Watchmen #03

An old man, running a magazine stand, talks to a young boy about the course of action the United States should take against the Soviets. He talks about how everything is connected, and people can see things if they just look. The man with the ‘The End is Nigh’ sign appears. The vendor tries to make small talk, but the man says the world will end today. The man with the sign asks for a copy of the New Frontiersman and asks if the vendor will keep the paper for him tomorrow.

Jon is making love to Laurie, and when he duplicates himself Laurie panics and screams. She says she’s fine, she just needs a cigarette. As she leaves the bedroom, she sees another copy of Jon doing work in the other room. This angers Laurie because he wasn’t focusing solely on her. She storms off to Dan’s house.

Janet Slater gives a smoke filled report on Dr. Manhattan and his unemotional ways. She goes on to say that tonight she will tell the whole world what he did to her.

Dan is surprised to see Laurie, but it is a nice surprise. He makes her some coffee and Laurie bursts into tears, talking about how detached and sad her relationship with Jon has gotten. Dan says he’s going over to Hollis’s house and she should come. She agrees to go, and the two are on there way to Hollis’s.

Jon is going on television for an interview. Press people tell him not to answer or take a stand on certain topics. Once the interview goes to people in the crowd, a man accuses Manhattan of causing cancer in 3 different people, and that Manhattan is harmful and dangerous. Everyone starts questioning Jon about the accusations until he teleports them all away.

On Dan and Laurie’s trip to Hollis’s, a gang of thugs tries to mug them. Laurie and Dan pummel all of the punks. Laurie decides to go home afterwards and Dan continues to Hollis’s house.

Jon returns home to find a soldier painting ‘Danger Quarantine Area’ on the door to his bed. Jon says he’s tired of all this going to Arizona first, then to Mars. Jon disappears and then reappears in Arizona at an old testing facility. He takes a picture of him and a woman off of a bulletin board.

The next day, the man with the sign returns to the newspaper vendor. The vendor says the world didn’t end yesterday, to which the sign man says ‘Are you sure?’ (referring to Manhattan leaving the planet)

Laurie gets home in time to find U.S. military personal containing all of her belongings. She has to take a cancer scan and is shocked to learn Jon has left.

Dan is woke up by Rorschach. Rorschach shows him the papers headline “Dr. Manhattan Leaves Earth” and counties to point out that two ex-costumes have gone in the past week. He sees them as connected, but not sure how.

The news paper vendor tells the young boy to go home and not worry about paying for “The Black Freighter” after he opens up the paper. The headline reads “Russians Invade Afghanistan.”

The President and his advisors are shown the possible outcome of starting a nuclear war with Russia. The results would cost America Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Washington.

Dr. Manhattan walks along Mars until he finds a good rock to rest on. He looks at the old picture he grabbed, and stares at the stars.