HBO ’s upcomingWatchmenTV show , developed byLost ’s Damon Lindelof , features a   cult of people who all jade masks base on Rorschach ’s iconic intent - but who are they ?   lay around thirty years after   the case of Alan Moore , Dave Gibbons and Dave Higgins '   graphic novel , Watchmenwill includeAdrian Veidt a.k.a . Ozymandiasand possibly other graphic symbol from the original story as well . However , it will be primarily focused on Modern character reference and a fresh story , even propel the action from New York City to Tulsa , Oklahoma .

Lindelof has insisted that hisWatchmenisn’t incisively a sequel , but has also say that the event of the graphic novel will rest canon . That have in mind that the Rorschach we see in the TV show ca n’t be Walter Kovacs , the original Rorschach , since he was blown to smithereens by Doctor Manhattan after threaten to reveal Ozymandias ' evil outline to the world . However , it appears that the original Rorschach inspired others to use his masquerade for their own cause : a war on the police force .

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Here ’s what we know so far about HBO’sWatchmen , shrouded in mystery story though it is , and what   we roll in the hay so far about the people underneath the Rorschach mask .

The New Rorschachs Emerges In A New Era Of Masks

Whereas masked vigilante were once criminalise in the earth ofWatchmen , thirty years by and by it seems thatmasks have gone mainstream . Prominently featured in theteaser   footageand promotional images for HBO ’s serial are thesepolice officers , all of whom wear yellow masksthat track their face up to just underneath their eyes . When fuse with the brims of their hats , it ’s nearly impossible to make out the identity of the officeholder under the masquerade party . It ’s unclear when exactly the constabulary in Tulsa adopted this raw uniform , or whether police officers all over America get into similar masks . However , the police force appear to be under the command of a occult fibre in a   cowboy hat , who also put on a masquerade party .

Also featured in the footage fromWatchmenare two eccentric who also appear bring with the mankind in the cowboy hat - one in a shiny   silver masque , and one in a thicker , balaclava - like red masque . It ’s possible that these are also police policeman , perhaps detectives who do n’t cleave to the same attire code as the round cops . It ’s also potential that they ’re a unexampled breed of vigilance man . For now , we still have no idea if they are benevolent , malevolent , or something in between .

The Rorschachs Are At War With the Police

HBO ’s Watchmen appear to be about a war between masks : mask police force police officer , and masked vigilante . The Rorschachs are shown climbing out of a van at night and walking into a building carrying guns , keep abreast by shot from a funeral take care by police and , in voiceover , " They came for everybody . All police . " It also seems as though this is a resurgence of the Rorschach gang , since there ’s mention of them go into hibernation and then return .

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It ’s indecipherable who the near guys and bad guys of Watchmen are , and it ’s unlikely to be that simple anyway , but the Rorschach test do appear to be the antagonists . They are shown recite the Word " ticktack tock , tick tock , tick tock " while standing in what looks like a black market - down Christian church in front of word from Psalm 65:1 - " congratulations waiteth for thee , oh God , in Zion . " They ’re also shown entrust act of extreme wildness , at one point put on a motorcar gun , and apparently bringing chaos to Tulsa .

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placed picture have uncover that , after thirty years , the masked hoagie fromWatchmenhave gained a form of legendary status , and are the bailiwick of a TV show calledAmerican Hero Story : Minutemen . With that in psyche , it ’s likely that this cult of Rorschachs was founded by someone who idolized the first Rorschach after watch him in newspaper and documentary film ,   and then recruited others to their grounds . The original Rorschach was a morally grey character , who responded to the repulsion of the Earth by committing horror of his own , but the end ofWatchmenemphasizes that morality is out-and-out , rather than compromising . He is murdered because he refuse to keep the arcanum of what Ozymandias did , even if it stand for that masses will have give-up the ghost for nothing . That kind of moral Caesarism is very conducive to organise a cult , and could be used to rationalise all sorts of violence .

The New Rorschachs Have A Different Kind Of Mask

The original Rorschach ’s masque was pretty unequalled . The fabric consisted of two layers with fluid in between , create opprobrious shapes that shifted according to heat and pressure , create an event exchangeable to the inkblot test developed by Swiss psychoanalyst Henrik Rorschach . The material was earlier design to be used in a woman ’s dress , but Walter Kovacs - who came across it while work for a dressmaker - took the leftover   fabric home and used it to make a face that he could stand to look at in the mirror .

By direct contrast , the mask that we see in the tormenter for HBO’sWatchmenare more like a low - fi imitation of the veridical thing . Not only do they have middle holes , which the original Rorschach ’s never did , but they are   also made quite out of mere white fabric . The opprobrious pattern on the front   has   simply been nebuliser - painted on and does n’t change its shape ( though the dissimilar Rorschachs have different patterns ) . The Rorschach cult also have n’t go so far as to take on the original ’s fedora and oceanic abyss coat look , but are instead wearing regular street dress . This signify that they could potentially launch an blast and then vanish into the crew only by removing their masks - something that fits with the annunciation , " We are everyone . We are no one . And we are invisible . "

associate : All The Masked Vigilantes In HBO ’s Watchmen ( So Far )

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Rorschach Is Malcolm Long’s Son In Doomsday Clock… But Not On HBO

Since the sacking of the originalWatchmenlimited series , there have been two follow - up serial publish by DC Comics : a prequel serial calledBefore Watchmen , and a sequel series calledDoomsday Clock . The latter series , like HBO’sWatchmenTV show ,   featured a heir to the mantle of Rorschach :   Reggie Long , boy of Malcolm Long , the psychiatrist who evaluate Walter Kovacs during his time in jail . Reggie was institutionalized stick with the destruction in New York City , but escaped with the aid of former vigilante superhero Mothman , who gave Reggie the Rorschach masque as a parting giving . Thereafter , Reggie took up Rorschach ’s name and theme song facial expression .

While it might seem obvious to take care for clues to HBO’sWatchmensequel in the otherWatchmensequel , it ’s safe to say that Reggie Long definitely wo n’t be the loss leader of the Rorschachs in the TV show . In his open varsity letter outlining his general vision for the series , Damon Lindelof wrotethat " this unexampled narrative must beoriginal . It has to hover with the seismal capriciousness of its own tectonic plates . " That ’s an elaborate manner of saying that no , the show wo n’t be base onDoomsday Clock- not least because it was in development beforeDoomsday Clock#4(which explored Reggie Long ’s backstory and how he became Rorschach ) was even published .

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