The Watchmen begins at the scene of the crime.
Edward Blake, who was pushed off of the balcony of his apartment, is being investigated by two policemen. They discuss how Edward must have been approached by one large men, or two men because he is so big himself. Once the policemen leave, Rorschach drops a visit to see what had happened. Rorschach, the protagonist in the story, investigates the scene of the crime briefly to discover the Comedian suit in the closet. Meanwhile, Dan Dielgberg, a former crime fight named Nite Owl, shares the night with another retired partner in the investigations as they discuss the old days.Dan eventually says goodbye and heads home to find Rorschach in his home, eating his food.
Dan and Rorschach use to be partners before Dan quit, but he still remains the closest friend to Rorschach, who lives quite solitarily. Rorschach explains to Dan what he saw and the two head down to the Workshop in Dan’s basement. The conversation slowly changes to Dan’s retirement, and the two former partners argue about Dan quitting. Rorschach eventually leaves to investigate more.He heads to the Happy Harry’s to interrogate the men at the bar with his ruthless methods to get information out of people. He breaks a man’s finger in order to get some sort of answer, but gets nothing and leaves the bar.
He heads to former costumed hero Adrian “Ozymandias” Veidt’s billion dollar home to tell him he found the Comedian dead. He warns him of the masked killer.Rorschach visits Dr. Manhattan, a former human being who now is the only hero in the books with real powers.The blue man reveals that Rorschach is wanted by the police and is accompanied by Laurie, who is upset by Rorschach’s news and has strong views on the Comedian himself. Because of this, Dr.
Manhattan asks Rorschach to leave to please Laurie, his girlfriend. Once Rorschach leaves, she voices her opinions on Rorschach, explaining how she doesn’t like him. Laurie reminds herself to call Dan Dreiberg, her former partner, and meets with him that night abruptly. The two have a nice dinner out, which shows her little affection for Dr. Manhattan, who has trouble connecting with the human race every since her died and came back alive.
The Chapter end with this quotation “At midnight, all the agents and superhuman crew go out and round up everyone who knows more than they do.”The quotation explains that these crime fighters and heroes wait until the evening to investigate, and with their investigation comes interrogations - some harsh. Rorschach, who is the character we follow throughout the chapter, shows by example how to round up all those who know more than he. His interrogation in the bar, where he breaks a man’s finger for answers, his conversations with various former partners, and his commitment to figuring out who is the masked killer drives him to make rational decisions and harsh interrogations.
However, we cannot argue he is the most dedicated out of them all. “oh, god. Please don’t kill anybody.” Happy Harry, the owner of the bar, knows of Rorschach’s ruthless methods and understand he will do whatever it takes to get the information out. “I’ve just broken this gentleman’s finger.
..who killed Edward Blake?” Rorschach stays true to the investigation, while he rounds up everyone who knows more than he does..
. Just as the chapter ends.Rorschach, who we follow in the Chapter, is the prime example of dedication in solving a case. He, at midnight, takes on his investigations and gathers those who know the most - No matter what.
