List of Watchmen characters: Difference between revisions

Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins, published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987. Watchmen focuses on six main characters: the Comedian, Doctor Manhattan, the Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, and the Silk Spectre. These characters were originally based on the Mighty Crusaders^[1] and then reworked in an unsolicited proposal to fit superhero properties DC had acquired from Charlton Comics in the early 1980s. Since the publisher planned to integrate Charlton's superheroes into the main DC Universe and the script would have made many of them for future stories, series writer Alan Moore eventually agreed to create original characters. Moore wished the main characters to present six "radically opposing ways" to perceive the world, and to give readers of the story the privilege of determining which one was most morally comprehensible.^[2]

The protagonists of Watchmen were reused in the prequel series Before Watchmen, which also gave backstories to several minor characters from the original graphic novel, and introduced new characters.

Later on, several Watchmen characters reappeared in the limited series Doomsday Clock, which brought them into the main DC Universe.

The television series Watchmen is set in the same canon as the limited series, taking place in 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Overview

Key

• A ^Y indicates the model served as a body double, with the actor or actress's likeness superimposed onto the model.
• An ^L indicates the actor or actress lent only their likeness for his or her film character.
• A ^P indicates an appearance through a photographic still.
• An ^A indicates an appearance by an in-universe actor portraying the character.
• A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.

Character	Motion comic	Video game	Film	Mockumentary	Short film	Television series
	Watchmen: The Motion Comic	Watchmen: The End Is Nigh	Watchmen	Under the Hood	Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter	Watchmen
	2008	2009				2019
Twilight Lady	Tom Stechschulte	Courtney Taylor
Doctor Manhattan Dr. Jonathan "Jon" Osterman Calvin "Cal" Abar (né Jelani)		Crispin Freeman	Billy Crudup Jaryd HeidrickY			Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Darrell Snedeger Zak Rothera-OxleyY Tom MisonA
Rorschach I Walter Kovacs		Jackie Earle Haley	Jackie Earle Haley Eli SnyderY			TBA
Nite Owl II Daniel "Dan" Dreiberg		Patrick Wilson
The Comedian Edward "Eddie" Blake		Mark Silverman	Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Hooded Justice Jacob Müller Will Reeves			Glenn Enni			Louis Gossett Jr. Jovan AdepoY Danny Boyd Jr.Y Cheyenne JacksonA
Captain Metropolis Nelson Gardner			Darryl Scheelar			Jake McDorman Chris WhitleyA
Silk Spectre I Sally Jupiter			Carla Gugino			TBA
Dollar Bill Bill Brady			Dan Payne
Mothman Byron Lewis			Niall Matter			Brennan Kerr
The Silhouette Ursula Zandt			Apollonia Vanova			TBA
Nite Owl I Hollis Mason			Stephen McHattie Clint CarletonY	Stephen McHattie
William Taylor			William S. Taylor
Bernard			Jay Brazeau
Wally Weaver			Rob LaBelle
Lawrence Shexnayder			Frank Cassini
Larry Culpeper			Ted Friend
Bartender			John Destry
Woman on Street			Jennefer Jenei
Big Figure			Danny Woodburn
Moloch The Mystic Edgar William Jacobi			Matt Frewer Mike Carpenter	Matt Frewer
The Sea Captain			Gerard Butler		Gerard Butler
Money Lender			Cam Clarke		Cam Clarke
Sea Captain's Daughter			Siobhan Flynn		Siobhan Flynn Salli Saffioti
Ridley			Jared Harris		Jared Harris
Sea Captain's Wife			Lori Tritel		Lori Tritel Bridget Hoffman
Ozymandias Adrian Veidt			Matthew Goode			Jeremy Irons
Silk Spectre II Laurie Blake (née Juspeczyk)			Malin Åkerman Haley GuielY			Jean Smart
Janey Slater			Laura Mennell			Sara VickersA
Richard Nixon			Robert Wisden			HimselfP
Wade Tillman Looking Glass						Tim Blake Nelson
Angela Abar Sister Night						Regina King Faithe HermanY
Mime Marcos Maez						Tom MisonA
Marionette Erika Manson						Sara VickersA
Robert Redford						HimselfP

Crimebusters

The Crimebusters are a superhero group that succeeds the Minutemen and are the main characters of Watchmen. The group was short-lived when the Keene Act that forbade non-government sanctioned superheroes was passed. Among its notable members are:

The Comedian

The Comedian (Edward Blake) is a vigilante, initially based on the

He believes that humans are savage in nature, and that civilization can never be more than an idea. He, therefore, chooses to become a mockery of society, fighting and killing without reservation.

Blake's murder, which takes place shortly before the story begins in 1985, sets the plot of Watchmen in motion. The character appears throughout the story in flashbacks and aspects of his personality are revealed by other characters.[5] Richard Reynolds described The Comedian as "ruthless, cynical, and nihilistic, and yet capable of deeper insights than the others into the role of the costumed hero".^[5] Nicholas Michael Grant said the Comedian is "the only character in the Watchmen universe who is almost totally unlikeable."^[6]

In the Watchmen film, he is portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film also places him as John F. Kennedy's assassin, as shown in the opening montage. In Watchmen: The End Is Nigh, the Comedian is voiced by Mark Silverman.

Doctor Manhattan

Dr. Jonathan "Jon" Osterman is a vigilante and the only character with

, but spends much of his time doing advanced technology research and development, and physics research. He is single-handedly responsible for the shift to electric-powered vehicles (by synthesizing the needed elements and chemicals himself) and Veidt credits him with causing a huge leap forward in myriad areas of science and technology. As a result, the technology of the alternative 1985 of the Watchmen universe is far more advanced. After the death of his father in 1969, he does not conceal his birth name and is referred to as "Jon" or "Dr. Osterman".

In the Watchmen film, Doctor Manhattan is a CGI character whose body is modeled after fitness model Greg Plitt, with voice, motion capture, and facial performance provided by Billy Crudup (who also portrays Osterman prior to his transformation). In Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Doctor Manhattan is voiced by Crispin Freeman.

Nite Owl

Nite Owl II (Daniel Dreiberg) is a superhero who uses

The second Nite Owl is another vigilante who has not revealed his identity in the post-Keene Act era throughout the novel.

"Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1" establishes that Dan Dreiberg's mother was physically abused by his father. Dreiberg's obsession with the original Nite Owl led him to plant a remote microphone device on Hollis' vehicle in order to track him down.[12] It also establishes the events of how he was taken in as his apprentice: His father dies of an apparent heart attack while beating Dan's mother (Dan and his mother hold off calling for an ambulance) At the funeral, Hollis, having since discovered Dan's abusive childhood via police reports, confronts Dan and agrees to take him on as his sidekick. However, after training him, Hollis announces his retirement and informs Dan that he is giving him the Nite Owl identity rather than creating a sidekick persona for him. It is also revealed that Rorschach met Nite Owl on Dan's very first patrol and offered his assistance as a partner to the young rookie hero.^[12]

In the Watchmen film, he is portrayed by

in between the filming of his flashback scenes and the 1985 scenes, showing the physical decline of his character.

Ozymandias

Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt) was a former superhero who draws inspiration from his hero Alexander the Great and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, for whom he is named. A child prodigy, he graduated from high school and college before he was 18 and learned the art of lying as he hid the full scope of his brilliance for most of his childhood after being accused of cheating. When he inherited his family's fortune upon his parents' death in a car accident, Adrian gave it away to see if he could be a success by himself. Veidt traced Alexander the Great's path across the globe and ultimately returned to the United States, where he became a successful businessman. However, when his business partner and would-be love interest overdosed on drugs (purchased with funds given to her by Adrian as a gift to allow her to have fun in New York City one night), Veidt decided to avenge her death as a superhero. His costume was conceived as a Halloween costume but he quickly developed a name for himself as a hero.^[14] Two years before the Keene Act passed, Veidt went public with his secret identity and began merchandising his alter ego as he became one of the most important businessmen in the USA. However, his fear of a nuclear war between the USSR and the US, plus a rivalry with the Comedian (who unknowingly planted the idea of stopping the inevitable nuclear holocaust into Veidt's head), led to him engaging in the vast conspiracy at the heart of the Watchmen series.

Ozymandias was directly based on Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt, whom Moore had admired for using his full brain capacity as well as possessing full physical and mental control.^[3] Veidt is believed to be the smartest man on the planet, even capable of outsmarting Dr Manhattan. His combination of intelligence and highly advanced fighting skills makes him perhaps the most feared and dangerous of the mortal vigilantes. He was even able to catch a bullet fired at him (Chapter XII, page 15). He is often accompanied by his genetically-engineered lynx, Bubastis. Richard Reynolds noted that by taking initiative to "help the world", Veidt displays a trait normally attributed to villains in superhero stories, and in a sense he is the "villain" of the series; however, he purposely acts for an objective greater good, thus avoiding the traditional "villain" classification, which is typically self-serving, delusional or evil.^[15] Gibbons noted "One of the worst of his sins [is] kind of looking down on the rest of humanity, scorning the rest of humanity."^[16] In 2008, he was ranked number 10 on the Forbes Fictional 15.^[17] Wizard magazine also ranked Ozymandias as 25th Greatest Villain of All Time and IGN ranked him as 21st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.^[18]

In the Watchmen film, Veidt is portrayed by Matthew Goode. His costume was designed to parody the rubber suits featuring nipples in the film Batman & Robin. This incarnation of Veidt uses a German accent when speaking with friends and an American accent when speaking publicly. Instead of breeding a giant monster and placing it in New York to massacre half the city as in the comics, Veidt destroys New York, along with many major cities across the globe, with energy blasts designed to look as though Doctor Manhattan had caused it, bringing world peace.

In the television series, Veidt is portrayed by Jeremy Irons. In the years since 1985, he continued to run his companies and helped to advance technology beyond those of Doctor Manhattan, which the world feared due to its ties with cancer. Sometime before 2019, Veidt is reported to have died with his company acquired by Lady Trieu. However, Veidt has been trapped by an unknown agent called the Game Warden on Europa in a small area fashioned as an English countryside. He is aided by numerous clones of two servants named Mr. Phillips and Ms. Crookshanks to try to make his escape.

Rorschach

Rorschach is a

ideology.

When the story begins, a man is seen walking around New York carrying a sign that reads, "The End Is Nigh," but it is not until several chapters later that the reader learns that this man is Kovacs/Rorschach.

Moore based Rorschach on the

Rorschach is close friends with the second Nite Owl. He is the first hero Rorschach meets with when Comedian is killed[21] and Nite Owl organizes a rescue mission to free Rorschach from jail when he is arrested.^[22] Before Watchmen: Nite Owl reveals that Rorschach was active as a hero before Nite Owl made his debut and on the latter's first night out as a hero, Rorschach sneaks into his owl ship and offers his services to Nite Owl as a partner.^[12]

In Doomsday Clock, Kovacs is succeeded by Reginald "Reggie" Long, son of Dr. Malcolm Long, the psychologist in Watchmen who was assigned to evaluate Rorschach after he is apprehended.

In the Watchmen film, he is portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley.

Silk Spectre

Laurel Jane "Laurie" Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre) is the daughter of Sally Jupiter, the first Silk Spectre. Laurie's mother apparently wanted her to follow in her footsteps and so she fought crime for ten years before the Keene Act banned vigilantes. Unlike the other protagonists, Silk Spectre was not based on a particular Charlton character, although her relationship with Dr. Manhattan is similar to that between Captain Atom and the heroine Nightshade. Moore felt he needed a female hero in the cast and drew inspiration from comic book heroines such as Black Canary and Phantom Lady.^[3]

Laurie is kept on retainer by the government because of her relationship with Doctor Manhattan and lives on a government base at the beginning of the comic. When Doctor Manhattan leaves Earth, the government has her removed from the base and suspends her expense account, forcing her to move in with Dan, with whom she starts a romantic relationship. At the end of the eighth issue, Doctor Manhattan appears and takes her to Mars because he knows she wants to convince him to save the world. On Mars, she realizes that The Comedian was her biological father. After the final encounter with Veidt at the end of the series, she assumes the identity of Sandra Hollis and continues her relationship with Dan. An offhand comment to Dan, in which she claims to want a better costume, with leather and a sidearm, implies she's thinking about taking over her late father's identity, thus becoming the second Comedian.

In the Watchmen film, she is portrayed by

In the television series, Laurie (portrayed by Jean Smart) gives up her vigilantism and joins the FBI as an agent in the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. While having long departed from Dan, she still has memories of her time with Doctor Manhattan.

Minor characters

Key to the success of Watchmen is the wide range of characters it features beyond the 'main' stars. Moore stated in 1988 that, in Watchmen, "we spend a good deal of time with the people on the street. We wanted to spend as much time detailing these characters and making them believable as we did the main characters."^[25] Moore and Gibbons deliberately wanted all their characters "to have a place in this vast organic mechanism that we call the world."^[25] The fleshing-out of the world was, in Moore's words, to demonstrate that "all the way through the entire series human life is going on with all of its petty entanglements and minor difficulties and all the rest of it."^[26] Moore adds that it is possible to see the story as being as much about the supporting as the main characters:

What Nixon does and what Dr. Manhattan does and what Veidt does — it affects the people on the street corner but only peripherally, indirectly... And yet, in some ways, those people on the street corner, it's their story. They're the people we're concerned about.^[26]

Minutemen

The Minutemen are a superhero group that came before the Crimebusters. The group was founded in 1939 during the Golden Age. The group later disbanded in 1949 following some public controversies. Among its notable members are:

Captain Metropolis

Captain Metropolis (real name Nelson "Nelly" Gardner) is a former Marine Lieutenant. He was one of the more active members of the Minutemen, having organized its formation. Metropolis was involved in a sexual relationship with Hooded Justice. The relationship was reported to be abusive, with Hooded Justice abusing and cheating on Metropolis until H.J.'s mysterious disappearance in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, the Captain unsuccessfully attempted to recruit the second generation of superheroes into a new group called the Crimebusters. He was killed in a car accident in 1974 that left him decapitated.

He was played in the film by Darryl Scheelar.

Two versions of the character appeared in the HBO series. One was portrayed by Cheyenne Jackson as a fictionalized character in the series' show-within-the-show "American Hero Story: Minutemen", which details his relationship and affair with Hooded Justice. The real Captain Metropolis, seen in the episode "This Extraordinary Being", was portrayed by Jake McDorman. In this episode, Nelson Gardner finds the identity of Hooded Justice and recruits him to the Minutemen as well as developing a secret affair with him. However, their alliance is superficial as Nelson is more preoccupied with the Minutemen's publicity than earnest crimefighting.

Dollar Bill

Dollar Bill (real name William Benjamin "Bill" Brady) is a bank-sponsored member of the Minutemen who was created by National Bank Inc. for publicity purposes. While he is described as having no actual superpowers, Dollar Bill was known for having apparently supernatural luck, surviving many things that should have outright killed him. Socially conservative, he is portrayed in Before Watchmen as

(barely tolerating his homosexual Minutemen colleagues) and good friends with the ultra-right-wing Comedian, voting to let him stay after the attempted rape of Sally Jupiter. He dies during a bank robbery at National Bank Inc. in 1947 when his cape is caught in the bank's revolving doors, allowing the robbers to shoot him at point-blank range. This was a problem he warned his employers at National Bank Inc. about, but they insisted the cape had to be part of the costume as Mason laments in his book. Even Rorschach, who dislikes Ozymandias for making his superhero alter-ego into a toy line, laments Dollar Bill's death while Hollis Mason commented in his book that his death would've been averted if Dollar Bill designed his own costume.

In the film, he is portrayed by Dan Payne.

In the first episode of the TV series, a racist poster with Dollar Bill on it was seen in one of the hideouts of the Seventh Kavalry. The same poster also appears in the subsequent sixth episode as a part of the Minutemen's promotional materials. In episode 3, Laurie Blake used National Bank Inc. to fake a bank robbery in order to draw out Mister Shadow.

Hollis Mason

Hollis Mason is the first Nite Owl who retired in 1962, and author of the autobiography "Under The Hood" which appears in excerpts throughout the story. Hollis was the only member of the Minutemen who did not have any social problems and mainly enjoyed being a costumed adventurer. On Halloween 1985, The Knot-Tops led by Derf assault Hollis in retaliation for the release of Rorschach, which was caused by Nite Owl II (Daniel Dreiberg) and Silk Spectre II (Laurie Juspeczyk). Derf hits Hollis on the head with Mason's own Nite Owl trophy killing the former superhero (in the film, this event is only depicted in the director's cut version). Hollis' death was avenged when Derf is among those killed by Ozymandias' giant monster.

Before Watchmen: Night Owl #1 showed that Dan Dreiberg's obsession with the original Nite Owl led him to plant a remote microphone device on Hollis' vehicle in order to track him down.^[12] At the funeral of Dreiberg's father, Hollis discovered Dan's abusive childhood via police reports. He confronted Dan and agrees to take him on as his sidekick. After training Dan, Hollis instead announced his retirement and granted Dan the Nite Owl identity, rather than creating a sidekick persona for him.

In the film, he is played in old age by Stephen McHattie, and in youth by Clint Carleton.

Hooded Justice

Hooded Justice is the first masked vigilante, often initialled "H. J." by his teammates. His real identity is never conclusively revealed but in Hollis Mason's book it is suggested to be circus

Rolf Müller.

This is

. In the retcon we learn that Hollis Mason, mistakenly believing him to be Muller, attacked Hooded Justice and snapped his neck, killing him. He was never actually unmasked, and Metropolis burned down the headquarters with his former lover's body inside; it later turns out that the Comedian was the one who misdirected Mason to believe that Justice was Muller, so Ozymandias was partially right. Much of the "Under the Hood" information on Muller and HJ is revealed to be a deliberate lie on Mason's part. This may be contrary to the intent of the original novel. In chapter 1, the fourth panel of page 25 focuses on two old men sitting affectionately together near Dan and Laurie in Rafael's restaurant. They look very much like older versions of Rolf Muller and Nelson Gardner, and it was speculated by many fans that these were in fact Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis, who had faked their deaths in order to retire and be together. Dave Gibbons said this was unintended but allowed that it might be true. In the retconned world of Before Watchmen, it is obviously not the case.

In the film, Hooded Justice was portrayed by Glenn Ennis who speaks the character's one line with a subtle German accent.

In the TV series, Hooded Justice is revealed to have been Will Reeves, a black man who had escaped from the 1921

.

Mothman

Mothman (real name Byron Lewis) is a former member of the Minutemen who suffered from alcoholism and mental illness later in life. Lewis had a privileged upbringing and sought to help the less fortunate and fight oppression and corruption as a crimefighter. To this end, Lewis created a costume with special wings that helped him glide, dubbing himself "Mothman". However, a series of near death experiences in perfecting his wings left Lewis in constant pain and a

, but was briefly released for the Minutemen's reunion.

In Doomsday Clock #2, the obituary in the newspaper revealed that Mothman is dead. In Doomsday Clock #4, a flashback involving the earlier history of Reggie revealed that he met Mothman at the same asylum following the alien monster's attack. Reggie and Mothman grow closer as Mothman plans to train Reggie to defend himself against the guard Jason. When Reggie saw the news that exposed Veidt's involvement with the alien monster attack, he set fire to the asylum. When Mothman sees the fire, he states that it is calling to him and walks towards (and presumably into) it. Mothman is also notoriously stinky.

In the film, he is portrayed by Niall Matter, while in the TV series, he is portrayed by Brennan Kerr.

Sally Jupiter

Sally Jupiter (real name Sally Juspeczyk) is the first Silk Spectre and founding member of the Minutemen who is now retired. She is later the domineering "

" of Laurie Juspeczyk (who becomes Silk Spectre II). Sally married her manager, Laurence Schexnayder, shortly after retiring. She narrowly avoided being raped by the Comedian, although years later she had a consensual affair with him, and ultimately bore his child. Sally adores the attention she receives from fans of "The Silk Spectre", though Laurie is repulsed at her mother's sexually explicit exploits in promoting herself.

In the film, she is portrayed by Carla Gugino.

Silhouette

The Silhouette (real name Ursula Zandt) was a gun-toting vigilante and member of the Minutemen. Before Watchmen gave a new backstory, that Ursula was motivated by the deaths of her parents and sister at the hands of the

), continued to work with Nite Owl. She investigated a string of child murders until she and her lover Gretchen were killed by The Liquidator, a criminal she had fought years earlier as seen in Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4. In the film, the words "lesbian whores" scrawled on the wall at the scene of her murder implied that her killer was motivated by homophobia and not necessarily revenge.

She is portrayed by Apollonia Vanova in the film.

Adversaries

The following are villains in Watchmen:

Big Figure

Big Figure is jailed dwarfish Crime lord and former adversary of Nite Owl and Rorschach. He tries to get revenge when Rorschach is imprisoned in the same prison as he is, only for him and his minions to get killed by Rorschach during a prison riot.

In the film, he is portrayed by an uncredited Danny Woodburn.

Liquidator

Liquidator is a costumed criminal who was active in the 1940s and was first seen in Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4. He was the one who killed Silhouette and her lesbian lover. Some days later, he was tracked down and killed by Sally Jupiter.

Moloch the Mystic

Moloch The Mystic (real name Edgar William Jacobi, also known as Edgar William Vaughn, and William Edgar Bright) is a crime lord who fought the Minutemen and other superheroes for several decades. Moloch was jailed for a time during the 1970s, after which he retired from crime. In Watchmen, he is dying of cancer, which he received from Adrian Veidt. Moloch was later murdered by Adrian, who frames Rorschach.

Supplementary materials for the television series reveal that Moloch was the supervillain active the longest and ran a series of crime syndicates, all of which were destroyed in 1958 by Ozymandias after he had first become a vigilante, which is heavily implied to have been a factor in Moloch's jail time and subsequent retirement.^[27]

In the film, he is primarily portrayed by Matt Frewer, with Mike Carpenter playing Moloch as a younger man in various flashbacks.

Twilight Lady

Twilight Lady is a dominatrix-styled villain of Nite Owl II, seen only in an autographed photograph and erotic dream sequence in the original novel. The character has two completely different origins in later material written by other writers.

In the video game Watchmen: The End is Nigh which is set in the 1970s, Twilight Lady (voiced by Courtenay Taylor) is established as a madam whose clients include many high-profile Washington politicians, who she blackmails for state secrets and money. In the game, Nite Owl II and Rorschach must fight her and the Comedian, the latter of whom is ultimately sent to kill the Sin Queen to stop her extortion racket.

However, Before Watchmen: Nite Owl portrays her as a dominatrix who befriends Nite Owl II when a fight between Dan and a crook spills over into her place of work. Falling for the hero and inspired by his heroic actions, she adopts the "Sin Queen" alias and becomes a super-hero, investigating a series of prostitute murders along with Nite Owl and a jealous Rorschach. The murderer of the prostitutes turns out to be a fire and brimstone minister whom Rorschach is friends with; Nite Owl rescues the Sin Queen, whom the minister kidnaps and threatens to burn alive. The near death experience causes her to give up her would-be career as a hero. Dan lied to Laurie about her being a former lover of his, and passed her off as a criminal who was fixated on him to hide their relationship.

Other characters

Alien Monster

The Alien Monster (referred to by fans as the Squid) is a 100 ft. giant squid-like monster with one eye, dozens of long muscular tentacles, and an exposed brain. It was created by Ozymandias as part of his plan to save the world from a nuclear holocaust. Adrian Veidt had transported science fiction writers Max Shea and James Trafford March, surreal artist Hira Manish, and an assortment of other writers, artists, and scientists to his private island under the impression that they are being used for a top secret movie production. It took several months to genetically-engineer the monster where its brain was actually the cloned brain of the deceased psychic Robert Deschaines which was augmented by a psychic resonant device. Once it was complete, Veidt had the ship that was taking them home blown up to erase his involvement in what will happen next. At midnight on November 2, 1985, Veidt teleported the Alien Monster into the heart of New York City, where its tentacles and large sections of its body exploded upon impact. In addition, the Alien Monster's brain unleashed a massive psychic shockwave that caused thousands more deaths. Its dead body was discovered by Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre.

In Doomsday Clock #3, the Alien Monster was seen in Reggie Long's nightmare.

In the film, the Alien Monster was replaced with exploding energy reactors that generating a Radioactive Decay Signature similar to Doctor Manhattan as a way to frame him for the retaliated attack in light of the cancer allegations against him.

In the TV series, the Alien Monster was mentioned. Though some episodes have shown a rain of squids occurring. Episode 5 shows the effect of the psychic shockwave in Looking Glass' flashback where it's body was shown and a younger Looking Glass is among the survivors of the attack.

Bernard

Bernard is a newsdealer who appears periodically on the central New York street corner. Bernard is amongst the many characters who dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York, and he dies trying to protect his young namesake. Moore has stated that he "is in some ways every man, because he's a complete prat and doesn't know what's going on... [h]e is like a lot of people, he is a function of the news... [regurgitating news headlines] think[ing] that's an opinion."^[28]

Bubastis I

Bubastis is a genetically-altered red lynx with stripes that was created by Ozymandias, who she served as his sole companion. When meeting with a toy company, Adrian Veidt asked for the toy company to make a toy of Bubastis as well. When Doctor Manhattan was lured into the intrinsic field subtractor, Veidt regretfully apologizes to Bubastis and turns on the machine which kills Bubastis and temporarily disassembles Doctor Manhattan.

In the sequel "Doomsday Clock," Bubastis' DNA was used by Ozymandias to create Bubastis II in his plot to find Doctor Manhattan in the DC Universe.

In the film, Bubastis has blue skin.

Doug Roth

Doug Roth is a reporter for Nova Express. He is present at Dr. Manhattan's interview with Ted Koppel and reveals that several of his coworkers died of cancer, presumably from Manhattan. This leads to Manhattan's self-imposed exile on Mars.

Roth was portrayed by John Shaw in the film.

Gloria Long

The wife of Malcolm Long and mother of Reggie, the second Rorschach. She died in the New York massacre caused by Ozymandias' alien monster.

Janey Slater

Janey Slater is the first girlfriend of Dr. Jon Osterman. She leaves him in 1966 after she perceives a relationship building between Osterman and Laurie. Veidt gives Janey cancer as part of his scheme to exile Dr. Manhattan. Janey erroneously believes that Jon Osterman gave it to her.

In the film, she is portrayed by Laura Mennell.

Detective Joe Bourquin

Detective Joe Bourquin is the partner to Detective Steven Fine. Bourquin dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York.

In the film, he is renamed Detective Gallagher and is portrayed by Don Thompson.

Malcolm Long

Malcolm Long,

who is assigned to evaluate Rorschach after he is apprehended. He is initially very hopeful of curing Rorschach, even though his utter lack of emotion makes Long's psychological evaluation techniques useless. Rorschach's unveiling of events that shaped his uncompromising mindset greatly affects Dr. Long's own outlook and marriage. Malcolm and his wife die when Veidt's monster appears in New York.

In Doomsday Clock, Malcolm has a son named Reggie who became the second Rorschach.

In the film, he is portrayed by William S. Taylor.

Seymour David

Seymour David is a junior worker at the New Frontiersman magazine offices, designed by Moore to be "the ordinary common slob".^[25] He is the final character in Watchmen, playing a pivotal role in the final pages, whom Moore describes as "the most low-life, worthless, nerdy sort of character in the entire book who finally has the fate of the world resting in his pudging fingers".^[25]

It is revealed in Doomsday Clock #1 that he was “brutally beaten to death” after the publication of Rorschach's journal.

In the film, Seymour is portrayed by Chris Gauthier.

Detective Steven Fine

Detective Steven Fine is the police officer that investigates Edward Blake's murder, and captures Rorschach. He deduces that Dan Dreiberg is Nite Owl II, and hints at this to Dreiberg in an effort to warn him away from further activity. Fine dies when Veidt's monster appears in New York.

Supplementary materials for the television series reveal that the investigation of Blake's murder, Rorshach, and Dreiser were abandoned after Fine was killed during the attack.^[29]

He is portrayed by Jerry Wasserman in the film.

Television series

The HBO television series is set after the events of the original limited series comic, taking place in 2019 in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Sister Night

Sister Night (portrayed by Regina King as an adult, Faithe Herman as a child) is the masked identity of Angela Abar. Angela was born in Vietnam (by that point, the 51st state). Her parents were killed by a suicide bomber, and her grandmother June came to bring her to the continental United States only to suffer a heart attack.

She moved to Tulsa and joined the Tulsa Police Department.

On Christmas Eve 2015, Angela and her husband Cal were attacked by members of the Seventh Kavalry, a white supremacist group who were upset at the police's enforcement of special reparations for victims of racial injustice stemming from the

who runs a bakery.

Angela later learns that she is the granddaughter of Will Reeves / Hooded Justice. In addition, she has shown awareness to her husband Cal being a form of Doctor Manhattan due to them meeting at a Vietnamese bar years earlier.

A photograph of Sister Night was seen in the third part of the Arrowverse special "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Judd Crawford

Judd Crawford (voiced by

member. When it came to the "White Night" event that resulted in some police officers being attacked while the sleeping ones were killed, Judd was among those who survived the attack and took on the new law's policy that involves police officers wearing masks. Following one of the fights with the Seventh Kavalry, Judd was hypnotized by Will Reeves to hang himself where Judd's death attracted the attention of Laurie Blake. While Sister Night discovered Judd's connection with the KKK, Looking Glass learned from Joe Keene Jr. that Judd led the police department on Joe's behalf while Joe led the Seventh Kavalry.

Looking Glass

Looking Glass (portrayed by Tim Blake Nelson as an adult, Phil Labes as a teenager) is the masked identity of Wade Tillman. Wade was a Jehovah's Witness from Tulsa, visiting Hoboken, New Jersey on the night of November 2, 1985 to try to preach to the crowds there. A female member of the Knot Top gang lured him into a hall of mirrors with the promise of sex, but instead ran off with his clothes. Before he could give chance, psychic waves from the appearance of the giant squid in New York City shook the area, and Wade found himself one of the few survivors. This left Wade with a post-traumatic stress disorder, leaving him fearful of squids, building a bunker in his backyard, and pushing him towards isolation. Though he married Carolyn, they split after about seven years due to Wade's stress, though they remain on amicable terms.

Wade, normally a focus group analyst for an advertising agency, joined the Tulsa police as Looking Glass, wearing a fully-reflect mask that is made of material purportedly to help protect him from psychic waves. As Looking Glass, he uses his "Pod", a small chamber with various screens on its walls, to interrogate subjects: he flashes various images on the screens to judge their responses.

Red Scare

Red Scare (portrayed by Andrew Howard) is a communist member of the Tulsa Police Department who wears a predominantly red outfit.

Panda

Panda (portrayed by Jacob Ming-Trent) is a detective for the Tulsa Police Department who wears a giant panda mask.

Pirate Jenny

Pirate Jenny (portrayed by Jessica Camacho) is a member of the Tulsa Police Department that wears a pirate-themed outfit.

Dale Petey

Dale Petey (portrayed by Dustin Ingram) is an FBI Agent who accompanies Laurie Blake in her investigation in Judd Crawford's murder. He has a good knowledge of the history of the Minutemen and the Crimebusters.

Lady Trieu

Lady Trieu (portrayed by Hong Chau) is a scientist and the owner of Trieu Industries which bought out Veidt Enterprises following news of Adrian Veidt's "death."

In her early life, she created a baby from the DNA of Mr. and Mrs. Clark (who had been unable to have children) and offered it to them in exchange that they sell their land. Mr. and Mrs. Clark give in to her offer. When an object from outer space crashes on the property, Lady Trieu makes claim of it

In her later life, Lady Trieu had Trieu Industries create new flying vehicles where one of them made off with Angela's car so that Lady Trieu can rescue her old friend Will Reeves. In addition, Lady Trieu has somehow found out about the Seventh Kavalry's plot that revolves around Doctor Manhattan.

Bian

Bian (portrayed by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) is the "daughter" of Lady Trieu. In reality when she speaks with a recuperating Angela, Lady Trieu states that Bian is actually a younger clone of her mother.

Seventh Kavalry

The Seventh Kavalry is a white supremacist group. Each of its members wear Rorschach masks. Their plan is to capture and destroy Doctor Manhattan so that they can harness his powers.

Joe Keene Jr.

Joe Keene Jr. (portrayed by James Wolk) is a Republican Senator and leader of the Seventh Kavalry who aims to become President. His father is responsible for a 1977 law banning masked vigilantism.

Looking Glass was the first to learn of Joe Keene Jr.'s involvement with the Seventh Kavalry while having one of its members fake an attempt on his life. In addition, he also showed Looking Glass the footage that Ozymandias pre-tapped for Robert Redford in the event that he became President of the United States.

After Laurie Blake was dropped down a trap door by Jane Crawford and taken captive, Joe revealed to her their plans to capture and destroy Doctor Manhattan so that they can harness his powers.

Jane Crawford

Jane Crawford (portrayed by Frances Fisher) is Judd's wife who is secretly a member of the Seventh Kavalry.

Due to Angela's ramblings when recuperating from Will's Nostalgia, Laurie visits Jane about Judd's connection with the Seventh Kavalry. This causes Jane to open the trap door beneath Laurie and inform Joe Keene Jr. about this.

Renee

Renee (portrayed by Paula Malcomson) is a radiologist who is a member of the Seventh Kavalry. She is the one responsible for luring Looking Glass to the Seventh Kavalry's hideout.

See also

• List of DC Comics characters
• List of Doomsday Clock characters

References

Sources

• Klock, Geoff. How to Read Superhero Comics and Why. Continuum, 2002.
  ISBN 0-8264-1419-2
• Reynolds, Richard. Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology. B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1992.
  ISBN 0-7134-6560-3
• Wright, Bradford W. Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Johns Hopkins, 2001.
  ISBN 0-8018-7450-5
• Gibbons, Dave. "Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Graphic Novel". Titan Books, 2008.
  ISBN 978-1-84856-041-3