University of Panels

5: Ozymandais

(Adrian Veidtt)

 

As most of you are probably aware, Alan Moore's WATCHMEN is one of my Top 5 comics of all-time! The story was highly compelling, the darker elements served to move the plot forward rather than simply being edgy for the sake of being edgy, and all of the characters were well-developed and conveyed complex psychological profiles! The main antagonist of the graphic novel, Ozymandais, is definetly one of the most complex of these characters. At first, Ozymandais appears to be underdeveloped, as while the reader is informed that he is widely regarded as the "world's smartest man," all he does throughout the majority of the book is running his company and selling merchandise off his former career as a superhero. But then the ending came and changed everything!

 

The entire premise of WATCHMEN was built around the death of the superhero known as the Comedian. An unknown assiliant had broken into his apartment, violently beat the elderly superhero, and threw him out the high-story window of his building, killing him. This leads to Rorschach's investigation of the murder, as he believes that someone is attempting to axe-off costumed heroes as the United States is on the verge of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and the "mask" will be unable to stop it. The "mask killer" then later tricks Dr. Manhattan to exiling himself to Mars, orders a failed assassination of Adrian Veidtt, and frames Rorschach to have him arrested. The mysterious individual behind all of these events is eventually revealed to have been Ozymandais this whole time. However, rather than wanting to ignite a nuclear war between the U.S. and Soviets, Ozymandais is trying to prevent it. As a child, Adrian was an outcast due to his superior intellect, and found that the only person that he could relate to was the legendary Alexander the Great, who had nearly succeeded in uniting the world into a perfect utopia. Wanting to fulfil Alexander's legacy, Ozymandais knew that in order to bring about a utopia, he had to prevent a nuclear holocaust. To do so, he used genetic engineering technology to artifically create an alien monster. He would then teleport the creature to New York, where the creature would die upon arrival, resulting in a shockwave that would kill half the city. The resulting genocide would cause the U.S. and Soviets to put aside their differences and unite to combat against the threat of a percieved alien invasion. Ozymandais was forced to kill the Comedian, as he had discovered Adrian's plan, and could not risk letting it get out. 

 

The most shocking revelation of this whole turn of events is that Ozymandais' plan actually works, and the rest of the heroes are unable to do anything about it (as revealing the truth would only ensure nuclear annihalation). The moral ambiguity that is conveyed through Ozymandais' character is one rarely seen in comics, as it brings up the question of whether or not it is right to sacrifice millions of lives in order to save billions. To me, it's just one of those questions that's too big to answer.