How to Destroy Everything? According to Watchmen by Alan Moore and Gibbons
The ticking of a clock inexorably approaches midnight. A yellow button with a red stain that looks like blood. A mask that changes depending on who looks at it. These are just some of the elements that have turned Watchmen into much more than a simple comic book: it’s a masterpiece that forever redefined the superhero genre, stripping it down to its most fragile bones and exposing its deepest contradictions.
Published between 1986 and 1987, this monumental work born from the brilliant mind of Alan Moore, the meticulous illustrations of Dave Gibbons, and the atmospheric coloring of John Higgins, has established itself as possibly the most influential work in comic book history. What began as a limited series of 12 issues ended up transforming into a cultural phenomenon that transcended the panels to deeply question our relationship with power, morality, and justice.
The Deconstruction of the Myth: When Heroes Fall from Their Pedestal
Moore’s genius lies in his ability to deconstruct the superhero figure from within the very industry that glorified them. To achieve this, he created a fascinating alternative reality: a uchronia where the United States had won the Vietnam War thanks to its “heroes,” where Richard Nixon was still president, and where the nuclear apocalypse clock was dangerously approaching midnight.
In this dystopian universe, the superheroes who were once venerated now possess characteristics typical of villains. Their immense power gives them a worrying impunity as they navigate the murky waters of corruption. Society has begun to question them, labeling them as “vigilantes” – paramilitary forces operating outside the law. This questioning gives rise to one of the fundamental questions of the work, captured in graffiti throughout the city: “Who watches the watchmen?”
This question becomes even more relevant in our times, where we constantly debate about who should have power and how it should be controlled. Moore’s narrative remains surprisingly current, reminding us that any force without supervision, no matter how well-intentioned it may initially seem, can become corrupted. Discover here how to explore these complex power dynamics through sequential art, learning to capture the moral ambiguity that so characterizes Watchmen.
A Mystery in Cold War Times: The Murder That Changed Everything
In this society where superheroes act with impunity and the government has given up on delivering true justice, a crime occurs that will trigger a cascade of revelations: the brutal murder of Edward Blake, known as The Comedian. This character, a cynical mercenary who worked for the government, is thrown from his apartment window by an unknown attacker.
Walter Kovacs, operating under the alias Rorschach, discovers the true identity of the victim and decides to undertake an investigation to find the culprit. Convinced that there is a conspiracy to eliminate the former masked vigilantes, Rorschach contacts his former companions to warn them:
- Daniel Dreiberg (the second Nite Owl): a brilliant but insecure inventor who has renounced his identity as a hero.
- Jon Osterman (Doctor Manhattan): the only one with real powers, capable of manipulating matter at the atomic level, simultaneously perceiving past, present, and future, and practically invincible.
- Laurie Juspeczyk (the second Silk Spectre): Manhattan’s partner, dragged into the heroic world by her mother, the original Silk Spectre.
- Adrian Veidt (formerly Ozymandias): considered “the smartest man in the world,” now a successful businessman who built an empire after revealing his identity.
What begins as a homicide investigation soon transforms into an intricate puzzle that will reveal not only the identity of the killer but also the true nature of superheroes and the devastating harm they can cause, even when they believe they are doing good.
The Fractured Mind: Rorschach as an Unreliable Narrator
One of the most fascinating elements of Watchmen is that much of the story comes to us through the filter of Rorschach and the entries in his personal diary. This narrative resource is not coincidental: Rorschach’s worldview is as distorted as the changing patterns of his mask, based on the famous psychological test by Hermann Rorschach.
This detail is a brilliant nod from Moore: it constantly reminds us that the perception of reality changes depending on who observes it. Rorschach’s mask, with its symmetrical ink blots that take on different forms depending on the observer’s interpretation, perfectly symbolizes this central idea of the work. What some see as a heroic act, others may see as terrorism; what some view as justice, others interpret as excessive revenge.
Rorschach’s discourse is deliberately problematic. His worldview is extremist, rigidly moralistic, with strong misogynistic and homophobic elements, and an alarming tendency toward violence and torture. Moore conceived this character as a critique of ultraconservative political positions, never expecting him to become an idol for many readers:
“I meant him to be a bad example. But I have people coming up to me in the street saying, ‘I am Rorschach! That is my story!’ And I’ll be thinking, ‘Yeah, great, can you just keep away from me and never come anywhere near me again as long as I live?'”
This misinterpretation of the character reflects one of the great dilemmas of artistic creation: once the work goes out into the world, the author loses control over how it will be received. Many readers, instead of seeing Rorschach as a critique, found a hero who refuses to compromise his principles, conveniently ignoring his more disturbing aspects.
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Moore’s Disenchantment: When Readers Embrace the Wrong Thing
Moore’s frustration with the reception of Rorschach is not an isolated case in his career. The author has experienced similar misinterpretations with other emblematic works such as V for Vendetta, where many readers embraced superficial aspects (violence, anarchy) instead of the deep social critique he was trying to convey.
This disconnection between the author’s intention and the public’s interpretation has also extended to his work with iconic characters like Batman and Superman. Moore has expressed his disillusionment with this tendency on numerous occasions:
“You can’t separate the script from the art… Artistically, it’s painful due to the immense amount of work—and I hope vision—that I put into those early works. I was trying, as best I could, to remake the comic book industry and, to a lesser extent, the comic medium, to turn it into what I wanted it to be. I was introducing ideas that I thought might benefit the medium and take it into new areas. Artistically, that these works have been taken away from me and perhaps largely misinterpreted?… It seemed to me that what people were extracting from works like Watchmen or V For Vendetta wasn’t the narrative techniques, which to me seemed to be the most important part. It was, instead, this greater freedom with violence and with sexual references.”
This disconnection has been aggravated by the film adaptations of his works, which is why Moore has decided to completely dissociate himself from the film industry. For him, these adaptations fail to capture the fundamental aspects of his creations: the complex interrelationship between narration and illustration, the metanarrative resources, and the philosophical depth that characterizes his stories.
The Inseparable Fusion Between Narrative and Visuals: Comics as a Unique Medium
Moore’s resistance to adaptations of his works to other media is not mere whim. Watchmen perfectly exemplifies why some stories are intrinsically “comics” and lose fundamental elements when transferred to other formats.
From a narrative point of view, Watchmen masterfully interweaves multiple layers of complexity: Rorschach’s police investigation, Doctor Manhattan’s existential crisis, the intermingled memories of various characters, and the metanarrative of “Tales of the Black Freighter” – a comic within the comic that serves as a thematic parallel to the main story.
This last element is particularly significant: while we follow the main story, a young man at a newsstand reads a pirate comic whose plot reflects the themes of paranoia, sacrifice, and loss of humanity experienced by the protagonists. Additionally, this metastory addresses issues of racial discrimination, establishing a counterpoint to Rorschach’s extremist discourse and the general political context.
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Perfect Symmetry: When Page Design Becomes Narrative
One of the most brilliant examples of the fusion between art and narrative in Watchmen is found in the fifth chapter, titled “Fearful Symmetry” – a reference to William Blake’s poem “The Tyger.”
Dave Gibbons, the illustrator, organized the panels of this chapter in perfect symmetry, creating a visual mirror that reflects the central theme: duality and parallels between characters and situations. This resource is not merely aesthetic, but deeply narrative.
Throughout the work, Watchmen generally maintains a 3×3 grid format that establishes a consistent visual rhythm.
This structure is only altered at narratively significant moments, when emphasis on a particular event is desired. However, the culmination of this resource comes in the central pages of the “Fearful Symmetry” chapter:
Looking carefully, it becomes evident that both pages are perfectly symmetrical in their composition. The true genius lies in the fact that these pages are not an isolated case: the entire chapter is structured like a mirror, with each page symmetrically corresponding to another. The first page reflects the last, the second the penultimate, and so on, until reaching this perfect center.
This mirrored structure is not a mere technical display, but serves several fundamental narrative purposes:
- It thematically reflects the duality of the characters and their motivations
- It symbolizes the determinism that permeates the work (everything is predetermined, in a fixed pattern)
- It places the reader in a position similar to that of Doctor Manhattan, able to perceive patterns in time and space
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The Reader as God: The Metaphysics of Reading in Watchmen
The symmetrical structure leads us to another fascinating level of reading: Moore and Gibbons deliberately place us in a position similar to that of Doctor Manhattan, the most powerful character in the story. This being, whose original name was Jon Osterman, was transformed through a quantum physics accident into a practically omnipotent entity.
As his powers grow, Manhattan progressively becomes dehumanized. His perception of time is non-linear: he simultaneously sees past, present, and future. He can know others’ thoughts, teleport, manipulate matter at the atomic level, and much more. He has become, for all practical purposes, a god.
And therein lies the brilliant metaphor: as comic readers, we too possess a kind of omnipotence over the narrative. We can:
- Move freely through the time of the story (turning pages backward or forward)
- Perceive different moments simultaneously (seeing several panels at once)
- Know the thoughts of all characters
- Decide the fate of the protagonists (continuing reading or closing the book)
This metaphor of the reader as a divine entity adds an additional layer of self-reflection about the comic medium. Watchmen not only tells a story but makes us aware of the very act of reading and our relationship with the narrative. Like Doctor Manhattan, we are both inside and outside the time of the story, observing patterns that the characters cannot perceive.
Manhattan’s ability to perceive time non-linearly is also reflected in Watchmen’s narrative structure, which constantly jumps between different temporal moments, gradually building a holistic understanding of events and characters.
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The Doomsday Clock: The Paradox of Good Intentions
As the investigation progresses, we discover a shocking truth: the person responsible for The Comedian’s murder and an elaborate conspiracy is Adrian Veidt, formerly known as Ozymandias. The smartest man in the world has orchestrated a plan to save humanity from nuclear destruction through… the partial destruction of humanity.
Veidt, aware that the Cold War is about to lead to a global nuclear holocaust, designs a macabre plan: to simulate a massive alien attack that will kill millions of people but unite world powers against a common threat. A “necessary” sacrifice to avoid a greater evil.
Moore’s narrative brilliance is revealed in this disturbing conclusion: the villain “wins,” his plan is executed, millions die, and world powers effectively set aside their differences. What’s truly terrifying is that, within the cold logic of this universe, perhaps Veidt is right. Perhaps his utilitarian calculation is correct and he has saved more people than he has killed.
This moral ambiguity challenges the conventions of the superhero genre. There is no clean resolution where good triumphs over evil. Instead, we are left with uncomfortable questions about the price of peace, the morality of sacrificing a few for the good of many, and the arrogance of those who, believing themselves superior, make decisions for all humanity.
The only character who refuses to accept this moral compromise is Rorschach, who, in supreme irony, becomes the defender of truth at any cost. His refusal to accept “the lesser evil” leads to his death at the hands of Doctor Manhattan, making him the final victim of Veidt’s plan.
The Final Paradox: When Destroying a Genre Revitalizes It
The supreme irony of Watchmen is that a work created to deconstruct and question the superhero genre ended up revitalizing it and elevating it to new heights. Moore intended to expose the inherent contradictions in the masked vigilante fantasy, show how dangerous superheroes would be in a real world, and question the uncritical celebration of power.
However, instead of marking the end of superhero comics, Watchmen inaugurated what many consider their golden age. Publishers, instead of abandoning the genre, superficially adopted some of its most visible elements – graphic violence, morally questionable heroes, “adult” themes – without necessarily incorporating its deep critique.
Moore has expressed his disenchantment with this result on numerous occasions. What was intended to be a requiem for a problematic genre became its renewal. What should have been a warning about the dangers of the cult of power was transformed, for many, into a celebration of it.
This frustration led Moore to progressively distance himself from the mainstream comic industry and, eventually, to abandon it completely to dedicate himself to other literary projects. His rejection of film adaptations and sequels and prequels to Watchmen produced without his consent is part of this same disenchantment.
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The Legacy of Watchmen: When Art Transcends Intentions
More than three decades after its publication, Watchmen remains a fundamental work that transcends the comic medium. Its influence extends not only to other comic books but also to film, television, literature, and art in general. It has been the only graphic novel included in TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923, a recognition of its literary depth and cultural relevance.
Watchmen’s legacy is complex and contradictory, like the work itself. On one hand, it elevated the artistic and narrative possibilities of comics, demonstrating that the medium could address philosophical, political, and existential themes with the same depth as any other literary form. On the other hand, many of its innovations were superficially adopted, reduced to stylistic choices or commercially exploited in ways that Moore finds detestable.
Perhaps Watchmen’s greatest legacy is having created a space for self-reflection within the medium. After Watchmen, comics could no longer be innocent: any superhero story had to be aware, at some level, of the contradictions and problems that Moore and Gibbons had so brilliantly exposed.
As readers and creators, we have the responsibility to approach Watchmen with the complexity it deserves. We can appreciate its artistic and narrative brilliance while being aware of its fundamental critique. We can enjoy the story without romanticizing its most problematic characters. And we can learn from its narrative techniques while seeking our own creative paths.
The clock continues to mark time. The bloodstained button remains a powerful symbol. And the questions that Watchmen raised remain without definitive answers, inviting us to reflect on our heroes, our fears, and our hopes as a society.
Watchmen reminds us that power, even creative power, carries responsibility. And that sometimes, as Moore discovered, the most revolutionary works end up being absorbed by the very system they intended to question. Perhaps the final lesson is that no creation, however brilliant, can completely control its impact on the world.
The true power of Watchmen lies in the fact that, decades later, it continues to provoke debates, inspire new readings and interpretations, and challenge us to think critically about our modern myths and those who create them. In that sense, it has achieved something that very few works accomplish: transcending its time and transforming into a timeless classic.
