In 1986, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons gave DC Comics the defining comic book of the decade in Watchmen, which introduced icons like Rorschach. A deconstruction of the superhero genre, the dark detective story gave readers some of the greatest lines in the history of the medium. Above all else, one line remains as iconic as it gets and still hasn’t been eclipsed four decades later.
The 1980s gave comic book readers one classic after another, from Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns to the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Both for indie and mainstream publishers, it was a new golden age of creativity and seminal runs, seeing creators like Mike Mignola and Todd McFarlane become icons. Perhaps the most important title of the decade was Watchmen, which gave DC readers a fantastic murder mystery for the ages. The twelve-issue limited series gave fans one iconic moment after another, but one quote has never been eclipsed since the story’s publication.
Watchmen Is One Of The Most Important Comics Of All Time
Ozymandias fights Rorschach in Watchmen #11Image via DC Comics
When Moore and Gibbons made Watchmen, the profound effect it had on the medium was something felt practically overnight. In the words of many critics, creators, and fans alike, it symbolized the moment comics “grew up,” bringing genre deconstruction, mature themes, and a story that felt ripped from a Dashiell Hammett novel.
It was far from the only mature comic made at the time, but the approach it took to superheroes differed vastly from the work of Frank Miller or Dennis O’Neil. Both of those writers honored the characters they wrote, treating them as serious figures within their own world and in pop culture. Moore, on the other hand, delved into the psychology of superheroes, peeling away the Boy Scout personas to explore something more flawed, broken, and nuanced.
Considering the fact that Alan Moore was always more fond of genres like dystopian science fiction, it makes a lot of sense that his approach to superheroes would be so grim. Initially, he’d lobbied DC Comics for the rights to use their newly-acquired Charlton characters to tell the story, which would have involved figures like Peacemaker, Blue Beetle, and Question. When they denied his request, he gave readers an ensemble that was even better in his Watchmen line-up, creating the likes of Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, and Ozymandias.
The series takes place in a world teetering on the brink of nuclear annihilation at the height of the Cold War, with tensions even higher than in the real world. As scientists inch the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight, retired vigilante Rorschach investigates the murder of one of his old teammates, the Comedian. Drawing in his old partner Dan “Nite Owl” Dreiberg, he soon uncovers a conspiracy to kill other caped heroes.
Watchmen serves as a character study and genre deconstruction all in one, exploring the psychology behind people like Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan. One of the more underrated of these is the story of villain Ozymandias, a character who almost feels cursed by his unmatched intelligence. In the end, it’s that intelligence that makes him feel compelled to do the unthinkable in his attempt to save the world.
This Iconic Watchmen Line Is The Ultimate Comic Quote
Watchmen boasts more iconic moments and quotes than almost every other series, with more influence than even some series that ran for decades. Following Rorschach’s investigation into the murder of the Comedian, the story climaxes when he and Nite Owl head to Antarctica to confront Adrian Veidt. Believing him to be responsible for everything, the masked vigilante takes on the World’s Smartest Man in his own lair. However, with superior fighting tactics, it doesn’t take long for Ozymandias to get the upper hand, prompting Nite Owl to demand answers.
After getting a lengthy explanation of Veidt’s plan to use a fake crisis to unite humanity, the heroes demand he tell them how to stop it. In an unparalleled moment of pure brilliance, the villain stands in a moment of victory and states, “‘Do it?’ Dan, I’m not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think I’d explain my master stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting the outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
Upending years of comic book and movie precedent of telling the hero the master plan so they can foil it, Ozymandias secured his place in pop culture history with the twist. The moment goes beyond simple defeat and pushes into the story’s fatalism, reminding everyone that the heroes never had a chance of victory. The closest readers get is seeing Rorschach’s journal delivered to a magazine office’s “crank file,” where its fate is left ambiguous.
Ozymandias isn’t a classic moustache-twirling villain who loves being bad. Despite a strong ego, the ending does leave him rattled by his own actions and the idea that they were his only recourse. He doesn’t consider himself a villain at all, but rather a man who saved humanity from itself by doing what nobody else had the vision or strength to do themselves. What’s all the more chilling is Manhattan’s own acceptance of the plan, understanding that it truly was Veidt’s master stroke.
Letting the villain win is often a hallmark of a great story, but nobody did it quite as well as Alan Moore. Ozymandias is a complicated anti-villain, and the moment his plan succeeds marks a great inflection point in the history of comics. Here, readers are forced to reckon with an evil, hideous plan in a world where nuclear war seemed a foregone conclusion, and question what choice they would make.
Ozymandias Sums Up the Tone of Watchmen
The moment when Ozymandias says “I did it thirty-five minutes ago” perfectly encapsulates the story of Watchmen itself. This isn’t a world where eccentric villains proudly explain their plan just in time for the hero to foil it a la Doctor Doom and The Fantastic Four. Events aren’t conveniently timed for good to prevail. Alan Moore’s story is instead a direct mockery of those tropes and takes every archetype within the story to their natural end result.
Rorschach’s uncompromising nature doesn’t make him a hero; it simply gets him killed. Doctor Manhattan has become so detached from humanity that he can’t help but understand the villain’s utilitarian goals. Ozymandias’ genius is actually done justice in a way the villain’s intellect rarely is in that he doesn’t explain his plan until absolutely confident of success.
Ozymandias’ line is a reference to the classic TV serials that were common in the golden age, entertaining viewers with recurring adventures of heroes like Captain Midnight and Zorro. These played out like live-action comic book stories, with a clean-cut hero foiling the machinations of simplistic villains. Veidt doesn’t see himself that way, instead conceptualizing his actions more in the vein of a superhero who did what needed to be done. All the same, he’s self-aware enough to understand Dreiberg and Rorschach’s point of view.
Moore’s story gives superhero fans a fatalist murder mystery that ends in the defeat of traditional comic book heroism, concluding with compromise and secrecy. His ending had just enough ambiguity that readers could interpret the aftermath of Veidt’s plan any way they wished, Rorschach’s journal either being published in obscurity, lost, or blowing the lid off the conspiracy. Readers had to wait over thirty years to get an answer in Doomsday Clock, a story created not by Moore but by Geoff Johns. For some fans, Moore’s vision for the story is the only one that counts.
Watchmen’s Legacy Can Still Be Felt Today
As the most influential series created since the Marvel boom of the 1960s, Watchmen has stood the test of time like few other comics. Today, the idea of “writing superheroes as if they were real” is sure to elicit comparisons to Moore and Gibbons’ story, which perfected the deconstruction technique on day one. Countless readers point to Rorschach as their favorite superhero of all time, not to mention viewing Ozymandias as the best super villain created since Doctor Doom.
Most comic book creators write their best stories hoping they’ll maintain a fraction of the significance of the ’86 comic, and exceedingly few succeed in that endeavor. It wasn’t just the comic that marked an explosion in new readers and mainstream relevance. Watchmen remains one of the deepest stories ever written for the medium. Forty years later, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen is a masterpiece, and Ozymandias’ victory speech is a work of unrivaled brilliance.