched with star-struck eyes or criticizing grimaces. There has never been a time I’ve wished so strongly that the point of Watchmen hit home with everybody. If it did, then my mom would probably be at home.

Tonight, I will be dreaming that my mom’s at home, that her years of training with a sword have culminated in a moment cutting a chicken breast into strips. Tonight, I’ll be floating up to reach the top shelf, where we keep the fine china. Tonight, a special guest is coming over, and we’ve got over a decade-and-a-half to catch up on.

Watchmen, Chapter 12: A stronger loving world, Page 19, Panel 7

I know I’ve used the terms “good guys” and “bad guys” on this blog. The truth is that those terms are cop outs. The world isn’t full of opposing forces colliding with each other, just individual elements that combine to make a whole. That whole is both–no, is neither beautiful or ugly. It’s hard to break these dichotomies. We are raised to see the world in pairs, and it’s a hard habit to break. This is a thing that even Veidt doesn’t see. He thinks that he has his victory, that the world has been saved by his actions. As readers, we have the ability to see outside of the narrative world. In our world, an action like Veidt’s wasn’t necessary to stop the Cold War. There was the fall of the Berlin Wall and then the financial collapse of the USSR. The threat of an immediate nuclear war has receded. Although these events occurred after Watchmen’s publication, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe that Moore and Gibbons thought there was another way for the world in Watchmen to unfold. It didn’t unfold in a different way, of course, because they were presenting a particular message. Even with the end of the Cold War, have we not seen our share of conflicts? Genocide? Inhumane captivity?

Let me pose some questions, then: Do you think that Veidt’s world would be any safer than ours? Would you trust a man who stood stunned when a peer told him “Nothing ever ends?” (Watchmen, Chapter 12: A stronger loving world, Page 27, Panel 5) I have trouble considering Veidt the smartest man on Watchmen’s Earth, but I’m sure he wouldn’t be the wisest.

Watchmen, Chapter 12: A stronger loving world, Page 27

If nothing truly ends, there is no ultimate good and no ultimate evil. The choices that we make may be solutions to particular problems but they cause their own issues to arise afterward. We as individuals are not wise enough, nor strong enough, to make the world a “better” place. All we can do is to make it a different place. We don’t even have to kill half of New York to do it, either. Just living, just having lived, a person accomplishes change. All we have are our wishes to help those close to us, perhaps the world-at-large, get along. For a man like Veidt, that may mean sacrificing thousands of lives or more. I couldn’t do that and I would try to stop him given the chance. No matter whether I despise people like Veidt, no matter how I may call him a villain, a “bad guy,” all I can do is follow my convictions as he follows his.

Adrian dreams of swimming towards a hideous something (Watchmen, Chapter 12: A stronger loving world, Page 27, Panel 1) and we as readers are aware of what that something is–the Black Freighter. We are lead to make this parallel and it’s a fair one to make. We can all imagine being so convinced of the truth of something that we are blind to its consequences, that we accept them as inevitable. It’s easy to see our paths leading to the edge of a precipice, and it’s easy to understand that any time we walk towards the edge, blindness is a danger. This blindness, however, does not necessarily lead to apocalypse. It may lead to tragedy, to people dying, but as long as there are people who survive, time marches on and memory tells our tales. None of us are above this, regardless of how special we may be.

If nothing truly ends, then there are no true dichotomies. There are no absolutes. Believing in absolutes usually only leads to tragedy and death. No amount of tragedy and death can make the world any better than it is. There is no solution to make a stronger loving world. If that is the case, do we have any need for superheroes? Aren’t superheroes and supervillains just synonyms for ultimate good and ultimate evil? If so, then there are no superheroes or supervillains. There are just people who do what they believe in, seperated only by perception.

I caught news that Amaranth Star was back in the country. I had questions for her. She was the one who called me out to Japan, re-united me with my father (as uncomfortable as that was), and it’s only because of her that I have any idea where my mother is. Amongst the Powered community, she is relatively easy to contact–it only takes a coded e-mail with a specific catch phrase. When she responded, she invited me on a tour of the UN building in New York. I’d been there once on a school trip and always wondered just why they had chosen New York of all cities.

When I arrived, she met me outside the doors. I came as myself. No disguises. I’m sure her agency has a file on me, considering how my mother was a member. I still don’t understand why she never told me. Why she kept saying that she was looking for dad when he was a co-worker. Maybe peer is a better word.

As I came up to her, she waved. I offered a handshake instead. This was a business meeting. I wanted to make sure that she understood that. Besides, she looked the part of a corporate already: Hair up, pinstripe jacket and skirt in a purple so dark it was almost black, white blouse. Heels. Some of the women in our occupation wear high heels when they’re out fighting crime. I never quite understood that. Even the ones who go around floating and flying. I can’t imagine being particularly active in high heels. At least Ms. Star didn’t seem like she was going to tackle a bank robber, but the shoes seemed out of place on her somehow.

The faint glow about her that I had seen that night was nearly impossible to make out during the day. It was only in the shadows, with a fair amount of squinting, that I could make it out. On the back of her neck, of all places. That night at the office building was ever-present in my thoughts. She was probably more powerful than me. More powerful than anyone I’d ever met. The mill amongst heroes was that she had single-handedly stopped a fifth plane during 9/11. Actually, they say she used both hands. By flying headlong at it and grabbing onto the nose. She literally stopped it . . . and carried it back to the airport after subduing the terrorists. Any person who could actually stop a passenger plane in mid-air with her hands was someone to be feared.

We made our way to the Delegates’ Dining Room. It was just after 2 pm, and it had just closed to the public. We were alone, except for the waiter, who knew to keep his distance when not serving our food. I wasn’t particularly hungry since I had had lunch before arriving. I politely ordered a pasta.

“I want to be candid with you. Your mother and I met on a number of occasions, though never on assignment. She’s a good woman and I’m sure she’s a good mother, seeing how you’ve grown up.”

“Where is she?” I understood her politeness but I wasn’t here to talk about my home life. I was here to talk about getting my mother home. “You know she’s alive.”

“There’s no way to be sure.” She paused as the waiter brought us our drinks. A glass of red for her, a Coke for me. “We’ve gone through the wreckage at the site. None of our agents’ bodies could be found. We can only assume that they all managed to reach the other side of the portal.”

I took a sip, letting the fizz dissipate in my mouth.

“We’re pretty sure she went through the portal to destroy it from the other side. We don’t know where that other side is, though.” She swirled the wine in her glass. The legs were long and ran slowly.

“So that’s it, then? You’re giving up on all of them?”

She shook her head, raised her glass and took a small sip. “There’s the other reason why I invited you here.”

It was all that she would say before our meals arrived. She began carving into her steak medallions and I picked at my pasta.

“If you’re going to ask me for something, you shouldn’t make me wait,” I said.

“Not hungry? You need to keep healthy if you want to help us find your mother’s taskforce.”

I put my fork down and pushed aside my dish. We were finally down to business.

“And what exactly do you need me to do?”

“An invasion is imminent. What your mother did . . . it will only delay them. There are reports of another base. It’s on American soil this time. I need talented agents and officers for what’s to come. People I can trust to do the right thing. We’re still reeling from losing our best in Japan, so I’m forced to recruit who I can. You’re a natural choice, of course. If you want to find your mother, like we do, then help us.”

“You still haven’t answered my question. What do you need me to do?”

She continued to eat for a moment before answering.

“You will be under my direct command. Fight when I call you to fight. Otherwise, I need you to travel. The site in Japan, our operations base at the second site, our offices here, and Agent Cormier, who spends most of his time in Europe. He is organizing portal research there.”

“Agent? You mean my dad? How exactly does he fit into this?”

“He’s my eyes abroad. I need you to be my ears. There’s a lot I can’t go into here. I was willing to share this much with you because the word is already out. You see, I won’t have you spying on an extraterrestrial enemy–that’s impossible. This is an international situation that has, due to geographical chance, become a quiet national crisis. American Powers are getting involved, both government and . . . independent. Other countries as well. There’s a lot of politics involved. I want you to keep your ears open right now, spread the word that the right thing to do now is for everyone to co-operate. If this turns into a jurisdiction war, we won’t need an invasion to destroy us.”

I nodded and sipped at my glass for a while.

“Is that it?”

“Not quite. But that’s it for now.”

Again, I nodded and we both stood to say our farewells.

“One more thing,” she said as I turned to leave. “There are a lot of people that don’t think too highly of your mother. For the destruction in Japan, as well as a number of other things in the past. I don’t know how you feel about your father right now, but he’s under a lot of pressure. I’m hoping you’ll contact him. He needs the help. But if you don’t feel comfortable, I can send someone else. Just let me know.”

I didn’t turn to face her as I nodded again. There was a lot on my mind.

Obviously, that’s all I can discuss. It’s already a lot of shocking news, I’m sure. Still, she never told me to keep it secret. I’m not really sure how much I can trust an organization that has hidden so much from me. At the same time, if all this is correct–and I’m going to investigate it–then Ms. Star is right. When it comes down to it, individual heroism, nationalism, international politics . . . if we get stuck on these ideas, we won’t need an invasion to bring about destruction.