Who Watches the Watchmen?
posted in Rantings, conversation |I missed the Watchmen boat the first time around.
Sure, sure, I heard that it’s a complex story. A rich story. And my favorite superheroes have problems (my favorite superhero is Spiderman, my least, Superman) ; these Watchmen heroes have problems. And I enjoy discussing good, evil, and the variations in between. Just somehow, missed the boat. I think I avoided the Watchmen because it was fairly popular, and I try to avoid stuff that’s popular. Sometimes. I’ve mellowed about that as I’ve gotten older.
So I asked Ms B to reserve it at the library. And now I’m reading it. And oooh boy, I see why people rave about it. It’s got that quality in a good book where I’m thinking about some of the themes presented in the book. Some of the artwork has been outstanding, but the real star is the story. I don’t recommend it for kids or for other people sensitive to violence in their stories. There’s a lot of violence; even more than most comic books.
However, as our world has increasing violence, the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, the generations-long war in the Middle East, North Korea announcing they have nuclear grade plutonium, you know the stories. The questions raised in the Watchmen about how to bring peace to our world and if it’s worth it still apply, even though it’s set in 1985 with the cold war.
Some spoilers below:
Adrian Veight, the most intelligent man on the world, once the hero known as Ozymandias, believes that the best way to unite the world (his goal is to be like Alexander the Great), is to unite the world against a common foe. His method of creating a unique creature and wiping out half of New York as it dies is very effective. He’s convincing in his arguments. And it’s something I believe too- we were against the Soviet Union and they were painted as different. The Muslims in Iraq are painted as different. Space aliens are frequently painted as different if we’re fighting them or humanish if they’re our friends. The squid in the Watchmen book is perfectly placed.
I can see why diehard Watchmen fans are upset at the change in the ending for the Watchmen movie. I’m not at the end of the series yet, but I’m not sure how Veight’s plan is going to play in the movie.
What do you think? Would impending attack by space aliens unite us against a common foe? Would North Korea stop being … an expansive militaristic communistic society? Would it solve the problem of Israel? Would it quell the unrest in Mexico?
