'That's a little paranoid don't ya think?

Do we love him? Do we hate him? Why do we want to piss him off so badly? Because I genuinely can't find anything concrete.

The only ones I have so far are:

•His association with Neil Gaiman. Which...there's no evidence of him being invloved in those allegations just that he and Gaiman were associated with one another

•His comment about comics, tbh that just sounds like an old man being an old man

•His weird drama with The Sandman creator. Which is another can of worms.

Honestly what I noticed about these stupid cash grabs is that they tend to water down the Watchmen characters into a single character trait then remove the complexities that made them work in the original Watchmen. While the Prequels are entertaining it is clear that almost half of them water down certain characters to be more palletable for audiences. (Even the Minutemen Prequel sort of glosses over a lot of things like Hooded Justice literally being a fascist. And I think they turned Silouhette's entire personality trait to be this Noir Detective. They even redesigned her outfit.)

From what I noticed it's basically (Not adding Eddie for obvious reasons he only has one sequel where he shows up):

Adrian - The Manipulative Villain (Literally)

Jon - The Detached God

Eddie - The Cynic (Or the Dead One)

Rorscharch - Either a Psychopath who Beats up Criminals or Idk a glorified hand of justice.

Laurie - The Love Interest or The Comedian 2.0

Daniel...doesn't get this treatment

And that's why they find him boring. But also because they CAN'T actually water him down because watering him down would honestly turn him into 'The Normal One'

Because to be honest if you read through Dan throughout the entire story it's like he can't decide what he wants to be honestly. He's a walking contradiction.

He's gentle and passive when he needs to, evident through his talks with Rorscharch and Laurie. Evident when he talks to Adrian, and evident when he just lets things happen because of whatever reason whether it'd be Adrian's Squid Plan or Rorscharch literally breaking into his home.

But he's also aggressive when he needs to be. The scene where he beats up a couple of thugs with Laurie, he literally grabs one dude by the neck cuffs. The scene where he finds out Hollis had been murdered, he literally strangles a guy and Rorscharch of all people had to stop Dan from going too far.

He's supposed to be 'Mr.Average' but ya dude built a whole armada and fit in inside a giant aircraft with tech that shouldn't exist in the 60s. (Yes 60s, cause Dan built Archie in the 60s)

I love it, it's good. It's the only other Prequel other than Before Watchmen: Nite Owl that I really really liked... (Also Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill, tbh they should've done the Minutemen more than the rest of the characters because Adrian spouts out his backstory to us so he really didn't NEED a Prequel, Jon shows us his backstory. At least they decided to be creative with Rorscharch but just HAD to put Tom King in charge and Laurie's just felt like a classic high school superhero story.)

But I can't help but imagine how Alan Moore would've done it.

Obviously since Watchmen is a deconstruction of the Superhero and has a lot of critique against society such as Rorscharch being a critique against Right Wingers. Adrian being a Critique of the power imbalance between the Poor and the Rich. Laurie's being a critique at how society fails women etc.

He could do the same for the Minutemen Prequel.

Perhaps the formatting could be different since there are MORE characters compared to the main cast of Watchmen but it could work somehow and I do like the whole story being told through Hollis' perspective, because since Rorscharch recorded the events of Watchmen in his Journal, Hollis is the only one with an actual book to his name so he could be the Prequel's Rorscharch.

As for the messaging right now there are those that are obvious. Because Alan Moore had the foundations of them in the Watchmen Companion Book and we can kick off some boxes.

Hooded Justice:

Is a deconstruction of the Creation of Superheroes. Specifically what turns one into a Superhero? Alan Moore had already stated that he believed that Superheroes were made with fascism in mind so Hooded Justice could represent that side of Heroism how in the end the ideals of Superheroism is unfortunately fascist and a bit flawed. The idea of beating up criminals while running around in the mask does kinda rub off the wrong way. He could also be a criticism of society and how society pushes people towards fascism, perhaps through Hooded Justice's story we can kinda see like a similar pattern for what hapened with Rorscharch except see it through Hooded Justice. (He would possibly become another character Moore hates but unfortunately fans would love)

I mean dude literally laughed as Nelson and Bryon were beating each other up in that one moment in the Watchmen Companion book. This guy really wasn't that good of a guy.

Silk Spectre (Sally Jupiter):

Surprisingly Sally shares a lot of similarities with Laurie in the sense where society kinda failed her too. Making her think certain things were okay like literally being assaulted and rubbing it off as 'something small' but it also does kinda feel like she could be a message in exploitation. It is implied that Larry is significantly older than her through her interviews but also it IS weird that Larry, her manager was the one who proposed their damn marriage like it was a business arrangement.

It was obvious Larry WANTED Sally, like really wanted her, not just as a model.

And as a Superhero it could be a critique on how Female Superheroes are treated in media. Sex Appeal, made to look pretty everytime and their struggles in life are often underminded simply because they aren't a man. It's sort of a more obvious representation than Laurie where in her criticsm she's more or less ignored because she is a woman...rate than Sally who's only value is to look pretty and good.

Dollar Bill:

Bill could actually be a critique on how Superheroes are portrayed in media. They are shining, radiant, forces of good that are otherwise childish and unrealistic. The idea of a protector who beats up bad guys in a stylish costume. A mascot, someone who sells. His could be a critique on how Superheroes are seen as either a form of entertainment or a joke. Unrealistic and commercialized. This actually could thematically relate to his eventual death. On how despite the ideas being good natured or at least as a form of entertainment, in practice it is an unrealistic way to view justice and how to handle criminals. Unlike the shows and entertainment, the bad guy won't wait until the hero is free or do anything dramatic to buy the hero time. They will kill them without hesitation.

Mothman:

On the Superhero aspect, I kinda don't have an idea to what Byron might represent but I think he'd be a crtique on societal pressure. The story of what happens when one does not conform to the status quo. It is implied that his mental health issues might’ve been a result of his political beliefs at the time that unfortunately didn't correspond to the political beliefs of the 40s. He was often forced to compromise or keep his beliefs hidden because there would be consequences if he didn't. Oftentimes this does make a person feel isolated and genuinely spiral down a darker path. I guess the Superhero aspect could be that what if there was one person that could do good but just can't because the whole world is against him but it's a bit difficult to pin down all things considered.

Silouhette:

Ursula in the Superhero sense could be someone who genuinely does want to help beyond the theatrics, but Society always expects something of her for it. She could just be a person who genuinely helps but due to her personality, the fact that she was lesbian and the fact that she doesn't fit into societal standards left her isolated and often disliked. It could be a critique on how people will genuinely be good people but because society is so cynical they judge them beyond their actions as a person and again this could be much more impacted towards women who despite their efforts are always reduced to one thing specifically. Silouhette will not be remembered as 'The best of the Minutemen' but just. 'The Lesbian' it could be a critique on how society decides one thing about someone and judges them based on that one thing forever

Now the most difficult for me to think about is Nelson and Hollis.

Nite Owl (Hollis Mason):

Like Hollis to me seems like a repeat of Daniel. Being Mr.Average in a room full of freaks and weirdos. He just wears the masks cause it's more impressive than being a regular cop. But idk where to go from there.

Captain Metropolis:

He is honestly the hardest for me to pin down? Other than the fact that he could just be another critique on conservatism I...genuinely don't know what kind of message he could bring in the Superhero aspect. However him being gay for Hooded Justice and being the submissive one in the relationship (Which I think is only a thing in the Before Watchmen, but I highly think narrative wise it makes sense) could also be a critique on how conservative men would be more easily pursuaded, exploited and submissive towards fascist regimes because it makes them feel seen. A lot of far right men tend to seek validation with other men in positions of power especially fascists and often times they copycat those superiors because it allows them to be on the side that benefits them and gives them a twisted sense of safety and power often times being mistaken for true masculinity or being righteous.

But that's just me thinking about his relationship with Hooded Justice, him in general? I just don't know where to go than 'critique on conservatives'

Adding to his relationship with Hooded Justice. The letter where he tells Larry that 'Hooded Justice doesn't love him anymore' could also be a way to say that once these men have fulfilled their purpose, fascist regimes could doway with them however they please and sometimes cut them off if they are no longer deemed useful.

But again Nelson's critique in my views just...depend on Hooded Justice unfortunately.

But anywho that's my idea

Some part of me is only okay with Watchmen 'Sequels' and 'Prequels' if it's merely in a fanfiction format. A.) Because I know it isn't canon and B.) Clearly those fanfictions are self-indulgent like over half of the Danror fanfictions on A03.

They aren't MEANT to actually answer anything that happened in the comic, it's just the author's little way of saying 'I kinda want to do something with this, but you know just for fun' and I think it's okay. And I think it's interesting to see people's interpretations of how a sequel would play out.

Like Rorscharch is obviously sex repulsed so he's NEVER gonna do THAT with anyone even if it is Daniel. (And maybe he's homophobic sure I don't know) but like that doesn't stop us fanfiction writers from writing smut.