Original subtitles

Wrong, as usual.

The United States' lack of action in Eastern Europe proves

that the Soviet Union's aggression at the Afghan border

will not be opposed publicly by the United States.

Issue, the Soviet Union continued its recent series of military exercises,

conducting a bomb test today in the Bering Sea,

just 1,500 miles off the southern coast of Alaska.

President Richard Nixon issued this warning to the Soviets...

The United States does not start fights.

Let it be clear, we maintain our strength in order to maintain peace.

So any adversary should ask themselves,

"Do the consequences of attacking America

"outweigh the potential benefits?"

As a result of the Soviet activity,

the watchdog group of nuclear scientists

move the Doomsday Clock up to five minutes until midnight,

destruction by nuclear war.

Question,

on a scale of zero to ten, zero meaning impossibility,

ten meaning complete metaphysical certitude,

what are the chances the Russians will actually attack the United States?

Pat Buchanan.

Zero. The Soviets would never risk going to war,

when we have a walking nuclear deterrent on our side.

You're referring, of course, to Dr Manhattan.

But does Dr Manhattan's existence guarantee world peace?

Eleanor Clift.

Well, it hasn't stopped the Soviet Union

from stockpiling record amounts of nuclear weapons.

You don't think it's all just posturing?

Maybe the reason why the Soviets are doing these bomb tests

is because they feel threatened by Dr Manhattan, cornered.

Maybe the whole world feels like that.

Soviet ships have violated the territorial waters...

Just a matter of time, I suppose.

It's a joke. It's all a joke.

Mother, forgive me.

That is what I had before! I was a hero, God damn it!

An act clearly meant to send a signal to the government in Saigon

that violence and oppression is not the way to peace.

Good luck, Mr Gorsky.

Get out of here, vigilantes!

They're killers!

Edward Blake. 67 years old.

6'2". A solid 225.

The guy was built like a linebacker.

Yeah, I saw the body.

For a guy his age, he was in terrific shape.

You mean, apart from being dead?

That's plate glass.

You have to step on the gas just to put a crack in it.

He had to have been thrown.

- Check the bedroom? - Yeah.

Drawers opened, tossed through. Mattress flipped.

Probably robbery.

Or made to look like one. See this?

Shaking hands with the President.

Whoa! You think Blake was a spook?

Government or black ops?

I think this is way bigger than both of us.

Rorschach's journal, October 12, 1985.

Dog carcass in alley this morning, tyre tread on burst stomach.

This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.

The streets are extended gutters, and the gutters are full of blood,

and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown.

The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder

will foam up around their waists

and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, "Save us!"

And I'll whisper, "No."

Now the whole world stands on the brink,

staring down into bloody hell.

All those liberals and intellectuals and smooth talkers,

and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say.

Beneath me, this awful city,

it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children.

And the night reeks of fornication and bad consciences.

Tonight, a comedian died in New York.

Somebody knows why.

Somebody knows.

No, I definitely heard something.

Watch the door.

It must have been the wind. Next time you...

It all started with the gangs.

You know, people tend to forget that.

Pirate outfits, ghosts.

They thought it was funny, dress up and pull heists.

Of course, as soon as we'd arrest them, they'd be back on the street again.

Nobody could pick them out of a lineup 'cause of the damn masks.

So, a few of us cops, we get together and we figure,

"What the heck? We'll mask up, too. We'll finish what the law couldn't."

Pretty soon, the papers get wind of it. They ran with it

and, oh, boy, we're a national pastime.

It was me, Dollar Bill, Mothman,

Captain Metropolis, Hooded Justice,

Silk Spectre and The Comedian.

Don't get me started on him.

I must be drunk already, telling you this sob story again.

I think you were trying to make a point.

Well, my point is that we had it too easy.

It wasn't fair what happened to you guys,

you guys who picked up where we left off,

with Nixon forcing you out.

Nixon, that prick.

And to think I voted for that prick five times.

Hey, it was him or the commies, right?

Wow, it's almost midnight. I ought to go.

Truth?

You were a better Nite Owl than I ever was, Danny boy.

Hollis, we both know that's bullshit.

Hey, watch with the language.

This is the left hook that floored Captain Axis, remember?

This just in. A masked vigilante known as Rorschach

has assaulted a police officer in the early morning hours.

Rorschach is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list

for violation of the Keene Act,

which banned masked heroes six years ago.

Rorschach reportedly incapacitated an officer...

Forced everyone out except him.

He'll quit.

When he's dead.

Next week?

Well, you know, you don't have to keep humouring me like this.

If you got a hot date or something...

Hey, us retired guys have to stick together, right?

You ever miss it?

- No. You? - No. Heck, no.

I'll be seeing you.

- Hello, Daniel. - Rorschach.

Helped myself to some beans.

Hope you don't mind.

No, no. Of course not.

You want me to heat those up for you?

Fine like this.

How have you been keeping?

Out of prison.

Heard about you on the news.

They say you attacked a cop.

Minor wound. Won't need hospitalisation.

Daniel, look at this.

- Is this bean juice? - Human bean juice.

Badge belonged to The Comedian. Blood, too.

He's dead.

Let's talk downstairs.

It could have been a burglary.

Maybe the killer didn't know who The Comedian was.

An ordinary burglar kill The Comedian? Ridiculous.

I heard he'd been working for the government since '77,

knocking over Marxist republics in South America.

Maybe it was a political killing or something.

Maybe.

Or maybe someone's picking off costumed heroes.

You don't think that's a little paranoid?

That what they say about me now? Paranoid?

Look, Comedian made a lot of enemies over the years, even among his friends.

Speaking of friends, how's Hollis Mason?

He wrote that book, said some bad things about The Comedian in it.

I don't like what you're implying. And I like being followed even less.

Maybe I was keeping an eye on you, in case someones gunning for masks.

You were never that sentimental.

An attack on one is an attack on all of us.

What do you suggest we do about it?

Retribution.

Watchmen are over.

Says Tricky Dick.

Says me.

Nobody knows who you are.

You can give it up, try and have a normal life.

That what you have now? A normal life?

When you walk down the street in a city dying of rabies,

past the human cockroaches

talking about their heroin and child pornography,

do you really feel normal?

At least I'm not the one still hiding behind a mask.

No.

You're hiding in plain sight.

Be seeing you, Dan.

There's a maintenance hatch that will let you out two blocks north.

Yeah, I remember.

Came here often when we were partners.

Those were great times, huh, Rorschach?

- What happened? - You quit.

Rorschach's journal. First visit of evening fruitless.

Feel slightly depressed.

Soon there will be war.

Millions will perish in sickness and misery.

Why does one death matter against so many?

Because there is good and evil, and evil must be punished,

even in the face of Armageddon.

I will not compromise in this.

Mr Veidt, to date, you're one of only two Watchmen

ever to reveal their true identity to the world,

the first being Hollis Mason.

And you've certainly profited greatly by it,

turning your superhero alter ego, Ozymandias,

into a billion-dollar industry.

Toys, lunchboxes, genetic engineering...

I understand there's even a movie in the works.

I'm not hearing a question, Mr Roth.

I'm sorry. Do you think...

The other Watchmen resent me for prostituting their struggle?

It's a fair question. Yes, it's crossed my mind

some of my old colleagues might see it that way,

just as you're clearly aware that biased journalism sells more magazines.

The merchandising arm of Veidt Industries is funding

our work with Dr Manhattan.

Now, we recently expanded our research facility in Antarctica

in the hope of developing cheap, renewable sources of energy,

that we might eliminate the world's reliance on fossil fuels.

Now, it doesn't take a political scientist

to see that our Cold War with the Russians isn't ideological,

it's based upon fear, fear of not having enough.

But if we make resources infinite,

we make war obsolete.

I would hope the other Watchmen understand that,

wherever they may be.

Thanks for your time.

You look good, Adrian.

Dan, it's been too long.

So, Rorschach thinks someone's hunting the Watchmen, huh?

You think it's possible?

I think, statistically, one murder doesn't equal a trend.

Rorschach's a sociopath, Dan.

I mean, so was The Comedian. He was practically a Nazi.

You know that better than anyone.

I'm not here 'cause I miss him.

Well, it's obviously occurred to Rorschach

that we're the only ones who know each other's identities.

Actually, the whole world knows yours. That's why I'm warning you first.

Thank you, Dan.

But I fear there's something much more real to worry about

than Rorschach's mask-killer.

If the Russians do launch their nukes, can Jon really stop them?

The Soviets have 51,000 warheads stockpiled.

Even if Jon stops 99% of them,

the 1% that get through can still kill every living thing on Earth.

Even Dr Manhattan can't be everywhere at once.

Rorschach's journal, October 13, 1985.

8:30 p.m.

Meeting with Dreiberg left bad taste in mouth.

A flabby failure who sits whimpering in his basement.

Why are so few of us left active, healthy,

and without personality disorders?

The first Nite Owl runs an auto-repair shop.

The first Silk Spectre is a bloated, ageing whore

dying in a California rest resort.

Dollar Bill got his cape stuck in a revolving door

where he got gunned down.

Silhouette murdered, a victim of her own indecent lifestyle.

Mothman's in an asylum in Maine.

Even Adrian Veidt, possible homosexual.

Must investigate further.

Only two names remain on my list.

Both share private quarters at Rockefeller Military Research Centre.

I shall go to them.

I shall go tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.

Good evening, Rorschach.

Dr Manhattan, you know why I'm here.

Yes.

But you're going to leave disappointed.

Rorschach! You shouldn't be here. You're a wanted man.

Nice to see you, too, Silk Spectre.

I have a real name I've been using a couple of years now. Try it.

Whatever you say, Laurie.

What are you doing here?

The Comedian is dead.

Rorschach wants me to look into my future,

see if the killer is ever publicly identified.

I already warned Dreiberg. Came to warn you, too.

Even if I wanted to help,

my future is blocked by some kind of temporal interference.

I cannot see it clearly.

Interference? Caused by what?

In all likelihood, nuclear holocaust.

If the United States and Soviet Union engage in all-out war,

the resulting blast wave would produce a sudden burst of tachyons,

particles which travel backward through what you perceive as time,

therefore obscuring my vision of the present.

- I must return to my work. - Wait a minute.

What if that's why someone wants us out of the way?

So we can't do anything to stop it?

Goodbye, Rorschach.

Took a lot of effort to get in here to see you.

I'm not leaving

till I've had my say!

Seems like there's a lot of things you don't tell me these days, Jon.

I didn't want to worry you prematurely.

If Adrian and I can solve the energy crisis, war may be averted.

But you always say that time is simultaneous.

If that's true, then how can you change the future?

If only you could perceive time as I do.

Please, let me show you.

Magic! Dreams!

That is what I had before! I was a hero, God damn it!

It's not my fault you got old!

What do you have to complain about?

I'm putting food on the table for you and your child!

Why don't you call your friend Eddie? Maybe he can give you a better life.

It was a mistake! One time!

- Guy tries to rape you... - Stop!

Your mind goes to dark places and you wonder why I keep the worst from you.

- Say hello to Dan for me. - What?

You want to ask me to go to dinner with you,

like we used to,

but you won't. You know I can't.

So you'll call Dan, which is only natural.

You deserve the comfort of an old friend.

Dan Dreiberg's table?

Did you know that he and HJ were... I had no idea.

You remember that crazy guy?

What did he call himself? Captain Carnage.

Used to pretend he was a supervillain,

just so he could get beat up all the time?

Yeah. He tried that on me once. I just walked away.

He starts following me down the street in broad daylight, yelling,

"Punish me! Punish me!"

And I'm just saying, "No, get lost."

God, whatever happened to him?

Well, he pulled that on Rorschach,

and Rorschach dropped him down an elevator shaft.

- Oh, my God. That's not even funny. - Yeah, it is.

- A little funny. - A little bit.

It's really good to see you again.

It's great seeing you, too, Laurie.

Why'd we do it, Dan? Dress up like that?

No one else would.

Yeah, but do you remember my costume?

All that tight latex? I mean, it was awful.

Yeah, yeah, awful.

But I didn't want to disappoint Mother.

Wanted her little girl to be just like her and fight bad guys.

I think the Keene Act was the best thing that ever happened to us.

Well, we'll live longer, anyway.

What?

Jon thinks, unless he can do something about it,

that there's going to be nuclear war. Soon.

But I don't know what to think.

I mean, it's all quantum mechanics and parallel realities with him.

I never even know what universe he's actually seeing.

He just keeps getting further away from me.

Everyone.

I can't even tell if he actually cares about me any more,

or if he's just pretending.

If he's pretending, it means he cares.

Hold on, I'll get the door.

Thanks, Dan.

- Got it? - Yeah.

Do you always get a government escort to dinner?

They're making sure I don't do anything

to upset the country's most powerful weapon.

I'm sorry.

I invite you out to dinner to catch up and have a few laughs,

but there don't seem to be that many laughs around these days.

What do you expect? The Comedian's dead.

Laurie? Is that you?

Thought you'd be used to travelling that way by now.

Well, I'm not.

I hate it when Jon teleports me.

Well, it beats flying coach.

Margarita?

Mother, it's 2:00 in the afternoon.

Remember that guy that writes me letters?

He sent me an item of memorabilia. It's a Tijuana Bible.

It's a little eight-page porno comic they did in the '30s and '40s.

- He sent you this? - Sure.

They're very valuable, like antiques.

- Mother, this is gross! - I think it's kind of flattering.

Why do you always call me "Mother" when you're mad?

I know why you're here. I can still read, you know.

I saw it in the paper.

Eddie Blake's funeral is today.

Finally got his punch line, I guess.

- Poor Eddie. - Poor Eddie? After what he did to you?

Laurie, you're still young. You don't know.

Things change.

What happened happened 40 years ago.

I'm 67 years old.

Every day, the future looks a little bit darker.

But the past, even the grimy parts of it,

keep on getting brighter.

I've got spots in my eyes.

Let me fish those out for you.

Stop it, Eddie.

- Thank you, Weegee. - Thank you, Mr Owl.

And tomorrow, 3:00, my studio.

- Sounds good. - Wow, a real photo session.

I wonder how my hair will look.

Go ahead. I'll be there in five.

Eddie.

What the hell are you doing here? You knew I was changing.

Sure I did.

Come on, baby. I know what you need.

I mean, you got to have some kind of reason

for dressing in an outfit like this.

I said no, Eddie.

- No, spelled Y-E-S. - No, spelled N-O.

- All right? - Come on, sweetheart.

Eddie...

You little bastard!

This what you like? This what makes you hot?

What? Yeah!

Things are tough all over, cupcake.

It rains on the just and the unjust alike.

The Comedian was a little bit of both.

And he always thought he'd get the last laugh.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts.

Shut not thy merciful ears to our prayers,

but spare us, Lord most holy,

O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour.

Thou most worthy judge eternal.

Suffer us not at our last hour for any...

Thank you! Thank you!

Fireworks. You got to be kidding me.

Now, you'd think this goddamn country had enough fireworks.

You know, if we'd lost here in Vietnam, I think it might have driven us crazy.

You know, as a country.

But we didn't, thanks to you.

You sound bitter.

Me? Bitter? Fuck, no. I think it's hilarious.

- Jesus Christ. - Mr Eddie?

Just what I fucking needed.

The war is over now. We must talk about this baby.

There's nothing to talk about. You see, I'm leaving.

I'm going to forget about you

and your horrible, sweaty, little piece-of-shit country.

- Get the fuck out of here. - No.

- Get the fuck out of here! - You will remember.

You will remember me and my country forever!

My face!

Blake. Don't.

Blake!

She was pregnant.

- And you gunned her down. - That's right.

And you know what? You watched me.

You could have turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury,

the bottle into goddamn snowflakes, but you didn't, did you?

You really don't give a damn about human beings.

You're drifting out of touch, Doc.

God help us all.

Medic!

Most holy and merciful Saviour.

He cometh up and is cut down, like a flower.

In the midst of life, we are in death.

Of whom may we seek succour, but of thee, O Lord...

Welcome. We'll be starting shortly. We're waiting for one more.

I told you you wouldn't be the only one dressed up.

Welcome, Doctor.

Now we can start.

Thank you for coming today.

I ask you acquaint yourselves with this map of high crime areas.

This is all bullshit.

You know, for a guy who calls himself The Comedian,

I can never tell when you're joking.

Watchmen, that's the real joke.

It didn't work 15 years ago, it sure as hell ain't gonna work now,

just 'cause you want to keep playing cowboys and Indians.

Maybe we should agree on no drinking at meetings.

Look, Rorschach and I have made real headway

on the gang problem by working together.

With a group this size, it seems like a publicity stunt.

I'm not in it for the ink.

We can do so much more. We can save this world

with the right leadership.

Yeah.

And that'd be you, right, Ozzy?

I mean, hell, you're the smartest man on the planet.

It doesn't take a genius to see the world has problems.

Yeah, but it takes a room full of morons

to think they're small enough for you to handle.

You people.

You hear Moloch's back in town, you get your panties all in a bunch.

- You think catching him matters? - Justice matters.

Justice.

Justice is coming to all of us, no matter what the fuck we do.

You know, mankind's been trying to kill each other off

since the beginning of time.

Now we finally have the power to finish the job.

Ain't nothing gonna matter once those nukes start flying. We'll all be dust.

Then Ozymandias here will be the smartest man on the cinder.

For as much as it hath pleased almighty God

to take unto himself the soul of our dear, departed brother,

let us therefore commit his body to the ground.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes...

Yeah!

Yeah!

We've got to get rid of these Watchmen!

Police!

Attention, citizens! We are trying to maintain order!

You must clear the streets until the police strike is over!

Please, there's no need for violence!

We're trying to retain order on the streets

until the police strike is over!

Crawl back in your holes before you get hurt!

I got rubber bullets.

I know my rights! You are not the law!

We want regular cops!

No more vigilantes!

My son's a police officer, you fucking faggots!

God damn it. All right, that's how you want to do it?

There's no need for violence!

Fuck you!

This is getting heavy.

Goddamn, I love working on American soil, Dan.

Ain't had this much fun since Woodward and Bernstein.

How long can we keep this up?

Congress is pushing through some new bill that's gonna outlaw masks.

Our days are numbered.

Till then, it's like you always say, we're society's only protection.

- From what? - Are you kidding me?

From themselves. Son of a bitch.

No, Comedian, wait!

Get your stinking hands off me.

What the hell happened to us?

What happened to the American dream?

What happened to the American dream?

It came true! You're looking at it.

Edgar William Jacobi,

also known as Edgar William Vaughn, also known as Moloch.

What are you talking about?

I'm a retired businessman...

Lie again, Moloch, I break another finger.

I did my time. I'm not Moloch any more.

What do you want from me?

Heard you attended Blake's funeral. Why?

I just felt I should

pay my respects to The Comedian.

How'd you know he was The Comedian?

He broke in here! A week ago. He had his mask off.

He was drunk.

Enemies! For decades!

- Why should he visit you? - I don't know.

I woke up in my bedroom and there he was.

He was upset! He was crying.

Crying? The Comedian?

He was babbling, not making any sense.

I was pissing in my pants.

I thought he was going to kill me.

What did he say?

It's a joke.

It's all a fucking joke.

You know, I thought I knew how it was. I thought I knew how the world was.

I've done some bad things.

I did bad things to women. I shot kids in Nam, you know.

But that was fucking war!

This... I never done anything like this.

God, here I am, spilling my guts

to one of my archenemies.

But the truth is...

The truth is, you're the closest thing to a friend I got.

What the fuck does that say?

Shit.

And your name, your name was on the list,

along with Janey, whatever the fuck her name is.

Manhattan's old girl.

Mother, forgive me.

And then he left.

I swear I don't know what the hell he was talking about.

Funny story.

Sounds unbelievable.

Probably true.

So, that's it?

- I'm clean? - You?

Clean?

Amygdalin. This is phoney medication made from apricot pits. It's illegal.

Come on.

Look, please don't confiscate that.

I'm trying anything.

I have cancer.

What kind of cancer?

Yeah?

You know the kind you eventually get better from?

That ain't the kind I got.

Rorschach's journal, October 16.

Want some of this? Fifty bucks. I'll suck your...

Thought about Moloch's story.

- Come on, freak. - Could all be lies.

A revenge scheme planned during his years behind bars.

Fuck you!

I make more in a week than you make in a year, you fucking homo!

But if it's true, what could have possibly scared The Comedian enough

to cry in front of Moloch?

What was it he saw?

And that list he mentioned...

Edward Blake, The Comedian.

Born 1918.

Buried in the rain. Murdered.

Is that what happens to us? No time for friends?

Only our enemies leave roses.

Violent lives ending violently.

Blake understood.

Humans are savage in nature.

No matter how much you try to dress it up, to disguise it,

Blake saw society's true face.

Chose to be a parody of it. A joke.

I heard a joke once.

Man goes to doctor, says he's depressed,

life seems harsh and cruel.

Says he feels all alone in a threatening world.

Doctor says treatment is simple.

"The great clown Pagliacci is in town. Go see him. That should pick you up."

Man bursts into tears.

"But, Doctor," he says, "I am Pagliacci."

Good joke. Everybody, laugh.

Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

What time do you have to be at your interview?

Don't worry. We've got plenty of time.

Wow. Your finger's like licking a battery.

God, Jon, stop!

- What are you doing? - Please don't be upset.

I always thought you liked this.

No.

I don't... No.

I don't want that.

I don't know what stimulates you any more.

Look, I know you were just trying...

Are you working in here while we're in bed together?

My work with Adrian is at a critical stage right now.

- I didn't think it was necessary to... - To what?

To what, to tell me which one of you was giving me a pity fuck?

My attention was completely focused on you.

If you think there's a problem with my attitude, I am prepared to discuss it.

You know how everything in this world fits together, except people.

What am I to you, another puzzle to be solved?

Have your men stand back.

I'm teleporting the reactor to Karnak now.

You're my only remaining link to the world.

I don't want that responsibility any more.

He's all yours.

Don't worry, Jon. She'll be back.

No, she won't.

He's been called many things, hero, weapon,

linchpin of our national security,

deterrent to nuclear war, or a man to end worlds.

Later tonight, Dr Manhattan will answer my questions and yours

in an exclusive interview,

brought to you commercial-free by Veidt Enterprises.

- Who is it? - It's Laurie.

Sorry. I just had this new lock installed.

I didn't know where else to go.

It's okay. Come in.

What's wrong?

I left Jon.

God. I'm so sorry.

I don't know why I'm here. I just...

I don't know anybody else.

I don't know anybody except for goddamn superheroes.

That's okay. You probably just had an argument or something.

No, Dan.

You don't know what it's been like living with him.

The way he looks at things now,

it's like he doesn't remember what they are.

It's like this world, this real world, to him, it's like walking through a mist.

And people are just shadows,

shadows in a fog.

God, how did everything get so tangled up?

I'm sorry, Dan.

This is twice now I've ruined your evening.

Come on. I'm glad you came over.

I was just going to see Hollis for our weekly beer session.

You're more than welcome to join.

In fact, I insist.

Terrific. Dr Manhattan arrives and no one thinks to tell me.

But he just...

We don't have time for makeup. That blue is too light for television.

Is that dark enough?

Yeah, that's dark enough.

The weight of the world's on him. But does he quit? Nah, he can take it.

News vendors always cope. They're the...

Oh, my God. Here comes that homeless guy again.

I told you. This month's issue still hasn't arrived yet.

Why do you care about that right-wing rag so much?

Those bastards don't give a damn about you, pal. They...

Hold up. Here it comes.

- Seymour! - Bernie, how's tricks?

Fine, fine.

Maybe we should get a cab. These are bad neighbourhoods.

Yeah, well, I'm in a bad mood.

Go easy, huh?

The girl.

Here's a list of Pentagon-approved no-go areas.

Afghanistan will obviously come up, but just play it cool,

- and try not to get into any tight corners. - Dr Jonathan Osterman,

a renowned nuclear physicist,

who, through a terrible accident, was gifted with extraordinary powers,

capable of bending matter to his will.

Today, the world knows him as Dr Manhattan.

Welcome.

Thank you.

That's right.

Ms Black, you have the first question.

Dr Manhattan, as you know,

the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face

analogising humankind's proximity to extinction,

midnight representing the threat of nuclear war.

As of now, it stands at four minutes to midnight.

Would you agree that we're that close to annihilation?

My father was a watchmaker.

He abandoned it when Einstein discovered that time is relative.

I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect

as a photograph of oxygen to a drowning man.

So you're saying there is no danger?

Even in a world without nuclear weapons,

there would still be danger.

And would you say, as so many claim, that you are in fact a god,

given that you see the past and future simultaneously?

I can only see my own past, my own future.

I am not omniscient.

Doug Roth? Your question.

Speaking of your past, Dr Manhattan,

do you remember a man named Wally Weaver?

Yes.

We were both physicists together at the Gila Flats Research Base.

- He died of cancer. - He was a good man.

How about Edgar Jacobi, also known as the supervillain, Moloch?

You encountered him several times in the '60s, battles, conflicts...

Did you know that he has cancer as well?

I wasn't told.

And what about General Anthony Randolph?

He was your handler when you first started working for the government.

Cancer.

You're suggesting I was the cause.

From where I'm standing, it's starting to look pretty conclusive.

Even if that's the case, it's irrelevant.

A live human body and a deceased human body

have the same number of particles.

Structurally, there's no difference.

All right, let's settle down, please.

What about Janey Slater? You think it makes a difference to her?

- Janey? - Your ex-girlfriend?

She was a physicist, too. You saw each other for 11 years.

- Doug, one question at a time. - She has cancer as well.

Doctors have given her six months.

Isn't that right, Miss Slater?

You were the world to me, Jon. You were my whole life.

Do you remember how many times you said you loved me?

Janey, I wasn't told.

I stuck by you after the accident.

I gave you everything!

This is how you repay me?

Janey, I wasn't told. I didn't know.

Damn you, Jon! God damn you!

Janey, wait.

That's it! This interview is over! Get up there! Get up there!

Get those cameras off! Everybody, back off!

Everybody, back off! I need some backup here! Leave him alone!

Please.

If everyone would just go away

and leave me alone.

Do you care to comment?

I said, leave me alone!

Jesus.

Us,

getting mugged.

Let's go.

I'm shaking.

You know what?

I'm wiped.

I'm just gonna call it a night.

Are you sure you don't want to come by Hollis' with me

and shake off the adrenaline?

I think I've had enough hero stuff for one night.

It helped having you listen.

Any time.

Take care, Dan.

It's a rough world out there.

Be seeing you.

- You're late. - I know. I know.

You won't believe what happened.

Dr Manhattan just lost it on live TV.

Wait. What?

If everyone would just...

I was just with Laurie. She doesn't know.

She's gonna know soon enough.

The whole world will know.

I said, leave me alone!

I am looking at the stars. They are so far away.

And their light takes so long to reach us.

All we ever see of stars are their old photographs.

It's July, 1959, and I am in love.

That was great! Pick it up tomorrow.

- Okay. - Seventy-five cents.

- Okay, thank you. - Thank you.

Gosh, Jon, I wish he gave us a little notice.

I'm sure I made a face.

Oh, no, no. I'm sure that you'll look beautiful.

Her name is Janey Slater.

She is a physicist like me.

I am 30 years old.

We were introduced by a good friend of mine from college, Wally Weaver.

It is February 12th, 1981.

Wally dies of cancer, of which they now say I am the cause.

That night, Janey and I make love for the first time.

A month from now, the accident awaits me.

You have a healthy appetite.

I'll catch up with you guys. I think I left my watch inside.

Hey, let's just wait a second.

I cross the room to the intrinsic field centre.

I find my watch.

When I get to the door,

Wally is turning white.

The program's locked in. We can't override the time lock!

I am terrified.

Jon!

I'm sorry, Jon.

But I can't...

Janey, don't leave me! Don't leave me!

It is May 12th, 1959, when I'm introduced to Janey.

She buys me a beer,

the first time a woman has done this for me.

As she passes me the cold, perspiring glass,

our fingers touch.

Yes, Jon, good.

Now it's just a question of reassembling the components

in the correct sequence.

I feel fear for the last time.

A token funeral is held. There is nothing to bury.

Janey frames the snapshot.

It's the only photograph of me anyone has.

A circulatory system is seen by the perimeter fence.

A few days later, a partially-muscled skeleton stands in the hallway

and screams for a moment before vanishing.

God.

Jon?

Is that you?

Nations around the world still reeling from this morning's announcement,

possibly the most significant event in recent history.

We repeat, the superman exists, and he is American.

They call me Dr Manhattan.

They explain the name has been chosen for the ominous associations it will raise

in America's enemies.

The marketing boys say I need a logo.

If I'm to have a symbol,

it shall be one I respect.

They are shaping me into something gaudy,

something lethal.

In January, 1971,

President Nixon asks me to intervene in Vietnam,

something that his predecessors would not ask.

A week later, the conflict ends.

Some of the Vietcong forces want to surrender to me personally.

Hollis Mason, a retired costume hero, writes a book.

In it, he calls my arrival "the dawn of the superhero."

I am not sure if I know what that means.

You see, at the time, I was misquoted.

I never said, "The superman exists, and he is American."

What I said was "God exists, and he is American."

Now, if you begin to feel an intense and crushing feeling of religious terror

at the concept,

don't be alarmed.

That indicates only that you are still sane.

It is Christmas, 1963.

Janey tells me she is afraid and worried.

She says I am like a god now.

I tell her I don't think there is a God.

And if there is, I'm nothing like him.

I tell her I still want her.

And that I always will.

As I lie to her, it is September 4th, 1970.

I am in a room full of people wearing disguises.

A very young girl looks at me and smiles.

She's beautiful.

After each long kiss, she plants a smaller, gentler one upon my lips,

like a signature.

Janey accuses me of chasing jailbait.

She bursts into angry tears, asking if it's because she's getting older.

It's true.

She's ageing more noticeably every day,

while I am standing still.

I prefer the stillness here.

I am tired of Earth, these people.

I'm tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.

They claim their labours are to build a heaven.

Yet their heaven is populated with horrors.

Perhaps the world is not made.

Perhaps nothing is made.

A clock without a craftsman.

It's too late.

Always has been,

always will be

too late.

And you have no idea where he would have gone?

How would I know?

He's probably on the other side of the world,

studying molecules or something.

Our satellites have done a sweep of the entire planet.

There's no trace of his energy signature anywhere.

Really?

Miss Jupiter, did you and Dr Manhattan have a fight today?

That's none of your fucking business.

It is when you're on government payroll and you're not doing your job!

That's as close to the word "whore"

as you're gonna get with me, Agent Forbes.

Smoke?

My apologies, Miss Jupiter.

You know how important Dr Manhattan is to our national security.

You can imagine our concern.

I can only imagine.

Ain't nothing gonna matter once those nukes start flying. We'll all be dust.

Then Ozymandias here will be the smartest man on the cinder.

Laurel? Laurel Jane?

You're Sally Jupiter's kid.

You're The Comedian, right?

You were pretty cool in there.

You know, your mom, she was one of the all-time champion beauties.

You got her eyes, you know.

You even have that same funny little mole.

Take your hands off her.

Hey, doll, long time, no see.

Not long enough in my book, Eddie.

Get in the car.

Are there no depths you won't sink to?

Jesus Christ, Sally.

Can't a guy talk to his, you know, old friend's daughter?

I mean, what the hell do you think I am?

We found him!

- We found him. - Where is he?

Mars.

Mr President,

the Soviets have moved their tanks just short of the Afghan border.

They are testing us

to see if we manufactured Dr Manhattan's disappearance

to coax a move out of them.

If they realise it's not a hoax, they'll probably start with air strikes.

If they do, they'll have Afghanistan under control in a matter of days.

A watchdog group of nuclear scientists

has moved the Doomsday Clock to two minutes until midnight.

Get this shit off the screen.

Who are these assholes to say when doomsday approaches?

I say when doomsday is approaching.

Now then,

what about the rest of the Warsaw Pact countries?

Czechoslovakia, Poland and East Germany

have mobilised their forces, but no movement yet.

They're playing a wait and see, letting the Russians take the lead.

Bold moves, Henry. That's what's needed right now.

We can't let these fuckers think we're weak.

Yes. They must fear the madman, Richard Nixon.

How soon can we be ready for a pre-emptive strike?

Two days.

We have a 54% chance of wiping out the entire USSR

before they get their missiles airborne.

What would our losses be?

Assuming conservative projections

of how many Soviet warheads we destroy beforehand,

we'll lose all of the East Coast.

The last gasp of the Harvard establishment.

Let's see them think their way out of fission.

With anticipated wind patterns, the fallout drift could head south.

Mexico would catch the worst of it.

Most of the farm belt might remain unaffected.

Not so bad,

all things considered.

Mr President, what would you like to do?

Take us to Def Con 2. Begin fuelling the bombers.

Dr Manhattan has two days.

After that, humanity is in the hands of a higher authority than mine.

Let's just hope he's on our side.

- There must be some way to reach him. - Excuse me.

- Radio transmissions, space shuttles... - Excuse me.

- What? - I need to use the restroom.

Don't you understand?

The only thing that can bring Jon back is Jon.

If he wants to find me, he will.

I've been a prisoner in my life long enough.

Without Dr Manhattan around to bully the Russians into peace, Mr Veidt,

people are going to need good, old-fashioned energy to rely on.

You can understand.

The world can't just quit on oil and nuclear power cold turkey.

You'll dismantle our entire economy overnight.

You're right, Lee. And why free energy?

Well, "free" is just another word for "socialist."

We might just have to make a public inquiry

into any past Communist affiliations you might have had.

Mr Iacocca, gentlemen,

I respect your position

and what you've accomplished as captains of industry. I do.

You want to know my past?

Okay. Happily.

It's a matter of public record that by 17 both my parents were dead,

leaving me alone.

I guess you could say I've always been alone.

I mean, they say I'm the smartest man in the world,

but the truth is I've often felt stupid at being unable to relate to anyone.

Well, anyone living, that is.

The only person with whom I felt any kinship

died 300 years before the birth of Christ.

Alexander of Macedonia,

or Alexander the Great, as you know him.

His vision of a united world was... Well, it was unprecedented.

I wanted, needed, to match his accomplishments,

and so I resolved to apply antiquity's teachings to our world today.

And so began my path to conquest.

Conquest not of men, but of the evils that beset them.

Fossil fuels, oil, nuclear power are like a drug

and you gentlemen, along with foreign interests, are the pushers.

- Now, listen. - No.

You listen.

The world will survive,

and it deserves more than you've been able to provide.

So let's cut to it, shall we?

Privately, I'm worth more than all of your corporations combined.

I can buy and sell you three times over,

which is something you should factor into your decision,

should you choose to make our disagreement public.

I think you know the way out.

Gentlemen.

The toy people want to talk to you

about some new villains for the Ozymandias line.

Seems all the old villains are dead.

Mr Veidt?

I think I have some ideas.

Mr Veidt? I think we got off on the wrong foot.

He's got a poison capsule! Don't bite down, you son of a bitch.

Who sent you? I want a name. Give me a name!

Suicide pill.

Potassium cyanide. The guy was dead before he hit the ground.

Thanks, hon.

Then Rorschach was right.

This wasn't some lone nut.

It's an organisation, well-funded, well-equipped.

But who'd want to kill us now?

I don't know. But it's not safe out here.

- So, no word from Jon? - No.

Well, listen, why don't you come stay with me?

No. I... That's sweet, but I wouldn't wanna impose.

Oh, no. Think of it as doing me a favour.

I wouldn't have to worry about you being out there.

Okay.

Rorschach's journal, October 21, 1985.

On 43rd and 7th, saw Dreiberg and Jupiter leaving diner.

They didn't know me without my mask.

An affair?

Did she break Manhattan's heart to engineer his exile,

to make room for Dreiberg?

Does Manhattan even have a heart to break?

The alley was cold, deserted.

My things were where I left them, waiting for me.

My coat, my shoes, my spotless gloves.

My face.

Putting them on, I abandoned my disguise,

became myself.

Free from fear or weakness or lust.

Shut your mouth!

Down alley, heard woman scream,

the first bubbling note of city's evening chorus.

Attempted rape.

Mugging.

Both.

The man turned,

and there was something rewarding in his eyes.

Sometimes the night is generous to me.

Veidt's assassin was a local lowlife named Roy Chess.

At his apartment, I found clues.

Seems he worked at Pyramid Transnational.

I've seen the logo before.

At Moloch's.

Someone tried to shoot the world's smartest man today, Moloch.

Guy worked for Pyramid Transnational.

More than just a delivery service, I take it.

Last time I was here, I saw a pension cheque written from the same company.

I'm guessing it's a front set up by whoever wants us masks dead.

Now, no more lies, Moloch. Who runs Pyramid?

Rorschach!

This is the police! We know you're in there!

No! No!

If there's anybody in there with you, send them out unharmed!

No! No, no, no!

Come on. Let's make it a nice, clean surrender.

Walked right into it! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

- Never, never surrender. - All right.

- I hope you're ready, hero! - When you are.

One,

two,

three.

- Get him! - Come on.

Christ, he stinks!

- Get that mask off him! - I got it!

No! My face! Give me back my face!

The masked vigilante, Rorschach, was apprehended

and he's been identified as Walter Kovacs,

a 35-year-old white male.

Little is yet known about Kovacs,

but he was charged with the murder of one Edgar Jacobi,

found shot in the head at point blank range at his home in the Bronx.

Several police officers were injured

and Jacobi's home was set ablaze...

Rorschach!

I'm gonna fuck you like I fucked your mother!

Rorschach!

Walter Kovacs.

Is that your name? Walter?

Well, let me explain your situation here, Walter.

You cooperate with me,

and I may be able to convince them that you should be treated medically.

In a hospital. I believe that would be good for you.

But the authorities want to put you with the general population.

- Prison's a prison. - Yes.

But the difference is, down there,

you'd be eaten alive.

You're responsible for a lot of them being in prison here, Walter.

Tell me what you see.

A pretty butterfly.

Well, now, what do you see here?

Mom? Is he hurting you?

You got a fucking kid in here!

- I get that at home. - Bastard!

I should have had that abortion!

Some nice flowers.

I heard this guy's mom's a whore.

Did you catch any diseases from her, whore's son?

Listen to me, retard!

Hey, you think she'd suck my dick for a dollar?

Clouds.

Tell me about Rorschach. Will you do that, Walter?

You keep calling me Walter. I don't like you.

You don't like me. All right. Why is that, exactly?

You're fat. Wealthy. Liberal sensibilities.

What you call compassion.

Wanting to protect and understand the guilty.

This rotting society, what it calls rehabilitation,

nothing short of compromise.

Is it a compromise to want to make you well?

There are other men in here

with behaviour more extreme than mine, Doctor.

Of course, they're not famous, are they?

You want to know about Rorschach?

I'll tell you about Rorschach.

Once a man has seen society's black underbelly,

he can never turn his back on it,

never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist,

no matter who orders him to look the other way.

We don't do this thing because it's permitted.

We do it 'cause we have to.

We do it 'cause we're compelled.

I was investigating a kidnap case.

Blaire Roche. Six-year-old girl.

I was young then. Too soft on criminals.

I let them live.

Broke a man's arm to get a tip.

Led me to the missing girl's location.

I knew the girl was here,

but when I searched the place, I saw nothing.

And then I found her.

Fred!

Marty! Who's gonna bark for Daddy?

It was dark when the murderer got back.

As dark as it gets.

God.

Who's out there? Who is it?

Who is it?

What the...

What... What the fuck? Who the fuck are you?

What the fuck do you want?

You killed my dogs, man!

Fuck.

You think I had something to do with that girl?

I found that.

What evidence have you got? That's nothing!

Okay, I confess.

I kidnapped her. I killed her.

Arrest me.

What? Arrest me! I did it! I said I did it!

Christ!

Look, I've got a problem, man. Fucking take me in! I need help!

No, don't! Don't do that!

Take me in! Don't!

No!

Men get arrested.

Dogs get put down.

Tremors of impact shook my arm.

Warm blood splashed my face.

Whatever was left of Walter Kovacs died that night with that little girl.

From then on, there was only Rorschach.

You see, Doctor, God didn't kill that little girl,

fate didn't butcher her, and destiny didn't feed her to those dogs.

If God saw what any of us did that night, he didn't seem to mind.

From then on, I knew.

God doesn't make the world this way.

We do.

I can't help him.

Hey, Rorschach!

Hey, you're pretty famous, right?

Hey, you know what? I'm pretty famous, too.

- Ain't that right? That's right. - That's right.

You know, maybe I can give you an autograph, huh?

What you say, big boy?

None of you seem to understand.

- I'm not locked in here with you. - All right, that's it!

You're locked in here with me!

Laurie!

Shit!

- Hold on! - Fuck!

I got it, I got it!

So sorry. I was snooping around and I must have hit the wrong button.

- Are you hurt? - No, no.

- Okay. - I'm fine. I just... I feel so bad.

No, don't worry. It's happened before. Comedian did it back in '77.

- Archie survived that. - Archie?

Well, short for Archimedes, Merlin's pet owl.

Stupid nickname.

How did you ever afford all this stuff, anyway?

Well, my dad was in corporate banking and left me a lot of money when he died,

which always surprised me. I mean, he was...

I think he was disappointed that I went into crime fighting

instead of following him.

Guess I was just more interested in birds and aeroplanes, mythology.

Plus, there were enough other guys doing this

so that I didn't feel ridiculous about it.

Like Hollis.

Yeah.

Yeah, he was my hero.

Man, I remember the first time that I met him,

I just felt so connected, you know?

Something that mattered.

Must be nice having a secret identity.

A secret place that nobody knows about.

You can just come down here and hang out

without anyone checking up on you.

Nobody watching you.

You wanna try those on?

This...

There we go.

Wow, these rock.

They amplify the spectral range. Thermal imaging.

They work even better in the dark.

You can see me, right?

I can see everything.

I remember, no matter how black it got,

whenever I looked through those goggles,

everything was as clear as day.

This must be the way Jon sees the world.

We should probably head up. Food's getting cold.

Put those away when you're done.

The Soviet ambassador to the UN had no comment today

when asked if Dr Manhattan's disappearance

has fuelled Soviet aggression...

Dan.

Jon sees a lot of things,

but he doesn't see me.

Well...

Sorry.

Come here.

- What's the matter? - If you could just move a little.

- Okay. - Yeah. There you go.

Dan. What's wrong?

Sorry, I...

Yeah, I just need a couple of minutes.

Hell.

It's okay.

Maybe we were just moving too fast.

We've got all the time in the world.

We'll take it slow.

It's been a long time, Rorschach.

Big Figure. Small world.

I like that.

But, you know, it is a small world in here.

And I've been in it for how long now, Lloyd?

- Almost 15 years, Mr Figure. - That's right.

Fifteen years since you and that Owl fella put me away.

So, Rorschach,

that guy you burned is dying, could go any minute.

You know, by my count,

there are more than 50 people in here that you put away.

I've been talking to every one of them,

and they're all dying to get a piece of you.

This place is gonna explode!

Then you die by inches.

Tall order.

I'm gonna tear this guy a new hole!

Relax, Lawrence. Soon.

Dan?

Is everything all right?

God, I'm tired of being afraid.

Afraid of war,

afraid of the mask killer,

and afraid of this goddamn suit and how much I need it.

Me, too.

So to hell with it. Let's take Archie out.

You're serious.

I used to be a masked avenger, too, remember?

I'm used to going out at 3:00 in the morning

and doing something stupid.

Rapid burner. Be advised, all units. Tenement fire at 5th and Grand.

Rapid burner.

Let's go.

- I can see it! - All right, hold on!

Dan, there are kids in there!

Everyone, please stay where you are! Try to remain calm.

We're gonna get you out of there!

The roof's starting to cave. Get me in there.

I'll get you close.

Let's go!

Come on!

All right, let's move it, people!

Mom?

Is that guy in the space rocket, is that Jesus?

No, baby.

All right.

We're all set.

Is that everyone?

- Bye. - Bye-bye!

I can't believe we did that.

- Probably lock us up with Rorschach. - Who cares?

World War III could start tomorrow.

Right?

Right.

Yeah!

He's dead, Rorschach.

While everyone's distracted,

we thought we'd bring you a little housewarming gift.

Something from the machine shop.

Hey, boss, you notice?

None of that "small world, tall order" crap.

'Cause he knows once we slice open his lock, he's next on the block.

Fat chance.

You're dead, Rorschach!

We got a prison full of killers out here. What do you got?

Your hands, my pleasure.

I can't reach the lock. Should I cut the bars?

This riot won't last. I've been waiting 15 years for this.

I'm sorry, Lawrence, but you're in the way of my revenge.

Nothing personal, big guy.

Boss! Wait!

Now you find out what the score is.

One-nothing. Come and get me.

Come on!

So, I've been thinking.

I feel that we have an obligation to our fraternity.

I think we ought to spring Rorschach.

- What? - Someone set him up.

And this whole cancer thing with Jon, it just doesn't make sense.

You didn't get it.

Yeah, but breaking into a maximum-security prison

is a little different than putting out a fire.

Yeah, you're right.

It'll be more fun.

Hurry, Lloyd! I want to smell this son of a bitch cooking.

Yes.

No.

Never disposed of sewage with a toilet before.

Obvious, really.

Two-nothing. Your move.

Out of the way! Hurry!

How do we know he's still alive?

He's alive.

No!

Where's my face?

No, don't kill me!

Your turn, Doctor.

Tell me, what do you see?

Don't move!

Rorschach!

Daniel. Miss Jupiter.

Excuse me. Have to visit men's room.

For Christ's sake!

Good to see you in uniform, Daniel.

Should have known all you needed was a nice pair of legs to motivate you.

You're such an asshole, Rorschach.

Spare me indignation.

Picked a hell of a time to be unfaithful to Jon.

Just get tired of being patriotic, or someone put you up to it?

You know what? You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Would you two stop? You can argue later.

I had to turn those screechers off, so we'll be drawing fire soon.

Stop! Stop, or we will shoot!

Hey, you all right?

Yeah. Just heavy, you know?

The war. Jailbreak.

Don't worry about it. Okay? Everything's gonna be fine.

Hello, Laurie.

Jon. TV said you were on Mars.

I am on Mars.

You and I are about to have a conversation there.

What are you talking about?

You're going to try to convince me to save the world.

- Laurie, don't. - Dan, trust me.

I have to go.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Forgive me. These things sometimes slip my mind.

It won't happen again.

That's comforting.

Oh, my God.

I'm on Mars.

Hey, nice ass.

Hey, asshole.

Hey, let's see if that comic book retard's up here.

Hey, hey, hey.

You all hear? Some super-owl dude just busted Rorschach out of prison.

- Rorschach? - Yeah.

That fool put my cousin in a wheelchair.

You mean Nite Owl.

Him and Rorschach used to be partners, remember?

- Yeah. - Maybe he messed your cousin up, too.

- Didn't he write a book or something? - Yeah.

You know, he lives over a garage right near here.

Does he now?

Hello?

Sally.

Hollis?

Yeah.

Yes, Hollis Mason. Jesus!

All this time you've had my number,

and you wait until our sunset years to use it?

Well, it seemed like a special occasion, Sal.

What?

The TV is reporting there was a tenement fire last night.

There were trapped people rescued by airship.

And they say the pilot was dressed like an owl.

And it seems he had a sexy woman with him.

Laurie? My daughter Laurie?

I can't get over Laurie back in costume.

Maybe she'll finally thank me for getting her started in the first place.

You know, Sal, from the sound of your voice,

you're sounding younger than ever.

Why, bless you, Hollis, but that's probably just senility.

Well, it's been great talking to you, Sal,

but someone's knocking.

Well, don't get too misty-eyed thinking about old times.

You take care now, Hollis.

You, too.

Bye.

Bye.

We're looking for Mr Owl.

Yeah. Hold your horses.

Mr Owl, you there? Trick or treat!

You should have stayed retired, Owl.

I hate this. Cowering in a cave, hiding from authorities.

The cops are out there hunting us.

Unless you want to go back to prison,

we'd be stupid to expose ourselves without a plan.

And what would that be?

Once we've established a pattern.

We can break into Pyramid, see what we find.

Did that. Dead end.

I think it's a front company for whoever's really behind it,

but can't prove it.

We need to hit up underworld contacts, squeeze people.

Sure. Why don't we just pick names out of a phone book?

You forgot how we do things, Daniel.

You've gone too soft, too trusting.

Especially with women.

Okay, no. Listen. I've had it with that!

God, who do you think you are, Rorschach?

You live off people while insulting them,

and no one complains because they think you're a goddamn lunatic!

I'm sorry. I...

I shouldn't have said that, man.

Daniel,

you are a good friend.

I know it can be difficult with me sometimes.

Forget it.

It's okay, man. Let's do it your way.

Oh, God.

Pyramid Transnational! Anyone heard of it?

You bastards.

I buy everyone a round and you sell me out like this?

Back off or I'll stick this glass in your squidgy face!

Everybody, stay calm. We'll try to keep this brief.

Roy Chess. On Pyramid payroll. Tried to kill Adrian Veidt.

Dead now. Did you know him?

No.

Yeah, yeah!

I hired him. I knew him from the inside.

You're a felon.

Was. I've been straight ever since I got out, I swear.

I barely knew Chess that well, but I was told to hire from the old life.

- Told by whom? - My contact, Miss Slater.

Janey Slater works for Pyramid, too?

Yeah, she was real nice.

She said hiring ex-cons was part of a company programme,

give people a second chance.

God, please let go! I'm telling the truth!

Janey Slater. Manhattan's old girlfriend.

Adrian's people might help us find out who's underwriting Pyramid.

Follow the money.

...former member of the Minutemen Hollis Mason

found murdered in his apartment less than an hour ago.

Witnesses reported seeing members of a local gang

known as the Knot Tops leaving the area

right around the estimated time of death.

Reporting live, this is Tiffany Burns...

Who did it?

I knew you were gonna victimise me, man.

What about my civil rights, huh?

Just 'cause I wear a knot doesn't mean...

- Tell me who did it! - A lot of people dress like this!

Who murdered Hollis Mason?

You tell your friends, they're dead!

I'm gonna take out this entire rat-hole neighbourhood!

I'll break your neck!

Daniel. Not in front of the civilians.

Goddamn. Goddamn.

This is where we hold our conversation.

In it, you reveal to me that you and Dreiberg have been sleeping together.

You know about me and Dan?

Not yet, but in a few moments, you're going to tell me.

If you already know the future, then why were you surprised when I left you?

Or when that reporter ambushed you?

Why even argue about it if you already know how this is gonna end?

I have no choice.

Everything is preordained,

even my responses.

And you're just going through the motions.

The most powerful thing in the universe is still just a puppet.

We're all puppets, Laurie.

I'm just a puppet who can see the strings.

And what if you're wrong?

Why does my perception of time distress you so?

Because it's inhuman!

Because it makes me insane.

You always say you want to comfort me. Well, it isn't working.

Look, I don't want to fight.

I'm sorry I slept with Dan.

You slept with Dan?

You just said that you already knew about that.

I said, often,

that you were my only remaining link to humanity.

Why would I save a world

I no longer have any stake in?

Then do it for me

if you really care.

When you left me, I left Earth.

Does that not show you that I care?

My red world here now

means more to me than your blue one.

Let me show you.

Bombers are fuelled and ready, sir.

It's time, gentlemen.

Take us to Def Con 1.

Not in penthouse. Not in office.

What nocturnal proclivities entice a man with everything

out into the night at this hour?

Daniel?

You with me?

Yeah.

Then what are you doing?

I'm gonna look for Adrian's itinerary.

Maybe he keeps it on file.

- Something's not right. - Agreed.

Janey Slater, Moloch, Roy Chess, all worked for Pyramid.

Moloch said The Comedian mentioned a list with his and Slater's name on it.

Whoever owns Pyramid could be giving these people cancer,

setting Manhattan up.

Funny.

Ancient pharaohs looked forward to the end of the world,

believed cadavers would rise, reclaim hearts from golden jars.

Must currently be holding breath in anticipation.

Pharaohs?

Got a psych profile on Manhattan.

See what the corporate head-peepers say.

"Subject continues to retreat emotionally.

"If the only remaining ties were to be severed,

"we predict total detachment from the human condition."

I'm in.

No.

Congratulations, Mr Veidt. Dr Manhattan's energy reactor is online.

Your support and your enthusiasm is what has led to this triumph.

On behalf of the research team, we salute you.

Cheers.

What in life does not deserve celebrating?

This is the new Karnak.

This represents the culmination of a dream more than 2,000 years old,

a dream now assured because of your unquestioning assistance.

And for this, I am ashamed,

ashamed that you must now share such inadequate a reward.

To the pharaohs,

their greatest secrets entrusted to their servants,

buried alive with them in sand-floored chambers.

Sleep well, gentlemen.

Our new peaceful world will be indebted

to your great sacrifice.

Bubastis.

Rorschach's journal, final entry.

Veidt's behind everything.

Why? What's his endgame?

I cannot imagine a more dangerous opponent.

Used to joke he was fast enough to catch a bullet.

He could kill us both alone in the snow.

That's where we're going now, Antarctica.

Whether I'm alive or dead upon this reading,

I hope the world survives long enough for this journal to reach you.

I live my life free of compromise

and step into the shadow without complaint or regret.

Rorschach, November 1.

Can't you just tell me how this all ends and save us the trouble?

It ends with you in tears.

Tears? So you don't come back to Earth?

At some point, yes.

The streets are filled with death.

Jon, please! You have to stop this!

Everyone will die!

And the universe will not even notice.

In my opinion, the existence of life

is a highly overrated phenomenon.

Just look around you.

Mars gets along perfectly well without so much as a microorganism.

Here, it's a constantly changing topographical map,

flowing and shifting around the pole in ripples 10,000 years wide.

So, tell me, how would all of this be greatly improved by an oil pipeline?

By a shopping mall?

So it's too much to ask for a miracle?

Miracles, by their definition, are meaningless.

Oh, God, Jon!

- Only what can happen does happen. - Just stop your bullshit!

Land this thing. Now.

As you wish.

You know what?

You can send me back to Earth to fry with Dan and my mom

and all the other worthless humans!

But know that you were wrong.

You said this ended with me in tears and, look, nothing.

Maybe you were wrong about everything.

You complain that I refuse to see life on life's terms,

yet you continuously refuse to see things from my perspective.

You shut out what you're afraid of.

I'm not afraid.

You want me to see things your way? Go ahead, show me.

Do that thing you do.

Magic! Dreams!

That is what I had before! I was a hero, God damn it!

It's not my fault you got old!

What do you have to complain about?

I'm putting food on the table for you and your child!

Why don't you call your friend Eddie? Maybe he can give you a better life.

Even the grimy parts of it

keep on getting brighter.

You know, your mom, she was one of the all-time champion beauties.

You got her eyes, you know.

- You even have that... - Take your hands off her!

Hey, doll. Long time no see.

Not long enough in my book, Eddie.

Get in the car. Now.

Are there no depths you won't sink to?

Jesus Christ, Sally.

Can't a guy talk to his,

you know, old friend's daughter?

Drive.

It was a mistake! One time!

Guy tries to rape you and years later you let him finish the job?

What? Were you drunk or just lonely?

Am I ever going to live this down?

Laurie.

No.

No, not him.

The Comedian was your father.

No!

No! No!

No!

My life is just one big joke.

I don't think your life is a joke.

Yeah, well,

I'm sorry if I don't trust your sense of humour.

Will you smile

if I admit I was wrong?

About what?

Miracles.

Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold.

I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that,

in human coupling,

millions upon millions of cells compete to create life

for generation after generation, until, finally,

your mother loves a man,

Edward Blake, The Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate,

and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds,

it's you,

only you,

that emerged.

To distil so specific a form from all that chaos

is like turning air into gold.

A miracle.

And so I was wrong.

Now dry your eyes, and let's go home.

We got a bearing on that artificial structure.

Heat signature's off the chart.

Veidt.

I don't like the way Archie's kicking.

- The engines. - They're icing up.

- Hold on to something. - Daniel, you're coming in too low.

Don't wish to interfere with running your ship,

but perhaps you should pull up sharply before...

I know! I'm trying to pull him up, God damn it!

I'm gonna redirect the heat from the flamethrower to speed up de-icing,

but it's gonna take a while, and we don't have time to wait.

- You need something warmer. - I'm fine like this.

What is it, girl?

Adrian's a pacifist.

He's a vegetarian, for Christ's sakes.

He's never killed anyone in his life.

Hitler was vegetarian.

You're squeamish, leave him to me. We won't get a second chance.

Gentlemen, welcome.

Adrian, we know everything.

- Then what's there to discuss, Dan? - Plenty.

- You killed Comedian. - May he rest in peace.

Blake figured it out first.

Nixon had him keeping tabs on us,

making sure we weren't rocking the boat.

Blake found out what I was doing here in Karnak,

and by the time he visited poor Moloch, he was cracking badly.

Even I couldn't predict he'd be the one to have a change of heart.

So I had to kill him.

Then I neutralised Jon. No easy task.

I put roughly two billion dollars into tachyon research

to block Jon's vision of the future.

You used his psych profile to manipulate him.

Got him to leave the planet.

I've known Jon long enough to see he isn't devoid of emotion.

His subtle facial twitches wouldn't be noticed by the layman,

but, to me, he might as well have been sobbing.

All I needed to do was tug on the thread.

The sudden flood of emotion Jon felt

when he came to believe he'd given cancer to the people he loved

was all the excuse he needed to leave Earth.

Your bullshit assassin! You paid him to throw us off.

Mr Chess gave his life in the service of a higher cause, Dan.

I put a cyanide capsule in his mouth, leaving only one loose end.

You and your mask killer theory,

one you followed with the tenacity of a true sociopath.

I tipped off the police,

and once you were in prison, I was able to move forward.

Sorry to disappoint you.

We were supposed to make the world a better place.

Dan, that's exactly what I am doing.

Nuclear war? Human extinction?

Of course, my moral safeguards gave me pause at the necessary sacrifice.

A few key regions around the globe,

New York, Los Angeles, Moscow, Hong Kong,

disintegrated in an instant.

Fifteen million people killed by Dr Manhattan himself.

The world's punishment for flirting with World War III.

Jon wouldn't do that.

A fact no one outside this room ever has to know.

The energy breakthrough I was working on just came to fruition.

All these years, Jon was helping me replicate his power,

unaware of how I plan to use it.

You see,

The Comedian was right.

Humanity's savage nature will inevitably lead to global annihilation,

so in order to save this planet,

I had to trick it

with the greatest practical joke in human history.

- Killing millions? - To save billions.

A necessary crime.

You know we can't let you do that.

"Do that," Rorschach?

I'm not a comic book villain.

Do you seriously think I'd explain my masterstroke to you

if there were even the slightest possibility

you could affect the outcome?

I triggered it 35 minutes ago.

Jesus Christ, Henry!

Why the hell didn't we get a launch detection?

It's not the Soviets, sir.

Intel indicates the energy signature was generated by

Dr Manhattan.

Jon.

Interference.

Cataclysmic interference.

I can't believe it happened.

This wasn't caused by nuclear warheads.

It was me.

I did this.

What do you mean, you did this?

Not directly.

It was made to look like I did it.

Adrian.

Speak of the devil.

- Jon... - I know.

Must stop him.

- Killed Blake, killed millions. - Wait here.

Adrian, stop this.

The tachyons were clever.

But even if I can't predict where you are, I can turn the walls to glass.

I should thank you.

I'd almost forgotten the excitement of not knowing,

the delights of uncertainty.

Forgive me, girl.

You're such an asshole.

Veidt, you bastard!

- If you've hurt her, I'll... - Dan,

grow up.

My new world demands less obvious heroism.

Your schoolboy heroics are redundant.

What have they achieved?

Failing to prevent Earth's salvation is your only triumph.

I'm disappointed in you, Adrian.

I'm very disappointed.

Reassembling myself was the first trick I learned.

It didn't kill Osterman.

Did you really think it would kill me?

I have walked across the surface of the sun.

I have witnessed events so tiny and so fast,

they could hardly be said to have occurred at all.

But you, Adrian, you're just a man.

The world's smartest man

poses no more threat to me

than does its smartest termite.

What's that?

Another ultimate weapon?

Yes.

You could say that.

...came under attack.

Millions of lives were suddenly ended

in an act of evil perpetrated by Dr Manhattan himself.

Since the attacks,

I have been in constant contact with the premier of the USSR.

Putting aside our past differences,

we have both pledged to unite against this common enemy.

With the rest of the world, we will prevail.

This is a day we shall never forget.

And yet we go forward to defend the human race

and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you.

God bless us all.

Do you see?

Two superpowers retreating from war.

I've saved the Earth from hell.

We both have.

This is as much your victory as it is mine.

The Soviet ambassador's meeting in Washington...

Now we can return, do what we were meant to.

We were meant to exact justice.

Everyone's gonna know what you've done.

Will they?

By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.

Peace based on a lie.

But peace nonetheless.

He's right.

Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to nuclear destruction again.

No. We can't do this.

On Mars,

you taught me the value of life.

If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.

Keep your own secrets.

Don't even think about it.

Rorschach!

Wait.

Never compromise.

Not even in the face of Armageddon.

That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.

I've made myself feel every death,

see every innocent face I've murdered

to save humanity.

You understand, don't you?

Without condoning

or condemning,

I understand.

Out of my way. People have to be told.

You know I can't let you do that.

Suddenly you discover humanity?

How convenient!

If you'd cared from the start,

none of this would have happened.

I can change almost anything,

but I can't change human nature.

Of course you must protect Veidt's new utopia.

What's one more body amongst the foundations?

Well, what are you waiting for?

Do it.

Do it!

No!

I'm leaving this galaxy for one a little less complicated.

I thought you said you cared about life again.

I do.

I think maybe I'll create some.

Goodbye, Laurie.

Come on!

Come on!

Dan, a world united and at peace.

There had to be sacrifice.

No! You haven't idealised mankind, but you've deformed it.

You've mutilated it.

That's your legacy.

That's the real practical joke.

We repeat, there is nothing wrong with your television set.

You are about to participate in a great adventure.

You are about to experience the awe and mystery

which reaches from the inner mind

to The Outer Limits.

Sure you don't want a drink?

I'm okay.

Cheers.

Look, there's something I need to get off my chest.

I know that Eddie Blake was my father.

Laurel.

What you must think of me.

I'm sorry I never told you.

I should have, but, I don't know, I just felt ashamed.

- I felt stupid. - It doesn't matter.

People's lives take them strange places.

They do strange things and,

well, sometimes they can't talk about them.

I know how that is.

But I just want you to know that you never did anything wrong by me.

You asked me why I wasn't mad at him.

Because he gave me you.

Thanks, Mom.

I love you.

- Hello, Miss Jupiter. - Sally. Please.

Excuse me. I've got to go freshen up.

I'll be right back.

- So how's it going up here? - Good.

- How's it going down there? - Good.

I think I've got everything working.

All of Archie's systems are upgraded.

Finished the tinkering for now

so all we've got to do is take her out.

Well, that sounds like a date.

Are we going to be all right?

Long as people think Jon's still watching us, we'll be all right

in the end.

I know what Jon would say,

"Nothing ends."

Nothing ever ends.

Seymour, we got nothing to write about any more.

Everyone in the country, every country in the world,

they're holding hands now, singing songs about peace and love.

It's like living in a goddamn global hippie commune.

Well, Ronald Reagan says he's going to be running for President in '88.

We could run a piece on that.

Seymour, we don't dignify absurdities with coverage.

This is still America, damn it!

Who wants a cowboy in the White House?

Okay.

I could look for something in the crank file.

Crank file.

Whatever. Take some initiative.

Run whatever you like. I leave it entirely in your hands.

Rorschach's journal, October 12, 1985.

Tonight, a comedian died in New York.