Having just come from seeing Watchmen for the second time I’m more impressed by it than ever. Reading some articles about the writer Alan Moore, led me to an interesting conclusion. Most die hard comic book fans know that originally Moore had intended to use Charleton Comics characters that
dc had gotten the rights to for the story, so instead of Rorschach, Nite Owl, Dr. Mahattan and The Comedian, it was supposed to be The Question, The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and The Peacekeeper. But DC balked at the idea, having different plans for the characters, so Moore created original characters based in part on the ones he had wanted to use. Personally I think this was a better idea than to use established characters, as you don’t have to contend with any baggage the characters might have had. But oddly enough as time as passed it is the reworked characters who are influencing the originals. In the late eighties and nineties The character of The Blue Beetle resembled Nite Owl pretty closely, an industialist who travels around in an insect shaped flying vehicle and voices doubt about his abilities, eventually quitting after the JLA’s run in with Doomsday in the death of Suprman story arc. But the biggest influence has to be with The Question. Though he doesn’t go around emolating child killers, he is one of the most paranoid characters in superhero fiction. A perfect example of this was in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, where the League asked him why he would think the Girl Scouts were a terrorist organization and he replied, “I thought to ask the question.,” a perfect Rorschach moment.
