HBO’s take on the seminal graphic novel Watchmen is already picking up an enormous amount of hype. Network executives adored the pilot, the casting is excellent and the sense of mystery around the production (described as a remix of the original comic) has fans desperately theorizing about what it is. While it’s unlikely that Alan Moore is ever going to comment on the show, the original artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons has read the screenplay for the pilot and apparently gave it the thumbs up.
Though we know that it’ll be a remix and reimagining of the comics rather than a straight adaptation, precisely what that means and will look like is anyone’s guess. But now we’ve got a faint idea of at least one thing they’ll be doing in the show. Twitter account @Watchmen_Brasil has posted some photos leaked from the set which give us a glimpse at a minor yet important character in the Watchmen universe.
See for yourself:
Yes, emblazoned on the side of the bus is Hooded Justice. First appearing on the streets in 1938, he’s the original masked hero in the Watchmen universe and this advert shows a perfectly comic-accurate costume. The picture seems to be from an in-universe TV show called American Hero Story: Minuteman, which presumably dramatizes the adventures of the first generation hero team, the Minutemen.
If that’s the case, then it seems like the Minutemen characters are still well known to the public. Given that the second generation of heroes are linked very closely to them, it could imply that the HBO show will focus on a new, third generation of heroes – perhaps including the children of Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre? Either way, it’s a neat bit of universe building that indicates that superheroes are still in the public eye at whatever point in time Watchmen is set.
