The "superheroes" of the Watchmen universe do not have super-human powers (with one highly notable exception) – instead, they rely on their intelligence (Ozymandias), fighting skills (Silk Spectre), technology (Nite Owl), weapons (The Comedian), and sheer will (Rorschach) to combat crime.

Watchmen's primary point of divergence from actual American history is the emergence of a godlike super-being called Doctor Manhattan, who becomes an all-powerful instrument of American policy – ending the war in Vietnam, solving the energy crisis, keeping Soviet aggression in check. Backed by Doctor Manhattan's seemingly limitless power, President Nixon manages to get re-elected four consecutive times, and in October of 1985 (when the events of Watchmen take place) he is already serving his fifth term. By that time, nearly all other costumed heroes have been forced into retirement by the Keene Act of 1977, which outlaws all costumed vigilantism.

The story of Watchmen centers on the murder of one of the costumed heroes (The Comedian), which brings several of the other heroes out of retirement (mainly Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre) in an attempt to solve the crime. Watchmen also examines the consequences of America's overreliance on a single champion, when Doctor Manhattan suffers a personal crisis of conscience, abruptly leaving America vulnerable to enemies both foreign and domestic. Thematically, Watchmen focuses on the relationship between power and morality, and like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986), it tells a revisionist superhero tale against the background of Reagan-Thatcher power politics during the Cold War.

Watchmen has been made into a movie by director Zack Snyder, and was released on March 6th 2009.

Watchmen Characters -|- Watchmen: The Graphic Novel -|- Watchmen: The Movie