HBO's Watchmen Should Take Aim at Modern Live-Action Superhero Storytelling

as more and more news regarding hbo’s upcoming adaptation (or “remix,” as showrunner damon lindelof puts it) of watchmen continue to surface, fans have greeted the news with piqued interest and often a dash of trepidation. the original twelve-issue limited series (not graphic novel; watchmen was on a monthly-ish release schedule from dc comics) is often considered one of the comic book medium’s sacred cows, and with good reason.

writer by alan moore with art by david gibbons and john higgins, watchmen was (and still is) seen as a masterwork. the series tackled tough realizations when it comes to applying superheroes to a real world aesthetic, while also grappling with some tough melodrama that challenged the reader’s own morality.

the big idea

in short, watchmen asked impossibly big questions, and the answers to them were not easy. what makes the series truly brilliant is that it’s satire of the fifty years of comics that proceeded it, causing watchmen to work on two levels: one is for the uninitiated, the non-comic reader who just likes heady stories. the other is for readers who have a working knowledge of the tropes and iconography of superhero comics. it's on this second level where watchmen truly transcends the medium by turning it up on its ear.

now, superhero deconstruction stories were nothing new when the first issue of watchmen was released in the september of 1986. in fact, moore already had a dry run at this with his reimagining of miracleman (nee marvelman), and frank miller had just tossed batman out on the highway from a speeding mack truck with the dark knight returns earlier that same year. (1986 was a good time for dc comics, you guys.) but what set watchmen aside from its predecessors and contemporaries was the prism through which it was presented.

there was a laser focus with the construction of watchmen. everything, from the limited color palette to the six by six panel layout, was rolled out with deliberate precision. each page of every issue was built on invoking a sense of nostalgia from readers who were familiar with the medium, while feeling completely alienated by the political, social and theological subject matter that pushed its way to the surface. watchmen was speaking a familiar language, but with words never heard before.

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watchmen is currently creeping its way back into the zeitgeist. (but really, did it ever leave?) there is currently a sequel series, doomsday clock by geoff johns, gary frank and brad anderson being published by dc comics that has the characters from the original series meshing with other dc characters in ways they never have before. but more relevant to our focus, hbo is going to present a new live action version of this seminal comic story, and with the way pop culture is currently standing, it's the perfect time for it to spread its wings and remind everyone why watchmen is such an important piece of comic book history.

back in 2009, director zack snyder tried his hand at adapting this property, and while his version was surprisingly loyal to the source material and featured some fantastic performances (jackie earle haley’s rorschach and jeffrey dean morgan’s comedian are pretty much perfect characterizations), overall the movie kind of missed its mark. but seeing as how it was released at the very beginning of the present day comic book movie boom, it was nigh-impossible for it be able to truly succeed.

lost in translation

when stories transfer from one medium to another, often time predominant themes are lost. this is because certain elements of stories can have a meta-narrative that runs either parallel or within the primary narrative. watchmen was a meditation and skewering of comics and it did so through the reoccurring structure and tropes of the medium.

unfortunately, snyder did not have the catalogue of comic book movie history to really lean into, seeing as how comic adaptions have varied in story telling devices and consistency over the years. sure, he could have taken a huge swipe at hokey, overly-earnest adaptations like the television show the incredible hulk or richard donners' superman films, but he would have ostracized huge swathes of fans since their point of reference would differ greatly from his.

watchmen had nearly half a century of consistent (not necessarily in regards to quality) of story-telling to riff on. the established superhero mythos was ripe for the picking -- but instead of focusing on the past, snyder helped lay the groundwork for what modern superhero movies would become, for better or worse.

what it can mean now

the upcoming watchmen television series has the opportunity to recapture the original's sense of satire by diving into the trapping of comic book live-action adaptions of the last decade. marvel studios and warner brothers have dozens of films and television shows that can succumb to the same satirical bite moore and gibbons' story chomped down on back in ’86.

pop culture is consumed way differently today than it was when watchmen first came out. we now live in age of instant gratification and binge-worthy material. the fact that myriad fans have had a relatively small amount of time to see the trapping of modern superhero tales allows this upcoming hbo show to be both topical and satirical for a wider audience. damon lindelof and company have a golden opportunity lean into the notion of deconstructing what has become common place for most audiences.

despite the billions (and that’s billion with a "b") of dollars comic book movies rake in at the box office year after year, some critics and fans have complained of “superhero fatigue.” for those folks in particular, hbo’s watchmen might be just the remedy for giving them something that can change their tune. a show built on the shoulders of self-awareness has the ability to both bring jaded viewers back from the brink of boredom while also redefining the genre.

the hbo adaptation of watchmen is being developed for television by the leftovers showrunner damon lindelof. while there has been no announced start date, the first season is expected to begin filming this year.