Mayfair Games, former publishers of the DC Heroes role-playing game, have put out two modules and a sourcebook for the Watchmen universe. The module Taking Out the Trash by Ray Winninger includes a section co- written by Moore giving a capsule history of the characters and world, including information not given in the series. The Watchmen Sourcebook (not written by Moore) expands on this information considerably.

Because this information is a) partially written by Moore and b) not in disagreement with anything in the series, it can be considered partially canonical. Noteworthy information about the characters not given in the series is summarized here. Wherever there is disagreement, the module will be held as the higher authority (with the comic as the highest authority, of course). (Unfortunately, its timeline contains several minor errors. It lists Mason's year of birth as 1906, when it should be 1916. Laurie was born in 1949, not 1950 (actually, opinions on this vary). It also gives Hooded Justice as being born in 1905, which is theoretically possible but difficult to believe. Several of the dates for the events of the series itself are also wrong.)

CAPTAIN METROPOLIS: As a child, CM was asthmatic, but built himself up and played football in college. He was unhappy with the way that many of the Minutemen were more concerned with the social potential of the team than crimefighting. When WWII was on he was brought back into the USMC.

COMEDIAN: He definitely murdered Hooded Justice, and was able to use his government connections to prevent any investigation into the disappearance. He also killed Woodward and Bernstein, and was involved in Kennedy's assassination.

HOODED JUSTICE: Rolf Muller was indeed a name he used, but it was only an alias and his true identity was never discovered. He was not a communist, however, but an anti-Communist, as confirmed by his KKK connections. He was the last person to agree to join the Minutemen. He spoke publicly in favor of Hitler in an interview in 1940.

MOTHMAN: Byron was a bored playboy who fought crime to add spice to his life. He was a conscientious objector during WWII and served as a medical aide.

SILHOUETTE: Ursula was an Austrian aristocrat who fled to avoid the Nazis. As a Jew she was greatly bothered by Hooded Justice's pro-Hitler stance, but Larry managed to sweep the incident under the rug. The villain who killed her and her lover was named the Liquidator.

SILK SPECTRE I: Sally Jupiter was a teen-aged runaway.

A NOTE ON THE ORIGINS OF THE CHARACTERS: Many of the super-heroes in this series are based on the original versions of characters published by Charlton Comics and acquired by DC. They are:

Comedian:	Based on Peacemaker. Violent government operative.
Dr. Manhattan:	Based on Captain Atom. Government employee gains godlike molecular powers in nuclear accident.
Nite Owl I & II:	Based on the first and third Blue Beetle. Original: policeman, fights crime in spare time in chainmail costume. (Published by Fox.) Third: Fights crime using science, has flying vehicle.
Ozymandias:	Based on Thunderbolt. Trained in the East, honed his mind & body to perfection.
Rorschach:	Based on the Question. Tough, violent crimefighters with featureless masks.
Silk Spectre:	Based on Nightshade. Female crimefighter, influenced by her mother, associates with ultra-powerful hero. [The mother-to-daughter identity transmission and costume/MO may be inspired by DC character Black Canary.]

It is theoretically possible that the rest of the Minutemen were based on Golden Age superheroes; but if so, I have been unable to trace any specific sources. They seem to be more archetypes than specific tributes; Captain Metropolis is the patriotic hero, Mothman the Batman/Green Arrow-type bored playboy, Silk Spectre and Silhouette two types of Golden Age heroine. (Sally as Black Canary, Ursula as the harder-edged Iron Lady type. Her homosexuality may have been inspired by common rumors/theories about Wonder Woman.)

The series was originally intended to be about the Charlton characters, but DC nixed the idea, probably because of the Captain Atom and Blue Beetle series that began about the same time. Moore re-worked the characters slightly into the current versions.

Watchmen is a trademark of DC Comics Inc., © 1999. These annotations © 1995 by Doug Atkinson. They may be freely copied and distributed, provided the text is not altered.
The annotations are maintained at this location by R.J. White.