A vital figure in the world of Watchmen might be tied to the mystery around the new Rorschach’s attempt on a politician’s life.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rorschach #9 by Tom King, Jorge Fornes & Dave Stewart, on sale now.
At the heart of Rorschach has been the mystery of the new people taking up the mission of the long-dead vigilante. Alongside a mysterious young woman known as the Kid, the new Rorschach (Will Myerson) decided to try and assassinate Senator Turley, a presidential candidate running against President Robert Redford at a rally. By the present day in the Watchmen universe, Redford had been elected to the office of President multiple times, but if finally facing stiff competition in the form of the hyper-conservative and Comedian-loving Turley.
Rorschach and the Kid snuck into a rally for Turley but never got the chance to fire, ending up found by security and killed. The Detective has spent the subsequent issues trying to learn more about their motivations, eventually ending up in the remote ranch they’d previously trained at. And in Rorschach #9, he discovers a secret that could change everything about the scope of the mystery and implicate President Redford.
Upon arriving at the remote farm, the Detective continues his investigation and finds leads suggesting someone has died in the house: including a bullet hole hidden behind a framed drawing and a large bloodstain hidden by a recently installed carpet. Reasoning the best place to hide a body in the area would be in the septic tank for the building, the Detective finds the corpse of a man — and his pager. Using it, he’s able to discover that the man in question was Mr. Ron Wheelock — Deputy Manager on Robert Redford’s reelection campaign. In a flashback, it’s seemingly revealed that this is how Myerson and the Kid were able to get passes to the rally and get through security — because people working for Redford, and possibly Redford himself, were hoping the attack would successfully remove Truly from the campaign.
In theory, this could be a huge revelation. In the story of the Kid and Myerson’s days together before the events at Truly’s rally, they speak about killing Truly. Despite a long history of not caring for Redford, the Kid agrees to carry out the attack and comes to the conclusion that Truly is essentially the reborn Comedian and representative of a world they mean to destroy. Even if Redford and his aides weren’t fully on their side, they could have seen them as a potent tool. The Campaign Manager also offers a surprisingly useful element to their plan, providing them with the passes they need to enter the convention and set up their assassination.
If true, this implicates the President of this world’s United States in the near-assassination of his political rival, a massive conspiracy that could change the face of the world. While it’s an unexpected plot twist, it isn’t without precedent. The Robert Redford of the HBO Watchmen was revealed to have been informed of the truth of the attack on New York City committed by Adrian Veidt, as well as receiving some help from the genius in eventually winning the office of the presidency in the first place. Redford, in turn, ultimately kept all of this hidden from the world, helping keep the secret of Veidt’s actions a secret from the entire world.
It added an entirely new level to the investigation into the events of Watchmen, and casts the Redford of this universe as at least someone willing to work with the darker conspiracies, if not be wholly back them. Those actions are seemingly consistent with his actions in Rorscach, tactically approving of an attack on his opponent in the name of claiming victory. If true, this is a game-changer of the highest order, and it could fundamentally reshape the Watchmen universe.
