Peteypedia: Three reasons why online companion to HBO's 'Watchmen' series is essential reading
The original ‘Watchmen’ comics included a lot more than just the comic itself. Each issue also had several pages worth of dense backmatter that deepened the world of ‘Watchmen’ and provided context to the overall story. Countless theories have sprung from the wealth of information included in the backmatter, making the discussions of an already complex comic even more intricate.
It’s a practice that HBO has brought back with “Peteypedia”, documents collected and written by one Agent Dale Petey and the information contained within these companion pieces show that the world of the ‘Watchmen’ series is every bit as intricate as the original series was.
Agent Dale Petey is a fictional character who has yet to make an appearance anywhere outside of Peteypedia memos. He is a member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, and his reports indicate a solid grasp of events, from a psychological report on the Seventh Kavalry, to accurately predicting their resurgence in reaction to several external events. He seems resigned to the idea that nobody reads his reports, a possible meta nod from the show’s writers to the idea that nobody has time to read extra backmatter for a TV show.
“I would be happy to take on the responsibility of continuing to write lengthy memos no one will ever read,” he writes. He is, of course, mistaken. We’ve read it. We’ve read it all.
There’s a lot to unpack in the extensive, and beautifully written backmatter, but there are three stories that deserve a spotlight: The political climate borne of a President who’s run for seven consecutive terms, the reasons why the Seventh Kavalry is making a resurgence, and the post-Watchmen saga of Laurie Blake.
28 years of leftist presidency
The original comic ended a giant psychic squid, genetically engineered by Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias), being dropped on New York, killing thousands. The event was since referred to as the Dimensional Incursion Event (D.I.E.), and united the world in the way Veidt intended - and in some ways, he didn’t. One of the major changes was that President Nixon was voted out of the White House, and Robert Redford was voted in. President Redford has been the President ever since, for seven consecutive terms. He has been responsible for several controversial decisions, the most notable of which being reparations to victims of racial violence, referred to derogatorily as “Redfordations”. This decision has caused resentment amongst white supremacists such as the Seventh Kavalry towards the African-American community. A memo from Agent Daley reveals that Robert Redford does not plan to run for an eighth term, meaning tensions are high as the question of who will be America’s next President remains open.
Why Seventh Kavalry resurges now
The Seventh Kavalry is a hate group that Agent Dale Petey has been keeping a close eye on. A group that’s been quiet since the infamous ‘White Night’ in which they massacred nearly an entire police force one Christmas Eve in 2016.
Daley notes their idolization of Rorshach, whose journal exposing Veidt’s conspiracy was largely dismissed as the ravings of a madman. The journal was published by the fictional right-wing newspaper, ‘The New Frontiersman’, from the comics that spoke praises of Rorshach’s violent methods of crime-fighting. Members of the Seventh Kavalry have adopted Rorshach’s mask as their own, and are violently opposed to the political changes that were the result of D.I.E.
Furthermore, they blame Adrian Veidt for Rorshach’s death. In his memo, Dale Petey urges the Anti-Vigilante Task Force not to declare Veidt dead, to keep the Seventh Kavalry pacified. “They want justice for their martyr-messiah; if we appear disinterested in that, we tempt their wrath.”
His recommendation apparently falls on deaf ears, as an article announcing Veidt’s death can be spotted on the show, and read in full on Peteypedia.
Life and times of Laurie Blake
Laurie Blake, the Silk Spectre, happens to be a colleague of Dale Petey himself. Petey makes several side references to her post-Watchmen life in his memos. She continued operating as an illegal superhero for some time while pursuing her relationship with Dan Dreiburg (Nite Owl). She even changed her superhero persona, abandoning the ‘Silk Spectre’ identity for her illegitimate father’s as ‘The Comedienne.’ She was eventually arrested, however, and in the years since has joined the FBI as part of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
Laurie Blake is set to make her first appearance in Episode 3 of ‘Watchmen’ on November 3, 2019.