Beyond Watchmen

The original Watchmen graphic novel is untouchable. It's dense, it's complex, it's f-ing Shakespeare. But now that I caught up with the HBO show from last year, I decided to revisit some of the spin-offs and adaptations of the original novel. I'm not counting the recent DC comic Doomsday Clock run because I don't keep up with new comics, and apparently it's a bit of a mess. So here we go...

Watchmen (2009)

Zack Snyder's faithful adaptation is epic in scale and visually brilliant. The first 30 minutes of this film are almost a shot for shot representation of the comic. The costumes are fantastic, and what Snyder lacks in subtlety and dialogue, he makes up with well-choreographed action scenes and an absolute killer opening montage. Honestly, if you don't watch the movie, check out the opening montage on youtube. The movie is well cast with Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach as a stand-out, but the dialogue and writing could be smoother. If anything, it's too faithful to the comic, and not all the dialogue from the comic translates well into live action. They also could have cut out parts of the story to lower the run time. The biggest change is the ending, which I didn't mind, but I know hard-core fans saw it as unforgivable. Overall it was an ambitious endeavor and is definitely worth a watch.

Before Watchmen (2012-2014)

I was pretty excited to get some backstory on my favorite characters from the original novel. However, I read the comedian's story first and I was quickly confused and disappointed. The rest of the novels sat on my shelf for a few years until I got around to them. Luckily the rest of the stories were definitely an improvement and I liked the differing art styles from the variety of artists.

1. Nite Owl: A solid origin story not just for Nite Owl, but Rorschach plays a major role as well. Complete with an unconventional romance and exciting action, this one was probably my favorite.
2. Minutemen: The backstory on the golden age heroes, the Minutemen. This story is told from Hollis Mason's perspective (the original Nite Owl) and has terrific cartoony artwork that matches the setting of story.
3. Moloch the Mystic: A quick, 1-shot that gives us some background on this foe.
4. Silk Spectre: Not phenomenal, but a good continuation of the minutemen story arc.
5. Rorschach: The story is a little disappointing (because Rorschach's my favorite character) but the art style captures the violent and uncompromising nature of the character.
6. Dr. Manhattan: This contains some interesting story-telling elements for the medium, but ultimately feels a little pointless.
7. The Comedian: Confusing, meandering and kind of boring, this was an unsatisfactory story for a fantastic character.

*Not Read: Crimson Corsair and Ozymandias

Watchmen HBO Series (2019)

The most frustrating thing for me about all of these supplemental Watchmen stories is that none of them are connected! None of timelines from any of the other adaptations match up and it's a shame that couldn't use any of the cast from the 2009 movie in this series. But taking the series on it's own, it's stupendous. I watched the first 2 episodes when they first came out and I was full of questions without any answers. Honestly the first half of the series is borderline nonsensical even for those familiar with the source material. I dropped off of it and didn't come back to it until a few months later. It's not until episode 6 or so when everything starts connecting and it comes together in a big way. Even though one of the twists was spoiled for me, it was still highly enjoyable. It captures the storytelling complexity of novel, weaving in and out of several storylines spanning decades. It's definitely worth your time and stick with it for the pay-off.