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“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
– Roman poet Juvenal in Satires.
So often, the general public takes it for granted that someone will protect them. With stories featuring The Phantom and The Shadow as preludes to the birth of Superman and Captain America, there’s clearly an audience for individuals who want to believe in beings with incredible gifts using those gifts to protect humanity from enemies domestic, foreign, galactic, and interdimensional. But a question starts to form regarding those whom we entrust to protect us: who watches them to ensure that they don’t abuse the trust we’ve afforded them? In a modern era wherein the stories of the Marvel Cinematic Universe grapple (some overtly, some far less so) with the notion that overview is necessary to prevent misuse while real world tragedies supported by multinational governments continue seemingly unabated, the 12-part DC Comics series Watchmen, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, first published in September 1986, feels incredibly potent. Previous adaptations include a motion comic in 2008, a feature-length film by Zack Snyder (300) in 2009, and as a live-action sequel television series in 2019, a now a brand-new iteration joins the ranks with director Brandon Vietti’s (Superman: Doomsday) take on the rich text of a tale in the first of a two-part feature, Watchmen: Chapter 1, now available on home video.
October 1985, New York City: A murder victim is identified as Edward Blake (voiced by Rick D. Wasserman), vigilante name “The Comedian,” and the police are immediately baffled given his reputation of during pre-Government/current-Government work days. Concerned that this is the beginning of a larger threat against costumed vigilantes, paranoid hero Walter Kovacs/Rorschach (voiced by Titus Welliver) not only investigate places the police won’t, but tries to deliver a warning to his former Watchmen teammates in case it’s more than paranoia. Though none heed his warnings, trouble does come for the seemingly indestructible Jonathan Osterman/Dr. Manhattan (voiced by Michael Cerveris) and brilliant Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (voiced by Troy Baker). Are these old threats coming to collect their due or new ones that upturn society as it exists by removing these old heroes from the collective board? It’s one minute to midnight on the Doomsday Clock as global tensions threaten to come to a boil and the remaining heroes seem to be on the run and unable to help.
<iframe title="Watchmen Chapters 1 & 2 ]] Watchmen, Watchmen: Chapter 1, Brandon Vietti, J. Michael Straczynski, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, home release, Read More