Watchmen: Chapter I
Movie, 2024, Watchmen, Set in 1985
Watchmen: Chapter I is #19 of 25 in release order and #23 of 25 in chronological order in the DC.
The story
In 1985, the murder of a government-sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and into a mystery that threatens to upend their personal lives and the world itself.
Watchmen: Chapter I recap
This animated adaptation follows the graphic novel closely. In an alternate 1985, the Comedian, Eddie Blake, is thrown from his window to his death, and Rorschach, a vigilante still working outside the law, decides someone is hunting former heroes. He warns Dan Dreiberg, the retired Nite Owl, Laurie Juspeczyk, the Silk Spectre, Adrian Veidt and Doctor Manhattan, who mostly brush him off. He questions the retired villain Moloch, Edward Jacobi. Flashbacks show the heroes' pasts. Laurie drifts away from Manhattan and closer to Dan. After a press conference ambush in which Manhattan is accused of giving former associates cancer, he exiles himself to Mars, and Cold War tensions grow.
Watchmen: Chapter I ending explained
Rorschach returns to Jacobi's apartment to find him shot dead, in a trap. Police surround the building, and after a fight Rorschach is overpowered and unmasked as Walter Kovacs. The story continues directly in Chapter II.
Post-credits scenes
Yes. During the end credits, radio recordings of 1940s heroes play, but there is no scene after them.
Where to watch Watchmen: Chapter I
Watchmen: Chapter I is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, before Watchmen: Chapter II.
- Chronological order: after Watchmen, before Watchmen: Chapter II.
What to watch before Watchmen: Chapter I
In release order, the essentials before Watchmen: Chapter I (2024) are Watchmen (2009) and Watchmen (2019). Watchmen: Chapter I itself is optional in the DC order.
Cast
- Troy Baker as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias / Minister / Benny Anger (voice)
- Adrienne Barbeau as Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre / TV Broadcaster (voice)
- Corey Burton as Captain Metropolis / Forbes / American Newscaster (voice)
- Michael Cerveris as Jonathan Osterman / Dr. Manhattan / Father (voice)
- Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Jacobi / Moloch / British Newscaster / Photographer #1 (voice)
- Grey DeLisle as Female Citizen #2 / Spanish Newscaster (voice)
- Kelly Hu as Vietnamese Woman / Yvonne (voice)
- John Marshall Jones as Hooded Justice / General #1 / Criminal #2 (voice)
- Max Koch as Detective Joe Bourquin / Bernard / President Nixon (voice)
- Phil LaMarr as Comic Book Narrator / Bernie / Security Guard (voice)
- Yuri Lowenthal as Wally Weaver / Criminal #1 / Knot Top #2 (voice)
- Geoff Pierson as Hollis Mason / Nite Owl (voice)
Directed by Brandon Vietti.