Who Watches the Watchmen?

"What is your topic for the research paper? How does this topic currently impact American culture (or another country, if that's where you're going with this)? How is your book/show/movie different from all of the other books/shows/movies out there like it? How is it unique? What specific cultural issue will you be addressing in your research essay and why is it relevant TODAY?"

I am working on a research paper on the cultural impact of Alan Moore's magnum opus: Watchmen. This graphic novel was written as a satire on current comic book super heroes of the 80s, and the stagnation of their tales. Each character of Watchmen was an homage to numerous themes of super heroes; Dr. Manhattan was a man with godly powers, like Superman. Nite Owl was an inventor who fought crime with owl-themed gadgets, like Batman. Rorschach was a masked vigilante who stalked the criminal underworld of the city, like the Spirit or the Question. However, Watchmen took these heroes and put them in the real world; Dr. Manhattan had godly powers, and gradually became less human, while his power exacerbated the Cold War. Nite Owl was a retired, depressed middle-aged man who was starting to realize the ridiculousness of fighting burglars and petty criminals with anti-radar armor, laser beams, and an airship. Rorschach was a borderline criminal himself, murdering those he felt were responsible for crime, seeing the world in black and white morality.

For years after Watchmen was published, comic books reeled from the huge blow it delivered. Writers were stunned - suddenly all of their work seemed childish and dumbed down compared to it. So, comic books were forced to mature, diving into such themes as the nature of good and evil, the human psyche, and how their heroes could exist in the real world. Today, we owe such cinematic masterpieces as The Dark Knight, and Spiderman to the influence Watchmen brought, which arguably extends its reach beyond the niche of comics and into the general media itself.