The final chapters of Watchmen are intense. We get to learn about Rorschach’s past and find out who the man behind it all is. One thing that I really liked about this comic book is the rich backgrounds of the characters. I personally watched the movie before I read this book but knowing the fate of certain side characters make more sense for the story.
The entire scene where Rorschach gets captured and sent to jail makes me think of a “what if Batman went to jail”. When we discussed how some of these characters may portrayal other DC characters, well to me Rorschach represented Batman in his Dark Knight persona. What would happen if Batman got sent to jail or even Arkham with all the villains he put away. “I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me!” is something Batman would say.
I feel like Alan Moore tried to convince the reader to feel some type of sentiment towards the Comedian when it’s revealed that his daughter was Laurie the whole time. But by this time, we as a reader have known how the Comedian was and felt nothing towards him. Even when the Comedian tried talking to Laurie, it didn’t feel like a father trying to bond with his daughter. It felt more like he was trying to hit on her instead especially when Miss Jupiter told him “get your hand off her”. It reminds the reader of what had happened. Still, I don’t get why Miss Jupiter would go back and “do it” with Comedian even after he tried to rape her.
Dr. Manhattan on the other hand has completely lost touch. It’s very clear throughout the comic but more clear when he does nothing when Veidt revels himself. Even though Ozy has a point and his plan worked, Dr. Manhattan could of turned him into a can of juice or isolated him into another planet but he decided to let him live. In a way, Dr. Manhattan’s stay on the planet was causing too many problems. Technology that shouldn’t exist until years was being developed because of him. People were committing suicide and killing others because of the nuclear war.
One thing that I also enjoyed was how it ended. As much as Rorschach was my favorite character, someone had to die. Yeah Comedian died but he died in the beginning when we knew nothing about him so we didn’t care for it but because Rorschach’s story was being developed, we got to see a hero die.