Heroes in Watchmen by Alan Moore

Watchmen is written in a form of series with main characters mainly in “radically opposing ways. The aim of portraying characters in opposing ways was to provide readers with the opportunity to determine the morally comprehensible character. In most stories, characters are heroes, anti-heroes and vigilante or villain. A hero is an individual admired for his/her achievements as well as noble qualities like courage in all activities (Merriam-webster. com 1). Ozymandias is a hero because of his role in fighting crime as portrayed in the book. He was a courageous person who tried to end injustice through demolishing of crime syndicates and focusing specifically on organized crime. In the book, it is clear that Ozymandias had the courage to do what was within his reach to end injustices to human beings.

For example in 1958, he managed to burst a major opium and heroin trafficking racket. This made him gain a reputation among the criminals who were terrorizing people as the "the smartest man on the planet” (Moore and Gibbons). Hooded justice was unknown to the people because he was masked (Moore). He was a vigilante because of beating criminals. Ozymandias learned that there was a government operative who tried to reveal the identity of the Hooded Justice but reported failure. The government operative in this case was Blake. After the investigation, Ozymandias suspected Blake had killed the Hooded Justice because vigilante was not allowed anymore. He witnessed innocent people being murdered but he did not give up. This cements him as a true hero because of his readiness to die for the sake of humanity.

Doctor Manhattan Doctor Manhattan was a hero because he was a human being with powers which included the God’s abilities since he was able to create and manipulate matter at his own will, teleporting anyone else and himself anywhere in the galaxy. He also created independent clones of himself where he lived in the present, past and future (Moore and Gibbons). After the terrible accident that resulted in the breaking of his molecular structure, he was able to reconstruct himself over time regaining his physical self with the incredible superpowers which resembled the God's abilities. Doctor Manhattan was supernatural and extraordinary as his existence in the novel changed the way the society viewed the world. He predicted and prevented disasters that could possibly and potentially have happened and created anything with his mind.

At some times in the book, he was on Mars where he questioned the world around him as he lived in his death times, the times of his two lovers the first and the second one, his current and present time at Mars and the future that had to come. He also questioned himself if the world was simply always there and if it was made from nothing. The creation of a glass castle from the sands of Mars with his mind symbolized his heroism. Rorschach Rorschach is a character who is presented as a vigilante although his actions are heroic in nature. Out of all characters, he is an objectivist hero. He is a noir private detective and wears a mask which has frequently shifting ink blots. Despite his outlaw status in the society, he continues to fight crime and even ends up being on the FBI’s top ten most wanted list.

His birth name is Walter joseph Kovacs and his mother was an abusive prostitute who even did not bother to know his father’s last name. Therefore, it was normal to fail in his mission which often results to heroes rethinking of their approach in their activities. Rorschach heroism started right after birth as he defied his harsh upbringing. His mother gladly sacrificed him to get gratification from men. However much the situation he faced and the abuse he underwent, he did not become a delinquent but channeled all his anger to saving others facing the same trouble and hence becoming a hero (Altman 16). It is easy to ridicule him but compared to other characters, he had a great oversight in his activities and did not get swayed by the noises around him.

He does not seek any help from the authorities because the authorities have been riddled with corruption and are not worth to serving the people. Being an objectivist he takes matters in his own hands and believes that there exists good and evil, right and wrong. He believes that murderers are wrong and there is nothing you can do about it. He believes that there is no other fact concerning them despite the reasons driving them to act in such a manner. Therefore, once he comes across them, he deals with them with the harshest methods possible (Moore and Gibbons 21). He even became one of the ten most wanted people in America because of his determination to fight crime. Works Cited Alan, Moore, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. Altman, John. The Watchmen.

cambridge. org. Vigilante Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary.  Dictionary. cambridge. N. p. Web. May 2018. Souza, Renata Pires.