Watchmen Page #2

NEWS VENDOR:

I dunno, pal, like I said, it's late--

We MOVE BACK ACROSS THE STREET, to Blake's apartment

building, then MOVE UP the building, to the broken glass

window Blake was thrown out of. We MOVE INTO THE WINDOW--

INT. EDWARD BLAKE'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

--inside the apartment, where DET. GALLAGHER (older, jaded)

and DET. FINE (street worn, but not quite cynical yet) walk

through the crime scene. Fine studies the broken window.

DET. FINE

Edward Blake--63 years old, six-two, 225.

A solid 225, guy was built like a

linebacker. This is plate glass too,

you'd have to step on the gas just to put

a crack in this. Had to be a two man job.

At least. You check the bedroom?

DET. GALLAGHER

Drawers were open, tossed through.

Mattress flipped.

DET. FINE

Robbery?

DET. GALLAGHER

Or made to look like one.

(tosses Fine an ID)

Found that in the bedroom.

Det. Fine studies it. It's Blake's UNITED NATIONS ID. It

reads "Special Advisor, United States."

(CONTINUED)

5.

CONTINUED:

DET. GALLAGHER (CONT'D)

You see this?

He picks up a PHOTO from the floor, hands it to Fine.

DET. GALLAGHER (CONT'D)

Shaking hands with the President.

DET. FINE

You're saying this guy was a spook? You

think this might be a political murder?

DET. GALLAGHER

I think that this is way bigger

than the both of us.

He leaves Det. Fine to ponder this.

EXT. STREET - LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING

Outside Blake's apartment building. It's later now, the news

stand is closed, businesses closed, people gone.

We move into someone's POV. The person stares up at the

broken window of Blake's apartment, now covered with PLASTIC

SHEETING.

RORSCHACH (V.0.)

Rorschach's Journal, October 12th.

Earlier today I came across what appeared

to be a suicide. It was later learned to

be a homicide. Someone's time was up.

Still in POV, we see the person pull something from his

pocket--the happy face pin. We realize that this was the

person whose POV we were in earlier.

RORSCHACH (V.0.) (CONT'D)

I discovered a clue. Something I

recognized. And suddenly, unexpectedly

. I heard my own clock ticking.

We move out of the POV and see our guy for the first time--

RORSCHACH (roar-shock)--a masked vigilante who wears a trench

coat, fedora, and a silver-white MASK with oily BLACK SPOTS

moving about, creating shifting, doubled PATTERNS like a

Rorschach test. Scary looking.

Rorschach draws a hydraulic GRAPPLING GUN from his coat, and

FIRES the HOOK AND CABLE THIRTY STORIES UP where it latches

itself through Blake's broken window. Pressing RETRACT,

Rorschach FLIES UP THE WALL to the 30th floor.

6.

INT. EDWARD BLAKE'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - LATE NIGHT

With a grunt, Rorschach pulls himself past the plastic

sheeting, through the window, and into Blake's apartment. He

investigates, silent. He sees the same things that the cops

saw . . but he notices the speakers by the TV. Notices one

of the speaker covers is ever so slightly askew.

Rorschach pulls the speaker cover off and discovers that the

speaker was hollow. (The Intruder clearly took Blake's gun

and put the cover back on when he left. Why?)

INT. BLAKE'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM CLOSET - NIGHT

Blake's clothing hangs in military rows. Rorschach runs his

fingers along the wall-seams. He pauses, presses on the

hanger BAR, which SLIDES BACK to reveal a RED BUTTON.

Pressing it, the BACK WALL of the closet SLIDES OPEN,

revealing a SECRET COMPARTMENT. On the wall is an old FRAMED

PHOTO of EIGHT PEOPLE IN COSTUMES, from the 60s. Included in

this photo is a young Edward Blake--Blake wasn't a spook--he

was a superhero.

WEAPONS of all kinds adorn the walls in here. TEAR-GAS,

GRENADES, RIFLES, PISTOLS--if it can kill you Blake's got it.

But that's not what draws Rorschach's attention.

Hanging on the back wall, dead center, is a more current

COSTUME. Black leather armor, gloves, boots. Hanging over it

all like a vacant, grinning face--a black leather MASK.

Rorschach stares. Framed nearby is the FRONT PAGE OF THE

BOSTON GLOBE. The headline reads "The Comedian Gets Last

Laugh On Moloch." Underneath is a photo of Blake dressed in

the costume Rorschach was staring at--Blake was a superhero

called the Comedian. In the photo, Blake holds a supervillian

named MOLOCH prisoner. (We'll meet Moloch later.)

On the same page is a smaller photo of a group of

superheroes. Rorschach is in the photo, as is Dr. Manhattan,

as is the Comedian. (As are DAN DREIBERG, ADRIAN VEIDT, and

LAURIE JUPITER, all of whom we'll be meeting soon). The

caption below reads: "The New Watchmen."

Suddenly, Rorschach hears the front door open. He quickly

closes the secret hatch.

INT. BLAKE'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Two uniformed COPS stand in the doorway.

(CONTINUED)

7.

CONTINUED:

COP 1

You sure it wasn't the wind?

COP 2

Nah, I definitely heard something.

COP 1

I tell ya, I'd rather do traffic duty

than be posted at a crime scene all

night. Watch the door.

Cop 1 pulls his gun, going through the motions rather than

being concerned. He then enters the bedroom.

Cop 2 stands guard, nervous From the bedroom:

COP 1 (O.S.) (CONT'D)

Clear! I'm checking the other rooms.

Cop 2 relaxes a bit, turns--

--and comes face to "face" with Rorschach, standing inches

away. The Cop's face goes slack with childish terror. He goes

to yell but Rorschach raises two fingers, "Shhh"--

The fingers JAB INTO THE COP'S WINDPIPE. The cop HISSES and

falls silently as Rorschach brushes past him like a whisper.

HOLLIS (O.S.)

See, the Comedian thought he had it all

worked out.

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