Watchmen: Chapter II (2024) Movie Script

1
[reporter on TV] There was
an announcement today
of a breakthrough
at the Institute
for Extraspatial Studies.
Researchers there have learned
of new energy sources
found in previously
-unknown dimensions.
-[channel switches]
[interviewer] Tonight,
on the Benny Anger Show.
Citing rising tensions
with the Soviet Union,
scientists have moved
the Doomsday Clock
to 60 seconds to midnight.
Are we truly so close
to nuclear annihilation?
But first, we ask
the average citizen,
"Is America ready for war?"
[man] So The Gazette
has this nuclear-attack
procedure article.
It says dead family members
should be wrapped
in garbage bags
and placed outside
for collection.
It sounds like
America getting ready for war
means Americans
getting ready to die.
[echoing] Getting ready to die.
[foreboding music playing]
[music crescendoes]
[music fades]
[waves splashing]
[Hira] It's beautiful work.
I hope that ship
keeps it properly refrigerated
on its voyage.
If it decays--
[Max] It's plenty cold
where it's headed.
After two years
on this godforsaken island
creating the thing,
he'll make sure
it doesn't spoil
before the big reveal.
[inhales deeply]
But, Ms. Manish,
I thought you'd be glad to see
the back of that damn thing,
-not sketching the front.
-[chuckles softly]
Well, Mr. Shea,
I just wanted
some final sketches
of the facial assembly,
especially that amazing
beak structure.
"Amazing"?
You sound like
the scientists down there.
So caught up
in their own accomplishment,
blind to the horror
of this monstrosity
we dreamed up,
this nightmare they made real.
For one man's vision,
we've all gone through hell
and back.
But can we go back?
Think he'll let us off
this island?
We signed
the non-disclosure agreement,
we've been well compensated.
And our ship to the mainland
will be here in a few days.
Why such dark thoughts, Max?
Oh, well, yeah.
I'm sure you're right.
I guess in all this business,
there are more than a few
uncomfortable parallels
to an old comic book story
I wrote.
A vile little yarn from
Tales of The Black Freighter.
[narrator reading]
Adrift and starving,
my darkest imaginings
welled up unchecked,
spilling from brain to heart
like black ink.
[man] Taxi!
-[air hisses]
-[machine beeps]
[indistinct chatter]
[narrator reading]
I imagine Davidstown
overrun by The Freighter's
tattooed fiends.
My wife was almost
certainly dead.
I remembered her
and my beautiful daughters
waving goodbye
from the verandah.
[vendor] Glad my Rosa
ain't alive to see this.
[narrator reading]
All now dead.
Everything's going to hell.
-Look at this. Look at this...
-Mm.
[narrator reading]
I imagined
my shipmates'
bloated corpses...
[vendor] Doc Manhattan
leaves the planet...
[narrator reading]
...and the putrefying shark...
[vendor] Russians
on the warpath.
[narrator reading] ...carrying
my raft to oblivion.
-Ozymandias attacked...
-[narrator reading] All dead.
I tell ya.
It all reads like headlines
from ten years ago,
before they banned
all the masked avengers in '77.
Hey, speaking of,
you see this Rorschach item?
They finally caught him
last week.
Turns out
he was a customer here, huh?
Ror-- I mean, Walter Kovacs?
Interesting.
Incredible, right?
-Thank you.
-Yeah.
Makes you wonder
what makes a guy
like Rorschach tick?
Could probably go off
at any second.
[narrator reading] Faced with
horrors both intolerable
and unavoidable,
I chose madness.
[spitting]
[sloshing]
[suspenseful music playing]
-[clattering]
-[prisoners laughing]
Hey, settle it down.
Hey, Rorschach.
You're pretty famous
around here.
I'd sure like
to get your autograph.
I got a pen right here.
[screaming]
Get that asshole! Kill him!
Come here, you son of a...
[yelps]
-[prisoner] Get him!
-[grunts]
-[clanking]
-[yelps]
[yelps]
[prisoner 2]
Rip this guy apart!
[prisoner 3] It's payback time,
Rorschach.
-[clanging]
-[yelps]
-[prisoner 4] Kill him!
-[screams]
-[grunts]
-[guard] Enough, Kovacs.
Down on the ground!
Got him pinned!
Call for backup.
This place is about to explode.
[prisoner 5]
Get that motherfucker!
[prisoner 6]
You're dead, Rorschach. Dead!
None of you understand.
I'm not locked up
in here with you.
You're locked up
in here with me.
[screaming rings out]
[siren wails distantly]
[somber instrumental playing]
[Laurie] Dan?
Uh, Dan?
Dan, are you down here?
Oh, my...
Wow.
[sighs softly]
[sighs]
[clicks]
-[fire whooshes]
-[gasps]
Whoa!
Shit!
[fire alarm beeping]
-Laurie? Laurie? Laurie!
-[Laurie] Dan!
-Laurie?
-Dan!
-Laurie!
-Dan!
Jesus!
Hold on.
-[equipment whirring]
-[alarm blaring]
[water splashing]
[panting] Laurie,
are you okay?
I am so sorry.
I was looking for you,
and... and...
No, no. I was...
I was just in the...
Are you... are you okay?
I think I accidentally
hit a button in your...
I was... I was just tinkering
with Archie earlier,
-and I left him on...
-I'm sorry. Archie?
[sputtering] Yeah.
The Owl Ship.
It doesn't... it doesn't--
Are you hurt?
Really...
-Oh.
-[softly] I'm fine.
Sorry. Um...
I've-- Well...
I've been a little...
on edge lately.
I wasn't going to say it.
I mean, since you've been
letting me live here all week.
-[sighs]
-But, yeah,
you've been
jumping at shadows.
I guess I didn't want
to talk about it.
It's just... [sighs]
After the Comedian died,
Jon, Adrian, and Rorschach
were attacked within days.
I'm starting to worry--
You're not taking Rorschach's
mask-killer nonsense seriously,
-are you?
-[sputtering] Well, um...
Oh, no.
Oh, Dan. I'm so sorry.
No, no. It's... it's fine.
Had some good times
in this suit, but...
those times went up in smoke
a long time ago.
You miss those times?
Nah.
Looking back, it was all just
embarrassing, really.
A school kid's fantasy.
[locker creaking]
Well, at least you were
living out your own fantasies.
I was living out my mother's.
Well, in a way, I mean,
my dreams were kind of forged
by the adventures
of the Minutemen.
I idolized Hollis,
which defied
my father's plans for me.
[gasps] Ooh! Do tell.
Well... Dad was pushing me
to follow him into banking,
but I preferred
keeping scorecards
on crime fighters
over currency.
Still, he kept me focused,
and I made it into Harvard.
I was majoring in aeronautics
and zoology when he died.
And he left me
with a lot of money.
With no one around
to talk me out of it,
this happened.
You made your dreams real.
[sighs] A dream made real
just becomes another
messy reality, doesn't it?
[sputtering] But, yeah,
when I was in the moment,
I made it my own.
I think we both
made it our own.
-[clicks]
-[powering down]
See that souvenir case?
I was keeping my own scorecard
separate from Hollis'
Nite Owl adventures.
I was writing
my own future history.
Well, I couldn't wait to ditch
all that stuff
from my adventuring days.
As you can probably tell,
my two boxes of belongings
that just arrived
from the Rockefeller eviction.
Honestly, I'm surprised
they bothered
to send me anything
after... our separation.
-Do you miss Jon?
-[sighs]
I keep thinking I should.
Even when I was with him,
he was never really there
unlike all
the government agents
keeping tabs on us.
On how I kept Jon happy.
But, hey, I could only dream
about what you've got here.
You're lucky to be on your own
with your privacy intact.
Yeah... [chuckles softly]
Lucky.
Just another
messy reality, huh?
Is there any other kind?
And these days it feels like
reality is crashing down
around us all.
Now you sound
like Rorschach again.
Dan, his mask-killer theory
doesn't hold up.
Jon left Earth
of his own free will.
Rorschach was caught red-handed
committing murder.
Where's the conspiracy?
It's not like Rorschach
to just shoot someone.
Too easy.
And those events
timed so closely
to the attack on Adrian
and the murder of the Comedian,
too coincidental.
Rorschach was on to it
from day one.
Look, I know that mask
has eaten his brains
over the years,
but we worked together.
Rorschach was always
a brilliant investigator
and tactician.
So, I can't help but wonder
if he found any evidence
that links all these events.
I just wish I could find out
what's in his head.
[Malcolm] Okay, Walter.
Now, I guess you know
what this is?
I want you to look at it
and tell me what you see.
Will you look at it, Walter?
Will you do that for me?
What can you see?
A pretty bird.
That's great.
Let's try another, shall we?
What do you see?
[dog whimpering]
-A pretty butterfly.
-Wonderful, Walter.
This is going so well
for our first session.
This really helps me to speak
to your psychological fitness
for your trial.
Let's keep going.
What do you see on this card?
And feel free to describe
all the images
that come to mind.
[Sylvia moaning] Oh, yes!
Hey! Get lost, you little shit!
He ain't paying
to see your ugly face.
Where are you going,
whoreson?
Don't touch him!
Son of a bitch
probably got diseases.
That true, whoreson--
[grunts]
Get off! [screaming]
-[squelching]
-[boy screaming]
[Malcolm] Well, Walter?
What do you make of it?
You keep calling me Walter.
I don't like you.
[sputtering] Uh...
you don't like me?
Fat, wealthy.
Think you understand pain.
I'll tell you
about pain, Doctor.
I'll tell you about...
Rorschach.
Born by the mistake
of a whore,
ward of state by age ten.
After mother was murdered,
only one childhood regret.
Not being there
to spit on her remains.
Became manual worker
in garment industry,
received special order
for a dress
in new Doctor Manhattan
spin-off fabric.
Viscous fluids
between latex layers,
heat and pressure sensitive.
Customer, Kitty Genovese,
never collected order.
Didn't know why.
Black and white,
changing shape but not mixing.
No gray.
Very, very beautiful.
Next day, learned
Kitty Genovese was murdered.
Raped and killed
outside her own apartment.
Nearly 40 neighbors
heard screams.
Nobody did anything.
Nobody called cops.
Some of them even watched.
They watched!
That's when I knew
what people were
behind all the self-deception.
Ashamed for humanity,
I went home.
Took Kitty's unwanted dress
and made a face
I could bear to look at
in the mirror.
1975, worked kidnap case.
Blair Roache. Six years old.
Questioned informants.
One bled answers.
An address.
Disused dressmaker's
in Brooklyn.
I was just Kovacs, then.
Pretending to be Rorschach.
Naive. Soft.
Didn't understand.
Until I found her.
Nothing left but pieces.
Ashes in stove.
[dogs barking]
Blood on chopping block.
Bones for dogs.
She was consumed by evil.
[dogs growling]
Never had a chance.
Neither did Kovacs.
Finally understanding
man's true capacity for horror,
Kovacs closed his eyes.
It was Rorschach
who opened them again.
Put dogs down easy.
They didn't know better.
-[squelching]
-[dogs whimpering]
[man yelping]
Gerald Grice did.
What-- No. Hey!
[Rorschach]
Put him down hard.
I told you I didn't
do nothing to that girl.
-[grunts]
-[chains clanking]
You have nothing on me.
Come on, man.
What are you doing?
What is this?
[Rorschach] Don't bother
sawing through handcuffs.
-Never make it in time.
-Oh, my God. You're crazy!
What... what,
you're gonna burn me?
You can't do this.
Stop! No! Oh, God! No!
[breathing heavily]
[screaming] No! No!
[screaming]
[Rorschach] Once a man
has seen,
he can never
turn his back on it,
never pretend
it doesn't exist,
no matter who orders him
to look away.
I do not do this thing
because it is permitted.
I do it because I have to.
I do it because I am compelled.
I... I see.
No. You don't.
But have patience, Doctor.
You will.
[Dan] How does Adrian do it?
He's barely older than I am,
but he's in better shape now
than I ever was
in my Nite Owl days.
[Laurie] Back when he retired
from being Ozymandias,
he had me and Jon up to visit
his Grand Antarctic retreat.
Such a show-off.
You visited Karnak?
Did... did you see Bubastis?
Yeah. He sent me off
to go play with his
overgrown house cat.
Genetically modified lynx,
actually.
-[exhales] Fascinating.
-[snickers]
The only fascination there
was between Jon and Adrian.
They talked endlessly.
[sighs] He uses
his Veidt Enterprises fortune
to advance science.
-Nauseating.
-And fund charities.
-He makes it seem so easy.
-[sighs]
He retired from one fantasy
and just... built another.
He was... just born
with the answer
that no money or power
or a family can give you.
Answer to what?
After taking off the mask,
who are you?
Well, here's to Adrian,
the man with the answers.
-Ugh.
-[bottles clinking]
Hey, what...
what's in your pocket?
[chuckles softly] Oh, I, uh...
rescued these from the fire.
My spare Owl Goggles.
Where were they?
In, uh... Archie.
Archie? Well, nice that you two
are so familiar
after teaming up
to destroy my secret lair.
[chuckles]
Here. Try them on.
Experience my Owl Vision.
No matter how black it gets,
when you look through these,
everything is clear as day.
[laughs]
Why, Mr. Dreiberg...
You're ravishing.
Oh, they must be broken.
Let me look...
[Dan moaning]
[giggles]
[Dan] I can't get the-- No,
[giggles] got it. Sorry.
-[gasps]
-[giggles]
[both kissing, moaning]
[triumphant music playing]
I'm... so sorry. It's not you.
-It's just...
-Hey, relax. It's okay.
-No, you deserve better.
-Dan...
-I mean, I really want this.
-It doesn't matter.
I know how it is
when something's not right.
We'll just sleep now. Okay?
-[sighs]
-Just sleep.
[female reporter] Coming up
on the eleven o'clock news.
Russian forces
push further into Afghanistan.
And Pakistan calls on the US
to intervene,
but Russia claims to be
merely securing her borders.
We also have a special report
on noted author Max Shea,
who mysteriously vanished
two years ago.
Hear why investigators'
search for clues
has ended in failure.
[Dan shivering]
[gasps]
[sighs softly]
[gasping, panting]
[static]
[sighs]
[prison alarm buzzing]
[clanging]
Well, well, well.
Hey there, Rorschach.
It's been a long time.
Big Figure. Small world.
[laughs]
"Small world." I like that.
You know, after 20 years,
I guess you thought
you could forget about
what you did to me.
You and that fucking Owl guy.
Funny how these things
come back to haunt us
though, huh?
Speaking of, that guy
you burned is dying.
Maybe tomorrow,
maybe the next day.
But see, he had
lots of friends around here.
And when he dies,
this place blows
and then you die...
by inches. [laughs wickedly]
Tall order.
Smart ass!
Gonna tear this guy
a new hole right now.
Hey, hey, hey. No hurry.
I've waited 20 years.
He'll get his soon enough.
And nobody's gonna care.
I hear even his shrink
resigned today.
You're alone in the valley
of the shadow, Rorschach,
where your past
has a long reach.
And the only thing
between you and it
is one... crummy... lock.
Think about it.
[laughs wickedly]
[heavy sigh]
[Laurie] You okay?
[Dan] Bad dreams.
Bad realities.
I hope it's not
what happened earlier.
It's the mask-killer thing.
Four of us taken down,
war looming on the horizon,
I'm... terrified
it's all connected
and the worst
is yet to come.
And I can't do anything
to stop it.
It all just
makes me feel so...
so... impotent.
[sighs wearily]
So, I ran down here.
For all the good that did.
It's not like
taking the ship out
can set things straight.
Why not?
You're serious?
I used to be a masked
avenger too, remember.
I'm used to going out
at 3:00 in the morning
and doing something stupid.
[chuckles softly]
Wait, I... I burned
your suit, remember?
Spare goggles,
spare suit.
[clicking]
-Dan?
-Mm-hm?
I'm ready.
[Nite Owl stammering]
[laughs]
Let's go.
Hope we don't get caught.
[whooshing]
[legendary music playing]
[rumbling]
Whoa!
[chuckling] This is great.
Really great.
[equipment chirping]
Dan, trouble on your right.
Hold on!
-[explosion]
-[shattering]
-Building looks clear.
-[monitor chirruping]
No, wait.
-There!
-Somebody, please!
[all coughing, yelling]
Looks like four adults.
Can we pick them up?
Already on it!
-[whooshes]
-[water splashing]
[Nite Owl] Please stay calm.
We're here to rescue you.
Step back from the window.
[woman gasping]
[in Spanish] Madre de Dios!
Mother of God is right.
Oh, I'm an entirely
different Spectre.
And certainly
nobody's mother.
Vamonos, por favor.
Let's go.
-[woman] Gracias.
-[man] Thanks.
-Welcome aboard.
-[man] Hey!
You're that... Owl guy.
Who?
Dark Owl!
Who wants to hear
some music?
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[horn beeping]
[woman] Oh!
-Salud.
-Thanks.
Gracias.
What the hell just happened?
Did that just happen?
You do know
they might lock us up
with Rorschach for this.
Yeah.
And World War III
might start tomorrow.
[jazz music
continues playing]
[both kissing, moaning]
[clicks]
[both tripping, falling]
[fire whooshes]
[music ends]
[Laurie sighs]
Dan!
-Tonight was good.
-It was.
[Laurie chuckles]
I'd hoped tonight might wake
something inside you.
Oh, it did.
[both chuckle]
Insatiable, huh?
So, what should we do next?
We... should spring Rorschach.
What?
[narrator reading]
In my ravings,
desperate for company,
I conversed
with my perished shipmates.
Their voices spoke
from beneath the raft.
The conversation
of the dead, dreary...
[woman] Oh, man.
Ten days to nuclear war, Derf.
-...bitter.
-That's what they said on TV.
...endlessly sad.
[woman] Oh, Jesus, Derf,
just get me some Katies,
so I can get high, man.
[narrator reading] Interminable
bad news from mouths
wherein
the little fishes dart.
[Derf] It's that Manhattan guy
who brought this down on us.
Oh! The new papers
just arrived.
There's a riot at the prison.
-Give me that!
-Whoa! Hey!
We got friends there.
"Vigilante sparks prison riot.
Five dead."
Rorschach again.
Making headlines
after some other heroes
made the news
for the tenement fire rescue.
[Derf] Goddamn masks!
Come on.
Let's round up the guys.
There's gonna be hell
to pay for this.
If I didn't know any better,
I'd say it was all connected.
[narrator reading]
We talked together,
my rotted fellows and I
of life...
[vendor] A news vendor
senses these things.
[narrator reading]
...and endings...
[vendor] It all spells trouble.
[narrator reading]
...of the terrible sentence
upon us all.
We'll get murdered in the chaos
by cops or criminals.
-Either way--
-No, wait. Look.
We'd already planned
on distracting the guards.
The prison riot
does the job for us.
I can tune into
police radio chatter,
and we'll get
up-to-the-minute intel
on positions and strategies.
This is our ticket inside.
He is a homicidal maniac
you hope will validate
this long-shot theory of yours.
[sighs]
Is busting out Rorschach
really worth risking our butts?
Mm.
Your butt's in safe hands.
[sighs]
If not, I'll be kicking yours.
-[chuckles softly]
-[monitor chirping]
[Dan] Hollis?
Oh, just thought I'd check in
after you missed
our beer session
the other night.
I'm sorry, Hollis.
I just got caught up
in a book. Dozed off.
Coffee?
Sure.
So... seen the news lately?
Can't miss the headlines
about this war
they say is coming.
There was a smaller story
yesterday
about a tenement fire,
and a highly unusual rescue.
[smacks lips, sighs]
-[clacking]
-[Laurie] Nope. Nope.
-Nope.
-[Hollis] Now, wait.
-Ah-ha.
-Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You're saying Dr. Manhattan
leaving the planet
was orchestrated?
Timed between the attacks
on Blake, Adrian,
and Rorschach, yes.
It's too coincidental.
The cancer-scare media assault
on Jon had to be manufactured.
Laurie lived with him,
and she never
contracted cancer.
But I did some digging.
The cancer victims
mentioned in Nova Express
were all employed at some point
by the same company.
Again, too coincidental.
I think somebody used
these specific people
and the press
to prompt Jon's exile,
and I think it's part of a plan
to start World War III.
Whoa!
That's a long-shot theory.
[sighing]
Laurie said as much, too.
And this company,
connecting the cancer victims,
who are they?
And how do they connect
to Blake, Adrian,
and Rorschach?
The company's called
Dimensional Developments.
Beyond the name,
I've hit a wall
investigating
their corporate structure.
[Hollis] What about Adrian?
He's connected
to the corporate world
and would certainly
be motivated to help.
Without stronger evidence,
sharing this conspiracy theory
with a man in his position
might put him
in a compromising situation.
I mean, he... he might
have to report us, but...
but I'm working another lead
that, uh, should break loose
very soon.
I'm sure
you'll crack the case, kid.
I believe in you.
And thanks
for sharing the details.
Mm.
It feels like
the old days again.
[both laugh]
Hey, we Nite Owls
have to stick together.
Well, that's why
I paid a visit, Dan.
If I can figure out
who made the rescue
at the tenement fire,
so can the police.
Crap. We're out of time.
[whooshing]
-[tires screeching]
-[sirens blaring]
Well, no going back now.
If we don't crack this case,
there may be no going back
for any of us.
[officer 1] Go, go, go.
We got shots fired.
[officer 2] Officer down!
South-west corner!
[officer 3] Surrender,
or you will be fired on!
[Big Figure] Aren't you glad
they keep you in solitary?
Now our reunion
won't be interrupted
by the mob out there.
Lawrence, hurry up
with the arc welder.
[chuckles]
What's the matter, Rorschach?
Too warm in there?
Well, it's gonna get
plenty warmer.
Yeah. You notice how,
all of a sudden,
he ain't giving you no,
"tall order, small world" shit?
Maybe he figured out
once we cut through these bars,
we're gonna make him
a little shorter.
Fat chance.
Fat? You lousy bastard!
We got a jail full of guys
out here who hate your guts.
What have you got?
-[gasps]
-Your arms.
Hey! What the hell?
Lawrence, you stupid
son of a bitch!
Now we can't get to the lock.
Sorry, Figure.
Michael can still cut
through the bars.
[Big Figure]
That'll take too long.
This riot won't last,
and I don't want
to be interrupted.
-Sorry, Lawrence...
-[Lawrence] No!
...but you're in the way
of my revenge.
-No, boss!
-Michael, cut through him.
-No, no, wait!
-Nothing personal, Larry.
Wait! Hey! [grunting]
-[screaming]
-[squelching]
[Lawrence screaming]
One-nothing.
-Your move.
-[thumps, squelching]
Come and get me.
[officer 1] That thing
ain't one of ours.
[officer 2] Open fire!
[officer 3] Land your aircraft
or we will use deadly force.
Police radio says this area
is controlled by prisoners.
Ear plugs in.
Hitting the screechers.
[high-pitched chirping]
[all groaning]
-[bullets clattering]
-Ugh!
[whooshes]
[officer 4]
Shoot that thing down!
[Big Figure]
Hurry up with that lock.
I wanna smell
this son of a bitch cooking.
Then I'm gonna carve him up
like a Thanksgiving turkey.
We're in.
Look at him
climbing up onto his bed
like a scared kid.
We got you now,
you little bastard.
[laughs wickedly]
[grunting]
[electricity crackling]
[screaming]
Never disposed of sewage
with toilet before.
Obvious, really.
Two-nothing.
Your move.
[yelps]
[guard grunts]
-[both grunting]
-[groans]
How will we find him
in all of this?
Assuming he's not dead.
He attracts this horror
and madness.
This is where he lives.
Help! Somebody
get this guy! Help!
Hey, Rorschach!
Hey!
[Big Figure panting] Help!
[Nite Owl] Rorschach!
Hey, man.
We came to bust you out.
Excuse me.
I have to visit men's room.
Oh, for Christ's sake!
Well, when you gotta go,
you gotta go.
[prisoner 1] Look,
we got masks in here!
[prisoner 2]
That's Nite Owl! Get 'em!
Hey! We are trying
to stop a war!
[groans]
-[grunts]
-[groans]
[panting]
Um... guess I'm kind
of bitter about...
losing the house.
-I better radio the ship.
-[toilet flushing]
Did what had to be done.
Can leave now.
-Are you sure?
-This way.
Did you wash your hands?
[Nite Owl] Archie's
covering our exit.
[Silk Spectre]
Did you flush?
[Walter] Flushed twice.
A little clogged.
[officer 1]
Don't let them escape!
[officer 2] Track them
with the lights!
[officer 3]
Land your aircraft now!
I repeat!
Land your aircraft!
[Nite Owl sighs] Everybody
will be looking for us up here.
I know a place to hide
and plan our next move.
Good seeing you
in uniform, Daniel.
Like old times.
Never liked your uniform,
Ms. Juspeczyk.
-Nothing personal.
-Ugh!
Can't believe we agree
on something.
-[energy whooshing]
-[Silk Spectre gasps] Jesus.
-Hello.
-[Silk Spectre] Jon.
They said you were on Mars.
I am on Mars.
We have a conversation
scheduled there.
You're going to try
to convince me
to save this world.
To-- I have to convince you?
Jon, we really need your help
here on Earth.
[groans softly] This is all
so deus ex machina.
The god out of the machine.
Yes, I suppose it is.
Nevertheless,
an hour into the future,
we are on Mars talking.
-Mars? We don't have time--
-Dan.
I think
I'd better go with him.
Maybe we'll find
a way out of this mess.
I'll be okay.
[Nite Owl stammers]
Laurie, wait.
Take care.
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[sighs wearily]
Pity they won't be
working with us.
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[Jon] Here we are.
What do you think?
[gags]
Oh, of course. Forgive me.
Sometimes these things
slip my mind.
[breathing heavily]
-Are you okay?
-[coughing]
Jesus! Jon,
you stupid son of a...
[softly] Holy shit.
This is where
we debate Earth's destiny.
[waves gurgling]
[narrator reading]
Truly, life is hell...
And death's rough hand,
our only deliverance.
I would endure no more bubbling
dialogues from the dead.
No more ramblings
of damnation.
No more judgments
of our sins.
[radio tuning]
[news reporter] ...vigilante
known as Nite Owl,
entered the riot
and freed suspected murderer,
Walter Kovacs,
also known as Rorschach.
Both escaped police capture
by aircraft.
Argh!
[news reporter] More details
are still coming in.
-Goddamn it!
-Derf! What the hell?
Hey, hey, hey.
We don't want no trouble
around here.
Shut up, old man.
These super bastards
get away with everything
while our guys
catch hell in that riot.
It ain't fair!
[narrator reading] Though
dreading such a black,
breathless end, I leapt...
[woman] Hey, the news guy
mentioned Nite Owl.
[narrator reading]
...feet first into cold,
dank mortality.
Derf, he's the guy who wrote
that book about the masks.
My dad takes his car
to his repair shop.
-Do you know where that is?
-Yeah.
It's just down the street...
[narrator reading]
But the ocean's depths
refused to swallow me.
I lifted my uncomprehending
eyes to the heavens
and saw instead the earth.
This guy likes
to play in riots...
[narrator reading]
I had reached my destination.
...so let's give him a riot.
[laughs maliciously] Yeah.
Yeah. Let's mess this guy up!
-[man] Hell, yeah!
-Bah!
[narrator reading]
They'd left me for dead.
The fiends who'd doubtless
butchered my kin.
But now I was returned
upon my corpse boat,
a spectre of revenge,
riding the flow tide home.
-[car alarm sounding]
-Yeah! Yeah!
-This it?
-Yeah. Upstairs.
[growls]
[banging at door]
Okay, okay.
I hear you.
-[banging continues]
-You can quit banging.
Just give me a second. [grunts]
-Get him!
-Yeah!
-[barking]
-[yelping]
Get that dog!
[groans]
-Worry about yourself, scumbag.
-[Derf yelps]
-[screaming]
-[whimpering]
-[yelps]
-[groans]
[dramatic music playing]
[grunts]
[Hollis grunts]
No.
-[grunts]
-[impacts]
-[man] Derf!
-[woman] Oh, man.
[man] Derf! That's enough!
[woman] He's a goner.
We gotta get out of here!
[footsteps running away]
[dramatic music fading]
[Jon] This is where
we hold our conversation.
It commences when you
surprise me with the news
that you and Dreiberg
are sleeping together.
[exclaims softly, sputters]
You... know about me and Dan?
No. But in a few moments,
you're going to tell me.
Ugh! Jon, I can't take
your predestination crap
right now.
It makes no sense
that you can be surprised
by anything
when you can see time
in all directions.
Everything is preordained,
even my responses.
So the most powerful being
in the universe
is just... a puppet
following a script?
We are all puppets, Laurie.
I am just a puppet
who can see the strings.
[sighs wearily]
There is no future.
There is no past.
Time is simultaneous.
Ugh! Jon, how can I debate
Earth's destiny
when you know the outcome?
Help me understand here.
What was your
earliest memory?
I don't know.
When my folks split,
I guess.
[Sally's voice]
He couldn't understand
why I'd hold a grudge...
I remember them arguing,
but...
[Sally's voice]
It's different for him.
And I just couldn't
sustain the anger anymore.
[Laurence's voice]
God! You need therapy.
No. It's gone.
No. It is not.
It is still here.
Let yourself see it.
[Sally's voice]
Look, for starters,
he was there, okay?
And he was actually gentle.
I was five, I think.
[Sally] Do you have any idea
what gentleness means
for a guy like that?
[Silk Spectre's voice]
I snuck downstairs
to play with a snow globe.
[Laurence] It means
a broken marriage
and an uncertain future
for our child.
My child! That's what this
is all about, remember?
[Silk Spectre's voice]
My dad was always
-yelling at me...
-Laurel Jane!
...because he knew
I wasn't his.
What are you doing down here?
[snow globe shattering]
Pretty sure my real dad
was Hooded Justice,
my mom's old boyfriend.
Anyway, I...
My dad
was a domineering bully
like most of the men
I've been...
[clears throat]
But Dan's... not like that.
He's gentle.
Someone you can pour
your troubles out to.
A receptive lover.
You mean...
you're sleeping with Dreiberg?
But... you already know.
-You said--
-I said many times
that you were my only link,
my only concern
with the world.
What does it say
that when you left me,
I left Earth?
Now that you
have replaced me,
that link is shattered.
[stammering]
Don't you see the futility
of asking me to save a world
I no longer have
any stake in?
[sighs wearily]
Jon, don't be ridiculous.
Earth's too important
to hinge on one relationship.
Not to me.
My red world here
means more to me
than your blue one.
I will show you.
-[rumbling]
-[yelps]
[dramatic music playing]
[sirens wailing]
[Walter] Cowering down here
in sludge
doing nothing but conjuring
names on screens.
Computer unnecessary.
This face is all I need.
Give me smallest finger
on man's hand.
I'll produce information
about mask killer.
Hey, you needed
your spare costume,
I needed time for research.
And now we need to put
our heads together on this.
You said the Comedian
told Moloch about an island
and a plot against Jon,
and I think the plot
had to be the cancer-scare
media attack
that sent Jon off the planet.
Now, check this out.
I finally got a breakthrough
investigating
Dimensional Developments,
the company that employed
Jon's alleged cancer victims.
They also owned
the Institute
for Extraspatial Studies.
And look, Nova Express
is connected.
They published
the cancer list.
And all of these companies
appear to be funded
by Pyramid Deliveries.
Pyramid?
That means
something to you?
[Rorschach] Moloch's illegal
cancer meds...
delivered by Pyramid.
God, Moloch was in deep.
And probably didn't know it.
If his place was bugged
by these companies...
They'd know about
Comedian's visit to Moloch.
And that Comedian discovered
the plot against Jon.
Know of my investigation,
know how to frame me.
-But what about Veidt?
-Hm.
The assassination attempt
on Adrian doesn't fit the--
Hold... hold on.
[dispatcher] Location
is Mason's Auto repairs.
Hollis?
[dispatcher]
Additional units needed
to canvass the area
for Knot-Tops.
-Coroner en route.
-No.
[dispatcher]
Body ID-ed as...
-No.
-...Hollis Mason.
Oh, God! Hollis?
Oh, Christ! No!
Sorry.
He was a good man.
[voice shaking]
I wasn't there.
I should have...
I should have been there.
[Rorschach]
It could be random killing.
Could be
another mask killer.
Squeeze underworld,
find answers. Take revenge.
[Nite Owl] No.
We don't have time.
We have to--
-His own fault.
-[gasps]
Was lazing too long.
Forgot how to do things.
[yelling] Lazing? Lazing?
Who the hell
do you think you are?
You live off people
while insulting them.
And the only reason
nobody complains
is because they think
you're a goddamn lunatic!
[Nite Owl breathing painfully]
Do you know how hard
it is being your friend?
Daniel, you are
a good friend.
I know that.
I'm sorry that
it is sometimes difficult.
[sighs]
No. I'm the one
who should be sorry.
Shouldn't have
said all that.
Let's forget it, huh?
We don't have time for this.
Agreed. The end is nigh.
And Adrian's assassin
is the next piece
of the puzzle.
Let's hope
the world's smartest man
can help us
put it all together
before it's too late.
[General] Mr. President,
Russian tanks
are massing in East Germany
in response to alleged
"Western alarmism."
CIA thinks this is genuine.
Both our countries have been
on full alert this past week.
One spark
and it could all go up.
Our analysis of a first strike
against their nuclear silos
shows a good chance
of success.
Casualties on our side
could be 10-20 million.
Well, in the first wave,
anyway.
Our tactical and strategic
forces worldwide
are standing by
on DEFCON 2.
What are your instructions,
Mr. President?
Hm.
We sit, and we wait.
Look, Jon. We don't have time
to go sightseeing on Mars,
and this debate
is going nowhere fast.
Can you please
just spare me the agony
and tell me
how this conversation ends?
It ends in tears.
I return to Earth
at some point in my future,
and I find streets
full of corpses.
But the details are vague.
What?
What do you mean "vague"?
There is some kind of static
obscuring the future,
preventing any clear
impression.
The electromagnetic pulse
of mass warhead detonations
could conceivably cause that.
Oh, my God.
Jon, we can't just
fly around Mars
if missiles are about
to launch back home.
Humanity might be on
the brink of extinction.
Doesn't that bother you?
No, Laurie.
That does not bother me.
Life is a highly overrated
phenomenon.
Mars gets along perfectly
without a single microorganism.
Its surface is a constantly
changing topographical map,
flowing and shifting in ripples
10,000 years wide.
It is called chaotic terrain.
Yeah, well, our lives
have chaotic terrain, too.
I mean, think about
when we first met
at that Crimebusters thing
in the '60s.
...banding together
as the Crimebusters.
[Comedian] It doesn't mean
squat!
[Silk Spectre] Remember
how that all fell to pieces?
It was even more chaotic
after you left.
[whooshing overhead]
Laurel Jane, right?
Sally's kid?
Uh... yeah.
I caught your act in there.
You were pretty cool.
Hm. You didn't grow up
too bad yourself.
Thanks. [chuckles softly]
Your, uh, mom
ever talk about me much?
Mm, not really.
[scoffs] Figures.
You got her eyes,
even that little mole.
Ain't got her hair,
but otherwise you're like her.
You're a looker.
-[gasps]
-Take your hands off her!
Hey, Sal.
Long time no see.
Not long enough
in my book.
Are there any depths
you won't sink to?
We were just talking.
Can't a man talk to his...
his old friend's daughter?
What do you think I am?
I know what you are,
Edward Blake!
I've known for 25 years.
And don't you
ever forget that.
I thought we'd settled
all that a long time ago.
Things like that
don't get settled,
and they're not gonna happen
to my daughter.
Come on.
We're leaving right now.
[Silk Spectre] Of course,
in the moment,
I didn't know
what that bastard had done.
- Mom drove us three blocks...
-[sobbing]
...stopped the car,
and then it all came
pouring out.
Her pain, her fears,
and what Blake did to her.
[inhales]
I carried that with me
for years.
At some point,
I crossed paths with Blake
and a few too many drinks.
And I was a mean drunk.
[Blake laughs]
Juspeczyk, huh?
Took your grandmother's
name over Jupiter?
I see you didn't take
your father's last name either.
-What's that to you?
-Nothing.
[chuckles softly]
Still see your mom in you.
She was a peach.
Is that what you told her
before you beat her,
before you tried to rape her?
What kind of a man
forces a woman into having sex
against her will?
[stammering] Only... once.
[Silk Spectre]
With seven scotches in me,
and one in my hand,
I let him have it.
[gasps]
[Silk Spectre] And then,
you got angry,
and teleported us out of there.
[energy crackling, whooshes]
At least then
you seemed to understand
the chaotic terrain
of our lives.
Why does it matter less now?
I read atoms, Laurie.
I see the ancient spectacle
that birthed the world
beneath us.
Beside this, human life
is brief and mundane.
[sighs]
I'm done.
Land this thing.
Take me home.
As you wish.
[rumbling]
You said this would end
in tears.
You were wrong.
Maybe you're wrong about
streets full of corpses, too.
Laurie, you complained
that I refused
to see existence
in human terms.
But you are refusing to see
through my viewpoint.
If you would
just allow yourself
to see the whole continuum,
the patterns of life,
then you would understand.
Instead, you deliberately
shut out understanding
-as if you are afraid.
-[scoffs]
[Silk Spectre's voice]
Her pain...
I'm not afraid.
And what Blake did to her.
I'm just through
with looking back
on my stupid memories.
I carried that
with me for years.
I'm know what you are,
Edward Blake.
I've known for 25 years.
What kind of a man
forces a woman into having sex
against her will?
What happened
was 40 years ago.
-It's history.
-Only... once.
I'm not afraid.
[Sally's voice] Even the grimy
parts of it...
I'm not...
[Sally's voice] ...keep getting
brighter all the time.
[Laurence's voice]
God! You need therapy.
[Sally] My child!
[Silk Spectre's voice]
My dad was always
yelling at me...
Laurel Jane!
...because he knew
it wasn't his.
Laurel Jane, right?
Sally's kid?
Can't a man talk to his...
his old friend's daughter?
He's...
[Comedian] You didn't grow up
too bad yourself.
He's not my...
Still see your mom in you.
You got her eyes.
Your, uh, mom ever
talk about me much?
[Silk Spectre] No.
[Sally's voice]
And I just couldn't sustain
the anger anymore.
And he was actually gentle.
I thought we'd settled
all that a long time ago.
[Sally's voice] Getting old,
you get
a different perspective.
[Comedian] Can't a man
talk to his...
[voice echoes]
...his old friend's daughter?
[Silk Spectre softly] No.
[crying hysterically] No!
No, no, no.
Blake, you bastard!
[sobbing]
I will never, ever
call you my father!
[crackling]
[stirring music playing]
You're right.
My life's a joke.
[voice shaking]
My life... all life...
meaningless.
[Jon] I disagree.
[sniffles] What?
I do not think
your life is meaningless.
But... why?
You... changed my mind.
For my entire existence,
I have longed to see
a thermodynamic miracle,
an event with odds
so great against it
ever happening,
that it is effectively
impossible
like oxygen spontaneously
turning into gold.
In every human coupling,
a thousand-million sperms
vie for a single egg.
Multiply those odds
by countless generations,
against the odds
of your ancestors being alive,
meeting,
siring this precise son,
that exact daughter,
until one day,
your mother loves a man
she has every reason to hate.
And out of that union,
of the
thousand-million children
competing for fertilization,
it was you,
only you that emerged.
To distill so specific a form
from that chaos
of improbability,
is like turning air
into gold.
That is
the crowning unlikelihood,
the thermodynamic miracle.
[Silk Spectre]
But, if I'm...
if my birth
is a thermodynamic miracle,
you could say that about
anyone else in the world.
[Jon] Yes. The world
is so full of people,
so crowded
with these miracles,
that they become commonplace.
And we forget...
I forget what they truly are.
Now, from your vantage point,
I see the Earth.
Dry your eyes, Laurie,
for you are life,
rarer than a quark
and unpredictable beyond
the dreams of Heisenberg,
the clay in which the forces
that shape all things
leave their fingerprints
most clearly.
Dry your eyes,
and let's go home.
-[rain pattering]
-[thunder rumbling]
[Rorschach] Not like him.
Building deserted.
-Works here late every night.
-Found his daily planner.
Yesterday's entry...
"Leave for Karnak."
That's his private base
in the Antarctic.
So much
for asking him for help.
[Rorschach] This chart,
analysis of global crises.
War, famine,
environmental decline.
Crisis lines converge
mid '90s.
Optimistic.
Crisis arrives decade early,
unless we get lead
on Pyramid Deliveries.
[sighs]
[suspenseful music playing]
Oh, shit.
[clanking]
Veidt Enterprises holdings
includes Pyramid Deliveries,
Dimensional Developments,
Nova Express,
the Institute
for Extraspatial Studies.
Adrian owns them, Rorschach.
He owns and controls
all of them.
But Veidt was target
of assassin.
Maybe, maybe not.
We need to find Adrian fast.
[whooshing]
[Rorschach]
Rorschach's journal,
November 1st, 1985.
Final entry.
Dreiberg convinced Veidt
is behind everything.
Cannot imagine
more dangerous opponent.
Faster than either of us.
Could kill us both there
in Antarctic snow.
Nobody would ever know.
Return from mission
seems unlikely.
Hope the world
survives long enough
for anyone to read this,
so people will know the truth
of this conspiracy
that Adrian Veidt
is responsible.
For my own part,
I regret nothing.
I've lived life
free from compromise.
I step into the shadow now,
without complaint.
-[thunder rumbling]
-[whooshes]
[dramatic music playing]
[Adrian] Not the sort of snow
you're used to in California,
Mr. Roth.
[chuckles] I am as pleasantly
surprised by a coke-joke
from the world-famous
Adrian Veidt,
as I am your gracious
invitation to Karnak here.
Your Antarctic retreat
is breathtaking,
to say the least.
And the name, Karnak.
Egyptian in origin, correct?
Yes. You've done
your homework.
[Roth chuckling] Not enough
to keep up with you, I'm sure.
Hello, Mr. Veidt.
You'll be happy to know
the delivery arrived
in perfect condition.
Excellent news, my friends.
I've brought you
an excellent wine to celebrate.
[Roth] Ah. Ramses II,
also known as Ozymandias,
your namesake as a superhero.
Tell us more about your path
to becoming Ozymandias.
Oh, certainly.
I'd say my journey began
after my parents died.
They left me
with a lot of money,
but I gave it all to charity
when I was 17.
I wanted to prove that I could
accomplish anything I wanted...
-Shall we prepare your dinner?
-[Adrian] No.
Work comes first.
...only guidance
was inspiration
from the one human
with whom I felt any kinship,
Alexander of Macedonia.
As a brilliant,
young army commander,
Alexander swept through
many countries,
ruled without barbarism,
and instituted the world's
greatest center of learning
in Egypt.
Determined to measure
my success against his,
I retraced my hero's steps...
[attendant]
Nova Express interview
is ready for your review
before broadcast.
The planet is currently
swarming in events,
and I need
to review them all.
I need information
in its most concentrated form.
[Roth] ...where some say
you've even learned
how to catch a bullet
in your bare hands!
We shall retire
to enjoy your generous gift.
We know that you prefer
to be alone down here.
Yes.
Alexander united
the civilized world...
All alone.
But only while he lived.
Just me and the world.
[Adrian] The wisdom
of the pharaohs
inspired the world
for generations
beyond their passing.
Adopting Ramses II's
Greek name,
and Alexander's
free-booting style,
I began my path...
to conquest.
Conquest not of men,
but the evils
that beset them.
[tape whirring]
[indistinct chatter]
The channels change
every 100 seconds
creating random images,
allowing subliminal hints
of the future
to come through.
A jigsaw puzzle model
of tomorrow.
I see a juxtaposition
of wish-fulfillment violence
and infantile imagery,
evocative of desire to regress,
be free of responsibility.
I see increased sexual imagery,
implying an erotic undercurrent
not uncommon
in times of conflict.
This all says war.
I will invest accordingly.
Everybody's scared.
You can feel it.
[narrator reading] I estimated
I was not far
from Davidstown...
Just waiting for the nukes
to start dropping.
[narrator reading]
I was sure that by now
the place had been overrun
by the Freighter's brigands.
At the end of my journey,
all that remained to me now
was revenge
against those who had killed
my family, my crew,
and left me for dead.
[narrator reading] Davidstown
slept,
deserted save for silence.
[Max] Hard to believe
we're finally going home.
I'll drink to that.
[both chuckle]
[narrator reading] I arrived
at my former residence,
careful not to rouse the
butchers occupying it.
[ticking]
[beeping]
[narrator reading] Unaware that
death was among them...
They'd know its dark embrace
without ever understanding why.
[glass shatters]
[narrator reading]
One, however, was awake.
Frantic, lest he should
raise alarms,
I set upon him.
In cataract darkness,
-I bludgeoned him.
-[screaming rings out]
His screams
unnervingly shrill.
No pirates came,
but something worse.
I looked up
into faces familiar,
-save for their terror.
-[children crying]
The children wailed.
[narrator reading] I looked
down at the figure beneath me.
Through puffed and bloodied
lips she mouthed my name.
There came an understanding
so large,
it left no room for sanity.
I ran, but the knowledge
of my damnation paced me,
gloating, celebrating
its awful victory.
[narrator reading] Behind me,
a Lynch mob howled.
Eventually, I came
to an ash-colored shore,
a dismal black ocean
stretching before me.
How had I reached this
appalling position,
with love, only love, as my
guide?
How had my noble intentions,
[tentacles squelching]
led me to atrocity?
[creature moaning]
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[narrator reading] Pausing,
I stood, panting, sobbing,
...listening to
the windborne sound
of my pursuers draw closer.
Planning to resume my flight,
I raised my head and saw her.
The black freighter and its
accursed inhabitants
seemed to be waiting,
waiting for me.
They'd come to Davidstown
to collect the only prize
they'd ever valued.
Claim the only soul
they'd ever truly wanted.
I was a horror,
amongst horrors I must dwell.
I swam towards the
anchored freighter.
A rope snaked down.
Spluttering, I grabbed it.
And from the decks above,
a cheer went up,
both gross and black.
It's stench
affronting heaven.
[soft clattering]
[clears throat]
[grunting, groaning]
Manners.
[laser whooshes]
-[yelps, groans]
-[clattering]
[crackling]
Now.
What can I do for you?
We know
you're behind everything.
The Comedian's murder,
Jon's exile.
Christ! Adrian,
we're on the brink
of World War III
because of you.
Well, Nixon
and his attack dog, Blake,
most certainly did more
in that regard.
Have you ever read
the last speech
Kennedy was supposed
to deliver?
[Rorschach grunting]
[grunts, groans]
[yelps, groans]
"We in this country,
in this generation,
are by destiny,
rather than by choice,
the watchmen
on the walls of freedom."
But in a world of tyranny,
crosshairs watched him.
Blake's, most probably.
-[groans]
-What the hell
are you getting at, Adrian?
It was then
that I began to realize
my adventuring
was a...
hollow crusade
against such forces,
a dark comedy clarified
by the Comedian himself
in '66.
I'm sure you remember
the Crimebusters fiasco,
where he discussed
nuclear war's inevitability.
He opened my eyes
to the truth.
Only the best comedians
accomplish that.
That's when I understood
what I must do.
Alexander's methods,
unification by conquest
would not halt the race
toward mutually-assured
destruction
between East and West.
But Alexander was also known
for untying the unsolvable
Gordian knot...
by severing it with a sword.
The same
unconventional solution
would be required
to untangle
our global problems.
And my sword
would be history's
greatest practical joke.
A joke discovered
by Comedian.
[growling]
Blake was returning
from Nicaragua by airship
when he spotted
my private island.
He investigated and discovered
my artists and scientists
creating a genetically-altered,
monstrous new life-form
and our research
in teleportation.
Teleportation?
But only Jon can teleport.
Jon proved it possible,
and certainly more desirable
than the electric vehicles
he developed.
So, I capitalized
on his endeavors
by developing the basic patent
for the public spark-hydrants
that power his vehicles.
I financed
Dimensional Developments,
and the Institute
for Extraspatial Studies
with the proceeds.
Both developed new technologies
spun-off from Jon's
government research.
But without his guiding mind,
teleportation proved...
limited.
Anything living
died explosively on arrival.
Talking in circles.
You murdered Comedian
to keep him quiet.
Unfortunately for Blake,
I was monitoring
Moloch's residence
when his practiced
cynicism cracked,
and he began to spill fragments
of my plan.
I regret
his accidental involvement.
With the fate of the world,
and all humanity at stake,
I couldn't risk the possibility
of Blake revealing my plan
-in its entirety to anyone...
-[Blake screaming]
...especially to Jon.
Being too powerful
and unpredictable
to fit my plans,
I plotted his removal
for years.
Thus his past associates
were exposed to radiation
and cultivated as weapons
against Jon's increasingly
fragile attachment to mankind.
With Jon and Blake
neutralized,
your mask-killer investigation
then needed stopping.
I staged
my own assassination attempt
to place me beyond suspicion
and cast doubt on the theory.
The unwitting assassin I hired
was fed a cyanide capsule.
And Rorschach was framed
for Moloch's murder
to close the loose ends.
[yelling]
[Rorschach grunts softly]
Adrian, you're talking about
faulty teleportation
and genetic monsters
and ending war.
How does any of this
mad science make sense?
My plan is quite simple.
Teleport my creature
to New York.
The ensuing explosion
will wipe out half the city.
The aftermath will convince
the governments of Earth
that we are under attack
by beings from another world.
Instead of fighting
each other,
for the first time
the human race will unite
against a common foe
and usher in a new age
of global peace.
Adrian, listen to me.
You're not well.
You need help.
I'm just glad we got here
before you had a chance
to try and do it.
Do it?
Dan, I'm not
some comic book villain.
Do you seriously think
I'd explain my masterstroke
if there was even
the slightest chance of you
affecting its outcome?
I did it 35 minutes ago.
[tense music playing]
[ticking rings out]
Oh, man.
[groans softly]
Hm.
Well, it's 11:25.
About time to close up, kid.
Hey, how many times
you gonna read that junk?
[scoffs] This story
don't make sense, man.
That's why I got
to read it over.
And my name's Bernie,
not "kid."
Bernie?
Short for Bernard?
No kidding.
-That's my name... too.
-[energy whooshing]
Whoa...
[tires screeching]
[siren chirps]
What the...
Ah, Jesus, Derf...
[energy crackling]
Holy...
-[creature screeching]
-[people groaning]
[screaming]
-[creature screeching]
-[woman screaming]
-[glass shattering]
-[people screaming]
-[creature screeching]
-[people yelping]
-[tires screeching]
-[glass shattering]
[energy whooshing]
[creature growling]
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[coughs]
[creature growling]
[moaning, trilling]
Oh, my God!
-Oh, my God!
-[creature bellows in pain]
[dying bellows end]
What... what the hell is that?
I had expected us to return
to Earth much earlier.
The interference I had noticed,
it was not a warhead detonation
after all.
So what...
Tachyons.
A squall of tachyons.
But where can they be
coming from?
I had almost forgotten
the delights of uncertainty.
[shuddering] Jon...
I am picking up a strong pulse
from the south-polar region.
Jon, get me out of here,
please.
Of course.
[energy crackling]
[Adrian] No one will doubt
the Earth has met a force
so dreadful
that it must be repelled,
all former enmities aside.
No one must ever
know the truth.
Those who were involved
are dead.
Killers killed by killers
who killed each other.
A lethal pyramid.
And what about us?
-[energy crackling]
-[Silk Spectre shivering]
[Jon] Veidt, of course.
Who else has the intelligence
for tachyon interference?
He must have anticipated
my possible discovery
of his plot for some time.
All that stuff in New York,
Adrian planned it?
Yes. He killed Blake
and half of New York.
Excuse me, Rorschach.
I am informing Laurie
ten seconds ago.
These tachyons are muddling
things up.
Jon, wait!
-[Nite Owl] Jon!
-[Rorschach] No!
Have to stop him.
Killed Blake
and half of New York.
[Jon] Yes. He killed Blake
and half of New York.
Excuse me, Rorschach.
I am informing Laurie
ten seconds ago.
These tachyons
are muddling things up.
[clinking,
electricity crackling]
The static is stronger here.
Hiding behind these tachyons
was clever, Veidt.
But this game is stupid.
Very well.
If I must follow this through
to the bitter end...
[shivering]
Dan.
[growling]
Bubastis, forgive me.
[growling]
[energy crackling]
Veidt, don't!
[crackling]
Huh. I wasn't actually sure
that would work.
[Silk Spectre] Veidt...
you're an asshole.
[clicking]
[effort grunt]
Oh, shit.
-[both grunting]
-[groaning]
[Nite Owl] Laurie!
Something else I wasn't sure
I would--
[energy crackling]
I am disappointed, Veidt.
Very disappointed.
[grunts]
Restructuring myself
was the first trick I learned.
Did you really think
it would kill me?
I have walked across the sun.
I have seen events
so tiny and so fast
that they can hardly be said
to have occurred at all.
But you?
You are just a man.
And this world's smartest man
means nothing more to me
than its smartest termite.
What is that, Veidt?
Another ultimate weapon?
You could say that.
[reporter 1 on TV]
This just in...
We have terrifying images...
Oh, Christ...
What you are about to see
may shock you.
[reporter 2] ...it's an utterly
horrible scene here.
[reporter 3] ...an institute
researching other dimensions.
[reporter 4] ...millions have
died here this evening.
[Rorschach] No! No!
[reporter 5]
Could it be alien contact?
[reporter 6]
Has the Earth been invaded?
Global concern is growing...
...and world leaders
are issuing
statements of support
across the globe.
We're hearing now
that Russian leader
Gorbachev said,
they're evaluating the new
threat in New York...
...increasing calls
for an immediate peace summit
in Geneva from world leaders...
in a global
concerted effort...
[reporter 7] Even Russia
is suspending military action.
[Nixon] Ladies and gentlemen,
this is good news.
The war is over.
War is over.
[reporter 8]
The war is over.
I did it. I did it!
I saved Earth from hell!
And next I will lift her up
toward utopia.
[Silk Spectre]
Wait. Next?
You really think
you can get away with this?
[sighs wearily]
If you expose me,
you will undo the peace
that millions died to achieve.
If you kill me,
you risk investigations
that will reveal what happened.
He is correct.
Exposing this plot
results in greater destruction
on Earth.
On Mars,
you demonstrated life's value.
If we would preserve life here,
we must remain silent.
-[gasps]
-[sighs wearily]
You're right. Jesus.
Rorschach...
we... we...
We have to compromise on this.
No.
Not even
in the face of Armageddon.
Never compromise.
Well, in all likelihood,
he is of no consequence.
Rorschach is hardly
a reliable witness.
Still...
I think I shall meditate
in my orrery now.
-[energy crackling, whooshing]
-Jon?
[wind blowing]
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[Jon] Where are you going?
Back to America.
People must be told.
Evil must be punished.
You know,
I cannot let you do that.
Of course.
To protect Veidt's new utopia.
One more body
amongst foundations
makes little difference.
Well...
what are you waiting for?
Do it.
Rorschach...
Do it.
Do it!
[bursting splatter]
No!
-No, no.
-Dan.
God.
I'm here, Dan.
[sobbing] No.
[Silk Spectre]
I'm so sorry.
[energy crackling, whooshing]
[sobbing continues]
Hello, Jon.
I was hoping
we'd have a chance to talk.
I know I've journeyed
across the backs
of murdered innocents
to save humanity.
But someone
had to take the weight
of that awful necessary crime.
Unlike Rorschach,
I understand,
without condoning
or condemning.
Human affairs cannot
be my concern any longer.
I am leaving this galaxy
for one... less complicated.
But you'd regained interest
in human life.
[Jon] Yes, I have.
I think I would like
to create some.
Goodbye, Adrian.
Before you leave,
I did the right thing,
didn't I?
It all worked out in the end.
In the end?
Nothing ends, Adrian.
Nothing ever ends.
[Sally chuckling] Well, despite
nearly killing me
with a heart attack,
this is quite a Christmas gift.
I'm just so happy
to have my little Laurel back.
-Hair color, aside.
-Mother, remember?
It's Sandra
and Sam Hollis, now.
Aw!
And Hollis would be so proud
that you took his name.
It was the least I could do
to honor him.
He was like
a second father to me.
And that's why
I wanted to visit.
Mom, I found out
who my real dad was.
Oh, Jesus.
[sobbing] Oh, Laurel.
I'm so sorry.
Mom...
-What you must think...
-Mom, it doesn't matter.
[Sally sighing sadly]
People's lives
take them strange places.
They do strange things,
and sometimes
they can't talk about them.
I know how that is.
[sniffles]
I love you, Mom.
You never did anything
wrong by me.
Bye, Sam. Bye, Sandra.
And don't wait too long
to have children.
-I'm an old woman.
-[Sam chuckles]
-Goodbye, Mom.
-Bye, Ms. Jupiter.
You know, maybe that wasn't
such a bad idea
of your mother's-
[chuckling] Forget it.
Not yet.
You've been talking about
adventuring again,
and I'm not staying home
changing diapers.
[chuckles softly]
Nite Owl and Silk Spectre
sounds pretty awesome.
-I think I want a new name.
-Mm?
And a better costume
for protection.
-Mm-hm.
-Something leather.
[Sam] Sure.
[Sandra] And a mask.
[Sam] Uh...
-[Sandra] Maybe a gun.
-[Sam] Mm...
[Hector] Seymour,
where have you been?
Dimension X?
[Seymour] I just got lunch
from Burgers 'n' Borscht.
[Hector] Don't say it!
I won't have Russian
spoken in this office,
ass-kissing peace accord
or not.
-[paper rustling]
-[Hector] What are you doing?
[Seymour] Well, I was gonna
eat my lunch.
[Hector sighs wearily]
Three million New Yorkers died,
and you weren't one of them.
Seymour, damn it!
You've got two more pages
to fill before you eat.
[Seymour] I thought
your column--
Well, you thought wrong.
Nobody's allowed
to say bad things
about our "good old buddies,"
the Russians anymore.
So bang goes
a two-page column.
Get some filler somewhere.
[Seymour] Robert Redford says
he'll be running for president
in '88.
[Hector] Seymour,
do not dignify absurdities
with coverage.
Nobody wants a cowboy actor
in the White House.
[Seymour] Then I guess
it's something
from the crank file?
[Hector sighs wearily]
Yes, yes.
Whatever's within
your limited abilities.
Just take responsibility
for once in your life.
Run whatever you want.
I leave it entirely
in your hands.
[funky music playing]
Can you contain
The Mmeltdowns?
[announcer] The atomic age
bite-sized snack
that'll make you glow
from head to toe.
Can you contain
The Mmeltdowns?
[announcer] A chain reaction
of flavor satisfaction
that'll make
your taste buds explode.
Can you contain
The Mmeltdowns?
[announcer] Fruity fallout
and a delicious molten center
that'll blow you
all the way to China.
Can you contain
The Mmeltdowns?
[announcer]
Mm, Mmetldowns!
[jazz music playing]
[pensive music playing]