Friday Fights #7: Rorschach vs. the Question

This week’s Friday Fights combatants are almost splitting images of each other. What would happen when the Watchmen’s resident psychotic loner meets up with DC/Charlton’s favorite conspiracy theorist the Question?

If you are wondering why these characters are so similar, it’s because Rorschach is based on Steve Ditko’s the Question from back in the Charlton Comics days. In 1983, DC Comics wound up purchasing the smaller publisher. Alan Moore’s original pitch for what would become Watchmen was a story set in the Charlton universe, but DC had other plans. And that was to integrate the characters into the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Moore kept the same storyline/theme, and the characters became analogues of their Charlton counterparts.

These two blank faced heroes have an extremely similar tale-of-the-tape. Neither is a trained fighter; they’ve picked up a lot of on the job training. The both of them aren’t what you would consider a superb athlete, but both would buy into the “cross fit” phase. They don’t have too much in the line of weaponry; just what they’ve been given by allies over the years. They even have similar day-jobs; Rorschach is a private investigator and the Question is an investigative reporter.

WINNER: Rorschach. The masked man from the Watchmen would win this battle, as he’s much more of a sociopath than the Question. He’s a lot crazier, and willing to use whatever he can get his hands on . But if he ever encountered Ditko’s even more intense version of the Question, the super extreme Mr. A it would be a world of hurt…

Before Watchmen: Are You Watching This Commercial?

You know how movie studios plan big releases for the summer? The comics world does that too. DC Comics is bringing back the characters from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’  Watchmen twenty-five years later, this time by a bunch of current comics A-listers like Darwyn Cooke, JG Jones and Amanda Connor.In fact, DC is banking on this to do huge business. They’ve purchased television advertising time for the commercial above.

I’m not sure if I’m going to be checking this out. Some people are passing over this series for ethical issues. Or it’s not like some of my real-world friends, who just didn’t like Watchmen.

So why is n’t this being added to my reading list?

I think it might be because I enjoyed the original Watchmen story too much. I have no need to go back and revisit the adventures of Night Owl and company. There’s no need for this in my world. What I would have liked to have seen is them either do a post-Watchmen story, or even find a way on how to integrate them into the New 52. Either that or Watchmen Babies.

Well, Milhouse thinks it is cool!

I might actually check these out sometime, but not in the immediate future. It seems like something that I would pick up at the library once it is collected. Until then, I’m going to downgrade this to pass.

Booster Gold #5

One of the most powerful super hero comics I’ve read over the last few Booster Gold #5. Our time travelling hero goes back in time to the events of Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, and no matter what Booster tries he can’t save Batgirl. So why is this a great story?

It’s because this is the moment where Booster Gold becomes a serious hero. He won’t accept failure and keeps going back in time to the moment where the Joker fires a crippling bullet through Batgirl’s spine. Ultimately Booster finds out that this event has to happen and that it’s an important part of the history of the universe. He must accept that there is nothing that he can do to fix this.

If you’ve read The Killing Joke, you know that the Joker taking pictures of the original event is an important part of the original story. A later issue of Booster Gold makes reference to his attempt to change history, as Batman (who has possession of the photos) reveals that he knows that Booster attempted to save Batgirl. Batman finally respects Booster.

Unfortunately, the events of Flashpoint and the New 52 rendered this all irrelevant, but its one hell of a story.