University of Panels

5: Rorschach

(Walter Kovacs)

 

Man do I love this guy (obviously as my name is inspired by this character)! Rorschach was the breakout character for many who read the near-infinite masterpiece that was WATCHMEN, and he was my favorite character from the book as well. While he instantly caught onto me with his journal narrations and his borderline-obsessive investigation of the Comedian's death, the best moments of him come from the chapter where he is interviewed in prison by a psychologist. From there we learn that Rorshcach's mother was a prostitute, and was extremely abusive towards her son. Having been born from crime, Rorschach developed a strong distaste towards criminals, and became a crime fighter after a brutal public murder took place, and no witnesses attempted to help. While still bearing a strong grudge against he criminal scum back then, it wasn't until the kidnapping and murder of a little girl that he truly embraced himself as Rorscach. After discovering that the kidnapper had fed the girl's remains to his dogs, Rorschach's mind snapped, and he killed the dogs and left their owner to die in a burning apartment. 

 

Rorschach's extreme methods are a result of him having a black and white perspective on the world which is conveyed through the ink blots on his mask that are always changing. He see's no middle ground between good and evil, and believes that evil should be punished with out compromise, even if it means killing criminals.