Graphic Novel Unit

Watchmen: Characters

Here is a summary of some of the main characters within Watchmen. Many of the characters are affiliated with one another and were also members of the Watchmen group, in charge of keeping the city of Manhattan, New York safe from villains and illegal activity prior to 1985. After going into retirement for quite some time, they are forced to reunite due to the planned murder of one of the masked crime fighters, the Comedian, formally known as Edward Blake. Here is a list of the main characters that were involved within the graphic novel:

Rorschach:
Formally known as Joesph Kovacs, this member of the Watchmen is seen throughout the novel as a sneaky, cunning individual with two alternate personalities. Being abused by his alcoholic mother at a young age and becoming a witness to many hostilities as a child, Kovacs felt that it was his destiny to stand up against crime an villainy found within New York City. After obtaining a job as an unskilled manual worker in the garment industry, Kovacs found his true identity at the age of sixteen. It was here where he discovered a fabric that was tossed aside by a customer, said to be pressure sensitive and fluid based. Kovacs designed a mask from this fabric and from this point on developed the alias of "Rorschach", the cunning crime fighter that never sleeps until justice is served on the streets of Manhattan.

There are many major sections within the novel that are told within Rorschach's prospective. This is done by portraying each caption as a part of his journal. Rorschach also uses his alternate identity as as source of comfort for himself. He feels the need to always be masked to lock away his past life. This can be seen throughout the graphic novel when Rorschach refers to his mask as his "face".

The Comedian:
Formally known as Edward Blake and the oldest member within the Watchmen, the Comedian was a member of a former costumed hero group known as the Minutemen. The Comedian truly believed that life was one big joke and lived it facing a harsh reality. While in the Minutemen began working for the government and fell under the corruption of temptation, having treated criminals with a great amount of abuse and almost raping a fellow member of the Minutemen group. After a few long years in retirement, Edward Blake was murdered in 1985, setting the plot for the novel.

Dr. Manhattan:
Formally known as John Osterman, Dr. Manhattan was forced by his father to invest in getting a degree in Atomic Science. After accepting a job at Gila Flats, a scientific research center, John is trapped within a machine that separates objects from their intrinsic fields. As a result, John gains immense power and has the ability to teleport anywhere in the world. The government uses Dr.Manhattan as a tool of war, but soon finds himself joining the Watchmen and becomes attached to a female by the name of Laurie.

The Silk Spectre:
Formally known as Laurie Jupiter, Laurie is the daughter of Sallie Jupiter, an original masked crime fighter from the Minutemen. Growing up in the footsteps of her mother, Laurie is highly attached to John but their relationship begins to turn throughout the novel. Laurie reunites with the rest of the Watchmen to help solve the mystery behind the death of multiple costumed heroes.

The Night Owl:
Formally known as Dan Dreiberg, Dreiberg's father was a banker who left him a large inheritance, which he used to design and build his crime-fighting gear. Hollis Mason, Nite Owl, was his hero and when he retired, Dan wrote to Mason, asking if he could carry on the Night Owl legacy. Upon looking at his gear, Mason was too impressed to refuse him, so Dan started out in the 1960s. From then on, the two men became friends. Dan develops strong feelings for Laurie within the novel, and joins Rorschach to help him uncover the murder mystery of the Comedian.

Ozymandias:
Another former member of the Watchmen, group, Adrian Veidt has been deemed the smartest man in the world.It is his intelligence that creates a large amount of schemes thought the novel, causing the death of the Comedian and many others by the end of the novel. He is the true mastermind behind all of the committed crime in which the remaining Watchmen are sent to discover.