"Watchmen" is a graphic novel work launched by American DC company in 1986. The author is British cartoonist and novelist Alan Moore. In 1988, "Watchmen" won the "Hugo Award" known as the Nobel Prize in the science fiction art world. In 2005, "Watchmen" was named "Top 100 English Novels" by Time Magazine. In 2009, "Watchmen" was put on the big screen. It was directed by Zach Schneider, who won the Saturn Award for Best Screenplay and Best Director for "Spartan 300 Warriors". The movie version of "Watchmen" is basically loyal to The original comics and the film also gained a good reputation after the release, with an IMDB score of 7.6, but due to the large scale, mainland China did not introduce it.
Ten years later, in 2019, HBO and DC jointly launched the TV series "Watchmen", which is an adaptation based on the original work. The main creators include "Lost" and "Prometheus" screenwriter Damon Lindelof and Dave Gibson, the painter of the "Watchmen" comics. Compared with the comics and movie versions, the TV series version is a brand-new story based on the original story frame and character background settings, and the time is 30 years after the end of the original story. The
series first portrayed the 1921 race riots in Tulsa, which is a real event in American history. Tulsa is a black-American community in Oklahoma and one of the most prosperous African-American communities at the time. A rumor that a black youth sexually assaulted a white woman caused a large-scale ethnic conflict after being fueled by the media. , A large number of white militants broke into Tulsa to attack the blacks and wreak havoc. The incident killed more than 300 people, most of whom were blacks.
Young Will was a survivor of the Tulsa riots. His parents were killed in the riots. After he became an adult, Will joined the police force and became one of the few black police officers in the area. At the time, black Americans were still being discriminated against. Under the circumstances, Will not only was unable to display his ambitions, but was also persecuted by extreme organizations in the police force. The series tells how Will has changed from an ordinary black police officer into a hooded and noose-worn volunteer policeman "Hooded Judge" through the form of memories, as well as "Hooded Judge" and mysterious white man. The struggle between the supreme organization "Cyclops".
The role of "Hooded Judge" does not appear much in the original game. He is only a marginal figure in the "Watchmen" team, but he is recognized as the first masked "righteous policeman" in the drama version of "Watchmen" In the first season, the screenwriter was very enthusiastic about the character "Hooded Judge", making it the key to pushing the storyline forward.
The protagonist Angela of this play is a local policeman in Tulsa. Three years ago, the terrorist organization "Seventh Cavalry Regiment" launched Operation White Night, which attacked most of the police and their families. A large number of police officers were killed and survived. People also offered to resign. After this incident, the government enacted a bill allowing police officers to wear masks at work to hide their true identity. Angela was seriously injured in the "White Night" incident, but she did not withdraw from the police force because of this. Instead, she opened a cake shop as a cover, and worked as a "Nun of the Dark Night."
Three years later, the extremist organization "Seven Cavalry Regiment" seemed to reappear and start activities. Under the leadership of the sheriff, Angela had just thwarted a "Seven Cavalry Regiment" conspiracy. But the sheriff who had a good relationship with Angela was killed. He was hanged from a tree by Will, who had been in a dying year, had a memory loss and was in a wheelchair. Angela, who does not know Will's true identity, does not believe that the elderly Will is capable of killing the sheriff. During the investigation, Angela found a set of Ku Klux Klan clothes in the secret of the police chief's house.
It turns out that the sheriff and his wife approached Angela’s family for another purpose. Angela’s husband is the famous "Dr. Manhattan", but as a superpower close to God, Dr. Manhattan wanted to live with the ordinary Angela. Together, with the help of "Pharaoh" Werther, his abilities and previous memories were sealed. The ultimate goal of the "Seven Cavaliers" is to kill Dr. Manhattan and seize his superpowers.
Fortunately, Dr. Manhattan, who can foresee the future, knew about it and arranged everything in advance. HeBefore sealing himself, I found the retired "Hooded Judge" Will and told Will that Angela was his long-lost granddaughter. Knowing the truth, Will cooperated with Pharaoh's cheap daughter Zhao Yu and told her that Angela's husband was Dr. Manhattan. Zhao Yu is the daughter of the Pharaoh’s Vietnamese servant who stole his semen. She inherited the Pharaoh’s ingenuity and ambition. She has both strength and ability to covet the superpowers of Dr. Manhattan. But Will made a request to Zhao Yu, to help him kill the members of the "Cyclops" in the "Seven Cavalry Group" when acquiring superpowers, fulfilling his long-cherished wish for many years.
"Mantis catches the cicada, the oriole is behind." Dr. Manhattan used himself as a bait. After being caught by the "Seven Cavaliers", Zhao Yu appeared and killed the core of the "Seven Cavaliers" according to the agreement with Will. member. Although Dr. Manhattan's body was broken down by the machine made by Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu was also killed by the cuttlefish rain made by the Pharaoh during the energy transfer process, and did not gain the superpower she dreamed of. It turns out that Dr. Manhattan, who can exist in multiple time dimensions at the same time, already knew the ending. Before he was caught by the "Seven Horses", he stored part of his energy in the egg. After Angela ate the egg and lay the egg, he had Dr. Manhattan stay. Under the super power, the first season of "Watchmen" is over.
Overall, the storyline of this season is not complicated, but for those who have not seen the original comics and movies, the threshold for watching the drama is relatively high, but as long as you understand the organization "Watchmen" and three key characters And related deeds can sort out the ins and outs of the entire drama.
*Watchmen*
"Watchmen" is a superhero organization in the original book, which is different from the other superhero organizations under DC, "Justice League" and Marvel’s "Avengers". Only a few of the members have superpowers, and most of the heroes are just ordinary people with a sense of justice and flesh and blood, which also makes the watchmen have a unique charm that is different from traditional superheroes.
Because the people have disputes over the legality of voluntary police such as the watchman, the government promulgated the "Kean Act", stipulating that the watchmen must either work for the government or retire. The "watchman" will eventually exist in name only.
*Rorschach*
members of the "Seven Cavalry Group" in the play wear Rorschach masks, claiming that their behavior is to inherit Rorschach's spirit and will. The character of Rorschach is different from the "Hooded Judge". He is a core member of the Watchers. Because of his personal experience, he is also the most jealous among the Watchers. He will punish evil and promote good, and exert his chivalrous spirit on behalf of the heavens. A person to the extreme. In his eyes, evil is evil, and there is no idea of doing small evils and getting rid of big evils. Under the "Kean Act", he neither worked for the government nor retired, but continued to work as a "watchman".
*Pharaoh*
Pharaoh Witt is also a former member of the "Watchmen". After he quit, he founded the world's largest technology company. He is also the smartest person among the Watchmen. He who claims to be the savior of mankind is not Cherishing human life, this arrogance caused him to commit a crazy evil. At the time of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers were engaged in an arms race to compete for world hegemony, and the people of the world were in the shadow of the threat of nuclear war. Below, the Pharaoh made a giant octopus that fell from the sky and attacked New York, killing millions of people, and falsely claimed that it was an alien attack on the earth. After this incident, the United States and the Soviet Union reunited to lead the people of the earth to jointly deal with the threat of aliens. In order to convince people of this absurd statement, the Pharaoh also regularly made "squid rain" around the world. The movie version of
changed this setting to nuclear explosions that led to the destruction of several large cities and the death of tens of millions of people. The TV series version restored the setting of octopus.
*Manhattan*
Dr.Manhattan is the only person in the "Watchmen" who has superpowers. Not only that, his abilities can be said to be close to God. Dr. Manhattan, whose real name is Jonathan Osterman, was originally the son of a watchmaker and later became a quantum physicist. In an accidental quantum conversion experiment, his body was annihilated and his mind entered the non-material realm. In the end he seemed to understand The essence of the universe has thus reshaped itself in the material world, becoming a bald and blue person with a god-likeability. He once worked for the US government to resist the Soviet nuclear threat, and relied on his own efforts to end the Vietnam War within a week.
Under the conspiracy of the Pharaoh, the fate of Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach were linked together. In the movie version, the pharaoh first blamed the nuclear explosion on Dr. Manhattan. After the watchmen learned the truth, they explained that a small part of humanity must be sacrificed for world peace as a last resort. Faced with the reality of a done deal and the result of a peaceful world, Dr. Manhattan accepted what the Pharaoh said, and was willing to take the blame, but Rorschach, who was jealous and hated, wanted to reveal the truth. Facing Rorschach, who would never compromise, Dr. Manhattan killed him without hesitation. But the truth was not buried here, and Luo Xiaji was finally made public.
From a certain perspective, if the purpose of the "Seven Cavaliers" with Rorschach masks in the "Watchmen" is to expose the truth and avenge the Pharaoh and Dr. Manhattan, it seems that it can be regarded as an inheritance. Regarding Rorschach’s legacy, in fact, some members did indeed aim for this. But the core members of the "Seven Cavalry Group" also include organizations such as the "Cyclops", which proves that the true Rorschach spirit has actually been misinterpreted and used.
In fact, the original "Watchmen" comic has told a relatively independent and complete story. In the DC universe, it is not a big IP that can shoot many sequels, but it is a very special one. The most important mission of the superheroes depicted in the story is not to save mankind, but how to save themselves from the extreme anxiety, emptiness and loss as a part of mankind itself. If the superheroes cannot do it, then How can ordinary people do it?
Faced with the gray world, Rorschach, who had only two choices of black and white, good and evil, failed to awaken her companion even at the cost of her life. The capable Dr. Manhattan gradually broke away from his consciousness as a human being, and eventually became an accomplice in causing a huge disaster and was cast aside by humans. The wise Pharaoh not only failed to save mankind, but became the perpetrator of huge disasters to mankind. Other watchmen also lived the rest of their lives in pain and loss.
Generally speaking, the original comics depict a metaphorically realistic and thought-provoking tragic story. Its expression is very dark and negative, and not all audiences can accept it. The TV drama version tried to pay tribute to the original work and reinterpret the spirit of the watchman in a more positive and positive way through adaptation.
is first of all the shaping and adaptation of the identity and personal experience of the "Hooded Judge". In the comics, his true identity is controversial and his life and death are unknown. The drama version sets his character as a fighter and lone hero against racial discrimination, with a policeman. The identity is unable to enforce justice, and the plot design of being forced to wear a hood to eliminate violence and peace is of great significance to the interpretation of the chivalrous spirit of the watchmen. However, the hood belt is easy to take off. The personal anxiety and family tragedy caused by the dual identities of ordinary people and righteous police reflect the serious distortion of self-consciousness caused by the watchmen walking between light and darkness. It also reveals the reason why most of the tragic endings of the Watchmen. It's just that the identities of people of color and the racial contradictions in the play seem to be too politically correct in American society, which makes people feel that the screenwriters are opportunistic.
and then Dr. Manhattan's return of humanity. In the DC universe, the discussion about who is stronger between Dr. Manhattan and Superman has never stopped. Let’s first count Dr. Manhattan’s metamorphic abilities: quantum body, quantum reaction, ontology replication, dominance of particles, body reorganization, control of time, Creation of life, invalidity of cause and effect, etc. Objectively speaking, with these abilities, Dr. Manhattan can only be weakened and cannot be killed or destroyed. However, at the end of the first season, the screenwriter made him easily receive a box lunch. The only reason is that Dr. Manhattan finally returned to God. Although the ability remains the same, the human nature has recovered. The return of
's humanity is not accomplished overnight, but has laid a foundation. After being extremely disappointed with mankind, Dr. Manhattan left the earth and people thought he went to Mars for him. In fact, he recreated life on Europa and created mankind like a young couple who had taken him in as a child. But the created person only knows to obey, and does not have the colorful humanity that human beings have. Through his own "experiment", Dr. Manhattan proved that human beings are unique and irreplaceable.
finally denied his Dr. Manhattan’s choice to return to Earth and took the initiative to get to know Angela. Although he was able to exist freely and in multiple time and space at the same time, the reason he said he fell in love with Angela in the play was still far-fetched, but regardless How this love is long-lost and true for Dr. Manhattan. In order to live with Angela, Dr. Manhattan voluntarily gave up his abilities and sent the Pharaoh to Europa, making it temporarily unable to harm humanity.
After being awakened by Angela and regaining his abilities, one interpretation of Dr. Manhattan who can control the time still chooses to die is because the love of Angela makes him neither want to leave alone, but also worry that those who covet his ability will give Angie. Pulling brings harm. In the case of a causal cycle and a destined ending, letting the bad guy disappear with himself and leaving some of his abilities with Angela is the only choice Dr. Manhattan can make. At the same time, it is the old generation of watchmen that is symbolic. Our spirit and ability have been passed on to the new generation of Watchmen represented by Angela through the joint efforts of Dr. Manhattan and the Hooded Judge.
The adaptation of "Watchmen" full of American positive energy made the original author Alan Moore feel extremely uncomfortable, and also offended many loyal fans of comics. Alan Moore publicly stated that he did not agree with this new story, which caused great pressure. The screenwriter Damon Lindelof hurriedly came out to explain, but for a classic like "Watchmen", since it is a sequel and adaptation itself, there is a great risk of continuation. We admired the courage of the creators and saw it. The show's attempt to reveal the ambition of "what should we watch for". Maybe this is what each of us needs to think after watching this show.
