1. Oh, how the ghost
of you clings... Nostalgia...Copy !req
2. Coming up
on the Benny Anger show,Copy !req
3. crime and punishment in AmericaCopy !req
4. since the Keene Act
banned masked vigilantes,Copy !req
5. but first, we ask
the average citizen,Copy !req
6. "Is our society now safer
without those so-called superheroes?"Copy !req
7. I don't miss the masks.Copy !req
8. They stirred up more trouble
than they were worth.Copy !req
9. The only good ones were
the Minutemen back in the '40s.Copy !req
10. The blue guy, Manhattan,
he scares me,Copy !req
11. but, but then he scares the Reds too,
so I ain't complainin'.Copy !req
12. Meh, America never really
took to superheroes.Copy !req
13. Took to superheroes,
took to superheroes.Copy !req
14. Rorschach's Journal.Copy !req
15. October 12th, 1985.Copy !req
16. Dog carcass in alley
this morning,Copy !req
17. tire tread on burst stomach.Copy !req
18. This city is afraid of me.
I have seen its true face.Copy !req
19. The streets
are extended gutters,Copy !req
20. and the gutters
are full of blood,Copy !req
21. and when the drains
finally scab over,Copy !req
22. all the vermin will drown.Copy !req
23. Hey! What are ya, blind?Copy !req
24. You're walkin'
through blood here!Copy !req
25. The accumulated filth
of all their sex and murderCopy !req
26. will foam up about their waistsCopy !req
27. and all the whores
and politicians will look up and shout,Copy !req
28. save us!Copy !req
29. And I'll look down
and whisper, no.Copy !req
30. They had a choice.Copy !req
31. They could have followed
in the footsteps of good men.Copy !req
32. Decent men who believed in
a day's work for a day's pay.Copy !req
33. Instead, they followed the droppings
of lechers and communists.Copy !req
34. Now the whole world stands
on the brink,Copy !req
35. staring down into bloody hell,Copy !req
36. all those intellectuals
and smooth talkers...Copy !req
37. And all of a sudden nobody can
think of anything to say.Copy !req
38. Hmm, that's quite a drop.Copy !req
39. So what do you think
happened here?Copy !req
40. Door chain was fastened
on the inside.Copy !req
41. Busting it down would
take two guys.Copy !req
42. Or one guy on serious drugs.Copy !req
43. I saw the body.Copy !req
44. This Blake guy looked beefy
enough to protect himself.Copy !req
45. Muscles like a weight lifter.Copy !req
46. He would've put up
some kind of fight.Copy !req
47. Maybe it was a couple of Knot-Tops
and they justoverpowered him.Copy !req
48. Background report said he's been
doing overseas diplomatic work for years...Copy !req
49. Lotta classy expense
account living.Copy !req
50. Maybe he just got soft.Copy !req
51. He don't look
too soft in this photo.Copy !req
52. Wonder how he got that scar.Copy !req
53. Oh, he's shaking hands
with Vice President Ford here.Copy !req
54. I think we can rule him out
as a suspect.Copy !req
55. Oh, ha ha.Copy !req
56. That'd be funny if we had
any better leads to go on.Copy !req
57. I mean, what is this?Copy !req
58. A little money stolen,Copy !req
59. but no way is this
a straight burglary.Copy !req
60. Ah, somebody really
had it in for this guy.Copy !req
61. How else did he go
outta the window?Copy !req
62. Maybe he tripped against it.Copy !req
63. That's strong glass, man.Copy !req
64. You'd have to be thrown.Copy !req
65. Ground floor comin' up.Copy !req
66. Y'know, this could be
just a simple burglary.Copy !req
67. Crazy things happen
in a city this size.Copy !req
68. They don't all need motives.Copy !req
69. So you're saying...Copy !req
70. Let's not raise too much dust
over this one.Copy !req
71. We don't need any
masked avengers cutting in.Copy !req
72. Oy! Here we go!Copy !req
73. You take this vigilante
stuff too seriously.Copy !req
74. Ever since the
Keene Act passed in '77,Copy !req
75. only the government sponsored weirdos
are active. They don't interfere.Copy !req
76. Rorschach never retired!Copy !req
77. Even after him and his buddies
fell outta grace.Copy !req
78. He's still out there somewhere.Copy !req
79. He's crazier
than a snake's armpitCopy !req
80. and wanted on
two counts murder one.Copy !req
81. We've got a cozy
little homicide here.Copy !req
82. If Rorschach gets involved,Copy !req
83. we'll be up to our butts
in corpses.Copy !req
84. Huh.Copy !req
85. Hmm.Copy !req
86. So there I was
in the supermarketCopy !req
87. buying dog food
for old Phantom here...Copy !req
88. I turn the corner and WHAM!Copy !req
89. I bump into the Screaming Skull.Copy !req
90. You remember him?Copy !req
91. I heard you mention him...Copy !req
92. Put him away a dozen times.Copy !req
93. He'd reformed
and turned to Jesus.Copy !req
94. Married, two kids.Copy !req
95. We traded addresses. Nice guy.Copy !req
96. Oh, Hollis, almost midnight.
I outta go.Copy !req
97. Oh, sure, Dan,
lost track of the time there,Copy !req
98. talking about
all that old stuff.Copy !req
99. You must be bored as hell.Copy !req
100. You know better than that.Copy !req
101. These Saturday night beer sessions
are what keep me going.Copy !req
102. You know, it was a cryin' shameCopy !req
103. they put you youngsters out
to grass in '77.Copy !req
104. You were a better Nite Owl
than I ever was.Copy !req
105. Hollis, we both know that's
bullshit. But thank you anyway.Copy !req
106. Hey, watch the language!Copy !req
107. This is the left hook
that floored Captain Axis, remember?Copy !req
108. Goodnight! Don't forget to lock up
and take care of yourself.Copy !req
109. You too, Danny. God bless.Copy !req
110. Hmm.Copy !req
111. Where you goin' pig?Copy !req
112. - The party's right here!
- Oh yeah!Copy !req
113. Hit us with more
of those Katie's, Derf!Copy !req
114. Yeah, I'm comin' down
already, man.Copy !req
115. You never
could keep it up.Copy !req
116. Hey, let's go break
some shit, huh!Copy !req
117. - I wanna get crazy!
- Aw, yeah!Copy !req
118. Call up your boys, Derf!Copy !req
119. Fire it up!Copy !req
120. Hello, Daniel.Copy !req
121. - Rorschach?
- Got hungry waiting.Copy !req
122. Helped myself to some beans.Copy !req
123. Hope you don't mind.Copy !req
124. No, no of course I don't mind.Copy !req
125. You want me to heat
those up for you?Copy !req
126. No need. Fine like this.Copy !req
127. So... long time no see.Copy !req
128. How've you been keeping?Copy !req
129. Out of prison, so far.
Take a look at this.Copy !req
130. This stain...
is that bean juice or...Copy !req
131. Yeah... human bean juice.Copy !req
132. Badge belonged to the Comedian.Copy !req
133. Blood too. He's dead.Copy !req
134. Wait. The Comedian?Copy !req
135. Investigated
a routine homicide.Copy !req
136. Victim named Edward Blake.Copy !req
137. Found the costume
in Blake's wardrobe.Copy !req
138. Seems he was the Comedian.Copy !req
139. Somebody threw him
out of a window.Copy !req
140. Um, maybe we should talk about this
down in my workshop.Copy !req
141. Right down this way.Copy !req
142. You haven't been
down here in a while.Copy !req
143. Neither have you. Lots of dust.Copy !req
144. Oh!Copy !req
145. Uh, listen...
about the Comedian,Copy !req
146. might it have been
just an ordinary burglary or something?Copy !req
147. Maybe the killer didn't
even know who Blake was.Copy !req
148. An ordinary burglar?
Kill the Comedian?Copy !req
149. Ridiculous.Copy !req
150. Well, I hear he'd been working
for the government since '77,Copy !req
151. knocking over Marxist republics
in South America.Copy !req
152. - Maybe this was a political killing.
- Maybe.Copy !req
153. Or maybe someone's
picking off costumed heroes.Copy !req
154. Don't you think that's
maybe a little paranoid?Copy !req
155. That what they're saying about me now?
That I'm paranoid?Copy !req
156. The Comedian was active
for 40 years.Copy !req
157. Men make a lot of enemies
in that time.Copy !req
158. How's your friend Hollis Mason
these days?Copy !req
159. Hollis? What does he...Copy !req
160. They were both Minutemen,
when Blake was 16Copy !req
161. and Hollis
was the first Nite Owl.Copy !req
162. Hollis said some bad things
about the Comedian in that book he wrote.Copy !req
163. I don't like what
you're implying.Copy !req
164. Hollis is an old man,
and he's my friend.Copy !req
165. If you're thinking of going
over there and scaring him...Copy !req
166. Implying nothing,
only an observation.Copy !req
167. I just wanted to let you know,Copy !req
168. in case someone's
gunning for masks.Copy !req
169. Better go now.Copy !req
170. Things to do.Copy !req
171. The tunnel will bring you out
to a warehouse two blocks north...Copy !req
172. I remember.Copy !req
173. Used to come here often
back when we were partners.Copy !req
174. Those were great times,
Rorschach.Copy !req
175. - Whatever happened to them?
- You quit.Copy !req
176. We want cops! No more costumes!Copy !req
177. Listen, you little punks!
You better get back in your rat holes!Copy !req
178. I got riot gas,
I got rubber bullets...Copy !req
179. - There's no need for this!
- Fuck you, Owl!Copy !req
180. The police strike is being
negotiated right now!Copy !req
181. You vigilantes belong in jail!Copy !req
182. My son's a police officer,
you freaks!Copy !req
183. Call yourself a Comedian?Copy !req
184. More like pig and rapist!Copy !req
185. Okay, that does it!Copy !req
186. Oh my God,
he just shot him!Copy !req
187. God, look, I'm sorry.
You haven't left us any choice.Copy !req
188. This stuff is dangerous.
Please clear the streets!Copy !req
189. Look at 'em!Copy !req
190. Run, you suckers!Copy !req
191. This is a nightmare!Copy !req
192. The whole country's
erupting like this.Copy !req
193. How long can we keep this up?Copy !req
194. My contacts say Senator Keene's act
is gonna shut us all down.Copy !req
195. Until then, we're society's
only protection.Copy !req
196. Protection? From who?Copy !req
197. From themselves.Copy !req
198. What... What happened
to the American dream?Copy !req
199. It came true.
You're looking at it.Copy !req
200. Now let's really put
these jokers through some changes.Copy !req
201. Rorschach's Journal.
October 13th, 1985.Copy !req
202. Slept all day. Awakened by landlady
complaining about the smell.Copy !req
203. She has five children
by five different fathers.Copy !req
204. I'm sure she cheats on welfare.Copy !req
205. Soon it will be dark.Copy !req
206. On Friday night,
a Comedian died in New York.Copy !req
207. Somebody knows why.
Somebody knows.Copy !req
208. Get lost, you creep!Copy !req
209. I believe
I shall take my exercise.Copy !req
210. Huh, Rorschach!
Hey, how you doin', fella?Copy !req
211. I'm fine, Happy Harry.
Yourself?Copy !req
212. I'm fine! I'm fine!
Just fine and... uh...Copy !req
213. Oh, God,
please don't kill anybody.Copy !req
214. Guy went sidewalk diving
Friday night.Copy !req
215. I don't think he was alone
when it happened.Copy !req
216. His name was Edward Blake.
Friend of mine.Copy !req
217. You hear that?Copy !req
218. He's got friends.Copy !req
219. Must've changed his deodorant!Copy !req
220. I... I didn't mean
anything, I...Copy !req
221. I've just broken
this gentleman's little finger.Copy !req
222. Who killed Edward Blake?Copy !req
223. Who killed Edward Blake?Copy !req
224. And his index finger.Copy !req
225. - Who killed Edward Blake?
- We don't know.Copy !req
226. Please, God, leave him alone!
We don't know!Copy !req
227. No. No, no, no, no, no, no!Copy !req
228. Nobody knew anything.
Feeling slightly depressed.Copy !req
229. I leave the human cockroaches
to discuss their heroin and child pornography.Copy !req
230. I have business
with a better class of person.Copy !req
231. The Comedian is dead? Why?Copy !req
232. You're supposed to be the world's smartest man,
Veidt. You tell me.Copy !req
233. I never claimed to be
anybody special, Rorschach.Copy !req
234. I just have some
over-enthusiastic P.R. men.Copy !req
235. Perhaps it was
a political killing.Copy !req
236. - Maybe the Soviets...
- Dreiberg said the same.Copy !req
237. America has Dr. Manhattan.Copy !req
238. Reds would never
dare antagonize us.Copy !req
239. I think we've got
a mask-killer.Copy !req
240. The Comedian had plenty of
other political enemies,Copy !req
241. even discounting the Russians.Copy !req
242. The man was practically a Nazi.Copy !req
243. He stood up for his country.
Never let anyone retire him.Copy !req
244. Never cashed in
on his reputation.Copy !req
245. Never set up a company
selling posters and diet booksCopy !req
246. and toy soldiers
based on himself.Copy !req
247. Never became a prostitute.Copy !req
248. If that makes him a Nazi,
you might as well call me a Nazi too.Copy !req
249. Rorschach...Copy !req
250. I know we were never friends,Copy !req
251. but even so
you're being unfair.Copy !req
252. Nobody retired me.Copy !req
253. I chose to quit adventuring
and go publicCopy !req
254. two years before the police strike made
the Keene Act necessary.Copy !req
255. Yes. Good timing.Copy !req
256. I came here to warn you
about the mask-killerCopy !req
257. so you don't end up
the smartest man in the morgue.Copy !req
258. But I guess there's
worse things to end up as.Copy !req
259. Be seeing you.Copy !req
260. Sure.Copy !req
261. Have a nice day.Copy !req
262. Now, I want to thank everyone for coming to
the first meeting of the Crimebusters.Copy !req
263. For those who know me
only as Captain Metropolis,Copy !req
264. the name's Nelson Gardner.Copy !req
265. Call me Nelson.Copy !req
266. As you know, this country
hasn't had an organizationCopy !req
267. of masked adventurers
in over 20 years,Copy !req
268. since the Minutemen
were disbanded.Copy !req
269. Specialized law enforcement
is standing still.Copy !req
270. Crime isn't.Copy !req
271. New social evils emerge
every day:Copy !req
272. promiscuity, drugs,
campus subversion, you name it.Copy !req
273. But, by banding together
as Crimebusters,Copy !req
274. - we can make a...
- Bullshit.Copy !req
275. We're all livin' in 1966Copy !req
276. while you're
still stuck in '49.Copy !req
277. This is all about
you getting oldCopy !req
278. but still wanting to play
cowboys and Indians.Copy !req
279. Th... That's... That is not true.Copy !req
280. Uh, no reason to just
throw the idea away.Copy !req
281. Me and Rorschach have made great headway
into the gang problemCopy !req
282. by pooling our efforts.Copy !req
283. But a group this size seems
more like a publicity exercise.Copy !req
284. Too big and unwieldy.Copy !req
285. That's just
an organizational problem.Copy !req
286. With the right person
coordinating the group...Copy !req
287. Oh, and who would that be?
Any ideas, Ozzy?Copy !req
288. I mean, you are the smartest
man in the world, right?Copy !req
289. It doesn't take a genius to see that
America has problemsCopy !req
290. that need tackling.Copy !req
291. And it takes a moron to think
they're small enoughCopy !req
292. for clowns like you guys
to handle.Copy !req
293. None of the world's problems
are insurmountable.Copy !req
294. What's going down
in this world, you got no idea!Copy !req
295. Believe me.Copy !req
296. You people hear Moloch's back
in town and you think,Copy !req
297. "Oh, boy! Let's gang up
and bust him!"Copy !req
298. Like that matters.Copy !req
299. It doesn't mean squat!Copy !req
300. In 30 years the nukes are
gonna be flying like maybugs...Copy !req
301. My map!Copy !req
302. And Ozzy here is gonna be
the smartest man on the cinder.Copy !req
303. Jon, I'd like to go home now.Copy !req
304. - Please.
- Listen, Nelson,Copy !req
305. maybe this isn't
the best idea...Copy !req
306. No, wait, don't leave.Copy !req
307. Somebody has to do it...Copy !req
308. Somebody has to save the world!Copy !req
309. Meeting with Veidt
left bad taste in mouth.Copy !req
310. He is pampered and decadent,Copy !req
311. betraying even his own shallow,
liberal affectations.Copy !req
312. Dreiberg just as bad.Copy !req
313. A flabby failure whimpering
in his basement.Copy !req
314. Why are there so few
of the Minutemen left active,Copy !req
315. healthy and without
personality disorders?Copy !req
316. The first Nite Owl runs
an auto repair shop.Copy !req
317. Captain Metropolis was decapitated
in a car crash.Copy !req
318. The first Silk Specter
is a bloated, aging whore...Copy !req
319. Dying in a California
rest resort.Copy !req
320. Mothman's in an asylum
up in Maine.Copy !req
321. The Silhouette retired
in disgrace.Copy !req
322. Murdered six weeks later
by a minor adversary seeking revenge.Copy !req
323. Dollar Bill got shot.Copy !req
324. Hooded Justice went missing.Copy !req
325. The Comedian is dead.Copy !req
326. And now I must tell
the indestructible manCopy !req
327. that someone
plans to murder him.Copy !req
328. Good evening, Rorschach.Copy !req
329. Good evening, Dr. Manhattan.Copy !req
330. What're you doing here,
Rorschach?Copy !req
331. Aren't you still wanted
by the police?Copy !req
332. Good evening, Miss Jupiter.Copy !req
333. That's Juspeczyk.Copy !req
334. Jupiter was my mother's
publicity name.Copy !req
335. Apologies.Copy !req
336. Came to warn you both
and bring bad news.Copy !req
337. The Comedian is dead.Copy !req
338. Yes. He and I are the only
two extranormal operativesCopy !req
339. employed by the government,
so I was informed at once.Copy !req
340. You don't seem too concerned
about Blake's death.Copy !req
341. A live body and a dead body
contain the same number of particles.Copy !req
342. Structurally there's no
discernible difference.Copy !req
343. Life and death
are unquantifiable abstracts.Copy !req
344. Why should I be concerned?Copy !req
345. Besides, Blake was a monster.Copy !req
346. You know he tried to rape my mother
when they were both Minutemen?Copy !req
347. I'm not here to speculate
on the moral lapsesCopy !req
348. of men who died in their country's service.
I came to warn...Copy !req
349. Moral lapses?
He broke her ribs! He...Copy !req
350. Jon, get this creep
out of here.Copy !req
351. You seem to be
upsetting Laurie.Copy !req
352. I think you ought to go.Copy !req
353. With respect, Dr. Manhattan,Copy !req
354. I believe someone
is eliminating masks.Copy !req
355. I warned Veidt and Dreiberg
and I intend...Copy !req
356. I said I think you ought to go.Copy !req
357. Not before I've had my...Copy !req
358. Say.Copy !req
359. Hmm.Copy !req
360. He's gone. Are you still upset?Copy !req
361. Jon?Copy !req
362. Hey, I was thinking,Copy !req
363. I must be really on edge to let a maggot
like Rorschach get to me like that.Copy !req
364. Maybe we...Copy !req
365. Maybe I could use a night out.Copy !req
366. Rorschach mentioned
Dan Dreiberg.Copy !req
367. Haven't seen him in years.Copy !req
368. Maybe I'll call him up,
ask him to dinner.Copy !req
369. If you don't mind, that is.Copy !req
370. Of course not.Copy !req
371. It is October, 1985.Copy !req
372. I am close to locating
a gluino,Copy !req
373. which would completely validate
super symmetrical theory.Copy !req
374. It is May, 1971.Copy !req
375. Having been asked to intervene
in Vietnam by President Nixon,Copy !req
376. I am deployed alongside
Edward Blake, the Comedian.Copy !req
377. I have never met anyone
so deliberately amoral.Copy !req
378. What Vietnam implies
about the human condition,Copy !req
379. few humans will permit
themselves to understand.Copy !req
380. But Blake is different.Copy !req
381. He understands perfectly.Copy !req
382. And he doesn't care.Copy !req
383. The average Vietnamese doesn't give
a damn who won this war.Copy !req
384. But it means plenty
to the US of A.Copy !req
385. If we'd lost, I think it might've driven
the country a little crazy.Copy !req
386. Thanks to you, we didn't.Copy !req
387. Yet you sound so bitter.Copy !req
388. You have some strange attitudes
toward life and war.Copy !req
389. Strange?Copy !req
390. Once you figure out
everything's a joke,Copy !req
391. being a Comedian
is the only thing that makes sense.Copy !req
392. The charred villages,Copy !req
393. the boys with necklaces
of human ears...Copy !req
394. these are part of the joke?Copy !req
395. Never said it was a good joke.Copy !req
396. I'm just playing along with the gag.
Same as him.Copy !req
397. First press helicopter
into Saigon since the cease fire.Copy !req
398. Oh, he's got the next election
in the bag.Copy !req
399. Me, I'm taking
the first chopper out.Copy !req
400. I hate this place.Copy !req
401. The temperature, the smell,
this rotten, cheap bourbon...Copy !req
402. - Mr. Eddie?
- Oh, God.Copy !req
403. Now war is over,
I must talk to you.Copy !req
404. Nothing to talk about.
I'm leaving.Copy !req
405. And... and what of me?Copy !req
406. I cannot just walk away
from what grow in my belly.Copy !req
407. - I cannot forget!
- Too bad,Copy !req
408. because that's what
I intend to do.Copy !req
409. Forget you,Copy !req
410. your cruddy little country,
all of it.Copy !req
411. I do not think so.Copy !req
412. I think you remember me
and my country.Copy !req
413. You remember
as long as you live.Copy !req
414. My face!Copy !req
415. Filthy, stinking,Copy !req
416. - worthless...
- Blake, don't...Copy !req
417. Medic. Gotta find
a goddamn medic.Copy !req
418. She was pregnant.Copy !req
419. - You gunned her down.
- That's right.Copy !req
420. And you know what?Copy !req
421. You watched me.Copy !req
422. You coulda turned
the gun into steam,Copy !req
423. the bullets into mercury
or the bottle into snowflakes!Copy !req
424. You coulda teleported her
to goddamn Australia,Copy !req
425. but you didn't lift a finger.Copy !req
426. You let it happen.Copy !req
427. I've watched you.Copy !req
428. You don't really give a damn
about human beings.Copy !req
429. You never cared
about Janey SlaterCopy !req
430. even before you ditched her.Copy !req
431. Soon you won't be interested
in Sally Jupiter's little gal, either.Copy !req
432. You're drifting
outta touch, Doc.Copy !req
433. God help us all.Copy !req
434. - Hello?
- H-hello?Copy !req
435. - Dan? Uh, this is...
- Laurie?Copy !req
436. Laurie Juspeczyk!Copy !req
437. Hey, it's been awhile.
How... How are you?Copy !req
438. Rorschach's Journal. 11:30 p.m.Copy !req
439. Yesterday a Comedian died
in New York.Copy !req
440. Nobody cares but me.Copy !req
441. Are they right? Is it futile?Copy !req
442. Soon there will be war.Copy !req
443. Millions will perish and burn
in sickness and misery.Copy !req
444. Why does one death matter
against so many?Copy !req
445. Because there is good,
and there is evil,Copy !req
446. and evil must be punished.Copy !req
447. Even in the face of Armageddon
I shall not compromise on this.Copy !req
448. But there are so many
deserving of retribution,Copy !req
449. and so little time.Copy !req
450. Oh wow, look at the time.
It's getting pretty late.Copy !req
451. Oh, I'm in
no hurry to get back.Copy !req
452. The government
only keeps me aroundCopy !req
453. so Jon stays relaxed and happy.Copy !req
454. Is, uh, everything okay
with you two?Copy !req
455. Fine. Couldn't be better.Copy !req
456. It's just, I'm 35, Dan,Copy !req
457. and all I can think is...
what have I done with my life?Copy !req
458. I've spent
eight years semi-retired,Copy !req
459. preceded by 10 years running around
in a stupid costumeCopy !req
460. because my stupid mother
wanted me to.Copy !req
461. Short skirt, neckline going
all the way down to my navel...Copy !req
462. - so dreadful.
- Oh, yeah... dreadful.Copy !req
463. The Keene Act was the best thing that
ever happened to us.Copy !req
464. Yeah, you're probably right.Copy !req
465. Hey, remember that guyCopy !req
466. who used to pretend to be
a super-villainCopy !req
467. so he could get beaten up?Copy !req
468. Oh, um...
Captain Carnage!Copy !req
469. Yes!Copy !req
470. Ya know, I caught him
running out of a jewelers.Copy !req
471. I didn't know
what his racket was,Copy !req
472. so I start hitting him
and I'm thinking,Copy !req
473. "Jeez, he's breathing
awfully hard."Copy !req
474. "Maybe he has asthma."Copy !req
475. He tried that
with me too,Copy !req
476. but I'd heard about him,
so I walked away.Copy !req
477. He followed me down the street
saying "Punish me!"Copy !req
478. I'm saying, "No, get lost!"Copy !req
479. What ever happened to him?Copy !req
480. He...
he pulled that on RorschachCopy !req
481. and Rorschach dropped him
down an elevator shaft.Copy !req
482. Oh, God,
that's not funny.Copy !req
483. No, no, I guess not...Copy !req
484. That felt good.Copy !req
485. Not a lot of laughs around
these days.Copy !req
486. Well, what do you expect?Copy !req
487. The Comedian is dead.Copy !req
488. Oh, look at her,Copy !req
489. pretty as a picture
and still keeping her figure.Copy !req
490. So what brings you
to the city of the dead?Copy !req
491. Being lazy isn't
a terminal condition, mother,Copy !req
492. so spare me
the city of the dead crap.Copy !req
493. Brought you some flowers.Copy !req
494. Oh, big spender!Copy !req
495. So where's Jon?Copy !req
496. He had to go to some
official funeral.Copy !req
497. Made him put on pants
and everything.Copy !req
498. I didn't feel like going
so he transported me here to California.Copy !req
499. Teleporting
always makes me sick.Copy !req
500. It's Eddie Blake's funeral,
isn't it?Copy !req
501. I saw in the paper.
He got murdered.Copy !req
502. Poor Eddie.Copy !req
503. How can you say "Poor Eddie"
after he almost...Copy !req
504. What happened was 40 years ago.Copy !req
505. It's history.Copy !req
506. Gettin' old, you get
a different perspective.Copy !req
507. The big stuff
looks smaller somehow.Copy !req
508. Ya know, that makes just
three of us Minutemen left now.Copy !req
509. Me, Hollis and poor Byron
at the asylum in Maine.Copy !req
510. Eddie was the youngest.Copy !req
511. The Comedian.Copy !req
512. Always jokin'
that he'd bury us all.Copy !req
513. Always thought
he'd get the last...Copy !req
514. laugh.Copy !req
515. You and Jon oughta
move out here for the weather.Copy !req
516. Lots of sunshine!Copy !req
517. What the hell is this?Copy !req
518. What are you doing
with this creepy pervert art?Copy !req
519. Oh, just some old memorabilia.Copy !req
520. Being reminded
that people used to slobber over meCopy !req
521. - is kind of flattering.
- Flattering?Copy !req
522. Laurie, I'm 65.Copy !req
523. Every day the future
looks a little bit darker.Copy !req
524. But the past...Copy !req
525. even the grimy parts of it,Copy !req
526. keep getting brighter
all the time.Copy !req
527. Okay, that's it!
Nice picture, folks!Copy !req
528. Finally,
I can scratch my armpit.Copy !req
529. Got spots in my eyes.Copy !req
530. Here lemme take a look,Copy !req
531. maybe I can
fish 'em out for you.Copy !req
532. Oh, Eddie,
give me a break.Copy !req
533. Okay everybody,
we're good.Copy !req
534. So let's meet
in the lobby in five.Copy !req
535. We'll go back to the Owl's Nest
for a beer.Copy !req
536. You go on ahead,
I gotta change.Copy !req
537. - Hi.
- Eddie,Copy !req
538. what are you doing here?Copy !req
539. You knew I was changing...Copy !req
540. Sure did. You announced it
loud enough.Copy !req
541. C'mon, baby.
I know what you need...Copy !req
542. know why you wear
an outfit like that.Copy !req
543. Eddie, no...Copy !req
544. Spelled Y-E-S.Copy !req
545. Spelled N-O!Copy !req
546. Eddie...Copy !req
547. What... what's happening?Copy !req
548. Eddie, what are you doing?Copy !req
549. You sick little bastard!Copy !req
550. I'm going to break your neck!Copy !req
551. This is what you like,
isn't it?Copy !req
552. This is what gets you hot.Copy !req
553. Get out.Copy !req
554. Oh, sure. Sure, I'm going.Copy !req
555. But I got your number...Copy !req
556. And one of these days,Copy !req
557. the joke's gonna be on you.Copy !req
558. Thou hast set
our misdeeds before thee,Copy !req
559. and our secret sins
in the light of thy countenance.Copy !req
560. As much as it hath pleased
Almighty God of his great mercyCopy !req
561. to take unto himself the soul of
our dear brother here departed.Copy !req
562. We therefore commit his body
to the ground,Copy !req
563. earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.Copy !req
564. Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.Copy !req
565. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in heaven.Copy !req
566. Give us this day
our daily bread,Copy !req
567. and forgive us our trespassesCopy !req
568. as we forgive those
that trespass against us.Copy !req
569. And lead us not
into temptation,Copy !req
570. but deliver us from evil.Copy !req
571. Amen.Copy !req
572. Edgar William Jacobi.
Also known as Moloch.Copy !req
573. I don't know what
you're talking about,Copy !req
574. you've got the wrong person,Copy !req
575. I'm a retired businessman.Copy !req
576. Lying. Do it again, broken arm.Copy !req
577. Oh, God, I spent
the '70s in jail.Copy !req
578. I'm not Moloch anymore.Copy !req
579. I just want to be left alone.Copy !req
580. You attended
funeral today. Why?Copy !req
581. I... just felt I should.Copy !req
582. I've been thinking
about the Comedian a lot...Copy !req
583. How do you know Edward Blake
was the Comedian?Copy !req
584. He broke in to see me
two weeks ago!Copy !req
585. His mask was off!Copy !req
586. Enemies for 40 years!
Why should he visit you?Copy !req
587. I don't know!Copy !req
588. I just woke up
and he was there!Copy !req
589. I thought he was
going to kill me.Copy !req
590. He was drunk,
not making sense...Copy !req
591. It's a joke.Copy !req
592. It's all a joke.Copy !req
593. I thought I knew
how the world was,Copy !req
594. but then I found out
about this gag,Copy !req
595. this joke...Copy !req
596. You're part of it, Moloch,
old pal, you know that?Copy !req
597. I saw your name on the list,
you and Janey Slater.Copy !req
598. If I thought you were
in on this, I'd kill you, understand?Copy !req
599. I mean, you fought
that big blue geek.Copy !req
600. You know what his head's like.Copy !req
601. Who knows which way
he'll jump if anyone messes with him?Copy !req
602. I never shoulda looked
out that airship window.Copy !req
603. Never seen that island.Copy !req
604. Never got involved.Copy !req
605. See, on that island,Copy !req
606. they got writers and artists
and scientists,Copy !req
607. and what they're doing
is just...Copy !req
608. I've done some bad things.Copy !req
609. Did bad things to women.Copy !req
610. Shot kids in 'Nam...Copy !req
611. but I never did anything
like... like...Copy !req
612. Oh, mother.Copy !req
613. Forgive me.Copy !req
614. Forgive me, forgive me,
forgive me...Copy !req
615. It's a joke.Copy !req
616. But I don't get it!Copy !req
617. What's so goddamned funny!Copy !req
618. Somebody explain it to me!Copy !req
619. Somebody please
explain it to me.Copy !req
620. And then he left.Copy !req
621. I don't know what
the hell it was about.Copy !req
622. Hmm.Copy !req
623. Funny story.Copy !req
624. Sounds unbelievable.Copy !req
625. Probably true.Copy !req
626. So that's it?Copy !req
627. - I'm clean?
- No.Copy !req
628. Searched house
before you got back.Copy !req
629. Found phony medication.Copy !req
630. Outlawed years ago.Copy !req
631. Well, when you're desperate,
you'll try anything.Copy !req
632. I... I have cancer.Copy !req
633. Cancer? What kind?Copy !req
634. You know the kind of cancer
you eventually get better from?Copy !req
635. This ain't it.Copy !req
636. Wrote down name of company.
Will report them later.Copy !req
637. You're off the hook for now.Copy !req
638. Stay out of trouble.Copy !req
639. Rorschach's Journal.
October 16th, 1985.Copy !req
640. Thought about Moloch's story
on the way to cemetery.Copy !req
641. Could be all lies,
part of a revenge scheme.Copy !req
642. But if true, then what?Copy !req
643. References to an island,
to Dr. Manhattan...Copy !req
644. might he be at risk?Copy !req
645. Edward Morgan Blake.
45 years, a Comedian.Copy !req
646. Buried in the rain.Copy !req
647. Is this what happens to us?Copy !req
648. A life of conflict with
no time for friends,Copy !req
649. so that when it's done,
only our enemies leave roses?Copy !req
650. Blake saw the cracks
in society,Copy !req
651. saw the little men in masks
trying to hold it together,Copy !req
652. and treated it like a joke.Copy !req
653. Saw the true face
of the 20th centuryCopy !req
654. and became a reflection of it,
a parody.Copy !req
655. No one else saw the joke.Copy !req
656. That's why he was lonely.Copy !req
657. Heard joke once.Copy !req
658. Man goes to doctor,
says he's depressed.Copy !req
659. Life seems harsh and cruel.Copy !req
660. Says he feels all alone
in a threatening world.Copy !req
661. Doctor says,
"Treatment is simple."Copy !req
662. "Great clown Pagliacci
is in town. Go see him."Copy !req
663. "That will pick you up."Copy !req
664. Man bursts into tears.Copy !req
665. Says, "But doctor...Copy !req
666. I am Pagliacci."Copy !req
667. Good joke.Copy !req
668. Delirious,Copy !req
669. I saw that hell-bound
ship's black sailsCopy !req
670. against the yellow Indies sky,Copy !req
671. and knew again
the stench of powder,Copy !req
672. and men's brains, and war.Copy !req
673. The severed heads nailed
to its prow liplessly mouthed,Copy !req
674. "No use! All's lost!"Copy !req
675. We outta nuke Russia
and let God sort it out.Copy !req
676. The freighter's hideous
crew called out,Copy !req
677. "More blood! More blood!"Copy !req
678. Nuke 'em till they glow.Copy !req
679. That's my opinion,
for what it's worth, ya know?Copy !req
680. Inna final analysis.Copy !req
681. Man, I'm tryin' to read here.Copy !req
682. It's tar-streaked
hull rolled over me.Copy !req
683. In despair,
I sank beneath the waves,Copy !req
684. offering up
my wretched soul to God,Copy !req
685. his mercy and his judgment.Copy !req
686. Waking from nightmare,Copy !req
687. I found myself upon
a dismal beachhead,Copy !req
688. amongst dead men and...
the pieces of dead men.Copy !req
689. I'm informed on these things.Copy !req
690. I see every paper in the world.Copy !req
691. See, everything's connected.Copy !req
692. I begged that
the gulls should take my eyes...Copy !req
693. A news vendor
understands that reality.Copy !req
694. thus sparing me the horrors.Copy !req
695. The weight o' the world's
on him, but he can take it.Copy !req
696. But at least I was alive.Copy !req
697. He's a survivor.Copy !req
698. And I knew that life
had no worse news to offer me.Copy !req
699. Good afternoon.Copy !req
700. Is it here yet?Copy !req
701. Oh! Your copy of today's
New Frontiersman, coming up.Copy !req
702. I keep it for ya
every day, don't I? Uh...Copy !req
703. Hey, how's the end
of the world coming?Copy !req
704. Today for certain.Copy !req
705. You won't forget to keep
my paper for me tomorrow?Copy !req
706. Sure will!Copy !req
707. I had a sudden memoryCopy !req
708. of clinging fast to someone
through the tempest.Copy !req
709. Our fateful ship's figurehead,Copy !req
710. now lying at my feet,Copy !req
711. blindfolded by seaweed,
smiling.Copy !req
712. I thought better of removing the kelp
from her eyes,Copy !req
713. not wishing her to suffer the terrible
distractions of that grim tideline.Copy !req
714. She had borne me
through seas of blood,Copy !req
715. had nourished me
in the heart of the storm.Copy !req
716. This small comfort
was all I could offer,Copy !req
717. for I could not love her
as she had loved me.Copy !req
718. Mmm... Jon...Copy !req
719. don't you have to do
a TV interview soon?Copy !req
720. No. We have plenty of time.Copy !req
721. Laurie?Copy !req
722. Oh, God! Jon,
just be one person again!Copy !req
723. Don't be upset. I'm sorry.
I thought you'd enjoy it.Copy !req
724. I was just trying
to please you.Copy !req
725. I-I-I know.Copy !req
726. I know. I'm sorry
I over-reacted.Copy !req
727. You just startled me is all.Copy !req
728. I'm fine. It doesn't...Copy !req
729. Laurie?Copy !req
730. - Are you okay?
- Am I okay?Copy !req
731. This whole time
you've been working out hereCopy !req
732. while we were in bed?Copy !req
733. My work's
at an important stage.Copy !req
734. - It didn't seem necessary to...
- To what?Copy !req
735. Give me your full attention?Copy !req
736. For once?Copy !req
737. If there's a problem
with my attitude,Copy !req
738. I'm prepared to discuss it.Copy !req
739. I hate you.Copy !req
740. Laurie?Copy !req
741. I left Jon.Copy !req
742. Oh, I... I'm sorry, I...Copy !req
743. And I'm sorry
to dump this on you,Copy !req
744. but you don't know what it's like,
living with him.Copy !req
745. For him...Copy !req
746. the real world is like
walking through mist,Copy !req
747. and all the people
are just shadows.Copy !req
748. I mean, the way
he looks at things,Copy !req
749. like he can't remember
what they are,Copy !req
750. and he doesn't
particularly care.Copy !req
751. Sometimes I look at myself
and I don't understandCopy !req
752. how things got so tangled up.Copy !req
753. - Hey, can we go out?
- Oh!Copy !req
754. - Get some air?
- Um...Copy !req
755. I'll get my coat.Copy !req
756. Let's go.Copy !req
757. - Oh! Dr. Manhattan!
- Dr. Osterman...Copy !req
758. We need to get you
into make-up.Copy !req
759. That blue is-is
far too light for broadcast.Copy !req
760. - Is this dark enough?
- That's perfect!Copy !req
761. Here's a list of no-go talking points
compiled by army intelligence.Copy !req
762. Afghanistan will come up
but play it cool...Copy !req
763. And try not to get into
any tight corners.Copy !req
764. Ladies and gentlemen,
we have something really special for you tonight.Copy !req
765. In his first live interview,Copy !req
766. let's have a hand
for Doctor Manhattan himself,Copy !req
767. Dr. Jon Osterman!Copy !req
768. So, uh... what's up, Doc?Copy !req
769. Well, you'll forgive
the levity, doctor,Copy !req
770. but the news overseas
has everyone a little tense.Copy !req
771. So, before I throw you to
our hungry reporters here tonight,Copy !req
772. let me kick things off
with this...Copy !req
773. If the Reds act up
in Afghanistan,Copy !req
774. are you prepared
to enter hostilities?Copy !req
775. There is no situation
in Afghanistan currently requiring my attention.Copy !req
776. Ahem. If I can jump in.Copy !req
777. Doug Roth. Nova Express.Copy !req
778. Dr Osterman...
Do you remember Wally Weaver?Copy !req
779. The newspapers called him
Dr. Manhattan's buddy.Copy !req
780. - He died of cancer in '71...
- I remember.Copy !req
781. I attended Wally's funeralCopy !req
782. How about Edgar W. Jacobi,
aka Moloch?Copy !req
783. You and he battled it out many
times over the years.Copy !req
784. Did you know he's
also battling terminal cancer?Copy !req
785. No. I did not know that.
I would rather not...Copy !req
786. And are you aware
that Janey Slater,Copy !req
787. with whom you were romantically linked
for several years,Copy !req
788. is suffering from lung cancer?Copy !req
789. No, I... I wasn't told. I...Copy !req
790. Or that she has
six months to live?Copy !req
791. I recently interviewed
Ms. Slater.Copy !req
792. Her story's hitting
the streets right now.Copy !req
793. - What are you suggesting?
- Jon,Copy !req
794. Doug has reports of over two dozen
of your former associatesCopy !req
795. who have been
similarly afflicted...Copy !req
796. No, I...Copy !req
797. Do you have any response
to these allegations?Copy !req
798. - Are we gonna get cancer?
- Is this guy radioactive?Copy !req
799. Leave me alone.Copy !req
800. Do you think
you gave Ms. Slater cancerCopy !req
801. by sleeping with her?Copy !req
802. I said...Copy !req
803. How does it feel knowing
you may have doomed hundreds of people?Copy !req
804. Leave me alone!Copy !req
805. Um...Copy !req
806. - You okay?
- Yeah. Fine.Copy !req
807. Um... I...Copy !req
808. We just need to get
our breath back.Copy !req
809. - We should...
- I'm just gonna go grab a hotel.Copy !req
810. Think my relationship over.Copy !req
811. Oh. Of course.Copy !req
812. Thanks for listening, Dan.
Take care.Copy !req
813. Sure...Copy !req
814. W-w...Copy !req
815. You too, Laurie...Copy !req
816. Bye.Copy !req
817. The freighter's murderous
onslaught had surprised us.Copy !req
818. We'd been blasted to fragments before we could
warn Davidstown of the hell-ship's approach.Copy !req
819. I thought of my family there,Copy !req
820. vulnerable, unsuspecting,Copy !req
821. unaware of the damnation
that bore down upon them.Copy !req
822. Crazed with helplessness,
I cursed God and wept,Copy !req
823. wondering if he wept also.Copy !req
824. But then, what use are his tears
if he also denied me help?Copy !req
825. That night I slept badly
beneath cold, distant starsCopy !req
826. pondering the cold, distant godCopy !req
827. in whose hands the fate
of Davidstown rested.Copy !req
828. Was he really there?Copy !req
829. Had he been there once...Copy !req
830. But now departed?Copy !req
831. Hey, this base is off limits.
You don't belong... here.Copy !req
832. I believe you are correct.Copy !req
833. Please tell your superiors
and Laurie JuspeczykCopy !req
834. that I am leaving.Copy !req
835. Leaving for Mars.Copy !req
836. Gone? What do you mean
he's gone?Copy !req
837. Ma'am, your meal ticket flew
the coop after last night's broadcast.Copy !req
838. Dr. Manhattan, the linchpin
of America's security,Copy !req
839. has left Earth.Copy !req
840. Mr. President...Copy !req
841. The Russians are invading
Afghanistan and Pakistan.Copy !req
842. If this keeps up,
they'll try taking Western Europe next.Copy !req
843. If Dr. Manhattan
wanted to live on a red planet,Copy !req
844. he should've stayed home.Copy !req
845. Keep running the numbers
for our losses in a nuclear exchange.Copy !req
846. And be ready for a first strike
in seven days.Copy !req
847. Good morning, Daniel.Copy !req
848. Brought you your paper.Copy !req
849. The Comedian murdered,
Dr. Manhattan exiled...Copy !req
850. Two of us gone.
All within a week.Copy !req
851. Who next? Veidt?
Juspeczyk? Me? You?Copy !req
852. These days, nobody's safe.Copy !req
853. The photograph is in my hand.Copy !req
854. It is the photograph of a man
and a woman.Copy !req
855. They are at
an amusement park in 1959.Copy !req
856. In exactly 38 seconds,Copy !req
857. I drop the photograph
to the sand and walk away.Copy !req
858. It is already there,
31 seconds into the future.Copy !req
859. The photograph is in my hands.Copy !req
860. I found it in a derelict bar
27 hours ago.Copy !req
861. Twenty-four seconds.Copy !req
862. It is still there,
27 hours into the past.Copy !req
863. Twenty-one seconds.Copy !req
864. I am still there,
looking at it.Copy !req
865. Eighteen seconds.Copy !req
866. It is October, 1985.Copy !req
867. - I'm on Mars.
- Fourteen seconds.Copy !req
868. - It is July, 1959.
- Eleven seconds.Copy !req
869. I am at the
Palisades Amusement Park.Copy !req
870. - Eight. Seven. Six.
- I am tired of looking at the photograph.Copy !req
871. - Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
- I open my fingers.Copy !req
872. It falls to the sand.Copy !req
873. I am going to look
at the stars.Copy !req
874. They are so far away,Copy !req
875. and their light takes
so long to reach us.Copy !req
876. All we ever see of the stars
are their old photographs.Copy !req
877. I am watching the stars,Copy !req
878. admiring their complex
trajectoriesCopy !req
879. through space,Copy !req
880. through time.Copy !req
881. My father admired the sky
for its precision.Copy !req
882. He repaired watches.Copy !req
883. It is August, 1945.Copy !req
884. I sit in a Brooklyn kitchen,Copy !req
885. fascinated by an arrangement
of cogs on black velvet.Copy !req
886. I am 16 years old.Copy !req
887. Jon? Jon? What are you doing?Copy !req
888. Practicing on your old pocket-watch
before I leave for school...Copy !req
889. Forget watches.
Have you seen the news?Copy !req
890. They dropped an atomic bomb
on Japan! A whole city, gone!Copy !req
891. - This changes everything!
- Father, what are you...Copy !req
892. - I'm doing what is best for you.
- Wait!Copy !req
893. This atomic science
is what the world will need,Copy !req
894. not pocket watches!Copy !req
895. Professor Einstein says that time differs
from place to place.Copy !req
896. If time is not true,
what purpose have watchmakers?Copy !req
897. Wait! No!Copy !req
898. Forty years ago,
cogs rain on Brooklyn.Copy !req
899. One hundred and fifteen minutes
into the future,Copy !req
900. meteorites penetrate
the rarefied Martian atmosphere.Copy !req
901. It is 1958.Copy !req
902. I am graduating
with a PhD in atomic physics.Copy !req
903. It is May 12th, 1959,Copy !req
904. my first day
at the Gila Flats Test Base.Copy !req
905. Wally Weaver shows me around.Copy !req
906. What's this place?Copy !req
907. This is where the intrinsic
field experiments happen.Copy !req
908. They're, uh, trying to prove
there's some fieldCopy !req
909. holdin' stuff together
besides gravity.Copy !req
910. This is our time-lock
test vault,Copy !req
911. for when they're tryin' to separate objects
from their intrinsic fields.Copy !req
912. It makes sure
no radiation gets out.Copy !req
913. Wally steers me
to a crowded bar.Copy !req
914. There is a sudden
sense of deja vu.Copy !req
915. So, you must be the new guy.Copy !req
916. Pretty young
for a research scientist.Copy !req
917. Well, my dad sort of
pushed me into it.Copy !req
918. Happens to me a lot.Copy !req
919. Other people seem to make
all my moves for me.Copy !req
920. I'm Janey Slater.Copy !req
921. Can I buy you a drink?Copy !req
922. Hey, young lovers!Copy !req
923. There!
That's a beautiful picture!Copy !req
924. The photograph lies
in the sand.Copy !req
925. It is July, 1959.Copy !req
926. By the shooting gallery,
Janey's watch falls offCopy !req
927. and a man steps on it.Copy !req
928. - I tell her I can fix it.
- I can fix it.Copy !req
929. It is 1963.Copy !req
930. We're making love
after an argument,Copy !req
931. our tenderness in direct proportion
to its violence.Copy !req
932. It is 1966, and she's
packing a suitcase, crying.Copy !req
933. It is August, 1959.Copy !req
934. We have only been together
for a month.Copy !req
935. - So Jon...
- The accident is waiting for me.Copy !req
936. did you fix my watch yet?Copy !req
937. Sure did, it's right... Oh.Copy !req
938. Must've left it in my lab coatCopy !req
939. when we were resetting
the intrinsic chamber.Copy !req
940. Be right back.Copy !req
941. The accident is almost
upon me now.Copy !req
942. - Janey! Janey!
- Jon?Copy !req
943. - Open the door!
- I can't!Copy !req
944. Open the door!Copy !req
945. It's on a timelock
for the next experiment! I...Copy !req
946. - I can't override it!
- No.Copy !req
947. Oh, God, it's starting!Copy !req
948. Oh my God! Janey!Copy !req
949. - It's my fault!
- No!Copy !req
950. No! Janey!Copy !req
951. - Please!
- I can't stay and watch...Copy !req
952. Please, I... I just can't.Copy !req
953. - Don't go!
- I'm sorry.Copy !req
954. No! No! No! No! No! No!Copy !req
955. Janey!Copy !req
956. No...Copy !req
957. The shields slide back
from the particle cannons.Copy !req
958. The atoms in the test chamber
begin screaming.Copy !req
959. I look at the watch in my hand.Copy !req
960. Good as new.Copy !req
961. And the light...Copy !req
962. the light is taking me
to pieces.Copy !req
963. It is September.Copy !req
964. A token funeral service
is held.Copy !req
965. There is nothing to bury.Copy !req
966. It is October.Copy !req
967. Janey places the only photo
anyone has of me in the bar.Copy !req
968. It is November.Copy !req
969. A human nervous system
briefly materializes.Copy !req
970. It is November 10th now.Copy !req
971. A circulatory system is seen
walking through the kitchen.Copy !req
972. Wha... What?Copy !req
973. November 14th.Copy !req
974. A partially muscled skeleton appears outside
the perimeter fence.Copy !req
975. It screams for 30 seconds
before vanishing.Copy !req
976. Really, it is just a questionCopy !req
977. of reassembling the components
in the correct sequence.Copy !req
978. Jon?Copy !req
979. Jon?Copy !req
980. It is Christmas, 1959.Copy !req
981. So, do you like it?Copy !req
982. I mean, is a ring the sort
of thing that you likeCopy !req
983. now that you're, uh...Copy !req
984. Like that symbol
on your helmet?Copy !req
985. Marketing boys say
you need a symbol.Copy !req
986. It's February, 1960.Copy !req
987. Your symbol is meaningless.Copy !req
988. If I am to have a symbol,Copy !req
989. a hydrogen atom
would be more appropriate.Copy !req
990. A symbol I respect.Copy !req
991. It's atomic structure
is a perfect grid.Copy !req
992. I like it very much.Copy !req
993. Janey? What's wrong?Copy !req
994. I'm scared, Jon.Copy !req
995. Of me?Copy !req
996. They assign me the name
Dr. ManhattanCopy !req
997. for the ominous associations
it will raise in American enemies.Copy !req
998. They're shaping me into
something gaudy and lethal.Copy !req
999. I'm just scared because
everything feels... weird.Copy !req
1000. March, 1960.Copy !req
1001. We repeat: the superman existsCopy !req
1002. and he's American.Copy !req
1003. Pentagon sources sayCopy !req
1004. this Dr. Manhattan can control
atomic structure itself.Copy !req
1005. There's been
no response from the Kremlin.Copy !req
1006. It's as if
everything's changedCopy !req
1007. November, 1960.Copy !req
1008. The newspapers call me a crime-fighter,Copy !req
1009. so the Pentagon says
I must fight crime.Copy !req
1010. The morality of my activities
escapes me.Copy !req
1011. Not just you. Everything.Copy !req
1012. May, 1962.Copy !req
1013. A masked man retires to open
an auto-repair business.Copy !req
1014. With someone like you around,
the whole situation changes.Copy !req
1015. You can do anything.Copy !req
1016. All I got to offer
is a good left hook.Copy !req
1017. And some mean wrenching skills
under the hood.Copy !req
1018. Well, the new electric
cars I've designed should be simpler.Copy !req
1019. Electric?Copy !req
1020. They say you can do
anything, Jon.Copy !req
1021. They say you're like a...Copy !req
1022. like a god now.Copy !req
1023. September, 1961.Copy !req
1024. John Kennedy is asking
what it's like to be a superhero.Copy !req
1025. So, what's it like
to be a superhero?Copy !req
1026. You should know.Copy !req
1027. I tell him he should know.Copy !req
1028. He nods, laughing.Copy !req
1029. I don't think
there is a god, Janey.Copy !req
1030. If there is, I'm not him.Copy !req
1031. November, 1963.Copy !req
1032. In Dallas, his head snaps forward
and then back. Two shots.Copy !req
1033. I can't believe this.
So you knew he'd get shot?Copy !req
1034. Then why didn't you
do something?Copy !req
1035. I cannot prevent the future.Copy !req
1036. To me, it is already happening.Copy !req
1037. I'm still the same person.Copy !req
1038. Nothing's changed.Copy !req
1039. It is 1966.Copy !req
1040. A young woman sits to my right.Copy !req
1041. She looks at me and smiles.Copy !req
1042. Stop staring at that girl!
Pay attention!Copy !req
1043. I'll always want you.Copy !req
1044. As I lie, I hear
her sobbing in 1966.Copy !req
1045. It is May, 1966.Copy !req
1046. My name's Laurie.Copy !req
1047. Do you have another name,
apart from Dr. Manhattan.Copy !req
1048. You pig.Copy !req
1049. My name's Jon.Copy !req
1050. I knew
you were seeing her!Copy !req
1051. It's nice of you to come out
on patrol with me.Copy !req
1052. Your um, girlfriend
won't mind, will she?Copy !req
1053. As I lie...Copy !req
1054. - I hate you.
- ... I see her walking out on me in 1985.Copy !req
1055. She is beautiful.Copy !req
1056. After each kiss, she plants a smaller,
gentler one on my face,Copy !req
1057. like a signature.Copy !req
1058. I pull her closer,
never wanting to lose her.Copy !req
1059. Knowing that I shall.Copy !req
1060. I am tired of their world...Copy !req
1061. of these people.Copy !req
1062. Alone!Copy !req
1063. I am tired of being caught
in the tangle of their lives.Copy !req
1064. In Arizona,
I am taking the photo...Copy !req
1065. and I am gone.Copy !req
1066. Gone to Mars.Copy !req
1067. And I have decided
to create something.Copy !req
1068. A world grows up around me.Copy !req
1069. Am I shaping it,Copy !req
1070. or do its predetermined
contours guide my hand?Copy !req
1071. The world changed
because of me.Copy !req
1072. But what if I hadn't left
the watch in the test chamber?Copy !req
1073. What if I had not gone back?Copy !req
1074. Or waited, just a moment?Copy !req
1075. Am I to blame, then?Copy !req
1076. Or Janey?Copy !req
1077. Or my father?Copy !req
1078. Which of us is responsible?Copy !req
1079. Who makes the world?Copy !req
1080. Perhaps the world is not made.Copy !req
1081. Perhaps nothing is made.Copy !req
1082. Perhaps it simply is,Copy !req
1083. has been,
and will always be there.Copy !req
1084. A clock without a craftsman.Copy !req
1085. I am standing on a balcony,Copy !req
1086. as I once stood
on a fire escape,Copy !req
1087. trying to catch the falling
cogs and wheels.Copy !req
1088. But it is too late.Copy !req
1089. Always has been.Copy !req
1090. Always will be.Copy !req
1091. Above the
Nodous Gordii mountains,Copy !req
1092. like jewels
in a maker-less mechanism,Copy !req
1093. the first meteorites
begin to fall.Copy !req
1094. Oh, God,
not again.Copy !req
1095. What do you want from me?Copy !req
1096. Nothing.
Old and alone.Copy !req
1097. Thought you might
appreciate company.Copy !req
1098. Can I come out, then?Copy !req
1099. No.Copy !req
1100. Deep breath.Copy !req
1101. You said Comedian visited here.
Mentioned a list.Copy !req
1102. You and Janey Slater
were on it.Copy !req
1103. Talked about someone
messing with Dr. Manhattan.Copy !req
1104. Days later, Manhattan publicly disgraced.Copy !req
1105. Forced into exile.Copy !req
1106. Allegations he'd
given people cancer.Copy !req
1107. Janey Slater. You.Copy !req
1108. Tough break.Copy !req
1109. I think Blake's list
was cancer list.Copy !req
1110. Somebody wrote it.
Somebody put your name on it.Copy !req
1111. Somebody gave it to the media.Copy !req
1112. Comedian and Dr. Manhattan were
always your biggest enemies.Copy !req
1113. Now they're both gone.Copy !req
1114. Very convenient.
Who is it, Moloch?Copy !req
1115. - Who's behind this?
- I don't know!Copy !req
1116. - Not convincing.
- I don't know!Copy !req
1117. I don't know!Copy !req
1118. I swear to God,
I don't know who it was!Copy !req
1119. Hmm. Better.Copy !req
1120. If anything should
refresh memory,Copy !req
1121. contact me by leaving note,Copy !req
1122. trash can opposite Gunga Diner,
at 40th and 7th.Copy !req
1123. Rorschach's journal.
October 21st, 1985.2:35 AM.Copy !req
1124. Jacobi visit useless.
Knows nothing.Copy !req
1125. Has simply been used.
But by who?Copy !req
1126. Russians?Copy !req
1127. Comedian mentioned an island,Copy !req
1128. artists and writers
living on it.Copy !req
1129. Doesn't fit.Copy !req
1130. Waiting for a flash
of enlightenmentCopy !req
1131. in all this blood and thunder.Copy !req
1132. Everything I loved,Copy !req
1133. everything I lived for,Copy !req
1134. depended on my reaching Davidstown
in advance of that terrible freighter.Copy !req
1135. It was then I conceived
of building a raft.Copy !req
1136. But the island's trees did not look buoyant
enough to reach Davidstown,Copy !req
1137. not unaided.Copy !req
1138. Suddenly, I found myself
considering a repulsive notion...Copy !req
1139. Birthed from the gas-bloated
stomachs of the buried men.Copy !req
1140. I shuddered
at my loathsome scheme.Copy !req
1141. But I had no choice.Copy !req
1142. I pulled men up
from underground,Copy !req
1143. sand trickling
from their sockets.Copy !req
1144. I tore their clothes to ribbons
to bind them together.Copy !req
1145. I fixed their bodies
to the bottom of the raft.Copy !req
1146. As the ebb tide rose,Copy !req
1147. I embarked, heading east.Copy !req
1148. East, across the night seas.Copy !req
1149. Borne on the naked backs
of murdered men.Copy !req
1150. Lent speed by my hunger,Copy !req
1151. I ripped a seagull
from the air.Copy !req
1152. I had not eaten
since the shipwreck.Copy !req
1153. Chewing on raw meat,
I drifted on toward Davidstown.Copy !req
1154. My home was there.Copy !req
1155. And nothing would
take it from me.Copy !req
1156. So...
the government saidCopy !req
1157. I can't live on the base
now that Jon's gone.Copy !req
1158. And they canceled
my credit cards.Copy !req
1159. Now all I have left
is my savings.Copy !req
1160. What... Where...
where will you stay?Copy !req
1161. Did you call your mother?Copy !req
1162. I'd rather sleep
on a street grate.Copy !req
1163. It just burns my ass
to be so damn...Copy !req
1164. disposable.Copy !req
1165. - Well, I um...
- Anyway,Copy !req
1166. I appreciate you
buying me lunch, Dan.Copy !req
1167. Don't worry about me,Copy !req
1168. I'll find someplace cheap
to stay.Copy !req
1169. - Laurie!
- Yeah?Copy !req
1170. You could, uh, always
stay at my place.Copy !req
1171. There's plenty of room.Copy !req
1172. Oh, I-I don't want to impose.Copy !req
1173. Hey... you're not.Copy !req
1174. Truly.Copy !req
1175. I mean, we're both friends.Copy !req
1176. We're both in
the same line of work.Copy !req
1177. And we're both, uh...Copy !req
1178. We're both leftovers.Copy !req
1179. Yeah.Copy !req
1180. I'd swallowed
too much bird flesh,Copy !req
1181. too much horror.Copy !req
1182. I grew faint
and dozed fitfully.Copy !req
1183. The Black Freighter's hideous banner
flapped dismally in my dreams.Copy !req
1184. Its death's-head banner
flies above us all.Copy !req
1185. And the heads nailed
to the ship's black prow are our heads.Copy !req
1186. Truly, whoever we are,
wherever we reside,Copy !req
1187. we exist on the whim
of murderers.Copy !req
1188. Your four o'clock
is here, Mr. Veidt.Copy !req
1189. Beneath my raft,
something moved.Copy !req
1190. It's the meeting
with the toy company, isn't it?Copy !req
1191. Yes. They want some new characters
in their Ozymandias line.Copy !req
1192. They said maybe
some of your major villains.Copy !req
1193. The major villains
are all dead.Copy !req
1194. Irrationally, my first thought
was of the corpses,Copy !req
1195. bursting their bonds,Copy !req
1196. attempting to clamber up
into the air and dryness.Copy !req
1197. Did you see the news?Copy !req
1198. Some guy went crazy
and killed his kidCopy !req
1199. because he was afraid
there's gonna be a nuclear war.Copy !req
1200. I'm sorry,
but that's just dumb.Copy !req
1201. Nobody's so crazy
that they'll start a war.Copy !req
1202. I don't understand why
everyone's so down and scared.Copy !req
1203. Well, perhaps they lack
your youth and enthusiasm.Copy !req
1204. Well, I have to be upbeat
to work in this place.Copy !req
1205. All this Egyptian decor
is very morbid.Copy !req
1206. In the darkening water
I heard a splash.Copy !req
1207. Very obsessed
with death.Copy !req
1208. Shadowy forms approached.Copy !req
1209. Were they boats
come to rescue me?Copy !req
1210. Actually death wasn't morbid
to the ancient Egyptians.Copy !req
1211. They saw death
as an inevitable stepCopy !req
1212. in beginning a voyage
of spiritual discovery.Copy !req
1213. I find that very comforting.Copy !req
1214. No, not boats.Copy !req
1215. Fins.Copy !req
1216. Well, I think it's...
Oh, God, he's got a gun!Copy !req
1217. Teeth shredded my raft.Copy !req
1218. Tiny, prehistoric eyes
glistened with rage.Copy !req
1219. It became tangled in my ropes.Copy !req
1220. Terrified, I took up
a splinter of mast.Copy !req
1221. The shark's stained marble eye
looked up at me...Copy !req
1222. And in that instant...Copy !req
1223. We knew each other!Copy !req
1224. What have you got
in your mouth? No!Copy !req
1225. Don't bite down.
Don't bite down, you scum!Copy !req
1226. The leviathan
attempted to swim away...Copy !req
1227. Dragging my raft
in its bloody wake.Copy !req
1228. I want to know
who's behind this!Copy !req
1229. I hung on desperately,Copy !req
1230. cursing in the bitter
stinging spray.Copy !req
1231. Damn... cyanide capsule.Copy !req
1232. Eventually the shark died.Copy !req
1233. And shortly thereafter,
stopped swimming.Copy !req
1234. Good evening, Jacobi.Copy !req
1235. Was wondering why
you wanted to see me.Copy !req
1236. Then someone tried to shoot
the world's smartest man.Copy !req
1237. Comedian, Dr. Manhattan,
Ozymandias...Copy !req
1238. someone's killing
masks, Jacobi.Copy !req
1239. Someone wants us dead.Copy !req
1240. Maybe you can enlighten me.Copy !req
1241. Hmm...Copy !req
1242. Rorschach!Copy !req
1243. - No.
- This is the police!Copy !req
1244. No, no, no, no!Copy !req
1245. We know you're in there,
it's all over!Copy !req
1246. If there's anyone
in there with you,Copy !req
1247. - send them out unharmed!
- Framed. Set-up.Copy !req
1248. Walked right into it.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.Copy !req
1249. Then come out and surrender
with your hands clearly visible.Copy !req
1250. Never. Never surrender.
Need weapons.Copy !req
1251. You have 30 seconds!Copy !req
1252. There's no escape Rorschach.Copy !req
1253. - It's the end of the line.
- Yes.Copy !req
1254. Time's up!Copy !req
1255. Ready when you are.Copy !req
1256. Get up, get up!Copy !req
1257. - No pain, no...
- Get him! Don't let him get away!Copy !req
1258. - It was a setup.
- Cuff him!Copy !req
1259. Somebody framed me, somebody...Copy !req
1260. No! No! No! My face!Copy !req
1261. Give me back my face!Copy !req
1262. Give me back my face!Copy !req
1263. Give me back my face!Copy !req
1264. After eating their fill,
the sharks departed.Copy !req
1265. For the moment, I was safe.Copy !req
1266. That night, eating shark,Copy !req
1267. I would have chuckled
at the inversions of natural rolesCopy !req
1268. had not my parched laughter
seemed so hateful.Copy !req
1269. My raft grew
increasingly grotesque,Copy !req
1270. reflecting my own
gradual transformation.Copy !req
1271. With such thoughts
to comfort me,Copy !req
1272. I drifted on,
mast-less into the dawn.Copy !req
1273. Hey kids, tune in
for the animated adventures of Ozymandias.Copy !req
1274. This Saturday morning
sponsored by Meltdown!Copy !req
1275. In the May
of this year, 1962,Copy !req
1276. that's exactly what
I opted to do.Copy !req
1277. I retired.Copy !req
1278. To mend cars.Copy !req
1279. Probably for the rest
of my life.Copy !req
1280. As I see it,
part of the art of being a heroCopy !req
1281. is knowing when you don't
need to be one anymore,Copy !req
1282. realizing that the game
has changed,Copy !req
1283. and that the stakes
are different,Copy !req
1284. and that there isn't
necessarily a place for youCopy !req
1285. in this strange new pantheon
of extraordinary people.Copy !req
1286. The world has moved on,Copy !req
1287. and I'm content to watch it
from my armchairCopy !req
1288. with a beer by my sideCopy !req
1289. and the smell of fresh oil
still on my fingers.Copy !req
1290. Part of my contentment
comes from knowingCopy !req
1291. that there have maybe been
some overall consequenceCopy !req
1292. of my 23 years behind the mask.Copy !req
1293. This knowledge came to me
in the shape of a letterCopy !req
1294. from a young man whose name
I'm not at liberty to reveal.Copy !req
1295. He told me of his great admiration
for my efforts as Nite OwlCopy !req
1296. and proposed that,Copy !req
1297. since I'd retired and would
no longer be using the name,Copy !req
1298. perhaps he could borrow it,Copy !req
1299. since he intended
to follow my exampleCopy !req
1300. and become a crime-fighter.Copy !req
1301. I've visited his home
since thenCopy !req
1302. and seen some
of the fabulous technologyCopy !req
1303. he intends to bring to bear
on the war against crime.Copy !req
1304. I was certainly
far too impressedCopy !req
1305. to refuse him the use
of what I'd always thoughtCopy !req
1306. was a dumb name to begin with.Copy !req
1307. So by the time this sees print,Copy !req
1308. there may well be
a new Nite OwlCopy !req
1309. patrolling the streets
of New York.Copy !req
1310. Also, Sally Jupiter tells meCopy !req
1311. that as soon as
little Laurie's old enoughCopy !req
1312. she wants to be a superheroine
just like her mom.Copy !req
1313. So who knows? It seems as if,Copy !req
1314. from being a novelty
nine-day wonder,Copy !req
1315. the superhero has become
a part of American life.Copy !req
1316. It's here to stay.Copy !req
1317. For better, or for worse.Copy !req
1318. Oh, how the ghost
of you clings... Nostalgia...Copy !req
1319. We argued.Copy !req
1320. And I said, Jon,Copy !req
1321. you know how every
damn thing in this worldCopy !req
1322. fits together except people.Copy !req
1323. It's okay, Ms. Slater.Copy !req
1324. We can stop here
if you need to.Copy !req
1325. No. No, I want the world
to know all the details.Copy !req
1326. I'm glad you contacted me.Copy !req
1327. It's a relief to finally
tell the truth about him.Copy !req
1328. Well, after helping Nova Express
with our investigations,Copy !req
1329. and sharing your story
with the world,Copy !req
1330. how do you feel?Copy !req
1331. Heh, bitter as hell.Copy !req
1332. Oh, and I don't need
anyone's sympathy.Copy !req
1333. That won't cure my cancer.Copy !req
1334. After learning
of your condition,Copy !req
1335. and the others, Dr. Osterman
teleported to Mars,Copy !req
1336. sending shockwaves
across the globe.Copy !req
1337. Any comment about that?Copy !req
1338. It figures.Copy !req
1339. He dumped me
for some 16-year-oldCopy !req
1340. who ran around
in her underwear.Copy !req
1341. Now everyone's shocked
that he dumped Earth for Mars?Copy !req
1342. Ah, they're all just worriedCopy !req
1343. because he's not here to stop us
from nuking each other.Copy !req
1344. Worried they're all going to die
in a radioactive wasteland.Copy !req
1345. Well, Mr. Roth,
here's your comment...Copy !req
1346. welcome to my world.Copy !req
1347. So, seen the news lately?Copy !req
1348. Can't miss the headlines
about this war they say is coming.Copy !req
1349. There was a smaller story
yesterday...Copy !req
1350. about a tenement fire?Copy !req
1351. If I can figure out
who made the rescue,Copy !req
1352. so can the police.Copy !req
1353. You're not taking Rorschach's
maskkiller nonsense seriously?Copy !req
1354. We worked together.Copy !req
1355. Rorschach was always
a brilliant investigator and tactician,Copy !req
1356. so I wonder if he found
any evidence that links all these events.Copy !req
1357. The four of us, taken down.Copy !req
1358. War looming on the horizon.Copy !req
1359. I'm terrified it's all
connectedCopy !req
1360. and the worst is yet to come,Copy !req
1361. and I can't do anything
to stop it.Copy !req
1362. No!Copy !req
1363. Rorschach again...
They finally caught him.Copy !req
1364. There's a riot at the prison.Copy !req
1365. We got a jail full of guys
out here who hates your guts!Copy !req
1366. What do you got?Copy !req
1367. Your arms.Copy !req
1368. Come and get me.Copy !req
1369. If we don't crack
this case,Copy !req
1370. there may be no going back
for any of us.Copy !req
1371. Everybody's scared.Copy !req
1372. You can feel it.Copy !req
1373. We'll get murdered
in the chaos.Copy !req
1374. Just waitin' for the nukes
to start droppin'.Copy !req
1375. You are going to try
to convince me to save this world.Copy !req
1376. Humanity might be
on the brink of extinction.Copy !req
1377. Doesn't that bother you?Copy !req
1378. This face is all I need.Copy !req
1379. Never compromise.Copy !req
1380. Do it!Copy !req
1381. This all says war.Copy !req
1382. I will invest accordingly.Copy !req