Watchmen: Chapter IV - Page 23

PAGE 23

Panel 1:  Broadcast of the passage of the Keene Act, alluded to previously, which outlaws masked vigilantes unless they work for the government.  Note that Dr. Manhattan and the Comedian are not “x”-ed out, as they are part of the U.S. government.

Panel 2:  Dr. Manhattan’s remark that he cannot be outlawed when the defense of the United States “rests in his hands” is ironic since he has left Earth for Mars.  It is also a comment upon the sand slipping through his fingers in the image on this panel.