In the concluding segment of NXT on March 25, many theories were finally confirmed as Killer Kross was revealed as the man behind the mysterious vignettes that had been airing for the past few weeks. Though there were many thematic similarities between this video and those prior, many fans have noticed that this video, in particular, might be channeling a particular comic book, film and TV show. Specifically, Kross' long-awaited debut appears to harken back to the doomsday clock stylings on the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins, Watchmen.
The doomsday clock concept itself is the most obvious relationship between Kross and Watchmen, an idea so intrinsically linked to Watchmen that Doomsday Clock is the title of the recent sequel series at DC Comics. The original graphic novel revolved around the idea of imminent global catastrophe and nuclear armageddon, most closely reached in real-world terms with the Cuban missile crisis. It also had a lot to do with grown men and women wearing colorful, tight-fitting costumes and fighting each other, which is very much like the concept of wrestling itself, but that's neither here nor there.
The doomsday clock and its impending doom were revisited not just in the 2009 Zack Snyder film, but more recently in the HBO series, which served as a direct sequel to the graphic novel, with Lady Trieu's "Millenium Clock" structure serving as a continuing plot point. The looming refrain of "Tick Tock" was echoed by both Trieu and the Seventh Cavalry: a rebellious, racist group that repurposed the misunderstood anti-hero Rorschach's mask for their own diabolical purposes. Kross' video also includes the phrase, shimmering down a black screen in a vibrant white text, before a ticking clock is engulfed by an eclipsing sun.
Other motifs less directly linked to Watchmen are included in Kross' video, but they all nevertheless echo Watchmen's themes, such as a shrivelling white rose, a suspended skull and what appears to be the remains of a city after a devastating explosion.
However, the very beginning of the vignette includes a shot which seems to indicate that these allusions to Watchmen aren't coincidental. As the video opens, very briefly we see a flash of a vivid yellow screen, with red splatters that look like blood. This image quickly flashes away to depictions of vultures, carrion carcasses, a displaced rib-cage and what appears to be a crow looming atop a cross. But, just for a split-second, the ever-familiar yellow smiley face with a single tear of blood is conjured in the mind of the viewer. Given how calculated and dedicated Killer Kross has been to his character development up to his WWE debut, this feels deliberate.
This sparse use of the color yellow and blood splatters continued throughout the short vignette; at one point a clock itself is smeared in a yellow tint. Another apocalyptic image, of a missile launch and an explosion, is followed by a traffic sign with the phrase "The End Is Near" plastered on it in easily readable print, similar to the signs Rorschach carries to disguise himself in public. We also see a flickering blue television screen, which evokes concepts as diverse as the classic horror movies Poltergeist and The Ring, or the episode from Cowboy Bebop, "Brain Scratch".
Despite other possible allusions, Watchmen is the clearest inspiration for Kross' video, given the emphasis on the ticking doomsday clock, with the vignette and this week's episode of NXT closing on the ominous image of a clock striking midnight, which of course means in this case, the end of humanity -- or life as we know it.
It will be interesting to see whether Kross takes this further, as many similarities can be drawn between his character and Looking Glass (or Mirror Guy) from the HBO series. Maybe we'll see Kross interrogate his NXT opponents in a WWE branded version of The Pod in a few months' time, or delivering his own "But Doctor, I am Pagliacci" soliloquy?
Even if we don't, it's refreshing to see Kross take his fully realized character from TNA, Mexico and the independent wrestling scene and bring it to NXT. This is likely only the beginning of Killer Kross' Watchmen comparisons in the WWE, and we can't wait to see what he does next.