HBO's 'Watchmen' uses Alan Moore's book as a canon to explore plotlines set in the future of the same universe
The creator of HBO's upcoming 'Watchmen', Damon Lindelof, has said the show is set in the same universe as the comic book of the same name written by Alan Moore. However, ever since the network announced the show, Lindelof has repeatedly expressed to fans that he will not be recreating the comics or revisit it. According to him, the show is inspired by one of his favorite comics and explores a world in the future of 'Watchmen' universe. This prompted many to call 'Watchmen' a sequel since the show is set in the future. Lindelof doesn't agree with this label either.
In a recent interview with EW, speaking about where 'Watchmen' falls in the spectrum between sequel and reboot, he said it was neither. He explained, "Look, [the new series] certainly fits into the “sequel” box, and definitely doesn’t fit into the “reboot” box. We treat the original 12 issues as canon. They all happened. We haven’t done any revisionist history, but we can maneuver in between the cracks and crevices and find new stories there. But for all the reasons you just articulated, we wanted to make sure our first episode felt like the beginning of a new story rather than a continuation of an old story. That’s what I think a sequel is — the continuation of an old story."
So now, here we are drawing parallels between the comics and the show. Firstly, the main characters of the comics do not appear in the show except for the character of Dr Manhattan, the most powerful being in the world of Watchmen with 'God-like' powers and Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias who used Dr Manhattan energy signature to manipulate the world into coming together to end the Cold War between the US and the USSR. This was after Dr Manhattan helped the US win the war against Vietnam and triggered the beginning of an alternative American history. So Richard Nixon was never impeached and, he, in fact, came back into power and passed the bill banning superheroes. He also repealed the 22nd Amendment, a bill that restricted Presidents from being in power for more than two terms. This brings us to the present where Robert Redford (Robert Redford) has been the president for 28 years.
The show picks up 30 years after the incidents that occurred in the comic. During this time, Robert Redford comes into power. In this time, cellphones and internet are outlawed in this world, where police also wear masks to safeguard their identities after Rorschach's followers The Seventh Cavalry attacks their fellow officers. The cops are also restricted from using their guns and can only fire at a target after a dispatcher unlocks their weapon for them. In this world, Regina King's character Angela Abar who is a Tulsa police detective dons the mask to become a superhero - Sister Night. Why she picks up the mask as a cop and what influenced her to go against the government that she serves will be part of what the show explores in the nine-episodes of the first season.
As Sister Night, Angela investigates the reemergence of a white supremacist terrorist group, The Seventh Cavalry, who are followers of the deceased watchman Rorschach. This is a follow-up to a tease in the comic, where we saw Rorschach's journal ends up in a news organisation's PO Box after his death. Rorschach and Nite Owl try to go against Ozymandias' plan of using Dr Manhattan's energy power. However, they are unsuccessful and this journal holds the truth about what Ozymandias did in order to restore peace in the world. While Rorschach, an absolutist, decided that people needed to know the truth regarding what occurred, his fellow watchmen supported Ozymandias and seeing as the goal was world peace, Dr Manhattan agreed with Ozymandias' way and to keep the balance intact, he atomizes Rorschach. So, the presence of a journal is an indication of a possible follower group that will take Rorschach's goal forward.
Just as the creator had confessed, from what we know of the show so far and what has occurred in the comics, HBO's 'Watchmen' will use Alan Moore's work more as a cannon and provide an addition plotline for fans who loved the original work without touching the core of the comics.
The show is slated to premiere on HBO on October 20.