Rorschach is one of the most unsettling characters in the Watchmen story, but he nearly had a much more perturbing appearance. A glimpse at Walter Kovacs' earliest design shows fans just how much creepier the vigilante could have looked without his final tweaks.

The superhero deconstruction series Watchmen is filled with a number of men and women who adopted costumed identities and find themselves drawn into a murder-mystery as the world is on the brink of nuclear war. Arguably the most iconic hero to come out of the series is the most feared vigilante on the streets of New York City, Rorschach. Also known as Walter Kovacs, Rorschach is a street sleuth who isn't afraid to brutalize criminals in order to get what he needs in order to solve a case. His methods, creepy demeanor and lack of personal hygiene makes him one of the more off-putting of Watchmen's heroes.

Related: Alan Moore Has Harsh Words for Fans of Watchmen's Rorschach

But as perturbing Rorschach is shown to be in Watchmen, he almost took on an even more frightening appearance. In Fantagraphics Books comic book-oriented magazine, Amazing Heroes #97, Watchmen creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons provide behind the scenes details regarding their cult-hit series. Shortly after a piece on Doctor Manhattan, Moore and Gibbons begin providing their thoughts on Rorschach. As the creators describe the peculiar psychology behind the vigilante, the article is joined by an early sketch of Rorschach by Gibbons, captioned "Rorschach's original full-length costume - later abandoned". The sketch shows Rorschach with his dirty trench coat pulled back, revealing an entire bodysuit designed much like his iconic mask. His chest, midsection, and upper legs all bear a terrifying inkblot design, with some parts seemingly making a terrifying face across his body.

Rorschach's Original Costume: Better Left Behind?

Rorschach Original Costume DC Comics

As the caption mentions, this version of Rorschach’s costume does not make it into the official Watchmen story. When Walter Kovacs tells psychologist Malcolm Long his backstory and the origin of Rorschach, it’s revealed that Kovacs got his mask from a unique dress. The dress used two layers of latex and a viscus fluid that reacted to heat to make different shapes. After some trial and error, Rorschach only had enough left over to make what he would consider his true ‘face’. But after seeing what he could have looked like, maybe that's for the better.

All throughout Watchmen, Rorschach is one of the more unpleasant characters. He’s presented as a paranoid and vicious leech that the other Crimebusters (sans Nite Owl) openly detested. Rorschach also has a reputation for being the most disturbing costumed adventurer, speaking in a creepy, monotonous voice and waxing poetic about violent and gruesome imagery. Granted, wearing a bodysuit that reflected his Rorschach motif might have been able to communicate his damaged psyche more directly. But it would have pushed the character into a realm that felt much more like a parody than a serious hero. The Watchmen character’s final design shows the right amount of restraint that the prototype Rorschach is missing.

Next: Watchmen: Rorschach and Nite Owl’s Origins Make Them Mirror Opposites