CHARACTER GUIDE
[Spoiler alert! This section gives away many of the surprises in the
series.]
Costumed types are listed under their aliases.
ALINE (?-1985): Joey's ex, she dies in the "alien attack." #'s 11-12.
ANGER, BENNY (?- ): Talk-show host, he interviews Dr. Manhattan just
before he leaves for Mars. #'s 3, 7, 11.
BERNARD (?-1985): The newsvendor who owns the newsstand in front of
the Institute for Extraspatial Studies. He took on the job after his
wife Rosa died. He was killed during the "alien attack." #'s 3, 5, 6, 8,
11-12.
BERNIE (?-1985): The kid who sat by the newsstand reading the "Tales
of the Black Freighter," because his mother and sister were out. He was
killed during the "alien attack." #'s 3, 5, 11-12.
BIG FIGURE (?-1985): A crimelord who Rorschach put away. He tries to
kill Rorschach in prison and winds up dead himself. #8.
BOURQUIN, JOE (?-1985): Steve Fine's partner. He investigates the
Blake murder, helps arrest Rorschach, and is killed by the creature in New
York. #'s 1, 5, 8, 11, 12.
BUBASTIS (?-1985): Ozymandias's genetically engineered lynx. Killed
when used as bait for Dr. Manhattan. #'s 4, 10-12.
CAPTAIN METROPOLIS (?-1974): Nelson Gardner. Gardner was a former
Marine lieutenant. He became an adventurer in 1939, and proposed the
formation of the Minutemen; he stayed with them until the end. In 1966 he tried
to organize the Crimebusters. In 1974 he was killed in a car crash.
#'s 2, 4, 6, 9, 11.
COMEDIAN, THE (1924-1985): Edward Morgan Blake. Began his career in
1939, cleaning up waterfronts in New York. He joined the Minutemen, and
was expelled in 1940 for attempting to rape Sally Jupiter. He changed
his yellow costume for heavier leather in 1941, and became a war hero in
the Pacific. In 1949 he met Sally Jupiter again, sleeping with her and
becoming Laurie's father. He was one of those at the meeting of the
Crimebusters in 1966. He became a government operative at some
point, working in Vietnam (where he was scarred on VVN Night in 1971), and
remaining active after the Keene Act in 1977. In 1985, he discovered
the island Veidt's creature project was based on, and was killed by
Veidt. #'s 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11.
DERF (?-1985): The knot-topped Katie addict who kills Nite Owl I.
He's presumed killed at the Madison Square Garden Pale Horse concert. #'s
1, 8, 12?
DOCTOR MANHATTAN (1929- ): Jon Osterman. His father was a
watchmaker, and he was going to follow him until his father sent him into physics
following Hiroshima. In 1948 he entered Princeton, and in 1958 he obtained his
Ph.D. In 1959 he went to work at Gila Flats, where he met and fell in love
with Janey Slater. In August 1959, he was caught in an accident in an
intrinsic field remover, causing him to disintegrate. By November, he had
obtained sufficient control over matter to reassemble himself. He worked for
the government, becoming their nuclear war prevention (since he could
destroy incoming missiles with a thought). He was publicly revealed in 1960.
In 1963, he failed to prevent Kennedy's assassination. He was at the
meeting of the Crimebusters in 1966, following which he fell in love with
Laurie Juspeczyk. His father died in 1969. In 1971 he intervened in
Vietnam, leading to victory over the Viet Cong. He and Laurie eventually
moved to Rockefeller military base. In 1985, following allegations he'd given
cancer to people he was associated with, he left Earth and went to
Mars, returning to get Laurie at one point. He returned following the
"alien attack" in New York and went to Antarctica to confront Veidt,
following which he decided to leave Earth altogether. #'s 1-4, 6, 9, 11-12.
DOLLAR BILL (?-1946): Real name unknown (the roleplaying sourcebook
has it as Bill Brady). The best description of him comes from _Under the
Hood_: "...originally a star college athlete from Kansas who was actually
employed as an in-house super-hero by one of the major national banks, when
they realized that the masked man fad made being able to brag about having
a hero of your own to protect your customer's money a very interesting
publicity project...While attempting to stop a raid at one of his
employer's banks, he cloak became entangled in the bank's revolving
door and he was shot dead at point-blank range before he could free it."
#2.
FINE, DETECTIVE STEVE (?-1985): Investigates the Blake murder. Helps
arrest Rorschach, and tries to arrest Dreiberg. He's suspended just
before being killed with his partner Joe Bourquin in New York. #'s 1, 5, 8,
11, 12.
GLASS, MILTON (?-?): Director of Gila Flats, and author of "Dr.
Manhattan: Super-powers and the Superpowers." #4.
GODFREY, HECTOR (?- ): Editor of the _New Frontiersman_. #'s 8,
11-12.
GORDIAN KNOT MAN, THE (?-1985): Milo's brother, he fixes Dan's lock
on several occasions. #'s 3, 11-12.
"HAPPY HARRY" (?- ): Runs a sleazy bar and grill named Happy Harry's.
#'s 1, 10.
HOODED JUSTICE (?-?): Real name unknown; possibly Rolf Muller, circus
strongman. He was the first costumed vigilante, making his debut
October 13, 1938. He joined the Minutemen in 1939, remaining with the group
until its demise ten years later. Until she left the group, Sally Jupiter
posed as his girlfriend, covering his preference for boys. When the
costumed adventurers were investigated by HUAC, he refused to testify and
vanished. It has been speculated that he was killed by the Comedian in the
mid-50's as revenge for stopping his rape of Sally. #2.
JOEY (?-1985): A cab driver for the Promethean. She and her
ex-girlfriend Aline were killed in the "alien attack." #'s 3, 5, 11-12.
LONG, GLORIA (?-1985): Mal's wife, who leaves him. She's killed in
the "alien attack." #'s 6, 11-12.
LONG, DR. MALCOLM (?-1985): Rorschach's prison psychiatrist. He dies
in the "alien attack." #'s 6, 11-12.
MILO (?-1985): Manager of the Promethean, brother of the Gordian Knot
man, dies in "alien attack." #'s 11-12.
MOLOCH (?-1985): Edgar William Jacobi, alias Edgar William Vaughn,
alias William Edgar Bright. A stage magician-turned-crimelord. He fought
most of the costumed adventurers up through the 1970's, which he spent in
jail. At some point during that time, he worked for Dimensional
Developments, where he was given cancer. In 1985 he was killed by Veidt to frame
Rorschach. #'s 2, 4-5.
MOTHMAN (?- ): Byron Lewis. He became a costumed hero in 1939, and
joined the Minutemen, remaining with them until they split up in '49. He
was investigated by HUAC in the early '50's, and had trouble before he
was cleared; this marked the start of his drinking problem, which he
never got over. He eventually wound up in a sanitarium in Maine. #'s 2, 9.
NITE OWL I (1916-1985): Hollis Mason. His father worked at an auto
repair shop. In 1938 he became a police officer. After reading about
Hooded Justice, he decided to become a costumed vigilante. He became Nite
Owl in 1939, and joined the Minutemen, remaining with them until they
disbanded in 1949. He testified before HUAC in the early '50's, and was cleared
quickly because of his police force background. In 1962, he retired from
superheroics to run an auto shop, and write his autobiography, _Under
the Hood._ Dan Dreiberg got permission from him to continue his name,
and they became friends. In 1985 he was murdered by a gang, who confused him
with the second Nite Owl after the Rorschach jailbreak. #'s 1, 4, 8-9.
NITE OWL II (?- ): Daniel Dreiberg. His father was a banker and left
him a good deal of money, but he was interested in "birds and airplanes and
mythology." He got degrees in aeronautics and zoology at Harvard.
In the early '60's, he took on the identity of Nite Owl from Hollis Mason,
who he became friends with. In 1965 he teamed with Rorschach to fight the
Underboss, and in 1966 he was at the meeting of the Crimebusters. He
retired in 1977 at the time of the Keene Act, devoting his time to
writing papers for ornithology journals. In 1985 he was drawn back in after
theComedian's death, working with Silk Spectre (whom he fell in love
with) to break Rorschach from prison, and eventually confronting Veidt with
the truth about his plans. Following that, he took on the identity of
Sam Hollis. #'s 1-12.
NIXON, RICHARD (1913- ): 38th president of the U.S., from 1968 on.
He was the first president to involve Dr. Manhattan in domestic and foreign
affairs, leading to a nation-wide prosperity and victory in Vietnam.
This led to an amendment repealing the 22nd Amendment, allowing him to
serve unlimited terms. His use of Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam led to the
anti-mask movement. #'s 3, 10.
OZYMANDIAS (1939- ): Adrian Veidt. Born to immigrant parents, he was
a genius at an early age. At the age of 17, following in the footsteps
of Alexander the Great, he went to Turkey, following his route
throughout Europe and Asia. In Alexandria, he had a revelation, taking on the
identity of Ozymandias to fight crime. Following the meeting of the
Crimebusters in 1966, he realized that dangers far worse than crime
faced mankind, and he embarked upon a plan to save the world. His
corporation, Veidt, produces virtually everything, from cosmetics to tennis shoes.
He developed the patent for the spark hydrant to fund Dimensional
Developments. His plan eventually led to the plot of the series, the
death of the Comedian and Moloch (among others), the departure of Dr.
Manhattan, and eventual harmony among the superpowers (in theory). #'s 1-2,
4-5, 7, 10-12.
PHANTOM (?-1985?): Nite Owl I's dog. #'s 1, 8.
RORSCHACH (1940-1985): Walter Joseph Kovacs. His mother was a
prostitute, and his father is unknown. He was taken from his mother in 1951
after viciously attacking two bullies, and stayed in a home until 1956,
when he became a garment worker. In 1964, after reading about the death of
Kitty Genovese, he took up the identity of Rorschach, later partnering with
Nite Owl II in 1965. He was at the meeting of the Crimebusters in 1966.
In 1975, he experienced a change of philosophy after investigating the
Roche kidnapping. In 1977, he was the only non-government sponsored
vigilante not to retire after the Keene Act. In 1985, he worked to investigate
the events following the Blake murder, and was framed by Veidt for
murdering Moloch and arrested, being broken out of prison by Nite Owl and Silk
Spectre. Eventually, with Nite Owl, he worked out the truth and
confronting Veidt. He was killed by Dr. Manhattan to prevent his
spreading the truth about the "alien invasion." #'s 1-12.
ROTH, DOUG (?- ): Writer for _Nova Express._ He interviewed
Ozymandias in 1975, and was sent the Dr. Manhattan "cancer list" by Veidt to set up
Dr. Manhattan to leave Earth. #3.
SEYMOUR (?- ): Hector Godfrey's assistant. #'s 8, 11-12.
SHEA, MAX (?-1985): A writer, originally writing comic books such as
"Tales of the Black Freighter," who went to fiction and wrote _Fogdancing_.
He wound up on the island for the alien project, and was killed when the
boat blew up. #'s 8, 10.
SHEXNAYDER, LAURENCE (?-?): Sally Jupiter's agent. He married her in
1947 and divorced her in 1956 after finding out she'd slept with the
Comedian. #9.
SILHOUETTE (?-1946): Ursula Zandt. She became a crimefighter in 1939,
and joined the Minutemen. In 1946 she was expelled from the group when
it was publicly revealed that she was a lesbian; two weeks later she and her
lover were killed by an adversary seeking revenge. #2.
SILK SPECTRE I (1921- ): Sally Jupiter, nee Juspeczyk. She changed
her name to hide her Polish heritage. A former waitress and burlesque
dancer, she became a crimefighter in early 1939 on the advice of her agent,
Laurence Shexnayder. She was a member of the Minutemen; the Comedian
was expelled from the group after attempting to rape her. She left the
team and retired in 1947 to marry Shexnayder. At some point, probably in
1948, _Silk Swingers of Suburbia,_ a bad film about her career, was
released. She slept with the Comedian in 1948 or 1949, and their daughter,
Laurie, was born in 1949. She groomed Laurie to carry on in her footsteps.
At some point she moved to the Nepenthe Gardens retirement village in
California. #'s 2, 8-9, 11-12.
SILK SPECTRE II (1949- ): Laurie Juspeczyk. Her mother was Sally
Jupiter, the original Silk Spectre; her father was the Comedian (although her
mother was married to Laurence Shexnayder until 1956). All her life she was
brought up to be a superhero, and she began in 1966 around the time
of the first meeting of the Crimebusters. Shortly thereafter she fell in
love with Dr. Manhattan and moved in with him. In 1977 she retired
following the Keene Act. In 1985 Dr. Manhattan left Earth, and she moved in
with Dan Dreiberg, eventually falling in love with him. She and Dreiberg
broke Rorschach from prison, following which Dr. Manhattan took her to
Mars, where she realized the truth about her father. They returned to
Earth shortly after the "alien attack," going to Antarctica to confront
Veidt. After that, she took up the identity of Sandra Hollis. #'s 1-9,
11-12.
SLATER, JANEY (?- ): She worked at Gila Flats, where she met and fell
in love with Dr. Manhattan; she left him in 1966 when he fell for Laurie
Juspeczyk. She worked at some point for Dimensional Developments,
where she was given cancer. #'s 3-4.
WEAVER, WALLY (1937-1971): "Dr. Manhattan's buddy," who worked with
him at Gila Flats, later worked at Dimensional Developments, and died of
cancer in 1971. #4.
TIMELINE
1916: Hollis Mason is born.
1929: Jon Osterman is born.
10/13/38: Hooded Justice makes his public debut.
1939: Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, Captain Metropolis, the Comedian,
Silhouette, Dollar Bill, and Mothman all debut. The
Minutemen are formed.
Adrian Veidt is born.
3/21/40: Walter Kovacs is born.
10/?2/40: The Minutemen group photo is taken. The Comedian attempts
to rape Sally Jupiter.
1941: The US enters World War II.
1945: World War II ends.
1946: Silhouette is expelled from the Minutemen, and killed.
1947: Sally Jupiter resigns and marries Laurence Schexnayder.
1948: Jon Osterman enters Princeton.
1949: Laurel Jane Juspeczyk is born.
The Minutemen disband.
1951: Walter Kovacs attacks and partially blinds a bully, and is
taken from his mother and put into the Lillian Charlton home.
1956: Sally and Laurence are divorced.
Sylvia Kovacs is murdered.
Both his parents dead, Veidt decides to follow the
footsteps of Alexander the Great.
1958: Jon receives his Ph.D. in atomic physics from Princeton.
Ozymandias becomes active.
5/12/59: Jon's first day at Gila Flats.
7/59: The photograph of Janey and Jon is taken.
8/59: Jon Osterman is seemingly killed in an accident at Gila
Flats.
9/59: Jon's funeral is held.
11/10/59: "There is a circulatory system walking through the
kitchen..."
11/14/59: "A partially muscled skeleton stands by the perimeter fence
and screams for thirty seconds before vanishing..."
11/22/59: Jon first appears fully reassembled.
2/60: The government devises the Dr. Manhattan identity for Jon.
3/60: Dr. Manhattan is announced to the world.
6/60: Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias meet for the first
time at a charity function.
11/60: Dr. Manhattan invades Moloch's "underground vice-den."
9/61: Dr. Manhattan meets President Kennedy.
5/62: Hollis Mason retires.
1962: Dan Dreiberg debuts as the second Nite Owl.
_Under the Hood_ is published.
11/22/63: President Kennedy is assassinated; Dr. Manhattan does not
prevent it.
3/64: Inspired by the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese, Walter
Kovacs becomes Rorschach.
1965: Nite Owl and Rorschach, working together, bring down Big
Figure and the Underboss.
1966: Laurie debuts as Silk Spectre.
The abortive first meeting of the Crimebusters is held.
Janey leaves Dr. Manhattan.
1968: Nite Owl arrests Twilight Lady.
Richard Nixon is elected President for the first time.
1969: Jon's father dies.
1970: Gila Flats closes. Jon and Laurie move to Washington.
1/71: Nixon asks Dr. Manhattan to intervene in Vietnam.
3/71: Dr. Manhattan meets the Comedian in Vietnam.
5/71: The Viet Cong surrender.
6/71: VVN day.
11/71: Wally Weaver dies.
1973: Woodward and Bernstein turn up dead while investigating the
Watergate breakin.
1975: Nixon proposes a constitutional amendment allowing him to
run for more than 2 terms.
Ozymandias retires and announces his identity publicly.
8/3/77: The Keene Act is passed. Silk Spectre and Nite Owl retire.
1981: Laurie and Jon move to Rockefeller.
1985: The Comedian runs across Ozymandias' secret island.
10/85: Blake tells Moloch about the island.
10/12/85: The Comedian is murdered. Rorschach visits Dreiberg.
10/13/85: Rorschach visits Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, and Dr.
Manhattan.
Laurie and Dan go to dinner.
10/16/85: The Comedian's funeral. Rorschach visits Moloch.
10/19/85: Laurie leaves Jon. Dr. Manhattan appears on TV, goes to
Arizona, and leaves Earth. Laurie goes to Dan.
10/20/85: Rorschach visits Dan again. The Soviets invade
Afghanistan.
10/21/85: Rorschach visits Moloch again.
A failed attempt is made to assassinate Veidt.
Laurie moves to Dan's apartment.
Rorschach is framed for Moloch's murder, and apprehended by
the police.
10/25/85: Mal has his first session with Rorschach.
Dan and Laurie rescue several people from a tenement fire.
10/26/85: Mal and Rorschach's second session.
Rorschach attacks another inmate with hot fat, and is put
in solitary confinement.
10/27/85: Mal and Rorschach's third session.
Dan and Laurie plan to spring Rorschach.
10/28/85: Mal and Rorschach's fourth session; Rorschach relates the
story of the Roche kidnapping.
10/30/85: Steve Fine visits Dreiberg.
10/31/85: The prisoner Rorschach attacked dies, and Sing Sing erupts
in a riot. Dan and Laurie bust Rorschach from prison.
Dr. Manhattan takes Laurie to Mars.
11/1/85: Hollis Mason is murdered.
Rorschach and Nite Owl find the courier at Happy Harry's.
The participants in the alien project are killed by a bomb.
11/2/85: Rorschach and Nite Owl break into Veidt's office, and go to
Karnak. Veidt activates the transmission. The "alien"
appears in New York.
Laurie and Jon arrive in Karnak. Bubastis is killed. Dr.
Manhattan kills Rorschach.
12/25/85: Laurie and Dan visit Sally in their new identities.
SUMMARY OF NON-SERIES INFORMATION:
Mayfair Games, former publishers of the DC Heroes role-playing
game, have put out two modules and a sourcebook for the Watchmen universe.
The module "Taking Out the Trash" by Ray Winninger includes a section co-
written by Moore giving a capsule history of the characters and
world, including information not given in the series. The Watchmen
Sourcebook (not written by Moore) expands on this information considerably.
Because this information is a) partially written by Moore and b)
not in disagreement with anything in the series, it can be considered
partially canonical. Noteworthy information about the characters not given in
the series is summarized here. Wherever there is disagreement, the
module will be held as the higher authority (with the comic as the highest
authority, of course). (Unfortunately, its timeline contains several minor
errors. It lists Mason's year of birth as 1906, when it should be 1916.
Laurie was born in 1949, not 1950 (actually, opinions on this vary). It
also gives Hooded Justice as being born in 1905, which is theoretically possible
but difficult to believe. Several of the dates for the events of the series itself are
also wrong.)
CAPTAIN METROPOLIS: As a child, CM was asthmatic, but built himself
up and played football in college. He was unhappy with the way that many of
the Minutemen were more concerned with the social potential of the team
than crimefighting. When WWII was on he was brought back into the USMC.
COMEDIAN: He definitely murdered Hooded Justice, and was able to use
his government connections to prevent any investigation into the
disappearance. He also killed Woodward and Bernstein, and was involved in Kennedy's
assassination.
HOODED JUSTICE: Rolf Muller was indeed a name he used, but it was
only an alias and his true identity was never discovered. He was not a
communist, however, but an anti-Communist, as confirmed by his KKK connections.
He was the last person to agree to join the Minutemen. He spoke
publicly in favor of Hitler in an interview in 1940.
MOTHMAN: Byron was a bored playboy who fought crime to add spice to
his life. He was a conscientious objector during WWII and served as a
medical aide.
SILHOUETTE: Ursula was an Austrian aristocrat who fled to avoid the
Nazis. As a Jew she was greatly bothered by Hooded Justice's pro-Hitler
stance, but Larry managed to sweep the incident under the rug. The villain
who killed her and her lover was named the Liquidator.
SILK SPECTRE I: Sally Jupiter was a teen-aged runaway.
A NOTE ON THE ORIGINS OF THE CHARACTERS: Many of the super-heroes in
this series are based on the original versions of characters published by
Charlton Comics and acquired by DC. They are:
Comedian: Based on Peacemaker. Violent government operative.
Dr. Manhattan: Based on Captain Atom. Government employee gains
godlike molecular powers in nuclear accident.
Nite Owl I & II: Based on the first and third Blue Beetle. Original:
policeman, fights crime in spare time in chainmail costume.
(Published by Fox.) Third: Fights crime using science, has flying vehicle.
Ozymandias: Based on Thunderbolt. Trained in the East, honed his
mind & body to perfection.
Rorschach: Based on the Question. Tough, violent crimefighters with
featureless masks.
Silk Spectre: Based on Nightshade. Female crimefighter, influenced
by her mother, associates with ultra-powerful hero. [The mother-to-daughter
identity transmission and costume/MO may be inspired by DC character
Black Canary.]
It is theoretically possible that the rest of the Minutemen were
based on Golden Age superheroes; but if so, I have been unable to trace any
specific sources. They seem to be more archetypes than specific tributes;
Captain Metropolis is the patriotic hero, Mothman the Batman/Green Arrow-type
bored playboy, Silk Spectre and Silhouette two types of Golden Age heroine.
(Sally as Black Canary, Ursula as the harder-edged Iron Lady type.
Her homosexuality may have been inspired by common rumors/theories about
Wonder Woman.)
The series was originally intended to be about the Charlton
characters, but DC nixed the idea, probably because of the CAPTAIN ATOM and BLUE
BEETLE series that began about the same time. Moore re-worked the
characters slightly into the current versions.
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN THE WORLD OF THE WATCHMEN
This section summarizes the differences between our world and
theirs. I am ignoring certain obvious changes, such as the super-heroes,
major differences in technology, and the different consumer products and
magazines. (Mmeltdowns don't exist in our world, but that's not
really worthy of mention.)
1. HEINZ: In 1892 the founder of the Heinz corporation decided on
the slogan "57 varieties;" in our world. In their world, it's "58
varieties" (1:10:8)
2. VIETNAM: In our world and theirs, US attempts to oust the Viet
Cong led to US troops being sent there. In our world, these
attempts were unsuccessful, and troops were eventually withdrawn. In
their world, Nixon promised in 1968 (to ensure re-election) to send
in Dr. Manhattan, and did so in 1971. He brought about Viet Cong
surrender in just two months. In 1985, Vietnam became the 51st state
(1:4:3).
3. SPACE: In our world, treaties prohibit nuclear weaponry in
space. This is not true in their world, apparently, because the US
Congress approved the building of nuclear silos on the moon (1:14:5;
"Congress Approves Lunar Silos," a Gazette headline). (These
could possibly be grain silos, but that seems unlikely.) This also
indicates much more space travel than in our world.
4. GENETIC ENGINEERING: Besides the obvious (Bubastis) it's
apparently produced four-legged, wingless poultry (1:25:4).
5. SOCIAL ATTITUDES: Whether this is signifcant or not, we see
two men embracing in public in 1:25:4. Also, the accepted term for
homosexual females is "gay women," not "lesbians." This
change came about in the mid-'70s (9:32).
6. WORLD WAR II: In their world, the Nazis had costumed saboteurs
in the US (Screaming Skull and Captain Axis). There is no
evidence that the second nuclear bomb was used on Japan in Nagasaki in
their world, but there's no evidence against it either.
7. COMIC BOOKS: In our world, the most prominent comics were
super-hero comics in the '40s. They diminished after WWII ended, and
crime and horror comics rose to prominence in the '50s, led by EC
Comics; a public outcry led by Dr. Fredric Wertham led to the founding
of the Comics Code Authority, which put the kibosh on most horror
books. Superheroes came to prominence again in the very late '50s and
early '60s, with DC's revitalization of their old characters (Flash,
Green Lantern, etc.) and the rise of Marvel, beginning with the
Fantastic Four in 1961. Superhero comics continue to dominate the
industry.
In their world, ACTION COMICS #1 (with the first appearance of
Superman) helped touch off the masked hero craze. Superhero
comics continued for a while (the Flash existed, possibly as
"Flash-Man") but dwindled in popularity due to the existence of real
"superheroes." The '50s led to pirate titles dominating the
market, led by EC. The anti-comic sentiment came to nothing; the
government came down on the side of comics to "protect the image of
certain comic book-inspired agents in their employ." In 1960, DC
premiered TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER by Max Shea and Joe Orlando [who
exists in our world, and has worked with Alan Moore], which
proved to be groundbreaking. Pirate books continue to dominate into
the mid-'80s, until the "alien" comes to New York; horror comics
become more popular after that.
Note that pirate comics have never been popular in our world;
with the exception of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED's adaptation of
_Treasure Island_, I can't think of a single one offhand. (EC
may have published one as part of their "New Direction.")
8. NIXON: In our world, Nixon was Eisenhower's vice president
from 1953-1961, and was defeated in the 1960 presidential election
by John Kennedy. In 1962 he lost in a bid for the governorship
of California. In 1968, he was elected President, and was
re-elected in 1972 with the widest victory margin up to that point. However, a
series of scandals (beginning with the revelation of a break-in to
Democratic campaign headquarters in the Washington, DC
Watergate Hotel on 6/17/72) led to his resignation on 8/9/74.
In their world, Nixon involved Dr. Manhattan in domestic and
foreign affairs, enlisting his aid in winning the Vietnam War and
bringing about economic prosperity. This led to great popularity on
Nixon's part; in 1975 his administration sponsored a repeal of the
22nd amendment that would have limited him to 2 terms in office.
He was re-elected in 1976, 1980, and 1984.
9. MILK: Milk is still available in glass bottles in their world;
it's more commonly found in cardboard cartons or plastic jugs in
ours. (2:20:7).
10. DRUGS: A popular street drug is KT-28, which doesn't exist in
our world (at least as such).
11. THE NEW YORK TIMES/GAZETTE: Between 1945 and 1966, the major
New York newspaper, the _Times_, has changed its name to the
_Gazette_. (There can be no doubt that it's the same paper, though; the
name is in the same typeface, and the first page header layout is
similar. The appearance of a _Times_ in #1 can probably be
regarded as a fluke.)
12. PUBLC TRANSPORTATION: Blimps/dirigibles are not a common form of
transport in our world, but they are in theirs. They've replaced
other forms of mass transportation; nowhere in the series does a
bus appear, and subways are only referred to in the past tense.
Taxis are the only form of public transportation common to both worlds.