When HBO and Damon Lindelof announced that they’d be creating a (not quite) sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s landmark graphic novel Watchmen, fans of the original graphic novel received it with mixed emotions. On the one hand, Alan Moore has spoken repeatedly about how he feels about his characters being used in anything other than the original story he wrote. But on the other hand, who wouldn’t want to see the aftermath of Ozymandias’ master plan, the world that emerges after the massive culling of humanity he brought to earth at the conclusion of the original graphic novel.
Whichever way you feel, the series is on it’s way, so it’s time to embrace that it’s happening and drive into what we know about who the series will be following. And who we hope to see return.
RORSCHACH - CONFIRMED
Rorschach may have been all but destroyed by Dr. Manhattan at the conclusion of the original graphic novel, but much like Batman, Rorschach is an ideal; and that makes him so much than just a bloody, chunky, frozen mess in Antarctica. We know from set photos and brief glimpses in teasers for the series, that Rorschach, the idea and the mask, is very much alive. The only real question we have is who’s hiding under that mask and what are they trying to accomplish?
Personally, I’d love to see a future where Dan Dreiberg picked up his former partner’s spare costume after discovering what Dr. Manhattan did to him and perhaps pass it along to someone deserving in his old age. But it could just as easily be a brand new character we’ve yet to meet.
OZYMANDIAS - CONFIRMED
It’d probably be hard to have a somewhat sequel to the original Watchmen without the man behind the plan, the person responsible for wiping out a decent portion of humanity for the sake of peace, Ozymandias. It’s tough to say just how the world of Watchmen will have evolved since Ozymandius’ plan came to fruition.
What we can say with relative certainty is that Ozymandias’ plan to unite the entire world through the tragedy brought on by an outside source doesn’t seem to have united the world in the way he originally intended. Maybe that means the “Smartest man in the world” bought into his own hype a bit too much. Maybe it’s time Ozymandias came up with a plan B.
LOOKING GLASS - CONFIRMED
Joining Ozymandias and some of the other characters from the original comics are a whole slew of new characters created especially for HBO’s new series. Among them, a hero (or anti-hero as the case may be) called the Looking Glass. Officially described as “A good looking cop, the native Oklahoman isn’t simple as his rural accent makes him appear to be.
A top interrogator and behavioral scientist, he may also be a bit of a sociopath.” Other than that there’s not much we know about the character other than that he will be played by the brilliant Tim Blake Nelson who recently starred in the Cohen Brothers film The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs.
RED SCARE - CONFIRMED
Another new character that the HBO series is set to introduce is called the Red Scare. Much like Tim Blake Nelson’s character, we don’t have much to go as far as who this character is or what he aims to accomplish throughout the course of the series. Officially described as a “Mafioso, tracksuit wearing cop. His Russian accent lends to his abrasiveness.”
The only other thing we know about the character besides his appearance is that he will be played by Andrew Howard. Not a lot to go on, but by the time the HBO series arrives, you can bet we’ll get a much better look at this newly arrived masked vigilante.
PIRATE JENNY - CONFIRMED
The last of the characters that we’ll be discussing that are guaranteed to make an appearance in HBO’s Watchmen series, is a masked vigilante called Pirate Jenny. Like the other new characters that are joining her, not much has been revealed about who she is or what she’s capable of. Her official description is “An androgynous and lustful bisexual cop, Jenny is an anarchist at heart.” We do know, however, that she will be played by actress Adelaide Clemens.
It doesn’t appear as though we’ve seen any pictures of her character behind the mask, but we have seen a character standing beside Red Scare, wearing a gold mask, who could possibly be Pirate Jenny. We’ll just have to wait for the HBO series to be released in order to find out.
DAN DREIDBERG/NITE-OWL - HOPEFUL
There are plenty of new characters that will be introduced in HBO’s new Watchmen series, but the real question most viewers will want to be answered is what happened to the Watchmen? With that in mind, we’re hoping to see the return of Dan Dreiberg, or as villains of the Watchmen universe know him, Nite Owl.
It’s tough to say where exactly he might be, but the last we saw of Dan, he was wrapped in the arms of his lover Laurie Juspeczyk. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the couple survived the trauma of being involved in, and unable to stop, one of the greatest catastrophes in their version of earth.
EDWARD BLAKE/THE COMEDIAN - HOPEFUL
Alright, so this one is a bit of long shot seeing as his murder by Ozymandias is the event that kicked off the entire Watchmen series, but how great would it be to see the Comedian again? He’s not the nicest or funniest masked vigilante as his moniker would suggest, but he certainly knows how to have (what he would describe as) a good time.
Hopefully, whether through flashbacks or perhaps through another character deciding to pick up that mantle like while likely see in Rorschach’s case, we’ll get another look at this classic cynical character.
WALTER KOVACS - HOPEFUL
We already know that Rorschach is going to be making an appearance in the new series, but assuming that it’s not the original Rorschach, we’d still like to see the original come back in some form. We know that his pulpy, frozen remains are resting somewhere in Antarctica, but that doesn’t quite mean he’s gone for good. There are three possible ways that might make some sense of Walter Kovacs making another appearance in the Watchmen series. Scenario the first: we know that Rorschach sent off his journal before he arrived at Antarctica, so it’s possible we’ll see some flashbacks while someone reads through it’s contents.
Scenario B: we also know that Dr. Manhattan did a fairly decent job of un-aliving the cynical detective, so should big blue manage to grace us with his presence, it’s not too far-fetched too assume he could…alive him again as well. Lastly, there’s always a chance Ozymandias, after years of living with his failure, and realizing just how right Walter was, decided to go back to Antarctica and pull some of the perfectly preserved DNA from the frozen tundra.
LAURIE JUSPECZYK/SILK SPECTRE - HOPEFUL
It’ll be very interesting to see where Laurie ended up after the events of Watchmen. The last time we see her, she’s wrapped up in the arms of her lover Dan Dreiberg as they lament the events that take place during the conclusion of the comics, knowing that not only could they not stop one of the greatest catastrophes Earth has ever faced but also that the mastermind behind the event was right under their nose all along; an even harder pill to swallow when you consider just how close they were to Adrian. By the time the series takes place, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that Laurie would be around her the age her mother was in the comics.
It’d be interesting to what, if any, parallels exist between the two women and this stage in Laurie’s life. Is she left alone to romanticize and revel in the past the way her mother did? Or will her story take a much darker turn? Who knows? But hopefully, we’ll get a chance to find out when the series premieres.
DR. MANHATTAN - HOPEFUL
Last but certainly not least, we have Dr. Manhattan the only true superhero of the Watchmen landscape, at least as we last left it. Dr. Manhattan is one of the most powerful beings in all of comics, much less when you toss him in a world where he is the only living superhero.
After Adrian’s plan comes to fruition, Dr. Manhattan sees the logic in his plan and agrees that it’s the right things to do to lead the world into a new era of peace, which makes him just as culpable as Ozymandias himself, maybe even more so. Dr. Manhattan will be sorely missed if he’s not present in the HBO series, so hopefully, we’ll get a look at how he has (or hasn’t) changed since we saw him last.
