The good news is, more Readers had an opinion on this question than indicated that they lacked enough knowledge to decide who the coolest Watchman is. The bad news is, a plurality of you haven’t read or heard of Watchmen.
I figured, if you know who the Watchmen are, you have formed an opinion about which one is the coolest. I guess I was surprised that the vote was as close as it was but I’m not surprised at all about the winner. Rorschach is as cool a comic book character as has ever been conceived.
I’m not surprised that Ozymandias got no votes. I’m moderately surprised that Silk Spectre and Nite Owl got any, although I found Nite Owl (at least, Nite Owl II) to be the easiest character to identify with. That doesn’t mean he’s the coolest of them, though — just the most human, the most normal.
Interestingly, Alan Moore describes Rorschach as a “right-wing” figure. I don’t see him that way. Yes, he subscribes to an absolutist moral code and he’s 100% vigilante. But I don’t see the nationalism, only the intense desire for people to conform to a high standard of personal decency — and a willingness to be brutal to those who do not. Of course, in the comic, we get a deep look into his psyche and an understanding of how he came to be who he is, in a way deeper than we get to see into any of the other characters. So part of the appeal is that glimpse into his mind.
The coveted role will be filled by an actor named Jackie Earle Haley in the upcoming film. The actor’s challenge will not be portraying him with the mask off — it’ll be using his voice and his body, behind the mask, to be convincing while in costume. Hugo Weaving pulled it off in V For Vendetta, but it couldn’t have been easy.
UPDATE: If you’re still in the dark, the Fish Wrapper will school you.
