WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rorschach #5 by Tom King, Jorge Fornés, Dave Stewart and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
In previous issues of Rorschach, the investigator found out the origin of the new Rorschach's mysterious sidekick, Laura Cummings, aka The Kid. Laura was raised by a veteran who was convinced that the alien attack on New York was real and that the squids would one day return. She believed that the aliens could alter the minds of anyone on Earth and that Dr. Manhattan had reincarnated the souls of the Watchmen into various people all across the globe. She convinced her circus friend that he was Rorschach reincarnated, and she did the same with Wil Myerson before the two attempted to kill presidential candidate Turley.
These new revelations made it all but clear that Laura was manipulating these men, whether knowingly or not, and that she was ultimately the real villain of this story. But now, with Rorschach #5, we find out that may not be the case after all. Indeed, perhaps they were truly trying to save the world.
The mystery at the heart of Rorschach started when the masked vigilante mysteriously returned decades after his death with a new sidekick called The Kid. At a political rally, the two attempted to assassinate Governor Turley, but their attack was foiled by the event's security, and they were both gunned down. Turley is being presented as a white knight, a man who has the best interest of the American people at heart and a strong contender who could finally dethrone President Redford. Therefore, when Rorschach and The Kid attempted to kill him, it seemed like they were trying to enforce the status quo and make sure that Redford would remain at his seat of power.
Yet, previous issues of Rorschach made it clear that Myerson and Laura were convinced they were doing the right thing -- and now, we may know why.
In Rorschach #5, the investigator is finally brought before Governor Turley, so the presidential candidate can be given a full update on the investigation.
However, Turley is not the white knight he appears to be in public. While he is described as "the last honest man in America," he is anything but. In truth, he worships the Comedian, and he appears to share his vile and dangerous nature. Throughout his meeting with Turley, the investigator sees him for who he really is, and it's clear that, to him, the mystery has just gotten a lot more complicated. Before, it seemed like everything was black and white. But that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Now, the investigator understands there is much more to this story. At first, he believed the new Rorschach and The Kid simply attempted to kill a beloved politician. But now, he understands what kind of man Turley really is, behind closed doors. With his similarities to the Comedian, Turley is a troubling individual who is incredibly near to the most important seat of power in the country.
If he becomes president, there's no telling the kind of damage he could do. And perhaps that is exactly what Rorschach and his sidekick were trying to prevent. It seems like they knew who Turley really was, and the danger he represented. Sure, they may have sought to kill him, but it looks like that was done to stave off something worse. Now, the investigator has even more information than before, but he is still far from the truth -- and he himself may wonder on which side he is really on.