Key themes
- Moral compromise and the superhero myth
- Power, utilitarianism and the greater good
- What we project onto those we give authority
About this book
Flawed, ageing superheroes in an alternate Cold War; the graphic novel that proved comics could be literature.
Published as a 12-issue series in 1986–87, Watchmen is the only graphic novel to appear on Time magazine's list of the 100 greatest English-language novels since 1923.
Discussion questions
- Watchmen deconstructs the superhero — but it does so partly through making many of its heroes fascistic, broken or nihilistic. Is this deconstruction fair — or does it simply replace one myth with another?
- Ozymandias's plan is utilitarian: kill many to save billions. Does the novel judge him — and how did you feel about his decision?
- Rorschach is brutal, bigoted and psychologically damaged — but his moral absolutes are presented as a kind of integrity. What is Moore saying about the relationship between moral clarity and violence?
- Dr Manhattan has become so powerful he has difficulty caring about human life. What does this arc say about power — whether superhuman, technological or political?
- Watchmen was published in 1986–87 during the Cold War. How has its meaning changed now the specific threat it responded to is historical — and what has it gained?
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