CHAPTER XI:
LOOK ON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY…
Thematic Overview:
This
penultimate chapter focuses on Adrian Veidt – Ozymandias. Detached from humanity, his only kinship with
a king, Alexander of Macedon, who died over 2300 years earlier, Veidt is a singular
being. His admiration for the lateral
thinking of Alexander, with the ancient king’s solution of simply cutting the
Gordian Knot, is second to none and has fueled aspirations to solve his own
Gordian Knot – the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction was a “knot to try
even Alexander’s ingenuity” (p. 21).
Fittingly,
this chapter revolves around knots, both literal and metaphorical. The knot-tops, whom we have seen throughout
the story, are the most obvious example of this motif, as Chapter XI opens, even though we don’t see any besides Aline until
the very end of the chapter. But they
are mentioned a few times – specifically by the newsvendor, Bernie – as many knot-tops
are at the Pale Horse/Krystalnacht concert in Madison Square Garden.
Aline carries
another example of the “knots” motif in the form of the relationship advice
book she shares with Joey, entitled Knots. This is an obvious metaphor for the romantic
entanglements we often find ourselves in, and the messy knots from which we
must divest ourselves when those relationships do not work out. And this reality plays out in front of us, as
Joey and Aline suffer the fraying of their relationship.
These
invisible connections are the ties that bind us as a civilization, and this
most important and most significant knot is exemplified across the breadth of
this chapter, as we watch the various secondary characters introduced over the
course of this story all come together at a single intersection. And it is at this intersection where the
fragility of these binding connections is revealed, as Veidt puts his plan into
action and devastates the city of New York – with this intersection as ground
zero.
Cover Image: Like the other covers for Watchmen,
this cover is well designed – a stark, white background with a glimpse of a
tropical scene through a blinding snow. It may not be immediately evident, but
this small opening in the snow is in the shape of the blood spatter from the
Comedian’s smiley-face button, as seen in Chapter
I.
This
close up of a tropical image glimpsed through the snow transitions to
PAGE 1
Panel 1: with a completely white panel. The image from the cover returns – as the
“camera” pulls out from this scene – in
Panel 2: where we can see the same “blood spatter”
opening into a lush, tropical scene.
The
speaker here is Adrian Veidt, and the first dialogue balloon in this panel – “…Burroughs’ cut-up technique…re-arranging
words and images…allowing subliminal hints of the future…” – could certainly be
seen as a meta-commentary on the manner in which the entire story of Watchmen
was crafted, jumping back and forth through time, offering glimpses of the
whole and forcing readers to glean what they could from the narrative of the
future of the narrative.
Panel 4: Veidt’s continuing commentary: “…an emergent worldview becomes gradually
discernible amidst the media’s white noise…” accentuates the succession of
images in these first few panels, as a lush, tropical landscape emerges amid
the stark white of the blowing snow.
Panel 5: Veidt’s commentary: “…this jigsaw-fragment model of tomorrow
aligns itself…areas necessarily obscured…broad assumptions regarding this
postulated future may be drawn…” can also be seen as a commentary upon his
ultimate plan (and is also a meta-commentary upon the structure of Watchmen,
from a storytelling point of view) where readers have been offered glimpses of
the jigsaw puzzle that began with the murder of Edward Blake, while certain
facets have been obscured to allow for overall conspiracy’s success (both
within the narrative and as a reading experience).
Panel 7: Note the buildings in the background are
colored purple, signifying that they are indeed Veidt’s.
PAGE 2
Panel 2: Veidt
mentions that it is 11:18 pm, New York time, which is important, as his
ultimate plan – we will discover – goes into effect at 11:25.
Panels 6-7: Veidt’s comments here: “…the ice [Nite Owl and Rorschach are]
skating on is…thinner than it looks…let’s hope they know where to stop…” are
not only comments on the approach of his two former allies across the
Antarctic, but also remarks upon how far they may be willing to go to stop
Veidt’s plan.
PAGE 3
Panel 3: Note the sugar cube Rorschach is unpeeling –
a call back to Chapter I and the
sugar cubes he took from Dan (Nite Owl) when he visited to warn him of the mask
killer.
PAGE 4
Panel 5: As we have come to learn, when Moore &
Gibbons craft a large panel that encompasses more than one of the 9-grid
panels, it is a visual signal of the importance of that panel. Veidt’s remark that there is “…no time like
the present,” which is made as he exits the main hall through a door beneath
the painting of Alexander solving the puzzle of the Gordian Knot, symbolizes
Veidt’s intent to finally put his plan into motion.
As a
side note, Moore & Gibbons again play the dialogue against the imagery in
an ironic manner, as Veidt’s comment about there being “…no time like the
present…” is made beneath an image of an ancient event, while on the adjoining
wall multiple clocks show the “present” time in varying time zones.
Also,
it is important to note that it is roughly 11:25, New York time, right now.
PAGE 5
Panel 1: The fact that Bubastis will come no further
foreshadows what will happen to this big cat in the final chapter.
Panel 3: Note
that there is something large within this chamber.
Panel 5: The time, 11:25 EST, is verified for us.
Panel 6: The fact that Veidt is bathed in a blue light
– similar to the color of Dr. Manhattan – is a bit of foreshadowing on the part
of Moore, Gibbons & Higgins.
Panel 8: And now, the chamber is empty.
Also
note that this chamber is reminiscent of the one in which Jon Osterman was
trapped and atomized – resulting in his transformation into Dr. Manhattan.
Panel 9: The image of Veidt, from behind, transitions
directly to
PAGE 6
Panel 1: where Bernie, the newsvendor, is standing
with his back to the audience as he pours himself a cup of coffee from his
thermos. Note that the magazine just in
front of his hands appears to be titled “Holiday _____.”
Bernie’s
comment that the music from Madison Square – which is a reference to the Pale
Horse/Krystalnacht concert we’ve seen fliers for throughout the story – is
“…music to drop bombs by…” is a symbolic reference to what Veidt just did,
though that won’t become evident until later in this chapter.
Bernie’s
remarks are also juxtaposed against the Black
Freighter caption, which describes Davidstown – the protagonist’s home in
this pirate comic – as “…deserted save for silence.”
In the
background of this panel, Dr. Long’s wife can be seen walking toward the
corner. And, we will soon discover, the
other woman walking toward that same corner is Aline, Joey’s girlfriend.
Panel 2: Again, the Black Freighter captions are juxtaposed against the dialogue from
the main narrative, as we see the protagonist enter his home “noiselessly”
while Bernie complains that the knot-tops will exit the concert “fightin’
drunk,” which implies a raucous exit for the concert goers.
Bernie’s
continued commentary on the knot-tops – “…covered in tattoos and earrings…” –
also connects the contemporary narrative with the pirate one, as pirates are
typically viewed as tattooed with earrings.
And
the image of the protagonist walking away from the “camera” into his home
transitions directly to
Panel 3: where we see Aline walking
away from us toward the street corner where Dr. Long is waiting to cross the
street.
In the
background, Bernie continues to talk.
His remark that it’s “…a bad intersection…” foreshadows Watchmen’s
climax, which is fast approaching. This
is followed by his comment that “…you never know what’s gonna turn up next…”
which not only symbolizes this impending climax, but is also a remark on the
approaching Aline, whom Bernie has never met but knows of from his interactions
with Joey the cab driver. And here,
though we might have surmised it from Joey’s earlier frustration that Aline
wanted to go to the concert, we can see that Aline is a knot-top.
And Bernie’s
dialogue is again juxtaposed against the Black
Freighter caption – “…unaware that death was amongst them…” – in a
parallel, rather than ironic, fashion this time.
Panel 4: The juxtaposition of the Black Freighter caption and the contemporary dialogue here is a bit
more subtle. In the Black Freighter, the protagonist attacks one he believes to be a
pirate who slaughtered his family, while in the main narrative, Bernie makes a
comment about the knot-top hairdos that makes it clear he wants to verbally
attack the next one he sees. But when a
knot-top approaches, whom we can in the panel adjacent to this one see is
Aline, he loses his braggadocio and greets her in a congenial manner, as a true
salesman.
Panel 5: Aline’s remark that she and Joey have been
fighting is juxtaposed against the Black
Freighter caption describing the protagonist as bludgeoning the intruder in
his home.
Panel 6: Aline’s comment that she isn’t looking
forward to talking with Joey, since she obviously sees their relationship as
over, emphasizes the terror of the protagonist in the Black Freighter panel when he encounters something worse than the
pirates he expected – his family, intact, terror on their faces as he raises
his fist once more against his wife, whom he believed to be a pirate butcher.
Panel 7: In the background, we see the Gordian Knot
lock service truck.
Panel 8: Bernie’s remark to not “…go away mad…” is
emphasized in this Black Freighter
panel, as the protagonist comes to an “…understanding so large, it left no room
for sanity…” thus, driving him mad,
as he ran away from his horrified family.
A note on the coloring: In panels 4, 6, and 8 of this page, John
Higgins again utilizes red to symbolize the vicious, murderous nature of the
scenes, bathing the protagonist and his wife, whom he is beating, in red in
those first two panels, and then offsetting the cadaverous woman in red in
panel 8.
Panel 9: Bernie’s question about people being hostile
is a remark on the violence we have just witnessed in the Black Freighter panels. And
his continued remark about how he and his wife Rosa should have left New York
and “…escaped from everything…” is juxtaposed against the Black Freighter caption of the protagonist trying to escape his
damnation, and failing.
The
drop of coffee spilled by Bernie is a call-back to the drop of blood we have
seen fall onto the Comedian’s smiley-face button a number of times throughout
this narrative.
This
theme of escape is emphasized by the “Holiday _____” magazine in the background
here, which shows a lush, tropical setting where one might like to escape for a vacation. And this tropical image transitions to
PAGE 7
Panel 1: where we return to the
vivarium at Karnak, a lush, tropical area housed within a greenhouse here in
the Antarctic.
Panel 3: Note that Veidt’s glass of wine is still
full, while we will see that his servants did indeed drink from their glasses.
PAGE 8
Panel 1: Veidt’s
remark that one “…need not delve quite so deeply into antiquity…” to discover
the reason for his celebration is emphasized by the shallow pool he stands at,
a pool that one would not have to reach too far into, in order to find the
bottom.
This image
is also a call-back to Chapter V –
which was laid out as a reflection of itself, and within which Veidt played a
major role.
Panel 2: 1939 is an important year, as that is when
Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 (a year after Superman’s auspicious
debut in Action Comics #1), and is a point when comics – and superhero comics,
in particular – begin their ascendance in America.
Visually,
note that Veidt is only seen in shadow in this panel – which is also the case
for subsequent panels exhibiting this past he is recounting. This symbolizes the fact that the man who
became Ozymandias was only a shadow of himself before the epiphany that led to
his physically and intellectually superior alter-ego.
Panel 3: Note that Veidt’s wine glass is still untouched.
Panel 5: The butterfly in the background – the same
one seen on the cover of this chapter – will play a minor role later.
Panel 6: The large painting of Alexander of Macedonia
looks very much like Adrian Veidt and transitions directly to
Panel 7: and the close-up of Adrian – his blond locks
and chiseled features mirroring his role model.
The
significance of Veidt’s remark – “...true, people died…perhaps unnecessarily…” –
as stated with his servants visible in the background will become evident two
pages hence.
Panel 9: Veidt’s remark that he “…wanted to have
something to say to [Alexander], should [they] meet in the hall of legends…” is
made over an image where we look up through the pool at Veidt. This emphasizes the fact that he aspired to
these objectives in order to impress a dead man, whose point of view would be
similar to Gibbons’s point of view in this panel.
And
this image transitions directly to
PAGE 9
Panel 1: where Joey is seen from a
similar angle.
Note
that the time clock in the background reads roughly 11:20.
Panel 2: In the background, calling to Joey, we have
the same serviceman who put in the new locks at Dan Dreiberg’s apartment
earlier in the story.
Panel 3: In the background we can see Dr. Long’s wife
on the right and the younger Bernie, leaning against the car charger, on the
left.
Panel 4: It is ironic that Joey and Aline are fighting
about their relationship as they approach the wife of Dr. Long, a man who might
have been able to assist them.
Panel 7: Notice that Dr. Long’s wife is speaking with
Bernie, the newsvendor, in the background.
In a couple of pages we will see this same scene from across the street.
It is
ironic, but appropriate, that the book on relationships Aline offers to Joey is
titled Knots, as Aline is a “Knot-top,” which is one of the things that
has created the schism between these two.
Panels 8-9: Joey’s admission here – particularly her
frustration at never having made love to Aline, followed by her wish to be dead
– is mirrored by the Black Freighter
captions, where we know the horror the protagonist feels as he laments how he
came to this place “…with love, only love, as [his] guide.”
The
description of a “black ocean” in the Black
Freighter caption transitions directly to
PAGE 10
Panel 1: and
Veidt’s description of Alexander’s path marching along the “black sea coast.”
The
image in this panel is a call back to Chapter
VIII, Page 26, panel 2 when the protagonist of the Black Freighter came ashore after sailing the ocean on a raft of
his dead comrades. With this panel,
Moore & Gibbons link Veidt and the protagonist from that pirate comic.
Panel 5: Alexander’s failing – “…he’d not united all
the world, nor built a unity that would survive him…” – is the aspiration to
which Veidt has been working most of his life.
Panel 7: This panel – Veidt’s nude body turned away
from us, the starscape, and the red hues (particularly of the sand surrounding
Veidt) – hearkens back to Dr. Manhattan, symbolizing the connection and respect
Veidt feels with the only truly “super”human.
PAGE 11
Panel 1: Veidt’s comment that the great thinkers from
ancient times entrusted their greatest secrets to “…their servants, buried
alive with them in sand-flooded chambers…” foreshadows what we will discover
two panels hence – that Veidt has killed his servants.
Panel 2: Note the clock, partially hidden in the
background, reads minutes to midnight.
Panel 3: And the perching of the butterfly on the
servant’s nose – with no reaction from the servant – reveals the ultimate fate
of these three men. The static nature of
the images in a comic is the one thing that allows for this delayed realization
– something that could not have been done convincingly in any other visual
medium.
PAGE 12
Panels 1-7: Instead
of flooding his servants’ burial chamber with sand, Veidt floods it with snow.
Opening
his vivarium, exposing the flora and his servants to the harsh and devastating
elements, is a metaphor for Veidt’s larger plan and foreshadows the climax of
this story.
Panel 7: Note that the image of the servant’s
submerged face, as Adrian exits in the background, transitions directly to
PAGE 13
Panel 1: where
the layout is mirrored with the submerged body, and barely visible face, of the
moneylender as the protagonist of the Black
Freighter runs away in the background.
The Black Freighter caption – “…the
righteous anger fueling my ingenious, awful scheme was but delusion...” – is a
commentary on Bernie’s remark in the contemporary narrative – “Morally, we
oughtta strike first.” Bernie’s righteousness is as wrong-headed as that
of the protagonist from the “Tales of the Black Freighter” story.
Panel 2: The phrase “…step by step…” in the Black Freighter caption not only alludes
to Dr. Long’s wife approaching Bernie, step
by step, but it is also symbolic of Adrian Veidt’s plan, and of the final
act fast approaching the people at this intersection – as well as the greater
populace of New York City and, figuratively speaking, the citizens of the
world.
The
approach of Dr. Long’s wife here transitions directly to
Panel 3: where
the approaching Black Freighter mirrors her approach in the previous
panel.
The Black Freighter caption – “…I raised my
head and saw her…” – is a description of what we cannot see in the contemporary
narrative – i.e. Bernie looking up (or raising his head) at the query, “Excuse
me?” and encountering Mrs. Long (or her).
Panel 4: In the background we can see Aline handing
Joey the book, Knots, as seen four pages earlier.
Again,
the Black Freighter caption is a
commentary on the contemporary narrative, as it describes Dr. Long’s wife –
“She seemed to be waiting…”
Panel 5: Bernie’s innocence (wrapped in his unintended
ignorance) – “…I didn’t mean no harm…” – when confronted by Mrs. Long’s
reaction to his offending remark, is mirrored in the Black Freighter text where the protagonist finally comes to realize
what his “innocent intent” had gotten him.
Panel 6: The “unspeakable truth” remarked upon in the Black Freighter caption symbolizes the
truth that goes unsaid between Bernie and Mrs. Long in this panel.
Panel 7: The Black
Freighter dialogue about the pirates of the ship “…who’d reaped the wealth
of the Sargasso…” is mirrored by Bernie’s remark that “…everybody[‘s] gotta
fight…” since that is how these vicious pirates managed to reap their wealth.
Panel 8: Again,
Moore juxtaposes the dialogue from the Black
Freighter comic with the main narrative, as Bernie complains of how “…you
try to help, you wind up in trouble…” which is mirrored by the Freighter dialogue, where the
protagonist laments that his “…well-meaning plans…” led to his soul being
damned for eternity.
Panel 9: Bernie’s
remark – “…where’s the percentage…” – meaning what reward is there for one’s
deeds, is mirrored in the Black Freighter
caption, where it becomes evident that the only prize the occupants of the
Black Freighter wanted was the protagonist’s soul.
And
the layout of this image transitions directly to
PAGE 14
Panel 1: where the arms of the Black Freighter’s main character are
transposed with those of Rorschach’s, as he and Nite Owl approach their own Black Freighter in the form of Adrian
Veidt’s Antarctic fortress, Karnak. This
visual link between panels 13:9 and 14:1 also yields yet another symbolic
link between Veidt and the main character of the Black Freighter story.
Panel 2: It may not have been readily evident in panel 1, but the presence of the palm
tree in the background of this panel allows us to orient ourselves to where Rorschach
and Nite Owl are approaching – the previous site for Veidt’s vivarium, where he
offered up his servants to their final rest.
Panel 5: Nite Owl’s comment – “…up here…we’re out of
our natural environment…” – is emphasized by the butterfly (a warm weather
creature) half-buried in the snow.
PAGE 16
Panel 3: Note again, in the design of the serving
bowl, the multiple occurrences of the letter V that runs around its
circumference – yet another example of Veidt’s ego, which is what allows him to
achieve his successes but is also his Achilles heel.
PAGE 17
Panel 7: Note that Veidt – who claims a great kinship
with the ancient king of Macedon, Alexander the Great – only asks to hear
Rorschach’s and Nite Owl’s concerns once they are kneeling to him (as if to a
king).
PAGE 18
Panel 6: Blake “mistaking [Veidt] for a criminal” is a
typical trope of superhero comics – one of the many that Moore & Gibbons
circumvent in Watchmen.
Panel 7: Couple this knowledge of the Comedian’s
whereabouts on the day Kennedy was killed with the off-hand remark he made
during the flashback in Chapter IX, Page
20, panel 5 and it is safe to assume that the Comedian – even if he did not
pull the trigger – was integral in the death of JFK, in this reality.
Panel 9: The quote Veidt offers here is indeed from
President Kennedy’s intended speech on November 22, 1963. The images on the screens in front of Veidt,
in this flashback, are scenes from the parade that day. It is also worth noting that the reason Veidt
only has three television sets at this juncture is because there were only
three stations at the time JFK was assassinated. This would also be the reason why Veidt is
recording his findings on a phonograph.
Note
that the clock in the background is, once again, at the “minutes to midnight”
position.
And
finally, note the young cat at Veidt’s feet. This is possibly a very young
Bubastis, or a precursor to the genetic breakthrough that created Bubastis, or
possibly just a simple cat, revered in Egypt and at home with Veidt, who feels a
strong connection to ancient Egypt, as we have seen throughout the story.
PAGE 19
Panel 1: Veidt’s
commentary on Kennedy’s ignorance of the cross-hairs aimed at his head
emphasizes how alert and prepared Veidt himself is, as he takes care of
Rorschach’s next attack without bothering to turn and face him.
Panel 2: This is one of Moloch’s gambling dens and is
reminiscent of a similar scene of Dr. Manhattan’s early crime fighting from Chapter IV, Page 14, panel 2.
Panel 3: Again, Veidt’s remarks upon earlier events
(this time, his embarrassment at his early adventuring, which did nothing to
solve the very real problems facing mankind) mirror events in the contemporary
narrative, as he “blinds” Rorschach while commenting how he had “blinded”
himself to mankind’s problems.
This
image is yet another subtle example of how Moore & Gibbons circumvented the
common tropes of superhero comics with Watchmen – in this instance,
showcasing how foolish and tactically unsound it would be to wear a full-face
mask, as many superheroes in the comics do.
Panel 4: Note the clock – its hands at the familiar
“minutes to midnight” position.
Panel 5: In this panel, Veidt’s reminiscences are
juxtaposed ironically – as he recounts how the Comedian “opened [his] eyes”
even as he continues to keep Rorschach blinded.
Panel 6: Linking the two separate caption boxes, we
come to realize that this is when Veidt understood he needed to be the one “…to
save the world…” as stated by Captain Metropolis.
Panel 7: Veidt’s comment – “…that’s when it hit me…” –
emphasizes the punch that was landed by Veidt, between panels, on Rorschach, as
the latter falls to the floor.
Panel 9: Veidt’s comment that he vowed to always meet
his foes on his own terms transitions directly to
PAGE 20
Panel 1: where Mrs. Long has surprised her husband, in
order to meet him on her own terms.
The
newspaper headline – “WAR?” – above the newsvendor’s head foreshadows the hostility
that is about to erupt at this intersection over the final pages of this
chapter.
Panel 3: Mrs. Long’s remarks here – “…I can’t’ live
with someone who feels driven to help hopeless cases, then lets their misery
affect our lives…” – is not only a commentary on their marriage, but also a
commentary on the relationship between Joey and Aline, and specifically Aline’s
feelings about Joey, which we can see unraveling in the foreground of this
panel.
Joey’s
ripping up of the book Knots is her own futile attempt to cut her own
Gordian Knot – this relationship that she wants to have with Aline, but which
Aline is walking away from, and the internal conflict such an experience generates
within us.
Panel 5: Again, Mrs. Long’s remarks are a reflection
of this panel’s imagery. She tells her
husband that she won’t share him “with a world full of screw-ups and manic
depressives…” even as she shares this sidewalk with people who are emotionally injured
in a manner similar to those she describes.
Panel 6: Ironically, Dr. Long and his wife are having
the opposite discussion that Laurie and Dr. Manhattan had on Mars in Chapter IX.
Panel 8: This panel is yet another example of the way
in which Moore & Gibbons create an image that resonates with multiple
meanings. As Dr. Long is drawn into yet
another instance of others’ grief, the younger Bernie is drawn into the grief
of the Black Freighter protagonist as
he continues to read this pirate story, even while we, the readers of Watchmen,
are pulled into that same grief in the Black
Freighter comic, as the “camera” pulls in closer to the younger Bernie and
transitions to
Panel 9: and a close-up of the comic page that Bernie
is reading.
Dr.
Long’s comment that he “can’t run” from the ugliness in this world is mirrored
by the Black Freighter captions as
the ugliness of the actual Black Freighter comes closer and closer to the
comic’s protagonist – something he too is unable to run away from.
The
tall rectangles created by the prow of the ship and the panel border within the
Black Freighter comic, along with the
sea bird (most likely a gull) flying over the surface of the water, transition
directly to
PAGE 21
Panel 1: where the general layout of that previous
panel is mirrored by the tall pillars on the exterior of Veidt’s fortress and
the dead butterfly lying in the snow, roughly where the gull was on Page 20, panel 9.
The
dialogue is also mirrored with the previous panel’s admission of how the Black Freighter moved “closer…closer…”
through Veidt’s remark that he had “…been brought nose to nose with mankind’s
mortality…”
Veidt’s
remarks about the imminent mortality of humankind and the fragility of the
Earth and its ecosystem are emphasized by the dead butterfly in the
foreground. Its specific fragility was
displayed by its quick death earlier in this chapter.
The
butterfly is also a call-back to Rorschach’s sessions with Dr. Long while he
was incarcerated, in Chapter VI. In that instance, Rorschach told Dr. Long
that one of the Rorschach blots was nothing more than a pretty butterfly,
despite the ugly memories it actually conjured up in Rorschach’s memory.
Panel 2: Veidt’s admission that, once faced with the
very real possibility of the Earth’s, and humanity’s, demise, he needed to step
back and look at the problem from a “fresh perspective” is emphasized by
Gibbons’s artwork in this panel, as we see Veidt in the extreme background,
standing high above the main hall of Karnak, looking down upon us, the readers.
Panel 3: Veidt’s
comment that he eventually “…closed upon the heart of the dilemma…” is
emphasized by the fact that Gibbons is pulling in closer to Veidt with this
panel’s image.
Panel 4: Veidt’s remarks about the nuclear arms race
and the Americans’ and Russians’ fears – particularly their fear to “turn their
backs…” – emphasizes Veidt’s confidence, as he has turned his back on Rorschach
and Nite Owl, who have come to Karnak in order to thwart his plans.
Panel 5: The remark that “…the spectre of accidental
apocalypse stalked ever closer…” is emphasized by the fact that Rorschach and
Nite Owl, as well as Bubastis in the foreground, are moving closer to Veidt,
while he speaks.
Panel 6: Veidt’s dialogue is, again, mirrored in the
imagery of this panel. Veidt talks of
inevitable conflict and the need to have a “practical solution” once one
“…notice[s] the perils of the situation…” even as a second physical altercation
between Veidt and his former allies seems imminent while Nite Owl notices the peril that the approaching
Bubastis will present to him and Rorschach.
Panel 7: Veidt’s remark that a solution for this
problem of the escalating nuclear arms race between East and West would be
useless without “…the muscle to back it up…” is mirrored in the reality that
Rorschach and Nite Owl do not have the muscle
to stop Bubastis, if they were to attack Veidt again.
PAGE 22
Panel 1: Again, Moore & Gibbons mirror a comment
in the dialogue with the imagery in the panel, as Veidt talks of how “…atomic
deadlock guided [humanity] downhill…” even as Veidt makes his way down the
expansive staircase that leads to the main floor of his fortress.
Panel 2: Veidt continues to descend the stairs, with
Rorschach and Nite Owl now following, and this descent is mirrored in his
dialogue as he comments upon how the rising political tensions ran parallel to
the descent of the costumed
adventurers’ public approval.
Panel 3: Veidt’s commentary of how he understood that
the esteem with which costumed adventurers were perceived would reach bottom by the late 1970s is mirrored by
him reaching the bottom of the stairs.
Panel 5-7: Veidt’s grim outlook of where the world was
heading – to a point where the past, present, and future of humanity would be
wiped out – is mirrored by the transition, visually, from inside Karnak, with
Veidt, Bubastis, Rorschach, and Nite Owl, to the wind-swept and desolate setting
outside on the Antarctic plain.
The
final piece of dialogue in Panel 7 –
“…as if it had never been…” – transitions directly to
PAGE 23
Panel 1: where
the captions from the Black Freighter
read: “The world I’d tried to save was
lost beyond recall.”
The
caption – “…a rope snaked down…[and] I grabbed it…” – is mirrored ironically in
the contemporary narrative’s dialogue (from Bernie, the newsvendor): “…people don’t reach out and make contact.”
Panel 2: The final Black
Freighter caption – appropriately enough, “The End” – is placed above Joey
and Aline just as their relationship comes to an end.
Again,
Bernie shows how oblivious he can be to the world around him despite his
assertions to the contrary earlier in the story, as he laments the fact that
“…people don’t connect with each other…” even as his obliviousness keeps him
from immediately connecting with the conflict – something else from his
dialogue – between Joey and Aline in the background.
Panel 7: More of the secondary characters come together
on this intersection, as Detectives Bourquin and Fine pull up to the
altercation between Joey and Aline.
Detective
Fine was most likely suspended over the “Nite Owl incident” from Chapter VIII (where Detective Fine knew
that Dan Dreiberg was Nite Owl, but instead of bringing him in for questioning
he merely tried to warn Dreiberg with a visit, resulting in Dan and Laurie
getting away from any possible incarceration, at that time). We can also see Dr. Long has reached the feuding
couple.
Note
that the time on the dashboard of the police cruiser reads 11:24.
Panel 9: Now we have the Gordian Knot Lock serviceman
and his brother, the manager of the Promethean Cab Company, pulled into the
fight on the corner.
The
locksmith’s remark – “…another minute, we’d have been gone…lousy timing…” – is
a bit of foreshadowing, as the culmination of Veidt’s plan will occur at 11:25
(as we saw – though we may not have been aware of this at the time – on Page 5, panel 5 of this chapter), within the very next minute.
This
importance of time is emphasized by the counterfeit watch salesman packing up
his gear in the foreground. And this
image of the watchman and his watches transitions directly to
PAGE 24
Panel 1: where Veidt talks about how each step of his
plan was synchronized.
Panel 4: In the flashbacks to the Comedian’s death,
over the course of the next few pages, the panels are awash in red, symbolizing
the violence of his demise.
Veidt’s
comment of his plan, and its enormity, crashing
in on him is emphasized by the image of Veidt crashing into Blake’s
apartment.
Panel 6: Again, the commentary in the present – “… [it]
must have come as a terrible blow [to the Comedian]…” – is mirrored in the
flashback image, as the Comedian is sent reeling into the wall by a forceful blow from Veidt.
Panel 7: Veidt’s remark – “…an end to fighting…” – is
obviously emphasized by the fight between Joey and Aline in this panel, and Dr.
Long’s attempt to end their fighting.
PAGE 25
Panel 2: Veidt’s comment that the Comedian’s
“…practiced cynicism cracked…” when confronted with the truth of Veidt’s plans
is emphasized by Dave Gibbons’s visuals, as the Comedian is smashed into a
mirror, cracking it into myriad
shards of glass.
Panel 4: Veidt’s remark that the Comedian’s discovery
of this plan “…drove the wind from his sails…” is accentuated by the image of
the Comedian struggling to catch his breath and regain his composure in this
panel. This remark also hearkens back to
the Black Freighter comic and the
truth the protagonist in that horror discovered.
Panel 6: “At the end, he understood.” This remark is made over an image of the
Comedian just before he is thrown to his death – the blood spatter on his
smiley-face pin bringing the entire narrative full circle.
Panel 7: The
portents commented upon by Veidt in
this panel can be seen as a meta-commentary on all of the symbolism and
foreshadowing that Moore & Gibbons have included within Watchmen. The final portent is the flying elephant
(advertising for the Gunga Diner) seen in the sky in the very center of this
panel and mirrored by Veidt’s edification that humanity was “…rushing to join
the mastodon…in extinction…” even as these secondary characters rush toward
their own personal extinction at this intersection – a smaller extinction (relatively
speaking) that Veidt hopes will herald in the extinction of the hostility and
war-mongering that has plagued humanity for so long.
PAGE 26
Panel 2: And here, we get the first flashback image
that is entirely new – the revelation that Veidt was indeed the one who came to
the Edward Blake’s apartment and killed him, killed the Comedian.
And
again, Veidt’s commentary – “…humanity’s fate rested safely in my hands…” – is
mirrored by the image of him holding the Comedian’s fate in his hands, holding
Blake aloft before throwing him through the window to his death.
Panel 4: Veidt’s comment that teleportation works fine
“…assuming you want things to explode on arrival…” is mirrored by the image of
the Comedian exploding through the shattered window.
The
remarks about the psychic shockwave that would result upon the “death” of the
monster Veidt had created on that secret island is the key to the success of
his plan, as we will see in the final chapter.
Panel 6: Nite Owl’s inquiry of Veidt – “…when was this
hopeless black fantasy supposed to happen…” – is played over the scene in New
York just seconds before it did
happen, as shown by the clock that reads 11:25 in the background.
Page 27
Panel 2: We see that, according to the clock, it is
almost midnight in New York, verifying the fact that Veidt put his plan into
action at 11:25. This giant clock,
reading a minute to midnight, is also the latest example of the clock motif
that runs throughout Watchmen.
The fact that it is only a minute to midnight emphasizes the reality
that we are at the climax of this story.
An aside: This revelation also reveals the narrative
structure of this chapter, within which there are two parallel storylines
unfolding, but they do not unfold in a parallel time, which allows for tension
to build by keeping the final, horrific revelation hidden until the final page,
even though the narrative in Karnak takes place after this final twist. It is yet another example of a narrative
structure that comics, through its combination of visuals and prose, can more
easily achieve than other mediums.
The
large yellow clock transitions directly to
Panel 3: and the large yellow moon
hanging high in the New York sky.
PAGE 28
Panel 1: And we see that the clock on the police
cruiser’s dashboard reads 11:25.
Panels 2-13: And the realization of Veidt’s plan comes to
this intersection of New York.
Panels 6-12: And the older Bernie finally realizes his
goal (“I took this job to meet people,
y’know?”) as he and the younger Bernie embrace in the final seconds of
their lives.
Panel 9: This image of the two Bernies embracing in silhouette
against the enveloping white is reminiscent of the Hiroshima Lovers’ graffiti
seen throughout this story.
Panel 12: Note that the final image of the two Bernies forms
into the blood spatter, which opened this chapter. And, like the butterfly seen through that
initial opening in the snow, this image demonstrates the fragility of life, as
the two Bernies become this formless spatter and then fade away into
Panel 13: and an all-white panel. This white panel – white being the absence of
color – symbolizes the absence of life at ground zero of Veidt’s “attack.”
The
Back-Matter
The
C.R.E.E.P. acronym mentioned in Veidt’s opening statement of this interview
was, in reality, the Committee for the Re-Election of the President,
abbreviated as CRP by Nixon’s campaign but circumvented by his adversaries through
the CREEP moniker. It was a fundraising
organization for Nixon’s second term as President. Besides its fundraising activities it was
also directly involved with the Watergate scandal that eventually brought
President Nixon down, in our reality.
Veidt’s
use of humanoids to describe Nixon’s retinue is easily deflected by Veidt with
his anecdote, but the use of this term is very much in keeping with Veidt’s
character. Adrian Veidt is detached from
humanity. Ascribed to the much higher
functioning of his intellect and physicality, this facet of Veidt is evident in the “secret origin” of this chapter – particularly the
nonchalant manner with which he accepted his parents’ passing. And it is this detachment that allows him to
conceive and go through with his horrific plan.
And,
finally, the text in the Nostalgia ad at the bottom of the final page – “The Times They Are A’Changing” –
foreshadows the denouement of the next, and final, chapter of Watchmen. Things are certainly going to change, but
will it be for the better or the worse?
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