Tough Love
Image Credit: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Chapter 4 in Who Watches the Watchmen?
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Tough Love: The Unconventional Sexual Relationships of the Characters of Moore and Gibbon’s Watchmen
In popular comic books, it is not very common to see a sexually incompetent hero; there is no such thing as a sexless Superman, Batman, or Ironman. The characters of Watchmen are definitely unconventional, as their personal and romantic relationships are toxic and flawed. The imagery shown through Watchman shows sex as strange and aggressive for the masked heroes. These bizarre and often harmful relationships are seen through the relationships of Laurie and Dan, Laurie and Jon, Sally and the Comedian, and even through Rorschach, the comic book’s seemingly only abstinent vigilante. The world of Watchmen is filled with unconventional and dysfunctional relationships; through the character’s interactions, body language, and the often- violent imagery surrounding sex, it is clear that there is no such thing as normal sex for these vigilantes.
While most of the masked heroes of Watchmen are seen in some sort of romantic relationship throughout the graphic novel, Rorschach’s abstinence is rooted in his values of justice. His violent and aggressive tendencies contribute to his aloneness; but most of Rorschach’s actions suggest he prefers it this way. Throughout the graphic novel, Rorschach repeatedly refers to women as whores, while constantly mistreating or ignoring them. In chapter eight when Rorschach is being rescued by Jon and Laurie, he is completely indifferent towards her, this is seen in his body language as he walks past her with a blank expression merely saying, “and Miss Juspeczyk. Although never liked you’re uniform. Nothing personal” (Moore and Gibbons 21). His awkwardness with women is seen multiple times when speaking to Laurie and this scene in particular is especially important because he is covered in blood and depicted in red, once again connecting him to violence instead of romantic or sexual passion. While other men fetishize Laurie, he dislikes her costume and is seemingly bored or annoyed by her. Rorschach is a lonely vigilante and this could be the cause of his exposure to his mother’s prostitution, “His mother loathed the child who condemned her to a life of sexual abuse, which pushed her to mentally and physically abuse him on a daily bases and in the end child services moved Kovacs to an orphanage. This might be the evidence of Walter Kovacs delusional splitting of psyche creating a new personality that is of a merciless self-proclaimed judge who lacks all kind of emotion and sympathy” (Krapivner 4). While Rorschach is often surrounded by romance and sex, his lonely imagery shows that he is uninterested in intimate relationships, the rest of the characters; however, seem to be driven by them, even Dr. Manhattan.
While Dr. Manhattan is often portrayed as indifferent and expressionless like Rorschach, he ultimately decides to help Laurie because of her past and his “love” for her. Dr. Manhattan is blue, which represents his own indifference and coolness in contrast to the passionate and aggressive red shown in other panels; however, he says in chapter nine, “you were my only link, my only concern with the world. When you left me, I left earth. Does that no say something?” (Moore and Gibbons 8). Jon is supposed to be above intimate and personal relationships, but he is still hurt or bothered by Laurie’s new relationship. Even though she matters to him, his expression is the same, without any particular emotion, in contrast to his actual feelings. Throughout the comic book, he shows time and time again with both Janey Slater and Laurie that sex seems to be just another task for him. His lack of interest in physical relationships is ironic considering that he is a sex symbol in the book, he is almost always naked and unlike the Dan and Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan is depicted as tall and muscular, “Laurie’s trysts with Doctor Manhattan were more about satisfying her human desires than they were to him, given what we know about how he struggles to see himself in a human capacity — sexual appetite included” (Abad-Santos 3). The contrast in Laurie’s relationship with Dan and Jon shows that sex for them is not normal, whether it’s happening with Jon or Dan.
Laurie and Dan’s relationship is the closest to normal in this graphic novel; but that does not make it any less interesting than the rest. Laurie and Dan are completely different, especially in the way they are drawn. This is seen in chapter seven especially as Dan is constantly drawn crumpled or hunched over, a little chubby, hiding behind his glass, usually with a worried expression. Meanwhile, Laurie is tall and lean, dressed in fashionable clothing and most of the time she is smiling and expressing herself and her thoughts with confidence. (Moore and Gibbons 4). When they first attempt to have sex, they are unable to because of Dan. After the strange dream he has, they go and save people from a fire and then have sex successfully. What brings these two together is their denial with their past and their superhero egos, in the dream after they peel off the layers, it shows that they are their hero identities whether they like it or not, “Yeah, I guess the costumes had something to do with it. It just feels strange, you know? To come out and admit that to somebody” (Moore and Gibbons 28). The difference in their appearances show an imbalance in the relationship which causes the reader to see it as strange. Comparing this to Laurie’s last relationship, it is clear that Laurie has more control over Dan, where in her relationship with Jon, it was clear that he held more power over her. Laurie is outspoken and confident throughout the book, but she seems to be even more so when she is with Dan, “He argues that she uses sex to regain her agency after Jon leaves, and that this restores her sense of worth...” (Marshall 3). The appearance of this couple is what makes their relationship so weird, while Dr. Manhattan is blue, he is muscular and tall, unlike Dan, who is overweight and hunched over, the imagery of bodily appearances proves that in the world of Watchmen, anything goes.
Unlike her daughter, Sally Jupiter has not had much luck when it comes to love. All three of Sally’s mentioned romantic relationships are extremely complicated; the first was a cover up for Hooded Justice who had a secret relationship with Captain Metropolis, the second was with the Comedian who attempted to raped her but is also the father of her child through a consensual affair, and the third is her marriage and later divorce to her agent. Sally’s most complex and controversial relationship is that of her and the Comedian’s, in chapter twelve, Sally is seen crying as she kisses a photo the Comedian, her body language and saddened face shows that even after all that happened, she still cares for the Comedian (Moore and Gibbons 30). Most readers may be confused and even frustrated to find that she may still care for and love the man that attempted to rape her; however, this issue is never addressed or answered, “How could she bring herself to do this? Rather than offer a feminist justification or condemnation of Sally’s actions, it is actually in line with the graphic novel itself not to resolve this question” (White 179). Sally is constantly shown in the book as a sex symbol. There is even pornography about her, and she embraces it all; but just because she embraces her sexuality it does not give anyone the right to grope or rape her. The fact that Sally embraces her own sex appeal as well as her confusing relationship with the Comedian further proves that love and sex in Watchmen is bound to be confusing and frustrating.
Ultimately it is important for readers to see that sex in Watchmen is distorted and dysfunctional. The characters of Watchmen have sexual hang-ups that are clear to see through the images and depictions of the characters, their expressions and their body language. The red in the panels that often depicts passion also shows violence and the blue of Dr. Manhattan that is supposed to prove his coolness and indifference is in stark contrast to his actions and almost forgotten human emotions. The characters of Watchmen are all strangely connected with sex, through it directly or the lack thereof. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s depiction of intimate relationships show that in the world of Watchmen, there is no such thing as normal sex.
Works Cited
Abad-Santos, Alex. “Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan Dildo Is as Important as It Is Large.” Vox,
Vox, 7 Nov. 2019, www.vox.com/culture/2019/11/7/20949034/watchmens-doctor-
manhattan-laurie-blake-sex-toy.
Krapivner, Vera. “The Abyss Gazes Also: A Psychological Analysis of Rorschach in Alan
Moore’s Watchmen.” N.p., 2011. Print.
Marshall , Anna C. “Not So Revisionary: The Regressive Treatment of Gender in Alan Moore's
Watchmen.” The Downtown Review , 2016,
engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=tdr. Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. DC Comics, 2013.
White, Mark D. Watchmen and Philosophy: a Rorschach Test. Wiley, 2009.
