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Jenny Vo
Professor Jackie Hymes
English 114B
3 February 2015
Identity and Truth
A hero does not necessarily have to be a person with extreme super powers. A hero can be
someone that others look up to for being a good influence. Ones actions and beliefs can
determine a bad hero from a good hero. The graphic novel Watchmen, by Alan Moore and
Dave Gibbons, revolves around these masked heroes. There is a conflicted mystery about one
of the masked heroes, the Comedian, also known as Edward Blake, for being murdered.
Throughout the graphic novel, the masked heroes are trying to look for who is behind all the
mystery and action, while trying to deal with their present day crisis of an upcoming nuclear war.
Each character has their own reason as to why they are a masked hero, but the characters
actions and beliefs really establish whether they are a good hero or a bad hero.
Dr. Manhattan, also known as Jon Osterman, would not be considered a good hero. Jon
was once a human being who graduated with a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics from Princeton
University. He then started working for Gila Flats, where he met a woman named Janey Slater
whom he fell in love with. He stepped inside of a test chamber to grab Janeys watch where he
had left it inside of his lab coat. The door closes right behind him, accidentally trapping him
inside to become the new experiment, he is then vaporized but he does not die. His body slowly
reforms itself into a powerful creature with blue skin and blank white eyes with superhuman
powers to control atomic structure. (Rapp 4). Since, Jon has obtained all these superpowers,
he now serves for the United States government where he is given the name Dr. Manhattan. Dr.
Manhattan is not considered a good hero because he is not there to defend his people by choice,

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he is there because he turned into a god- like creature, his abilities leave him alienated from
society and emotionally detached from those who surround him (Rapp 5). He does not care
much for the living. He has the ability to see what is going to happen in the near future but he
does not do anything to stop it. When he was on Mars with Laurie he told her, I return to Earth
at some point in my future. There are streets full of corpses (Moore and Gibbons Ch 9. Pg 18).
He then tells Laurie how she is the only person that he cares about and that her life is not
meaningless. This shows how Jons interest in human life is restricted since he only values
Lauries life. A good hero does not just value one persons life, they should be valuing every life
on earth because they want the best for everyone, but Jon does not- he only does what he has to,
which shows that he lacks on being a true hero. In order to be a hero, one has have one of the
characteristic traits that Coates mention in his article, The Future of Heroism, such as
performing deeds that are not expected and risking their life to protect others. Dr. Manhattan
lacks these characteristics, he has the super powers to do so but his powers are more destructive
rather than beneficial (Rapp 6). Even though Dr. Manhattan possesses these super hero powers,
he is not truly great hero.
Rorschach and The Comedian share the same characteristics of a super hero, they have
both good and bad traits. Rorschach, also known as Walter Kovacs, wears a blotchy mask to hide
his true identity. The Comedian, also known as Edward Blake, is known for raping Lauries
mother. Rorschach and The Comedian both like to protect their people, but they do so in such
unnecessary ways. When Rorschach found the man who had kidnapped an innocent girl and fed
her to his dogs, he set him on fire. It was a heroic thing of Rorschach to find the kidnapper, but it
is just unnecessary of him to set the kidnapper and his house on fire. He stood in the street for an
hour watching the house burn, imagining limbless felt torsos inside; breasts blackening; bellies

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smoldering; bursting into flame one by one (Moore and Gibbons Ch 6. Pg 25). Also, being a
hero should not scare other people away, but there are a lot of people who are intimidated by
Rorschach and are scared of his presence. Even though people are frightened of him, they know
that he will protect his city. For example, when Rorschach found out that Veidt was behind all
the evil plotting, he was going to go back to America; he says, Evil must be punished. People
must be told but before he can go, Jon kills him to protect Veidts plan of having a new Utopia
(Moore and Gibbons Ch 12. Pg.28). In the article, The Future of Heroism, Coates states that
people direct physical risk to themselves of death or severe injury is a characteristic of being a
hero, which Rorschach possesses. The Comedian on the other hand, does not have the best
ethics. He raped Lauries mother and killed a pregnant Vietnamese woman whom he got
pregnant. When the Vietnamese woman tried to talk to The Comedian about their baby, he
completely shuts her out and rudely says, Forget you. Forget your cruddy little country. Forget
all of it (Moore and Gibbons Ch 2. Pg. 14). This shows how selfish of a person The Comedian
really is since he does not care of what others are in need of. The Comedian and Rorschach both
lack some traits of being a great hero, but that does not mean they are bad heroes.
Adrian Veidt, also known as Ozymandias is referred to the smartest man in the world
but he is not a great hero himself. He is a successful, intelligent man who owns his own company
that sells action figures of the masked heroes. He considers himself a great hero when he can
honestly be considered a villain. He is responsible for the mass murderers in different countries,
Edward Blakes death, Dr. Manhattans exile, and all of the other mysterious events that has
happened throughout the graphic novel. All of these events brings out his true identity of wanting
the world to bow to his feet. Veidt believes that he saved Earth from hell and that he will help
get Earth to Utopia. (Moore and Gibbons Ch 12. Pg. 20). Veidt admits what he did is a crime, but

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he still considers himself a hero because he is the one who took the blame for it, I know Ive
struggled across the backs of murdered innocents to save humanitybut someone had to take the
weight off that awful, necessary crime (Moore an Gibbons Ch 12. Pg.27). This shows how Veidt
only cares about what he thinks and not what others think. Veidt believes that since he is the
worlds smartest man, that he knows the best for everyone when he really does not. He did not
think about how much pain the people that survived his evil plan would go through, that is if
there is any people left. A good hero would never kill a bunch of innocent lives, even if it was
for the better because a good hero would have found another strategy that would not have
harmed his people and his surroundings.
Laurie Juspeczyk and Daniel Dreiberg, Nite Owl, both have good morals, which make
them great heroes. Laurie became a superhero because her mother wanted her to follow her
footsteps. At first, Laurie did not really appreciate being a hero since her mom was the one who
kept pushing her to do it. But once she and Dan started seeing each other, she suddenly had the
urge to go on adventures with Dan to save lives. They saved a bunch of people who were inside a
building that was burning. Even though the masked heroes are supposed to be banned, they went
out of their way to save other lives- which shows that they care about other peoples safety and
their lives. Laurie has good morals because she cares about her city and others, so when she was
with Jon she would always beg him to help save the world rather than not doing anything about
it. Dreiberg is a good hero because he is kind and does not want any violence to occur unless
there has to be. For example, when Rorschach and Dan went to the bar to find out some
information about Veidts attempt shooting, Rorschach made a big scene while Dan tried not to,
All righteverybody stay calm, well try to keep this brief (Moore and Gibbons Ch 10. Pg.

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14). This shows Dan does not like to solve his problems with violence, which makes him a good
hero. Laurie and Dan are both great heroes because they care for the good of the world.
The masked heroes in Watchmen are not the typically super heroes. A hero is a person
who makes the world a better place and is also a good influence on others. Some of the masked
heroes are not good heroes, lack traits of being a good hero, or are good heroes. Dr. Manhattan
does not prevent the bad from happening in the future when he has the superpowers to do so, so
he is not a true hero. Ozymandias, believes he did the world a favor when really he just killed a
bunch of innocent lives, which makes him more of a villain than a hero. The Comedian and
Rorschach both have some bad traits but they also have good traits of a being a hero. Laurie and
Dreiberg are both great heroes since they are so kind and care about the world around them.

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Works Cited
Coates, Joseph F. "The Future of Heroism." N.p., 1998. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162597001327>.
Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. New York: Warner Books, 1987.Print.
Rapp, Erica R. "Watchmen: Deconstructing the Superhero." N.p., Fall 2012. Web. 4 Feb.
2015. <http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.ndsu.edu%2Ftools%2Fdspace%2Fload%2F%3Ffile
%3D%2Fr

epository%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10365%2F22356%2FWatchmen.pdf

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