Poll: Anyone else prefer the Watchmen movie ending?

[Samurai Goomba]

Nah. I like the comic ending. It seems more plausible for an alien scare to work in an alternate history that never really grew out of that cold war paranoia of the '50s. And as somebody said, what could anyone really do to stop Manhattan? It wouldn't matter even if he was guilty, because he's Dr. Manhattan. There's nothing anyone could do to stop him. Even if he couldn't stop all the nukes in the world, it's not like he'd have been affected by them, either. He'd just teleport to Mars and watch Earth be destroyed. And if you can't kill him with nukes, what can you kill him with?

It's all well and good to say that an alien invasion scare is absurd and nobody would ever believe it, until you realize that Americans have already fallen victim to one major alien scare that wasn't even supposed to scare us.

 

[esperandote]

Comic was better, but the movie's ending made far more sense.

I just wish they had of either completely removed OR explained Ozymandias' pet in the movie. It was like.. ok random purple lynx for no reason, in the movie.

Now that you mentioned it, yeah, where does it come from??

Comic was better overall, but the movie's ending seemed more plausible. It's much more likely that they would unite against Dr. Manhattan than an "accidental" alien attack.

EDIT: Fear of Dr. Manhattan seems more likely, as they would likely view him as him considering himself a god passing judgement on the cold war, and be afraid to provoke that "judgement" again

So that's the famous octopus ending, yeah, the movie ending seems way more plausible and deep then.

 

[boholikeu]

They WERE trying, and it didn't go well. I think I failed to make it clear I didn't mean that all these nuggets of humanity worked out for themselves, I just meant that they were there. And when you say the "fake-goods scammer" what the hell are you talking about? The guy who sells watches? So he sells cheap knock-offs, that's hardly a morally reprehensible activity.

Sorry, I forgot the term in English for someone who sells cheap knock offs.

And if it's not morally reprehensible why are the cops going after him?

How exactly does one "investigate" psychic teleporting octopus monsters from space? Unless the Necronomicon exists in the world of Watchmen, Cthuloid apparitions are pretty much a rather unheard of phenomenon.

If genetics are advanced enough to create totally new creatures I'm sure they would do some sort of genetic analysis of the alien.

You don't understand how people work then. Think of World War One. Germany did NOT start the war, but because it honored treaties and agreements it made its allies, it was a major player in the war. The tenacity and strong spirit of the German troops caused the war to drag on and when finally DEFEATED, Britain and its allies were PISSED. They stripped Germany of its pride, wealth, and military and sent a war-spent nation into a crippling depression. This is what eventually allowed Hitler to play on German resentment and get elected, eventually leading to the much more brutal combat and situations of World War 2. Germany might not have taken the right course of action, but nothing it did warranted the punitive measures exacted after the war's conclusion. and JUST like that, America would be blamed for CREATING Dr. Manhattan and suffer for it, and in all likelihood it would lead to greater conflict.

Hm, while that might be true, the whole point is that the world would be too afraid to escalate any conflict for fear of "punishment" from the new blue "god".

That's the other thing to remember: No matter what ending you like, the fact of the matter is that neither one would be the "permanent end to all conflict" Veidt so ardently desires. It is a temporary fix. Humanity can band together only as long as there is a clear and present danger to defend against. Think about how America was never more unified than when we've been attacked on our own soil. Everyone quibbled over involvement in WW2, and then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. EVERYONE wanted in the fight then. If you've never read it, I suggest picking up a copy of Ender's Game and its companion Shadow series. Those are pretty much how the world would break down after years of the non-appearing common threat (minus the superintelligent and homicidal children)

Yeah, I'm willing to agree with that. That's why I stated earlier that I preferred the Manhattan ending for thematic reasons more than simple plausibility.

So one fictitious event is more plausible than another? I find that to be a bit wired state ment and here's why. us "really smart humans" have been cloning animals since the late 1880s. Hell us "really smart humans" have been completed making some man made species of plants since 1925 with the Triticale (hybrid between wheat and rye grains) and genetically fused fruits, (Apruims the hybrid of plums and apricots). WThe way the Doc Manhattan was made is a scientific impossibility due to the fact that "intrinsic fields" don't exist. A "really smart human" making a synthetic creature isn't too far off of what has been done over the past 100 some odd years.

Perhaps I didn't emphasize my real problem with the monster enough, so here it is again:

The "Dr. Manhattan energy" ending is more plausible within the confines of the story. I'm much more willing to accept that a man-made God found the source of his own energy than a "really smart human" developed the a completely alien PSYCHIC creature.

So yeah, I would still argue one fictitious event is more plausible than another (when you take into account the laws of that fictitious world, I mean).

 

[skylog]

The comic had a better ending. The squid was there because it looked alien, and it was dead, so humanity would be able to kill them if they would invade. Dr. Manhattan is a GOD. Framing Manhattan would mean nothing, because why would humanity unite against someone who can't be killed? They know what he did in Vietnam, they know what his powers can do. You cannot kill a god.

But that's just it. In the movie, people became scared of Dr. Manhattan nuking them like New York. So in order to keep the omnipotent man in the sky pleased by being nice to each other, much like the god of Christianity in our world.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

They WERE trying, and it didn't go well. I think I failed to make it clear I didn't mean that all these nuggets of humanity worked out for themselves, I just meant that they were there. And when you say the "fake-goods scammer" what the hell are you talking about? The guy who sells watches? So he sells cheap knock-offs, that's hardly a morally reprehensible activity.

Sorry, I forgot the term in English for someone who sells cheap knock offs.

And if it's not morally reprehensible why are the cops going after him?

Just because something is illegal doesn't make it immoral (itself a wholly meaningless phrase thase really should have nothing to do with law anyway)

For instance, in my state, it is illegal to drive a car without a seat belt.

 

[boholikeu]

They WERE trying, and it didn't go well. I think I failed to make it clear I didn't mean that all these nuggets of humanity worked out for themselves, I just meant that they were there. And when you say the "fake-goods scammer" what the hell are you talking about? The guy who sells watches? So he sells cheap knock-offs, that's hardly a morally reprehensible activity.

Sorry, I forgot the term in English for someone who sells cheap knock offs.

And if it's not morally reprehensible why are the cops going after him?

Just because something is illegal doesn't make it immoral (itself a wholly meaningless phrase thase really should have nothing to do with law anyway)

For instance, in my state, it is illegal to drive a car without a seat belt.

Hm fair enough. I still think it's immoral in the same way that copyright violations are immoral, but admittedly it's pretty low on my "immoral" scale as well.

Anyway, even if the "evil thoughts washing over goodwill" interpretation held up, I'd still prefer the Manhattan ending because it relates the overall theme back to an established character rather than a subplot that exists only to make the ending plausible.

But that's just it. In the movie, people became scared of Dr. Manhattan nuking them like New York. So in order to keep the omnipotent man in the sky pleased by being nice to each other, much like the god of Christianity in our world.

Exactly

 

[yoshimickster]

How is movie ending beating comic ending? I hated that movie, all the best parts were ruined and all the lines were turned into slogan after slogan. ALSO! How they didn't have the part where Nite-owl one got killed? They should stop making movies based on Alan Moore's stuff, they should make like mini-series. ALSO ALSO! How Silk-Spectre one looked like a freaking GMILF! I'm sorry, but in the comic she was not some hot granny on the town who drank martinis. Hated that movie.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

So one fictitious event is more plausible than another? I find that to be a bit wired state ment and here's why. us "really smart humans" have been cloning animals since the late 1880s. Hell us "really smart humans" have been completed making some man made species of plants since 1925 with the Triticale (hybrid between wheat and rye grains) and genetically fused fruits, (Apruims the hybrid of plums and apricots). WThe way the Doc Manhattan was made is a scientific impossibility due to the fact that "intrinsic fields" don't exist. A "really smart human" making a synthetic creature isn't too far off of what has been done over the past 100 some odd years.

Perhaps I didn't emphasize my real problem with the monster enough, so here it is again:

The "Dr. Manhattan energy" ending is more plausible within the confines of the story. I'm much more willing to accept that a man-made God found the source of his own energy than a "really smart human" developed the a completely alien PSYCHIC creature.

So yeah, I would still argue one fictitious event is more plausible than another (when you take into account the laws of that fictitious world, I mean).

Then explain to me why you find a man with god-like powers that can be contained be a "really smart man" more sensible then a psychic alien made by the same "really smart man".

 

[boholikeu]

Then explain to me why you find a man with god-like powers that can be contained be a "really smart man" more sensible then a psychic alien made by the same "really smart man".

Like I mentioned earlier, it's more believable because there is more back-story establishing Dr. Manhattan's powers/origin than there is establishing psychics. If Moore had thrown if a few more psychic "easter eggs" like what he did with bioengineering (the lynx, etc), then it would have been fine.

In any case, the main reason I liked the Manhattan ending better was for thematic reasons, not because it was more plausible.

 

[Premonition]

I hated the movie ending. First of all there's bubastis. It can not exist at all seeing as the world in the movies is not as technologically advanced as in the book. This because Manhattan hasn't used his immense knowledge and experience to further it. The technological level of Movie-Watchmen Earth is intentionally as technologically advanced as the time it depicted just so that they could make Manhattan the enemy. So, if Bubastis exists, then there is no reason for the octopus not to exist. Which makes a lot more sense because as said by media all around the world, Manhattan no longer cares for Earth and therefore has no reason to attack like this. One other thing, Manhattan is GOD. Calling him anything less than that is just insane. An attack of a giant octopus is at least somewhat plausible to bring the world together. If Manhattan was the enemy, then the entire world would be in chaos as they can not defend themselves from him. GAH!

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Then explain to me why you find a man with god-like powers that can be contained be a "really smart man" more sensible then a psychic alien made by the same "really smart man".

Like I mentioned earlier, it's more believable because there is more back-story establishing Dr. Manhattan's powers/origin than there is establishing psychics. If Moore had thrown if a few more psychic "easter eggs" like what he did with bioengineering (the lynx, etc), then it would have been fine.

In any case, the main reason I liked the Manhattan ending better was for thematic reasons, not because it was more plausible.

Here's a psychic easter egg for you. Robert Deschaines. Remeber him from the book. The psychic who's head was stolen, brain taken, cloned, augmented, and put into the alien monster?

Look back through the book and you'll see that there are hints of the psychic alien before it shows up. Chapter 8 Page 11 has a major one. The monster is being drawn by Hira Manish. Another major hint was Babustis, the genetically engineered lynx that Veidt had made for himself. The lynx shows that Adrian Veidt was capable of creation new life forms. Look back at the island where the writers were sent to. In the book there was mention of a writer named Max Shea. A number of writers and surrealist artist were sent to an island under the impression that they were making a science fiction movie. They were there really to conceptualize the alien monster for Veidt. The Comedian was flying over the island and suspected action of a Marxist faction called the Sandinista. He infiltrated the island and found out what was going on. Which is why he was killed. There actually was a mass amount of back story for the alien, it just wasn't fed to us like it was in the movie. The movie's ending was simple to find out if you read the book. They added the part where Veidt and Manhattan are working to store his energy. Most people who read the book saw that as part of Veidt plan. Especially since the creators of the film said that there would be no alien in the movie. The movie ending was just easier to understand.

 

[overfiend_87]

I think the world would be much more confident in wanting to fight against a alien race as opposed to a guy who is basically a god and can atomize people and things and even survive nukes. It's more better with the giant squid and with all the dead people everywhere.

 

[hermes]

Besides the "giant octopus" is kind of ridiculous (they could have gone with anything better for the alien invasion), I liked the comic idea better. In the comic, the idea was that people would unite against an external threat (although nobody knew it didn't exist) and overrule their differences. The idea that America would create a god incarnated, use it as ransom to the world and then fail to control it, which resulted in a massive global genocide, and the world would unite in anything more than a raging hate against america, blaming them for it, is even less plausible.

 

[Daniel Cygnus]

The book ends with a giant psycic octopus, this discussion is pointless.

/thread.

Also, the whole "we're gonna team up to stop Doc Manhattan" a little silly. I mean, how the hell are you gonna beat a dude who's more or less God?

 

[AvsJoe]

I haven't read the graphic novel but I really enjoyed the movie's ending. It wrapped up the story nicely with just the perfect amount of bittersweet. When the day comes when I read the novel I know I will choose the movie's ending as my favourite.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

I prefer the comic overall, as I feel that most of what is interesting about Watchmen lies in its use of the medium, but I like the Dr. Manhattan bomb better than the giant squid because the giant squid made absolutely no sense. Ozymandias can't make another one because he killed everyone who knew how, people will eventually give up waiting for an invasion that will never come, psychic images created by artists and comic book writers would never be mistaken for the way a real alien civilization could possibly work by experts, no one important listens to psychics anyway, and isn't it a bit risky to assume that none of the other scientists on Earth will be able to tell if it was man made even if they aren't good enough to make themselves? I have often wondered whether the squid was supposed to be a joke about ridiculously convoluted schemes in comic books. At least the bomb can be used over and over again and pins the blame on someone that everyone already distrusts.

Also, "graphic novel" is a term which is currently used chiefly by incredibly pretentious people who refuse to admit that they read comics. I usually call anything that someone insists is a "graphic novel" a "picture book". This is not to say that "graphic novel" could not have come to represent a thing entirely separate and distinct from comic books, merely that it has thus far failed to do so.

 

[oliveira8]

*snip*

The squid not being a permanent solution IS the the whole damn point.

 

[HotPocket]

I liked the comic one, never saw the movie so I had to look up that ending.

I don't think Dr. Manhattan would have fallen for it, as if I remember correctly, he could see into the future (in the comic at least).