Long before HBO's Watchmen television series officially begun, fans knew there would be too many sly references to the graphic novel and feature film to count. Now that the first episodes have aired, it can be confirmed: Easter Egg hunters will have their hands full with Watchmen.
While the TV show is better described as a Watchmen 'remix' than direct sequel, that still provides opportunities in every scene to give fans a nod, especially to the original Watchmen graphic novel written by Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. From Dr. Manhattan's origin story to President Robert Redford, here are all the Watchmen Easter Eggs that we've spotted so far.
20. Smiley Faces Everywhere
Right off the bat, expect to see faces (of both the smiley and clock variety) all throughout the series. Even if you only have a passing awareness of the Watchmen comic, you've probably seen the yellow smiley face badge worn by the vigilante known as The Comedian, and the blood smear across it. It's a recurring thematic element across the whole story, and are joined by clock faces, communicating the 'Doomsday C'lock that's ever ticking closer to humanity's doom. In the first episode, Angela creates a smiley face formed by some eggs in a bowl (a literal Easter Egg of sorts). The camera angles also deliver re-imagined faces in subtler ways, most notably the overhead shot of a dining room fixture looking like hands on a clock.
19. Dr. Manhattan's Work on Mars
Later on in the first episode, we see a quick clip of Dr. Manhattan himself on Mars, where he now lives after the original Watchmen storyline. He looks to be creating a massive castle or mansion out of the Martian sand, before dissolving it away. Dr. Manhattan, the most powerful being in the Watchmen universe, hasn't been seen on Earth since those original events. The clip looks like surveillance of his actions on the planet, but should viewers take this as the same construction seen in the original comic? And does Manhattan have plans to return to Earth in the series?
18. President Robert Redford
What was mentioned as a possibility in the Watchmen graphic novel has become a reality in the series. Yes, President Robert Redford assumes the leadership of the United States after Nixon--for seven consecutive terms. Where Nixon was the perfect leader for the nuclear crisis and growing conservative leanings of the original series, it seems Redford was chosen soon after for his liberal policies, and eventual decision to provide damages to the descendants of those who suffered racial injustice. Among racists, it's known as "Redfordations." It's unknown at this point whether or not Robert Redford will actually appear as a presidential version of himself later on in the series.
17. The "Unforgettable" Song Choice
While the soundtrack is often filled with modern music choices, the song "Unforgettable" can be heard playing while Police Chief Judd Crawford and Detective Angela Abar (aka Sister Night) enjoy dinner together with their families. The song is used to advertise Veidt's Nostalgia perfume in the original comic book, but will also be recognized for its use in Zack Snyder's Watchmen film adaptation from 2009 as well. It's simple, but a really nice callback to the first story.
16. The Seventh Kavalry Will Answer 'No'
In a somewhat disturbing reference to the vigilante Rorschach from the original Watchmen, there is the Seventh Kavalry, a white supremacist group who have modeled their look after Rorschach himself, wearing identical masks (which he once wore before being killed by Dr. Manhattan). When these terrorists send a message to the police, they riff a version of Rorschach's own words from his journal: "Soon all the whores and race traitors will shout 'save us.' And we will whisper, 'No.'" The Seventh Kavalry seems to have adopted and edited the words of Rorschach's journal, which tells us that his journal was indeed published, which was in doubt at the end of the first story. However, it looks like it's been accepted only by those who hate "the system" and conspiracy theorists. Those who would take the darkest parts of the journal and twist them as tools to propel their own misguided agendas (like a manifesto for a white supremacist group).
15. Nite Owl Mug
When Sister Night and Crawford meet to discuss the latest attack by the Seventh Kavalry, it's easy to spot her drinking from a Nite Owl coffee mug. It's a pretty fun nod to the character, who was a large part of the first story. Not to mention another person who uncovered the details behind Veidt's dark plot to end the Cold War by killing millions. It's unclear as to where where Nite Owl ended up by this point, though he agreed alongside Dr. Manhattan and Spectre to keep Veidt's plot a secret, to keep the peace. He could potentially appear down the line.
14. Nite Owl's Ship, Repurposed
When Detectives Sister Night, Looking Glass, and Red Scare go after 7K, they are provided with air support from Chief Crawford himself, who reveals himself to be monitoring their attack from above, in an aircraft that shares the same designs and technology as Nite Owl's own ship, lovingly named Archimedes. The obvious question, then, is how did law enforcement get a hold of Nite Owl's tech? Did he make a deal with them to share his tech in order to stay out of prison? Hopefully it's a question that will be answered as the series continues (since it's something fans will obviously notice).
13. American Hero Story: Minutemen
A fairly explicit reference to the real American Horror Story television series, the Watchmen universe looks to have their own version in American Hero Story: The Minutemen. Quite a few advertisements for the show appear through the early episodes, and even a short trailer featuring images of Hooded Justice, The Comedian, and Silk Spectre; all heroes who were part of the original Minutemen crime fighting team decades prior in the Watchmen universe.
12. The Blood Smear
Near the end of the first episode, Chief Crawford is found dead, hanged from a tree. His police badge is eventually shown lying in the grass beneath his body, focused on just as a drop of blood falls onto the upper left corner. It's a callback to the blood smear found on The Comedian's badge in the first story, becoming the iconic image of the entire Watchmen story (and audiences are sure to see a LOT more blood smear imagery throughout the series as episodes go on).
11. Oklahoma "Jud is Dead" Song in End Credits
Since the first episode concludes with the death of Judd Crawford, it's fitting that the end scene and credits should feature "Pore Jud is Daid," a song from the musical Oklahoma. It's actually double the references, calling back to Crawford's first appearance in the series with his wife at a performance of Oklahoma, and a meta Easter Egg due to the fact that Crawford's first name is Judd, and well..."Jud is Daid" by episode's end.
10. Two Minutes to Midnight
Moving on to the second episode, "Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship", the first Easter Egg comes from a flashback to the "White Night" event. Just before Angela and her husband Cal are attacked, Cal mentions that they have only two minutes to wait until midnight, and Christmas Day. That's another reference to the Doomsday Clock, the time of which is actually 2 minutes to midnight in real life. It's a continuation of the clock motif, as well as a foreboding warning that the world nears ever closer to man-made destruction--the very thing Veidt supposedly prevents by stopping the Cold War. However, is it possible that he just prevented the inevitable? Time will tell.
9. Knot-Top Gang Graffiti
As Angela drives to meet with Looking Glass and Red Scare, she leaves her bakery. As she leaves, we see graffiti on an alley wall. It's actually the same graffiti from the comic sprayed by the Knot-Top Gang. It features two lovers in an embrace, attempting to reference the burned shadows left behind in Hiroshima, as a result of the atomic bomb. It makes sense, as the threat of nuclear war was a huge concern in the original comic. It would be logical that those fears would remain in forms like this.
8. New Frontiersman and Nova Express
A newspaper vendor is selling two papers: the New Frontiersman and Nova Express, right and left-wing papers sold in the Watchmen universe. It's actually the New Frontiersman that receives Rorschach's journal with the details of Veidt's plot and publishes them in the final pages of the graphic novel. However, said paper doesn't have all that much credibility... meaning that Rorschach's uncovered conspiracy isn't generally believed by the mass public. But at least they're still publishing decades later.
7. Senator Joe Keene
The same newspaper vendor gives his opinion on Senator Joe Keene looking to make a run for the presidency. The name Keene should be familiar to Watchmen fans, as Joe Keene's father was the one responsible for The Keene Act. The act made vigilantism illegal after the police strikes that occurred in response to the often hindering, and sometimes threatening actions of various vigilantes. It seems as though the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and his son went into politics as well.
6. Pirate and Owl Costumes
When Angela returns home from the crime scene and Red Scare's raid on Nixonville, Cal and their adopted children are playing. While it might seem like random costumes, it's important to spot that one daughters is dressed as a pirate, and the other as an owl. These appear to be slight nods to Nite Owl, as well as "Tales of the Black Freighter," a pirate comic book in the universe of the original story, interwoven with the main plot (pirate comics take the place of the superhero comic genre, as superheroes are real in this world).
5. Topher's Metal Castle
Angela then heads upstairs to break the news of Crawford's death to her adopted son, Topher. While she talks to him, he's building a floating metal house constructed out of magnetic metal blocks. Strangely enough, it looks an awful lot like the building of sand Dr. Manhattan was making in that clip in the first episode. Furthermore, upon hearing from Angela that Judd has died, he knocks the metal castle down, just like how Manhattan dissolved his own castle. There must be a connection with this same house being built and then destroyed.
4. More Clocks
Even more clocks are seen in this episode, including one likely to be missed in Topher's room. In the background, one of Salvador Dali's most famous paintings can be seen above the dresser: The Persistence of Memory (the painting that features the melting clocks). Add it all to the other appearances of Adrian Veidt's pocketwatch, and a yellow egg timer at the episode's end, and it looks like the clock may be one of the most often-appearing forms of Easter Eggs for viewers to watch out for.
3. American Hero Story: Hooded Justice
The show finally reveals a portion of an episode of American Hero Story: Hooded Justice, the Watchmen universe's first costumed superhero. He stops some men trying to rob a general store, and perfectly demonstrates why vigilantes eventually became an enemy of the police. As he's brutally beating them into submission, there are several shots in slow motion and sped up for effect, almost certainly intended as a reference to the other live-action adaptation of Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder.
2. Angela's Goggles, More Owl Tech?
When Angela sneaks into Judd's closest to see if he is keeping any secrets there (metaphorically or literally), she uses specialized, high-tech goggles to effectively x-ray the compartments. And they sure do look like the goggles used by Nite Owl in the Watchmen movie. Again, it will be interesting to see if this is tech Nite Owl created for law enforcement, or potentially tech that law enforcement appropriated for some reason.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we come to Veidt's castle and servants. It's the payoff of his previously mentioned play, entitled "The Watchmaker's Son." The reference may be lost on casual fans, but the fact that Jon Osterman was raised by a watchmaker before becoming a scientist is key to his character. After celebrating an anniversary with his second cake, decorating with two candles, Veidt watches as his servants perform the origin story of Dr. Manhattan (who apparently now knows as much about Jon's upbringing as readers of the graphic novel).his play about Dr. Manhattan's origins. Is this a sign Veidt's become obsessed with the superhuman? We'll just have to wait and see.
Expect to see plenty more Watchmen Easter egg breakdowns with each new episode! And if there are any we've missed, be sure to let us know in the comments.