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.

I’m sorry for not having been around lately. As you may know, my mother has gone missing recently and I have been searching for clues in regards to her whereabouts and safety. Just hours after I posted my call to the community, I received a vague e-mail from Amaranth Star. It simply said: “Niigata. Cormier.”

When I arrived in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, many areas still looked as if a war had broken out. After a number of inquiries, I was guided to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa power plant. Apparently this Cormier was in charge of a security detail consisting of mostly Japanese military and a contingent of UN sanctioned superheroes. Something wasn’t right. Why would the UN send Supers? A disaster recovery team, perhaps. A delegation of nuclear experts to aid with the plant’s recovery, maybe.

I was barred from entering the site by the security detail. I mentioned my name. I mentioned Amaranth Star. It was no use. They wouldn’t let me past the gate. I could have flown past them and snuck in or something. Instead, I decided to return to Tokyo, rattled but not devastated by the quake. I took the appearance of a 32 year-old reporter, investigating the aftermath of the earthquake and the state of the nuclear power plant.

That night, I woke to a presence in my room. A presence that was familiar to me: A voice in my head made corporeal. The previous host to my symbiote was a villain named Argus. Not many of his memories have been accessible to me and I’ve always thought that a blessing.

But a notorious supervillain was standing by my bedside. One that my mother was supposed to have brought to justice only after a long and painful battle. A sudden movement, I thought, and I would be dead, and perhaps dozens of innocents who were sleeping in the adjacent rooms.

“I’m glad you’ve come,” he said. I can hear the words echoing in my mind even now. I stayed silent, watching for any opening to surprise him.

“You’ve come about your mother,” he continued. His voice began to tremble. His shoulders sagged, and moonlight glanced over his shoulder through the window. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

No doubt, you could imagine my surprise. But the most surprising thing was yet to come. Even now, I don’t know what to make of it.

“Your mother was here. At the epicenter of the . . . the quake.” He turned away. I remember that much. I think we were silent for a long time. He sat on the edge of the bed. He was dressed in a suit. He looked like a businessman, though snide remarks about the business world and villainy didn’t come to mind at the time.

“I don’t know how to say this,” he whispered. Maybe he didn’t whisper. Maybe I was hearing his thoughts. “I’m afraid it might be too much to take, especially right now, but I want you to understand that this is coming from someone you can trust. Someone who loves you. It’s coming from your father.”

I didn’t understand. My mom had been searching for dad for a long time. I never understood why. He was scum. He left us before I was born. Was this his messenger? Had he come to contact me after all this time?

No. I swallowed the lump in my throat but it came up again. Dad?

He nodded once. A slow, titanic nod, and my heart sank. I couldn’t even be angry. He was right in front of me but I wasn’t angry. I knew he had revealed himself for a purpose, and no lesser reason would have brought him to me. Mom.

“I wanted to tell you myself. Your mother led a containment force underground. There was a lead about an alien invasion. Considering . . . her experience with . . . . There was a portal to their homeworld. An entire base. She and a hundred other UNP agents found a way into the portal.” UNP? My mother never said she was registered as a UN Powers.

“We lost contact but . . . we’re still exploring the site. We’re sure the quake was caused by the portal’s destruction. We’re also sure the enemy planned an attack on Kashiwazaki Kariwa. We were lucky just to keep the plant from exploding. A few of us, including Amaranth Star were sent to support your mother initially, but we were diverted to the power plant when we heard about an odd device hidden near one of the reactors.”

He was silent again. There were only the sounds of Tokyo at two in the morning–and whispers.

I don’t know what time he left. One moment he was there and the next he wasn’t. I couldn’t sleep anymore. I went online to book a flight home. I decided to fly myself home instead.

I don’t really know of a better way for me to put this, but I’m asking everybody for a favor: My mom, known as the master swordswoman Akakawa Kei, hasn’t been home for over a week now. I know as well as anyone that hero work can take someone away for days, sometimes weeks at a time, but she–my mom–has always found a way to drop me a message to tell me she’s all right. It’s been over a week and she didn’t even tell me where she went. I can take care of myself, but I’m worried about her. If anyone has any information at all, please, please send me an e-mail or post a comment. It might be nothing. She might be fine. I’d like to know, though.

Thank you all,

SK

Unfortunately, I won’t be spending much time on chapter 8. There is still plenty to work with, especially with the imagery of reminiscence and transformation.

Watchmen, Chapter 8: Old ghosts, Page 1, Panels 1-2

There is the bottle of Nostalgia on Sally Jupiter’s table being mirrored by Hollis Mason’s statue for his community service.

Watchmen, Chapter 8: Old ghosts, Page 11, Panels 1 & 6

The transformation of a roughly vaginal (sexual, creative) image to the face of a monster. Sexual imagery opposed by a monster of psychic (intellectual) power, strengthened by the references to brains on page 12, panel 1 and Rodin (his famous “The Thinker” sculpture) on panel 3 with Hollis Mason making a pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern.

Watchmen, Chapter 8: Old ghosts, Page 22, Panel 1

The calendar being changed. Time passing. October was an owl, November a hawk catching a sparrow. Wisdom is replaced by war mongering.

Watchmen, Chapter 8: Old ghosts, Page 28, Panels 1-3

Hollis Mason killed by thugs who mistaken him as the new Nite Owl (Dan), killing him with his own statue. The reference to “The Thinker” connected to the Jack-o-lantern is modified to show how intellect becomes shattered in madness.

With the reference to Rodin’s “The Thinker,” it is important to note that this famous sculpture was originally meant to be a small piece of a larger work called “The Gates of Hell,” where it depicts Dante pondering Hell for his great work “The Divine Comedy” (known often as “Dante’s Inferno”). The statue of “The Thinker” was made around 1880, near the end of the century, when there was much pre-occupation with the end of humanity and the return of Jesus (fin-de-siecle).

Names are important aspect in Watchmen. Moore and Gibbons use quite a lot of allusions in Watchmen. This is a list of characters and places that seem to have names that seem to be alluding to interesting. By no means is that a complete or authoritative list, but it may be worth thinking about while (re-)reading Watchmen.

Rorschach / Walter Kovacs - Rorschach test / perhaps Ernie Kovacs?

The Comedian / Edward Blake - Shakespearean Fool, Batman’s Joker? / William Blake?

Dr. Manhattan / Jon Osterman - The Manhattan Project / ?

Ozymandias / Adrian Veidt - Ramses II / Conrad Veidt?

Moloch / Edgar Jacobi - Ba’al / Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi?

Gunga Diner - Gunga Din by Rudyard Kipling

More names will be added whenever new information is found

For me, chapter 7 is a chapter that begs to be analyzed with an eye for queer theory–not only through the lens of sexual behavior, but through the broader meaning of “queer” as deviant from social norms. There is certainly material for a queer study–Dan’s feelings of impotency, Ozymandias’ gymnastic routine coupled with the attempted coupling of Dan and Laurie, the imagery in the Nostalgia commercial, et cetera.

Watchmen, Chapter 7: A brother to dragons, Page 16

Dan’s superhero costume fetish is an example. Despite his feelings for Laurie, he is simply unable to perform until he and Laurie have performed an act of heroism, saving the lives of civilians trapped in a burning building. Page 16 sees Dan aroused by an ex-villain from his past (Twilight Lady, as noted on Page 5, Panel 4). They mutually strip each others’ clothes off before the female villain strips his skin off to reveal Dan-as-Nite Owl, and he strips her to reveal Laurie-as-Silk Spectre. It is only then that they can kiss, though the dream ends with a nuclear explosion.

This kind of costume dress-to-undress is modified by the fact that Dan’s impotency was linked to images of nuclear war and Ozymandias. His impotency is more than just sexual, but a matter of overall ability to act, including as a superhero–especially in comparison to the persona of Ozymandias that Veidt has created. It is only by becoming a superhero again that he regains the ability to act, and interestingly, he then decides to go free his ex-partner (another item for queer study) Rorschach from prison.

Let me start off by mentioning a quick and interesting note: Moloch’s name, Edgar Jacobi, is most likely a reference to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, who coined the term ‘nihilism.’

Watchmen, Chapter 6: The abyss gazes also, Page 28

I mention this to make note of the nihilistic attitude that the chapter seems to give off. However, note that Friedrich Jacobi and Friedrich Nietzsche (who is referenced by means of the chapter title) were not nihilists though their names are often connected with the term. Although Dr. Long seems to make a nihilistic statement at the end of page 28–”We are alone. There is nothing else”–I think that perhaps there is something different at stake: Individuality and identity.

Watchmen, Chapter 6: The abyss gazes also, Page 2, Panel 6, Page 1, Panel 4, Page 7, Panel 1, Page 17, Panel 6, Page 18, Panel 4 & Page 17, Panels 8-9

Notice the number of mug shot-like panels in this chapter (not all of them are above, but a good representative sample), as well as the police file of Walter Kovacs (Rorschach). This kind of imagery is often connected to identity (check your purse or wallet for any picture ID you may have). Here, we have the construction of the identity of Rorschach from that of Walter Kovacs. Notice how often he is face-to-face with something (the Rorschach test cards, the bully, the watchdog, or Dr. Long for example).

Every superhero has to construct their identity as a hero and, often times, as an alter ego. This extends to everybody though, hero or not: Everyone ends up constructing personas that others see by performing specific actions in specific ways, as well as by saying the things that we say. It’s just that superheroes get to do so more flamboyantly. If we all construct the personas that others see, then are we essentially blank slates? Is there a core person within that inherently individualizes me? Perhaps the question is “Does it matter?” Regardless of whether inside I am a particular person, I still have to create a persona that I use to interact with the world. Superheroes simply have exceptional personas to interact with the world in ways that most people don’t.

In Watchmen, however, this separation often blurs: Jon lives as Dr. Manhattan, without much of a secret identity at all; Dan and Laurie adopt new identities to continue their lives together; Hooded Justice (mentioned only briefly) never truly has his secret identity revealed, but “disappears.” More problematically, Rorschach gets rid of his identity as Walter Kovacs, and Veidt takes on the mantle of Alexander the Great before discarding it for the title of Ramses II, known also as Ozymandias, positioning himself as the successor to military dictators and emperors. Instead of adding a persona in order to function in a different manner, both Rorschach and Veidt displace their previous identities to assume new ones. Both recognize their past selves, but it is the insistance of that self being in the past that becomes problematic. Although people often say that they have changed, have become a “new person,” it goes without saying that these personas do not serve the purpose of eradicating evil from humanity. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to live only in the exceptional persona of the superhero because it is a persona made not to live in society, but to change it.

This is one of the larger issues that Watchmen takes to task: Exceptionalism does not work if it works outside of society.

Symmetry is a central theme to chapter 5. The title, “Fearful symmetry” is a reference to William Blake’s famous poem, “The Tyger,” which is in itself one of his “Songs of Experience” (which are themselves mirrored by his “Songs of Innocence”). I think that it’s hard to discount an intentional link between the theme of symmetry in Watchmen and Edward Blake, the Comedian. However, it is the character of Rorschach who begins and ends this chapter, as he pays visits to the ex-villain Moloch, who himself has had recent contact with the Comedian. In this way, Rorschach and the Comedian are again linked.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 1 & Page 28

That Rorschach appears “symmetrically” in this chapter is meant for the reader to relate this “Fearful symmetry” to him. We are meant to identify him as the Tyger.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 26, Panel 3

Here, even the SWAT officer refers to Rorschach as a Tyger.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 11, Panels 3 & 9

Connecting Rorschach to the theme of symmetry even more.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Pages 14-15

Here, we are shown Veidt (Ozymandias) at the very middle of the chapter. Notice the symmetrical panel structure of the two pages. This extends out in both directions through the entire chapter. Also notice how the middle panel is split so that Veidt is mostly on one side and his assailant is on the other. Also notice the presence of water and reflection–the attacker’s reflection can be seen in the water, and the Egyptian figurehead, representative of Veidt, is in the central panel also reflected in the water, and in the fourth panel of page 15 where it is used to bash the assailant’s face (Ozymandias and the assailant going “face to face”).

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 24, Panels 4-5

Opposing faces are a very powerful visual device. Here we have the dead Moloch immediately juxtaposed to Rorschach. Rorschach immediately recognizes that he is danger–that death, perhaps, is coming for him.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 12, Panel 8 & Page 28, Panel 7

Here, we have a visual link between the protagonist of the “Black Freighter” comic and Rorschach. The sub-plot of the “Black Freighter” mirrors that of Rorschach and Veidt, the two central figures in this chapter.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 19, Panel 4 & Page 16, Panel 4

The “Black Freighter” protagonist and Veidt compared.

Watchmen, Chapter 5: Fearful symmetry, Page 17, Panel 7

Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault, 1818-19, oil on canvas, 193.3″ × 282.3″ (491 cm × 717 cm), The Louvre

On a slightly separate note, I can’t help connecting these images together, though I’m not particularly sure whether this is an intentional connection or not. In Raft of the Medusa, the ship has been smashed to pieces due to the incompetence of a captain who gained his rank through high connections instead of ability and experience. The survivors portrayed here are signalling to a ship on the horizon. However, if the viewer is aware of the events that occurred contemporary to Géricault, they would know that it is not actually the ship that rescues them–it is a sign of false hope, and we find that the protagonist of the comic is also led on by a false hope of reaching his home before the Black Freighter does. The survivors of the Medusa fell to cannibalism to survive the duration, which I think reflects in Veidt’s later actions. (FINE 210, Prof. Joan Coutu, Feb. 6, 2007)