Differences Between ‘Watchmen’ Movie, Comics, & Series Explained
Alan Moore’s epic Watchmen comic book is arguably the best comic book ever written. A gritty superhero story that shows the corruption of a not-so-distant dystopian future, Watchmen is a metaphor for a heroless future filled with heroes. The story has become an instant classic, so it really isn’t surprising that the big studios wanted to adapt the comic book in a cinematic format.
This, of course, happened when Zack Snyder directed his adaptation of the comic book, which was a very controversial (but in our opinion great) adaptation, but that was not the end of it. Recently, Damon Lindelof created a television adaptation for HBO, which served as a sequel of sorts and although it was critically acclaimed because of its themes, it had little to do with Moore’s comic.
Now, before I explain all the differences between the Watchmen movie, series, and comic book in more detail, here is a quick overview of the differences put in the table below:
| Comic book | Film | TV Show | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | Alternative version of 1985 and the Cold War era (flashbacks from the 1940s and earlier) | Alternative version of 1985 and the Cold War era (flashbacks from the 1940s and earlier) | Alternative version of 2019, modern setting (flashbacks from the 1920s, 1940s and 1980s) |
| Plot | A group of former superheroes discovers a ghastly plot to save the world from a nuclear explosion by sacrificing millions of lives | A group of former superheroes discovers a ghastly plot to save the world from a nuclear explosion by sacrificing millions of lives; changes the ending of the comic book | Racial tensions between the masked police and a group of masked, right-wing extremists evolve into a sinister plot to use a superhero’s powers to cleanse the world |
| Characters | Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II, Ozymandias, the Comedian | Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II, Ozymandias, the Comedian | Angela Abar, Looking Glass, Dr. Manhattan, Judd Crawford, Will Reeves, Ozymandias, Slik Spectre II |
| Messages and ideas | Angst caused by rising Cold War tensions, reflections on totalitarianism and dictatorship, the definition of a superhero | Reflections on totalitarianism and dictatorship, reflections on comic books and comic book characters, conspiracy theories | Racial tensions, reflection on current political events and social tensions, right-wing politics, conspiracy theories, reflections on law and order |
| Style and aesthetics | Dark, gritty, characteristic for 1980s darker comic books, exceptionally subversive and provoking | Dark, gritty, imitating the comic book aesthetic and Snyder’s characteristic style, less subversive with more action and thriller elements | Very modern, politically provoking, somewhat dark, realistic (as possible for a superhero show), strong social and political commentary |
Watchmen movie vs. comic book vs. TV show
In this section, I am going to compare the three iterations of Moore’s story from the perspective of five different categories we thought are essential in completely perceiving the differences between the materials. We’re going to start off with the setting, then analyze the differences between the characters and the plot before moving on to the ideas presented in each adaptation and the style of each work.
SETTING
Comic book
Alan Moore’s story is set in 1985, but in an alternative iteration of the year. Many real-life historical events have happened in this alternative reality and the world is facing another rise in Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The United States have established a dominant position thanks to Dr. Manhattan’s intervention in the Vietnam War, but the Soviets are opting to challenge that domination. When Dr. Manhattan is exiled as part of Ozymandias’s plot, the Soviets attack Afghanistan and the two powers prepare for an all-out nuclear war.
Movie
Zack Snyder’s movie keeps the same setting as the original comic book. In that aspect, we can only copy what we’ve said above. Zack Snyder has a very “mimicking” approach when it comes to comic book adaptations so his adaptations are always true adaptations of the comic books he uses as a starting point.
In that aspect, he changed absolutely nothing when the setting is concerned and whether or not his “hyperrealistic” approach is good or not, it’s how it is and there is no going around that.
Television miniseries
Damon Lindelof’s television series is set in 2019, 34 years after Moore’s original comic book. The series is set within the same alternative reality and continues on the actual ending of Moore’s comic book, but in a modern setting. The circumstances are rather different, with the racial tensions being the most important ideological source for the story.
The television series is also set in a modern United States that is not as gritty or dark as Moore’s alternative Cold War era. In that aspect, despite being a sequel, Lindelof’s story doesn’t really have to do much with Moore’s beside the name, when the setting is concerned.
CHARACTERS
Comic book
Alan Moore’s comic book is focused on the titular group of superheroes known as the Watchmen (actually the Crimebusters), although superheroes had already been outlawed when the story started. The main characters are the vigilante Rorschach, the godly Dr. Manhattan, the scheming Ozymandias (now Adrian Veidt), and the superheroes Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II.
The Comedian is also involved, as his death is the main trigger for the whole plot. The Minutemen – especially Sally Jupiter – also have a very important place in the plot, as well as the supervillain Moloch the Mystic, despite only appearing in recurring roles. The comic book also has a large(r) number of secondary characters who we are not going to list.
Movie
As it was with the setting, Zack Snyder kept the main framework of the comic in his movie, so the main characters are the same; the movie, likewise, focuses on Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Nite Owl II and Slik Spectre II, with the Comedian being a plot trigger.
Other characters also do appear, but in a reduced capacity, as Snyder had to cut a portion of the comic book material to make a relatively self-contained comic book story, without stretching it too much, although the “Ultimate Cut” is quite long nevertheless.
Television miniseries
Damon Lindelof’s television show is a combination of the canon material and some original elements. This resulted in some original characters returning – like Dr. Manhattan, Laurie Jupiter (Slik Spectre II) and Ozymandias – while the majority of the cast was new. Angela Abar (Sister Night) is the main character whose heroism is somewhat akin to Nite Owl’s, although it’s not directly comparable, as is in the case of Wade Tillman (Looking Glass), who is a new version of Rorschach.
Hooded Justice of the Minutemen also plays a very important role in this show, much bigger than in the original story, as well as the original character of police commissioner Judd Crawford, whose role in the story is somewhat akin to that of the Comedian in the original comic book. The show also features a large cast of supporting characters.
PLOT
Comic book
The story of the Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative reality where superheroes who have ceased their vigilante activity seem to disappear one by one, as World War III threatens to break out at any time with the Eastern bloc.
The 1959 appearance of Dr. Manhattan, a superhuman with almost equal powers as a god, changed the story we know: the United States won the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal was smothered, oil is no longer a major source of energy, and Richard Nixon is still president in 1985.
The story is interspersed with several pages of written material from the Watchmen universe – newspaper articles, long passages from the diary of one of the characters, these documents do not directly serve the plot of the story but allow to give depth to the world described.
Movie
The Minutemen are a group of men and women in disguise who fight crime, a group formed in 1938 in response to an increase in gangs and criminals, also in disguise, and the Watchmen (Crimebusters) are similarly formed decades later.
When scientist Jon Osterman is turned into Dr. Manhattan, the latter’s existence in the US has dramatically affected world events: Dr. Manhattan’s superpowers help America win the Vietnam War, resulting in President Richard Nixon being repeatedly reelected in the 1980s.
The existence of Dr. Manhattan gives the West a strategic advantage over the Soviet Union, which in that decade threatens to turn the Cold War into a nuclear war.
During that time, growing anti-vigilante sentiment in the country has pushed masked crime fighters out of the law. Although many of the heroes are retired, Doctor Manhattan and The Comedian operate as government-sanctioned agents, and Rorschach continues to operate outside the law.
Investigating the murder of government agent Edward Blake, Rorschach discovers that Blake was the Comedian, and develops the theory that someone may be trying to eliminate the vigilantes.
He tries to convince his fellow retirees – his former partner Daniel Dreiberg / Night Owl II, Dr. Manhattan, and his latest lover, Laurie Jupiter / Silk Specter II. Dreiberg is skeptical, yet he still comments on his hypothesis to the Watchman-turned-billionaire Adrian Veidt / Ozimandias.
Television miniseries
Watchmen takes place in an alternate reality, 34 years after the events of the comic series from which it is inspired. The vigilantes, once seen as heroes, have been banned due to their violent methods, and their plot “embraces the nostalgia for the groundbreaking original graphic novel while trying to break new ground.” The series takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during 2019.
A group of white supremacists, the Seventh Cavalry, has appropriated the writings of Rorschach and his masked figure to wage a violent war against minorities and police who impose special historical reparations for the victims of racial injustice.
On Christmas Eve 2016, during an event known as the “White Night,” the Seventh Cavalry attacked the homes of 40 Tulsa police officers. Of those who survived, only two remained within the police force: Detective Angela Abar and Chief Judd Crawford.
As the police force was rebuilt, laws were passed requiring police not to disclose their profession and protect their identities while working wearing masks, allowing masked vigilantes to work alongside officers in the fight against the Cavalry.
MESSAGES AND IDEAS
Comic book
Alan Moore’s Watchmen are certainly one of the most subversive and provocative comic books ever written. In a representation of the Angst associated with the Cold War, Moore tackled several sociopolitical, as well as artistic and cultural ideas, twisting them and demanding that the reader questioned them. This was not done to pervert these ideas, but to challenge the reader to challenge some typical perceptions and reaffirm true ideals.
Moore tackles question associated with totalitarianism, dictatorship and political corruption, the role of (super)heroes in a society, as well as the definition of a superhero in modern culture. He also tackles the question of a dystopian society, conspiracy theories, capitalist ethics, but also the question of idealism vs. pragmatism, as well as the question of humanity and humanism. The message is that people need to be better and that things are not always black-and-white as the Cold War politics tried to portray them.
Movie
Zack Snyder did not make many interventions into Moore’s original concept; in fact, one could say that he copied it way too much. Namely, Snyder wanted to bring the comic book to the big screen, which was a good thing if you ask us, but while he did mimic almost everything that Moore tackled (see above), there was a visible lack of authenticity in the movie.
Why? Not because Snyder did a bad job, but because the movie was created in a period of history (2009) when most of the sociopolitical topics that Moore used in the 1980s were old news: the Cold War was over and with it the threat of a direct nuclear war, Richard Nixon was not perceived as a major internal threat, the Vietnam War was already perceived as America’s failure, etc.
This made Snyder’s work true to the original, but at the same time removed the authenticity that Moore’s comic book had, as the viewers couldn’t really relate to all these issues, especially the younger generation. The other ideas that Moore expressed were a bit lost on the movie, as it had more action and thriller elements, which ultimately made the movie a mediocre copy idea-wise.
Television miniseries
Unlike Snyder, Lindelof went with a completely original approach when it comes to his television show and he managed to be more authentic with it, despite that approach being completely different from Moore’s. Lindelof did borrow some of Moore’s sociopolitical ideas and questions (corruption, idealism, humanism, vigilantism), but he added a twist of his own in digging deeper into the analysis of right-wing extremism and racial tensions.
Lindelof used Moore’s approach, but he changed his goals and was quite successful in that aspect. He also tackled the issue of superheroism and pragmatism with Ozymandias’ grand return.
All in all, Lindelof’s Watchmen used the same formula as Moore and they did borrow some of the ideas, but were ultimately a completely original take with its own issues that felt authentic (as they reflected the sociopolitical climate of the time), but had little to do with Moore’s ideas and we are not certain that the great writer would agree with such changes, as some of them were far from his dilemmas from the 1980s.
STYLE AND AESTHETICS
Comic book
Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns was a revolutionary work that changed both how comic books were perceived, as well as written. Building on Miller’s dark, gritty and disturbingly real style, Moore wrote his Watchmen as a story that was not a humourous piece of entertainment for the masses, but a slice-of-(alternative)-life story that reflected all the issues our society had, but in a comic book format. The story and the style were quite dark and Watchmen was a comic book that was aimed at older readers.
Movie
Seeing how he mimicked Moore’s comic book, Zack Snyder tried to recreate the aesthetic approach Moore and Gibbons had. Although a fan of the green screen (CGI), Snyder intervened into the aesthetics during post-production to make the whole world of his Watchmen movie seem as dark and gritty as it was in the comic books.
While he was filming, he wanted to use real environments as much as possible as Watchmen was a comic book that allowed and even wanted such realism, compared to his earlier adaptation of the comic book 300, for which he used the green screen.
Television miniseries
The television series was completely different in this aspect too. Namely, although it was darker than a lot of mainstream television, it was not nearly as dark as Moore’s comic or Snyder’s film and it wasn’t even the darkest show airing at the time. Still, Lindelof’s modern approach made sense (the show was set in 2019) and the production standards were on the highest level.
Still, we can’t shake the feeling that HBO could’ve been a bit bolder with the show, especially since they went full dark in True Detective, but the end result was quite satisfactory, despite the fact that we still miss the visual subversion of the original work.