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  • Essay / Realism in the Watchmen graphic novel

    In the Watchmen graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, a more realistic representation of the superhero figure is achieved by allowing genders to be integrated separately into carefully crafted identities. developed by Rorschach, the actor. , and Dr. Manhattan. Rather than being bound by the outdated clichés of an existing "mythical character", as its predecessors were, Watchmen strives to implement a multitude of literary categories into unique characters, thus offering it a more robust and less limited from reality. Even if the broadening of the field of action risks diluting said categories, this graphic novel proves to sacrifice nothing thanks to the use of rotating points of view. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayBecause Watchmen is an original piece, free from the demands or limitations of previous literature or characters, it instantly gains strength in the sense in which she can derive her own interpretation of the genre and her sense of realism. Authors often feel responsible for maintaining trends followed by those who previously portrayed characters such as Batman or Superman in their own "original" versions of these heroes. However, like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight, Watchmen, by selectively drawing on previous graphic novels, is able to "converge weak readings toward its own strong vision" (Klock 118). This comic does the same with every genre it seeks to employ. While Batman's detective persona is certainly fascinating, it is sometimes overshadowed by the vast demands of the already existing Batman series. Moore and Gibbons, by giving the detective genre its own name in the character of Rorschach, grant themselves the opportunity to elaborate the detective story to whatever extent they deem appropriate; they manage to avoid mixing the detective story with the other undertakings of the novel. Because most versions of the Batman series cannot focus on Batman solely as a detective, much of the realism of the investigation is lost. For example, in The Return of Doctor Death, when searching for a hidden vault full of diamonds, Batman is able to almost instantly discover what he is looking for, a task that in reality would have required much more detailed investigation (Kane 35). This can be compared to an investigation into Rorschach, where he is shown observing the scene of the comedian's death for several pages (Moore 13-16). Instead of getting a small, clichéd taste of the detective story, we get to see it realized in its realistic entirety. Another example of realism in Watchmen comes from the shocking and rather daring nature of The Comedian's character. Sometimes showing similarities to the Captain America of an earlier period, The Comedian proves to be a unique and realistic character who does not conform to the degree of representation essential to the Captain America character. Since many depictions of Captain America were created during the Silver Age of comics, his embodiment of the American dream is usually too optimistic and simply does not apply to the dark times of war and of poverty in American history. Edward Blake opposes this idealistic representation of the American dream when, while overlooking New York in the midst of riots, he is asked "what happened to the American dream?" » and he responds coldly “It has come true. You look at him” (Moore 60). Although it would be nice to imagine America as the embodiment of patriotism, that is not always the case, and The Comedian has no.