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HBO did a cracking task with itsWatchmenseries , make it complex , yet understandable , even to those uninitiated in the Watchmen world . Despite the popularity of the graphic novel , it makes unadulterated sense that the show would go heavily to include an audience that has not yet show the tale Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons laid down on the page .
Still , it is recommended that those who enjoyed the series take a smell at the rule book . There are a few things , even beyond the Easter eggs , that only those who read the originalWatchmenseries will have understood when they appeared on the screen .
Laurie Recognizes Ozymandias
When Jeremy Irons seem on earth , Lady Trieu evidently knows who he is . We were devote her backstory in the finale . But , when FBI agent Laurie is knocked backward in the chair she ’s been bound to she look up into Adrian ’s eyes and assume she ’s dead . Part of this presumption comes from the fact that she also recognizesAdrian Veidt , Ozymandius , stick out above her . It is clear she is not happy to see him . How far back does their acquaintanceship go ? betting odds are you may have some doubt if you did not read the comic strip .
The Smiley Faces
Thought that egg smiley face was just a fun image to add for kicks and giggles ? Not so much . Unless you take the graphical novel , or at least looked at the cover , you probably do n’t empathise that the smiley face prototype come in with it ’s own intricate backstory . It ’s base on the button once worn by deceased Watchman , The Comedian ( father to agent Laurie Blake ) . It ’s important as the first clue to introduce the comic book write up when Rorschach shows up .
The Rorschach Masks
Worn by members of the seventh horse cavalry , thosemasks with Rorschach blotsare not just a switch for Klan hoods , they are base on the mask once wear by another departed Watchman , Rorschach . He was , for all intents and purposes , the protagonist of theWatchmencomic series . His character is reflected to television viewers a small bit through the appearance of Wade Tillman as Looking Glass . Unfortunately for those who only tuned in for the show he , and his history , go unmentioned throughout .
The Clock
Did you wish the xanthous clock that appears behind Angela Abar on theWatchmenseries poster ? Well , that ’s another callback , much like the smiley face mentioned above , to the graphic novel . The Doomsday Clock , as it is make out , counts down in the comic series as the world inches nigher to atomic warfare .
It ’s an even bigger symbol when you remember that Jon ( Dr. Manhattan ) had a father who was a watchmaker . This is the only real reference we get on cover , but it ’s much more prevalent on the page .
President Robert Redford
What a ridiculous detail for the television series to let in , right ? Not so much . Redford is mentioned toward theend of Alan Moore ’s tale , making a bid for president against Richard Nixon . That ’s right , even Robert Redford has an substitute history create on the Thomas Nelson Page before his name was ever dropped on HBO . Redford ’s incredibly long terminal figure is also not a surprisal since Nixon reigns long past two terms in the Holy Writ .
Nixonville
The trailer park where Sister Night and Looking Glass go to help contain suspected member of the Seventh Cavalry is n’t theorise to be just ironically named for the departed Republican president . What is not detailed in the show is how Nixon , with the help of gone Watchman , The Comedian , successfully sat for more than two full term as President of the United States in this historical timeline . While detail of Redford ’s term are offered up throughout , Nixon ’s connection to the show and timeline are only clear-cut if you read the book .
Joe Keene Jr. And His Bid For Office
Joe Keene Jr. gets a vociferation - out in the premier instalment in a radio add , and then becomes a fundamental role player on the show . This is not just makeweight , this is key background information , though you would n’t bed if you did n’t show . The Keene Bill , which also gets little reference , illegitimate vigilance man in masquerade unless they register with the governing . Thus , the importance of his son seeking power , especially the office of the presidency , should not be engage thinly in a new world of masked police officers .
Newsstand Guy
Newsstand guy gets a lot of gentle wind time in the second installment as well as the finale . Why was he pay such prominent arrangement ? Well , if you read the comic you would know that a New York newsstand also makes a numeral of appearance in the pages of the Moore comic .
Like that stand , this one carries copies of The New Frontiersman , once Rorschach ’s preferred source of right - backstage news . There ’s no genuine rationality to haunt over a exclusive newsstand in the HBO series except for the connection it has to the original source textile .
Archie The Airship
Did you like the dirigible Judd fly in the premier episode of the serial publication ? aroused to see its regaining in the finale ? Well , if you did n’t take the comics , and you do n’t know the story of Nite Owl ( the 2d Nite Owl in particular ) then you do n’t really know where this engineering came from . Both the police and Ozymandius slip it from Dan Dreiberg , yes , the Dan mentioned sit around in prison house . When he was allowed to go about his vigilante activities his big asset was engineering , which he designed , Archie the airship most sure as shooting include .
The Older Generation
While Angela Abar ’s grandfather , Will Reeves , is break to be the original maxed vigilante , Hooded Justice , little else is unwrap about the originalWatchmen . What non - readers wo n’t live is that Agent Laurie Blake had a mother and father who were also Watchmen members before her and , the Dan Dreiberg who is sitting in prison , was the 2nd someone to take on the chimneypiece of Nite Owl . Laurie , in her vigilante days , really took on the same name as her female parent , The Silk Spectre . There ’s a sight more history to the characters and their crusade than the show goes into .
NEXT : Every Costume in Watchmen , Ranked
