America has been home to many amazing stories, but perhaps the greatest of them is Watchmen by Alan Moore. This story takes place in a reimagined version of the Cold War, and follows the tale of various members of the superhuman community as they deal with the loss of one of their own. Despite the retired status of the majority of these individuals, their existence still serves to severely influence the world. Watchmen humanizes these larger than life individuals to demonstrate no matter how powerful an individual is they are still only human.

The opening scene of Watchmen provides the image of a detective leaning out of a window at a minuscule corpse splayed out on the cement below. This panel gives the reader their first view of the superhero known as the Comedian, one of the few government-sanctioned heroes employed by the United States government. This panel is used to humanize the superhuman community by showing that they can die like anyone else. In addition, by depicting this important individual as a small smear on the pavement, Moore highlights his message that no matter how much we place a person on a pedestal, at the end of the day, they are still the same as anyone else. The focus of this panel is not on the superhero in frame, but instead it is on the seemingly unassuming police detective who is investigating the Comedian’s untimely demise. By focusing on this normal individual the graphic novel evinces the idea of superheroes being no more special than anyone else. Instead, they are simply humans who have made the choice to do extraordinary things. 

In Watchmen, there is only one individual who truly stands above all others, and his name is Dr. Manhattan. As the only true super powered individual in the series, and in all reality a veritable deity, Dr. Manhattan offers a unique view into the value of humanity. In this panel, Dr. Manhattan is depicted as a giant, physically towering over even his fellow superhero Rorschach. This size difference is used to evince the godlike power that Dr. Manhattan wields, and how he towers over the people he is charged with protecting. Despite the inconceivable powers at his fingertips, Dr. Manhattan’s only real goal throughout the series is to cling onto what remains of his humanity. In the panel in which we are first introduced to Dr. Manhattan, the artist’s use of color is used to blend both him and his fellow superhero Rorschach into the background. By pushing these two larger than life individuals to the back of the scene, the artist draws the attention of the reader towards the vibrantly depicted Laurie, Dr. Manhattan’s wife. By focusing on Laurie, the artist highlights her importance as Dr. Manhattan’s last significant tie to the rest of humanity. Without Laurie, Dr. Manhattan is directionless in the face of his own overwhelming power, he needs her in order to retain even a fraction of his humanity. Instead of representing the pinnacle of humanity, as an extraordinary individual often does in modern literature, Dr. Manhattan is used as an almost cautionary tale of lost humanity, because without this humanity, no matter what powers one may wield, they ultimately have nothing.

The next member of the superhuman community introduced to the reader is Ozymandius, the so-called world’s smartest man of the Watchmen universe. Ozymandius is a man who by real world standards has become the epitome of greatness, as an extremely wealthy genius. He goes so far as to claim the only other human he could ever relate to was Alexander the Great. This astounding pride he possesses is highlighted through the artist’s use of the color purple in the panel. The color purple is often associated with royalty, and power, and is used here to demonstrate how Ozymandius has made himself into little less than a king amongst men. This belief evinces the idea that anyone can become a hero. Ozymandius did not succeed in life due to overwhelming powers, but instead through sheer force of will, he built himself into a paragon of success. Just as he succeeded in his goal to save the world, any person is capable of accomplishing monumental things, not through their natural gifts, but through determination and effort. Another key element that illuminates the nature of Ozymandius is the numerous golden figurines that adorn his desk. Each of these effigies depicts Ozymandius in perfect form as the epitome of what a hero should be. This arrogance highlights the folly that comes from placing anyone upon a pedestal. Through sheer force of will, Ozymandius has accomplished incredible things, however, these successes have left him with the belief that he has no true equal. This is a tremendous folly, as it leaves him detached from his humanity, and willing to ignore the consequences of his actions since he believes he is always right. Ultimately Ozymandius is an example of not only the astounding accomplishments that anyone can achieve, but also the risks that come along with achieving greatness.

Ultimately, there is nothing that truly separates an individual from the heroes that they worship. No matter how fancy a mask someone puts on, underneath it they are still only human. By humanizing these larger than life individuals, Watchmen demonstrates that anyone can be a hero, but also that there is a danger that comes from standing above one’s fellow man.
