HBO's Watchmen: All New & Returning Masked Heroes Confirmed (So Far)

HBO's Watchmen TV show is finally being unveiled, with a recent promo and collection of clips revealing some of the masked vigilantes who will be featured in this modern-day follow-up to the acclaimed graphic novel. Written by Alan Moore with artwork by artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins, Watchmen was a dark twist on the superhero genre set in an alternate world history. The TV series was created by Damon Lindelof (Lost) and will star Jeremy Irons, Frances Fisher, Tim Blake Nelson, Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Don Johnson, Tom Mison, Lou Gossett Jr., James Wolk, Jean Smart, Sara Vickers, Adelaide Clemens, and Andrew Howard.

Watchmen's original lineup of superheroes were called the Minutemen, and they were all flawed in one way or another. There was self-aggrandizing genius Ozymandias, the violent and brutish Comedian, the single-minded Rorschach, and the fame-hungry Silk Spectre. However, HBO's Watchmen isn't a direct adaptation of the graphic novels, nor even a direct sequel, but is instead an original story set in the same universe in modern times. So, while there will be some familiar faces, the focus will primarily be on new characters, and the main location will be Tulsa, Oklahoma rather than New York City.

Whereas masked vigilantism was at one point condemned in the world of Watchmen, it now looks like it has been adopted by the official authorities, with police officers sporting yellow masks and one tagline stating, "Masks save lives." Let's take a look at the masked individuals who have been revealed so far - both familiar and new.

This Page: Ozymandias, Rorschach, and the Yellow-Masked Police
Page 2: Gold Mask, Red Mask, and Cowboy Hat

Ozymandias

Adrian Veidt a.k.a. Ozymandias technically wears a crown rather than a mask, and he's one of the few Minutemen who didn't drop his persona after the Keene Act outlawed costumed vigilantism. Instead, he used his great intellect to create the megacorporation Veidt Enterprises, selling Ozymandias action figures and merchandise as one of his many ventures. At the end of Watchmen it's revealed that Ozymandias has been the mastermind behind many terrible recent events, and he caps off his evil plan by teleporting an enormous "alien" squid monster into New York, resulting in countless deaths in the hope of averting nuclear war by giving the world a common enemy to focus on.

The Adrian Veidt of HBO's Watchmen is now around 70 years old, and is played by Jeremy Irons, who was featured in one of the recent clips saying, "It's only just begun." It seems as though Veidt still prefers to operate from the shadows, since a headline on a prop newspaper in one of the show's set photos stated, "Veidt Officially Declared Dead." Perhaps he has found another secret lair to operate from.

The Yellow-Masked Police

The masks that we've seen the most of in Watchmen's marketing are those worn by the police. These bright yellow masks cover the wearers' face up to just below the eyes (with the eyes themselves mostly concealed by the brim of a hat), revealing nothing except the vague bumps of ears and noses underneath. Captions for social media posts featuring these masked policeman include, "Hiding in plain sight," "Who watches the Watchmen?" and the aforementioned "Masks save lives." It's unclear as yet why police have become the new masked vigilantes, but it's possible that in Watchmen's alternate timeline, police have become the focus of hatred and violence from citizens, and the masks are intended to protect their identities.

Of course, there's something very unsettling about a faceless army of law enforcement officers, and everything we've seen of these masked cops so far has framed them as authoritarian and intimidating. It's not yet known if this new uniform is worn by police all across the country, but it certainly seems as though all the police in Tulsa wear the yellow masks - and even carry shotguns with yellow stocks to match.

Rorschach

The original Rorschach - Walter Kovacs - won't be appearing in HBO's Watchmen, on account of being blasted into a bloody smear on the snow at the end of the original graphic novel. Rorschach I was killed by Doctor Manhattan because his moral absolutist approach compelled him to tell the truth about the "alien" that attacked New York, which in turn would have meant that all those deaths would have been in vain. However, it seems that his mask and his mantle lived on, as a brief clip shows a mysterious new individual wearing a version of Rorschach's mask. It's unclear whether or not this mask, like the original, changes its pattern according to the emotions experienced by the individual underneath, or whether the pattern is simply sprayed on.

We also don't yet know who is under this mask. In the sequel comic series Doomsday Clock, written by Geoff Johns, a new character called Reggie Long donned Rorschach's mask and vigilante name, but it doesn't seem as though HBO's Watchmen will be based on Doomsday Clock. Given that the Minutemen's legacy has been cemented in history, it's likely that this Rorschach is simply some kind of copycat - though we won't rule out the possibility of him being somehow connected to Walter Kovacs.

Page 2: Gold Mask, Red Mask, and Cowboy Hat

Gold Mask and Red Mask

The teaser clips from HBO's Watchmen have given us a tantalizing look at two entirely new masked individuals, standing together in the same shot. One simply wears a dark coat with the collar turned up and a shiny gold head covering, similar in design to the ones that the police officers wear. The other wears a red and yellow sports jacket and a red balaclava-like mask (you can see the front of it reflected in the gold mask, revealing that it actually has eye holes). We know nothing at all about these two characters so far, but their teaser clip was accompanied by creepy music, which indicates that they may be bad guys. Moreover, if you look behind them you can see one last masked individual...

The Cowboy Hat

Seemingly either the Sheriff of Tulsa or in some other position of authority at the police department, the identity of this mysterious figure in a pale cowboy hat has been deliberately obscured so far. We see him in one shot walking down a hallway lined with yellow-masked police officers, and in the background of the shot with the red- and gold-masked individuals. In the latter shot it seems as though Cowboy Hat is also wearing a face covering of some kind - unless his face was simply obscured for this promo.

Whether intentionally or accidentally, Cowboy Hat appears to be framed in opposition to Rorschach, who is shown in the darkness with police car lights reflecting off his mask. It may well be that Cowboy Hat is the leader of official law enforcement, but there are still masked vigilantes illegally operating in the darkness. Regardless, Cowboy Hat does give off something of a villainous air in the brief glimpses we've seen so far, and it will be interesting to find out which actor is hiding under that brim.

The Minutemen in Watchmen didn't actually use many masks that covered characters' entire faces. There was Hooded Justice, whose mask only had eyeholes, and - of course - Rorschach, who kept his entire ugly mug covered. However, Mothman, Dollar Bill and Captain Metropolis had masks that left the lower halves of their faces exposed, while Nite Owl and the Comedian only wore small domino masks, and Silhouette, Ozymandias and Silk Spectre didn't wear masks at all... and there wouldn't have been much point in Doctor Manhattan trying to hide his identity.

By contrast, HBO's Watchmen so far seems to have a heavy emphasis on masks that conceal characters' entire faces, making it difficult to tell who is who... and who can be trusted. Only Ozymandias and Frances Fisher's character have so far been shown entirely unmasked. We'll update this article with more information about these characters (and with entries on any further masked character reveals) as more footage and images emerge.