Review: Before Watchmen- Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan
Quick Summary
Pros: The Nite Owl story has a few solid moments. The Dr. Manhattan story involves an interesting theme and ties in to Watchmen in a way that is worthwhile. The Moloch story is compelling, emotional, and stands out as something unique. The entire volume features beautiful artwork.
Cons: The Nite Owl story is cluttered, which dilutes the main story’s impact.
Overall: This is a collection with varied quality but that always manages to lean positive. The Nite Owl story is alright, the Dr. Manhattan story is good, and the Moloch story is great. On top of this, the artwork is gorgeous throughout and helps make each story even more enjoyable. Readers who simply want more of Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan, or who want to see a seriously good Moloch story, should consider checking this book out.
Story
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan, by J. Michael Straczynski, collects three stories that range when it comes to quality. The first is an average story about Nite Owl. This adventure is exciting and touches on interesting moral questions but it is also packed with too many plotlines, which ultimately weaken it. The second story is better and follows Dr. Manhattan. This narrative dives into the impact of free will and explores how singular decisions can have massive consequences, plus it adds a bit to the overall Watchmen mythos. The final story, which focuses on Moloch, may be the best of the bunch. It is an emotional tale of redemption that stands out as something highly unique, which also expanding on an otherwise overlooked character. Overall, the stories collected here are mostly positive and produce a pleasant reading experience.
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Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan opens with Nite Owl’s story. This is an intriguing tale heavily focused on the ambiguous nature of morality. It has superheroes who have committed grievous sins, a father who abuses his family, children who let their abusive fathers die, brothel owners who help their community, and a priest who is actually a serial killer. This rejection of the black and white view of morality is a big piece of Watchmen and to see it expanded upon through Nite Owl’s personal story is enjoyable.
The problem here is that the story tries to do too much in too little pages. The narrative is split between a Nite Owl’s past and present, Rorschach’s relationship with Nite Owl and his church, the original Nite Owl’s past, the rise of a new vigilante, and a general tale of corruption. In the end, the impact of each story is spread too thin and prevents any from hitting as hard as it could have.
The second story in Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan follows Dr. Manhattan as he looks at the diverging pathways of the choices he made in his life. It is an interesting pondering on the nature of choice and how one decision can have a massive impact on the world around you. It also concludes with a great tie-in to the events of Watchmen by letting readers see Ozymandias begin to hatch his plan in regards to dealing with Dr. Manhattan and bringing peace to the world.
Finally, Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan concludes with a short story about Moloch, which, to my surprise, ended up being my favorite part of the volume. It explains Moloch’s history and shows how a supervillain could arise in the mostly grounded universe of Watchmen. His actions and Ozymandias’ manipulations also make his story highly compelling, as it tells an extremely unorthodoxy and morally questionable story of redemption. I ended up feeling more for Moloch in this short story than I felt for most of the characters in other Before Watchmen installments.
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Art
Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan features plenty of great artwork. The volume opens with Andy Kubert’s work on the Nite Owl story. Kubert’s slightly stylized yet clearly realistic take on visuals works well for a story more focused on standard superhero fare. It lets the characters, action, and emotion take the lead, which helps bolster the story. The Dr. Manhattan narrative changes up the visuals by bringing Adam Hughes onboard. Hughes’ visuals are almost always impressive on their own and they work really well when paired with this particular story. Flashback scenes see Hughes capture a classic style in the character while a few scenes focused on quantum shenanigans feature some impressive collages. Finally, the volume closes with Eduardo Risso’s work on the Moloch story. Here, a darker and more heavily stylized take on visuals gives the story a somber feel that works perfectly with the narrative. All in all, this collection’s visuals are impressive and make this a better read.
Continuity
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Doctor Manhattan is one of several prequels to the Watchmen series. Though technically set before Watchmen, it is best to read this book after reading Watchmen.