Garcia 1

Josue Garcia
Prof. Jackie
English 113B
October 6, 2015
True Heroes of Watchmen
Heros are defined as individuals who try to make the world a better place and take the
evil out of society. They risk their own lives to save other lives, and to serve justice for those
who can not. Although many of these masked vigilantes in the graphic novel, Watchmen by Alan
Moore did terrible things causing them to look less like a hero, most of them had good intentions
and did it for a greater cause. That is why Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Adrian are considered the
ultimate heroes of Watchmen and not Laurie, Dr. Manhattan, and The Comedian because of their
beliefs, actions, and attitudes they had throughout the novel.
The Comedian, also known as Edward Blake, is not a true hero because of the actions he
did when he was alive. Blake had a history of doing such horrible actions that it is impossible to
picture him as a hero. From attempting to rape the Silk Spectre to shooting a pregnant girl pointblank, his actions illustrates just how awful he thinks of human life. Edward seems to only care
for himself and his own interests he would not think twice of using violence or killing someone
in order to accomplish his goals. He demonstrated that when he used unnecessary force on
American protesters after Nite Owl failed to disperse the protest peacefully during the police
strike. He has an attitude towards favoring unnecessary violence, making Edward look less of a
hero. The attitude of a true hero would not be like Edwards and should not be like Lauries
attitude either.

Garcia 2
Laurie attitude towards being a hero is the main reason why she did not have that ultimate
hero image in Watchmen. A true hero chooses to be hero, wants to be a hero, and they are not
forced to become one like Laurie was by her mother. Laurie did not like following her mothers
footsteps of being a masked vigilante as she stated in Watchmen, The Keene Act was the best
thing that ever happened to [her](Moore 33). Lauries statement proves that she had a negative
view towards being a masked vigilante and helping stop crimes. Furthermore, Laurie had a
selfish image in the novel when she wanted Dr. Manhattan to pay more attention to her and less
to the world he is trying to save from a nuclear disaster. Like when John tried working on his
project at the same time pleasing laurie, and was confronted by her,were you working in here at
the same time as we were in bed[ask Laurie] my works at an important stage shut up I hate
you(Moore 81). This made Laurie look as if she thought she was more important than others,
which is not a characteristic of a hero. Her behavior and attitude didnt make her a bad hero, but
more like it didnt help her look like an ultimate hero of Watchmen, just like Dr.Manhattan.
Dr. Manhattan, also known as Jon, is a physicist with awesome superpowers and good
intentions of making earth a peaceful and better place. Even though Jon ended the war in
vietnam for the Americans and is the main reason why earth has not been destroyed by nuclear
bombs, he is not considered a true hero of Watchmen because of the actions he could have done
with his powers, but chose not to instead. He has superpowers that have people classify him like
a god if he has the power to see into the future and knows what is going to happen he could have
prevented a lot of bad things that occurred. Dr. Manhattan could have prevented the J.F.K
assassination but chose not to; he did the same when The Comedian shot the pregnant
vietnamese girl in front of him. He chooses not to prevent these events because he does not want
to alter the future. A hero with that kind of superpowers would have altered the future, knowing

Garcia 3
it would do society well and would definitely not leave earth in middle of a nuclear crisis like Dr.
Manhattan did. He basically stopped caring for human life when he decided to bail shown in this
article The Superman Exists, and Hes American: Morality in the Face of Absolute Power by
Christopher Robichaud explains, As a result Dr.Manhattan no longer finds much value in the
human race finds it difficult to care about the pressing problem immediately confronting it
having to endure a nuclear war due to his decision to take up residency on Mars(6). He
knows his presence on earth is preventing a nuclear war and his decision to leave showed he
cared little of the human race at that point. A true hero would have strong emotions towards
human life, never quit on the human race, and alter the future for the good of the human race. Dr.
Manhattan failed to show these herolike characteristics therefore, is the reason why he is not a
ultimate hero like Rorschach.
When the Keene Act passed and forced all masked vigilantes to retire, Rorschach was the
only one who refused and continued to solve crimes. Moreover, Rorschachs view on evil is what
separates him from the others he believes that Because there is good and evil, and evil must be
punished. Even in the face of armageddon(Moore 32). That is what a true hero mindset should
be like, punish the evil no matter what even if the world is ending. Rorschach mostly worked
alone and unlike Dr. Manhattan did not work for the American government he had a different
method of dealing with the evil in society. In an article by Jacob M Held called Can we steer
this rudderless world? Kant Rorschach, Retributivism, and Honor. Held points out Rorschachs
method, when Rorschach administers punishment he is administering the ancient law of
retaliation an eye for an eye. This way of punishing criminal is the best method because it
means Rorschach does not give mercy to anybody performing terrible crimes, such as murder
and rape hes not the type of hero that gives out second chances to criminals. Rorschachs

Garcia 4
method of punishing evil may look too extreme at first, but in the end he is doing this to bad
people who committed crimes. For example, in the Novel, Rorschach burned a man alive for
kidnapping, murdering, and feeding a little girl to its dogs (Moore 202-203). Hes the type of
hero who gets things done more effectively, while simultaneously breaking rules and laws in the
process. That is what makes him a hero, the will to do whatever it takes to help take the evil out
of society. Rorschach's way of solving crime is much different than his old partner Nite Owl, yet
both are still considered the ultimate heroes of Watchmen.
Although Nite Owl, unlike Rorschach, retired due to the Keene Act, hes still considered
an ultimate hero because as a masked vigilante he did things by the rules and he enjoyed being
one. When Rorschach visited Nite Owl to inform him about the death of The Comedian, as
Rorschach left, Nite Owl had a regretful facial expression after Rorschach reminded him that he
quit. Nite Owl also showed that he liked saving people when he and Laurie rescued people from
a burning building. All of Nite Owls intentions were good throughout the novel he even
supported the Crimebusters when other heros did not. Furthermore, he kept quiet about Adrians
plan at the end in order to keep world peace his behavior and attitude as a masked vigilante is
what made him an ultimate hero of Watchmen.
Adrian is hard to considered a true hero of Watchmen because of his evil plot that caused
millions to die. This plot that made him look like a villain at first, but in the end was meant for a
greater cause, world peace something Dr.Manhattan could not accomplish with his god-like
superpowers. Even though hes responsible for the lives of millions, he did save Earth from an
even bigger problem, a nuclear war that would have killed everybody else on it. His intentions
were actually good all along as he cheerfully gloated his accomplishment,I saved earth from
hell Next Ill help towards utopia(Moore 402). He never wanted to destroy earth, he just wanted

Garcia 5
to stop the Americans and Soviets from launching nuclear bombs at each other. Not only did he
save the human race from possible nuclear extinction, but he also made earth a better place by
creating world peace, a goal every true hero should stride for.
Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Adrian are the ultimate heroes of Watchmen and not Laurie, Dr.
Manhattan and The Comedian. A true hero is someone who wants to be one, wants to stop and
punish the evil, and whose intentions are to make the world a better place. As Rorschach's,
Adrian's, and Nite Owls actions, attitude, and behavior proved that they are the true heroes of
Watchmen, while The Comedian's, Laurie's, and Dr. Manhattans actions and attitude showed
they lacked in quality hero characteristics. They all had flaws of their own and good intentions
for the human race, but in the end, their actions spoke louder than their words.

Works Cited

Garcia 6
Held, Jacob.Can we steer this rudderless world? Kant Rorschach, Retributivism, and
Honor, Academia. Web. 28 September. 2015.
Moore, Alan, writer. Watchmen. Dave Gibbons, Illustrator. New York. DC Comic, 1986, 1987.
Print.
Robichaud, Christopher. The Superman Exists, and Hes American: Morality in the Face of
Absolute Power Web. 28 september. 2015. Pg 5-17