WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rorschach #5 by Tom King, Jorge Fornés, Dave Stewart and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
At the start of the new Rorschach series, a mysterious man wearing the vigilante's costume and his sidekick, The Kid, attempted to assassinate presidential candidate Turley. Not much was known about this politician. All that we knew was that he planned on opposing President Redford, who is serving well past his initial two terms. Some see Turley as their one hope to finally dethrone Redford and bring about hopeful and lasting change to the United States. For that reason, Turley has been painted as a sort of white knight -- but the character still largely remained a mystery.
Now, Rorschach #5 finally sheds some light on the politician by having the still-unnamed investigator come face-to-face with him. Only, Turley may not exactly be what anyone expected -- and that is made even worse thanks to his connection to Eddie Blake, the Comedian.
Rorschach #5 opens by focusing on the public image of Governor Turley. He is presented as the total opposite of Redford: he's a man of the people, a veteran who believes in the old fashioned values of America. He's described as "the last honest man" in the country, a savior who can put the United States and its people back on the right track after the rule of the power-hungry Redford.
But when we see Turley behind closed doors, we quickly realize that he is anything but honest. He's crass and impatient, he's convinced Redford is out to kill him, he has no tact and he is aggressive with his subordinates. If anything, the issue makes it clear that, when he isn't in public, Governor Turley is kind of, generally, a disgusting person.
Things only get worse from there, when the investigator is invited to meet with the politician in his office. When he walks into the room, he is greeted by an aggressively large frame of a smiley face hanging over Turley's desk, something that delivers a very direct and frightening message: the politician idolizes Eddie Blake, the Comedian.
Despite dying in Watchmen #1, the Comedian cast a long shadow throughout the comic series by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins. The character was a government agent and superhero, but he was also vile, twisted and violent. Blake built the entire persona of the Comedian as an exaggerated reflection of the darkness of society, and he reveled in it. The Comedian is the last superhero anyone should use as a role model, which is why seeing the smiley face hovering over a man of political power, someone who might become the next President of the United States, is so worrisome.
Turley explains that, when he was in the army, he actually crossed paths with the Comedian during the Vietnam War on two occasions -- once during a mission, and the other on the day of victory. Judging by the way he acts and treats others, it's clear that the Comedian's philosophy has inspired Turley. He doesn't just idolize him, he appears to share his belief. And that makes him not the shining knight we believed him to be, but a dark figure who just may be worse than President Redford.
While there is still much left to be learned about Turley and the death of the new Rorschach, the mystery keeps getting more and more complicated. At first, Rorschach and The Kid simply looked like crazy fanatics for attempting to kill Turley. But now, the series has just teased that perhaps they knew something everyone else didn't. Could the two have been trying to stave off something far worse than President Redford?