Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic

A murder takes place in New York City. "The Comedian," a former costumed crime fighter, was thrown out the window of a skyscraper. This event triggers an investigation that rounds up many of The Comedian's former superhero allies, who are now banned from carrying out any acts of "justice." Chapter 1 is the first in a 12-chapter saga that examines the nature of modern vigilantism, crime and the decay of many norms in society. Watchmen is considered an instant classic, and a standard-bearer in the world of comics and graphics novels.

Against the backdrop of The Comedian's funeral, Silk Spectre recalls her horrific assault at the hands of the Comedian, while Nite Owl and Doctor Manhattan recall their own experiences that reveal him to have been a larger-than-life enigma: a hero and a villain in one costume.

As the world braces for what could be a doomsday scenario between the United States and Russia, Laurie leaves Dr. Manhattan and goes to Dan for consoling. Meanwhile, the national media puts Dr. Manhattan under scrutiny, linking him to a rash of cancer deaths, and forcing him to escape to the planet Mars.

During his self-exile on Mars, Dr. Manhattan recalls his youth as Jon Osterman, son of a Brooklyn watchmaker who becomes a nuclear researcher at Princeton University in the late 1950s. But a terrible accident in the atomic labs turns Osterman into a radioactive super creature, causing him to sacrifice some of his human relationships, including his first love. He soon joins the vigilante group, The Minutemen, created to combat forces at work in the Cold War, and adopts the name, Dr. Manhattan.

Rorschach continues his investigation into the murder of The Comedian, paying a visit to a now-aging Moloch, once The Comedians most bitter enemy. Meanwhile, police investigators trace clues of their own as another former costumed hero, Ozymandias, is attacked and almost killed. Rorschach is further convinced someone is out to kill them all. As he tries to prove his point, he is caught by the police during a stake out and has his face revealed for the first time.

As the world seems to be plummeting closer to World War III, Rorchachs brutal backstory is unveiled as he undergoes psycho therapy while incarcerated at the New York State Psychiatric Hospital.