Friday, April 6, 2012

Watchmen: Chapter IV - page 5

PAGE 5

Panels 1-2:  These two panels mirror one another.  Panel 1 shows Jon as he first enters the bestiary at Gila Flats.  The second one shows us when he, as Dr. Manhattan, entered the bestiary in the previous chapter, just before leaving for Mars.  It is interesting to note that Dr. Manhattan comments in panel 1 that when he is remembering (from our point of view) this past event he feels a sense of déjà vu as a result of having “seen this place before.”  But that time before actually occurred almost twenty-five years in the future, at the point in the previous chapter when he retrieved the photograph before leaving Earth.  This is just another example of the quantum point of view Dr. Manhattan has, seeing the future as past, and the past as present.

Panel 4:  We discover that the pictures behind the bar, from which Dr. Manhattan took his in chapter III, are put there as remembrances of those who died at Gila Flats Research Center.

Panel 5:  Jon says, “Other people seem to make all my moves for me.”  This is accentuated when Janey replies with, “Can I get you a drink?” making the first move, deciding for Jon what he might like.

Panel 6:  This image, as with so many images in this issue, will show up again.

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