Does the new Rorschach in the HBO preview confirm a Doomsday Clock inspired plot?

 A preview of HBO’s upcoming series gave a brief sneak peek of Watchmen and revealed a very Rorschach like character, hinting at a possible Doomsday Clock storyline.

During the Golden Globes, HBO released a montage video of all their upcoming shows premiering this year, including Damon Lindelof’s much anticipated TV series based on one of DC’s most famous comic books, Watchmen. Start the countdown to the official trailer because it’s on its way.

Based on the 12-issue graphic novel by Alan Moore, Watchmen is set in a fictionalized world where superheroes are treated like violent criminals, and retired heroes treated like celebrities. Masked heroes, as they’re referred to, are strictly outlawed and anyone engaging in vigilantism will be arrested and tried with breaking the law. It’s not like Captain America: Civil War where the government puts a leash on superheroes for making too many messes; Watchmen is grim without any cheery disposition. The masked heroes are treated no differently than sexual offenders’ police might chase down alleyways.

The comic became one of the most popular graphic novels of all time and inspired a movie directed by Zack Snyder. One character who drastically stood out, particularly in Snyder’s film, was Walter Kovacs/Rorschach. A mentally unstable, borderline sociopathic, vigilante that took saving the world to the level of an extremist.

Compelling, frightening and sympathetic in a strange demented way, Rorschach lives on to be the most favored “Watchmen” character. A favoritism that’s well deserved. Forget Dr. Manhattan and his glowing nakedness or Nite Owl and his puppy dog eyes. Let’s all love Rorschach for killing sadistic pedophiles and driving a compacted prison into a riot in mere minutes; he’s the king.

Honestly, Rorschach was like a homeless, psychotic version of Batman. A guy damaged by past trauma but gifted with an incredible mind and a unique brand of willpower, takes to the streets to inflict his anger on criminals as a type of therapy.

More from HBO

• Hacks season 3 gets exciting release update: Here’s what we know
• Blue Beetle gets disappointing Max release update
• Friends snags No.1 spot on U.S. streaming services – and we’re not surprised
• Will there be a Steven Universe revival? Rebecca Sugar says “if there’s a huge amount of public demand”
• Industry season 3 is not coming until 2024: Here’s what we know about the release

His popularity only increased when non-comic readers saw Jackie Earle Haley’s portrayal in Snyder’s film, bringing him to life-like no other actor could have. In my personal opinion, Haley makes number two on the list of best comic book portrayals, number one being Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Yep, Rorschach is a true fan-favorite, so when HBO announced they were making a Watchmen series, the question of his fate probably weighed heavily on their minds. No doubt some variation of Rorschach would appear in the series, however, given what we know, it doesn’t seem likely that the original Rorschach will be the one dropping by. In fact, all signs point to some kind of copycat taking his place.

The Watchmen TV series is, and isn’t a sequel

Though no one wants to label it as such, HBO’s Watchmen is essentially a byproduct sequel to the original story. It’s been confirmed that the HBO series will not be an adaptation of the original comic but a new story weaved together using the source material. There’s much more to the “Watchmen” universe than the original 12 comics, so there’s no shortage of resources to borrow from.

According to showrunner Lindelof, the series will take place within the same universe where everything that happened in the comics, and movie, is canon. He called it a “remix”, not a sequel or a separate story, but a combination of both.

"“Those original twelve issues are our Old Testament. When the New Testament came along, it did not erase what came before it. Creation. The Garden of Eden. Abraham and Isaac. The Flood. It all happened. And it will be with Watchmen. The Comedian died. Dan and Laurie fell in love. Ozymandias saved the world and Dr. Manhattan left it just after blowing Rorschach to pieces in the bitter cold of Antarctica.”"

The details surrounding the series remains vague but after collecting every available spoiler, it can be assumed that it’s set in a dark, policed future where Adrian Veidt’s plan to save the world has created mass hysteria against anyone with abilities, vigilantes are treated like the mutants from “X-MEN”, and a new set of heroes will take front and center.

There will be several flashbacks referencing the past, including that of the Minutemen, the Comedian’s death and Dr. Manhattan when he was still human. An older Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, played by Jeremy Irons, is currently the only confirmed original character set to appear. No other original character has been announced, not even Rorschach, even though we saw half a second of him in the preview.

The short stature, tense posture, dirty trench coat customized with a scarf, and a familiar white masked covered in black splotches. There was no mistaking who the masked man was supposed to be; only differences were the missing fedora and the eye holes in the mask. It was definitely Rorschach, but that doesn’t mean it was the real Rorschach.

There’s a chance that it was actually Reggie Long, who took up the Rorschach mantle after Walter Kovacs’s death in “Doomsday Clock.”

Doomsday Clock

After the “Watchmen” comic ended, it had a 12-issue sequel titled “Doomsday Clock”, which connected the “Watchmen” story (which formally stood alone) to the mainstream DC Universe. The story, set seven years in the future, showed the world once again on the brink of nuclear war following the publication of Rorschach’s journal, naming Adrian Veidt as the mastermind behind the mass extermination of New York and other major cities.

The series expands the public’s hatred towards metahumans and superheroes, while increasing the world-wide threats looming over society’s head. “Doomsday Clock” focuses primarily on Dr. Manhattan, Superman and Adrian Veidt as he becomes a fugitive.

Though not a direct adaptation, I think it’s a fair assumption that the TV series will borrow a fair amount from “Doomsday Clock”. What better way to show the events following “Watchmen” then include details from the plot that already told as such?

In order to create a wide universe that touches both past and present, Lindelof could be borrowing from several comics, including “Doomsday Clock” and several of the “Before Watchmen” storylines. Set pictures confirm that the Minutemen will make an appearance in an in-series documentary and the pictures show a great deal of The Hooded Justice, one of the more mysterious characters.

In order to get the detailed backstory of The Minutemen, one has to turn to the six-issue prequel comic, “Before Watchmen: Minutemen.”

If Lindelof borrowed from “Before Watchmen”, why wouldn’t he take a little something from “Doomsday Clock” too? It’s a sequel to “Watchmen” after all and set in a darker future like the series appears to be. It also matches up with what might be happening to Veidt in the series. Set photos suggest he’s faked his death and is on the run.

Reggie Long a.k.a Rorschach II

One of the more memorable things that happened in “Doomsday Clock” was the introduction to Rorschach II, Reginald “Reggie” Long, the son of Kovacs’ psychologist. Long found notes on Rorschach made by his father and treated them as Gospel. Through the notes, he adapted the former’s mannerisms and some of his personality traits, then he slipped on the “face” and became the vigilante’s unintended protegee.

Unlike Kovacs, who was far from sane but had a grasp on reality, Long is motivated by emotional turmoil and revenge and is pretty much driven mad because of it. Not nearly as popular as the original, nor as interesting, but Long is complex enough to stand out from the mass and become memorable in his own right.

Rorschach is dead, meaning any sort of plot taking place in the future can’t have him magically reappear just because he’s a fan-favorite and that’s what fan-favorites do. This means he’ll return some other way, and this brings me to Reggie Long. I don’t know if Long will appear in the HBO series, but if Lindelof wanted to bring Rorschach back, using Reggie Long would be the best way to do it.

He could simply be brought back to life, but that wouldn’t seem right. Rorschach was a very human character. For all his hatred of society, he valued humanity or at least his own moral code. His broken mind made him the most relatable, most human, character in the entire series and resurrecting such a person feels dishonorable somehow. I doubt he’s the kind of person who’d be thankful for coming back to life, he’s probably happier dead than he ever was alive.

I also feel the need to mention that while Long wore a fedora like Kovacs, he wore it noticeably less than his predecessor and the Rorschach spotted in the preview was fedora-less. Is this Long? Or did Rorschach just lose his hat?

Looking Glass

There’s there’s a possibility that this new Rorschach is actually Tim Blake Nelson playing a double role. Nelson’s character has only been identified as “Looking Glass”, which is his vigilante name. He has no regular name tied to his character yet, meaning they might be trying to keep it a secret.

Bear with me for a minute. Nelson shares a striking resemblance to Walter Kovacs in the comics and shares many physical similarities with Jackie Earle Haley as well. Even though we don’t have a personal name for him yet, his character description is frightfully similar to that of Rorschach’s.

"“a good-looking cop, the native Oklahoman isn’t simple as his rural accent makes him appear to be. A top interrogator and behavioral scientist, he may also be a bit of a sociopath.”"

Rorschach may not have been from Oklahoma or good-looking, but everything else matches. Detective at heart, strong grasp of human behavior, identifying voice, and a sociopath.

A moment’s glimpse at Nelson as Looking Glass can be seen in the preview, and his mask is not totally unlike Rorschach’s. Both cover the wearer’s face completely and are shaped to fit their heads. In “Doomsday Clock”, Reggie Long was on a mission to assassinate Adrian Veidlt, so maybe disguising himself as two different people is a way to get close to Veidlt or throw him off course.

Even if Nelson isn’t this new Rorschach double dipping in the vigilante pot, I feel that Looking Glass is too similar to Rorschach to not have some kind of connection. Maybe he’s just a fan and was inspired by Kovacs to be a crime fighter. They’re keeping things secret for a reason. There’s going to be more than one twist and they want to make sure we don’t see it coming.

Watchmen premieres sometime this year on HBO.