This Friday, The Watchmen will open in American theaters after a nearly 20 year long battle to bring it to the big screen. It’s the culmination of a lot (and I mean a lot) of blood, sweat and tears. Nearly every major movie studio, major director, and countless big name stars have been attached to the project but finally the movie is upon us.
It’s directed by 300′s Zack Snyder, who signed on to the project after the success of 300 and brings to the table not only an incredibly original visual style but also – according to early reviews – a vision that remains true to the original graphic novel. The movie is set in Manhattan in 1985 where superheroes are a part of the American landscape. When one of a group of ‘Avengers’-esque superheroes called The Watchmen is murdered, the other remaining members of The Watchmen unravel not only a plot to eradicate the superheroes but also the entire eastern seaboard. And that’s about all I’m going to write without giving the ending away.
They’ve even filmed the comic-within-a-comic that appears in the original graphic novel. It’s a tale of pirates and was created especially for the film. The comic makes a good point that if superheroes were to exist the entire landscape of American storytelling would change: people wouldn’t want to read about superheroes because they were real… they’d want to read about pirates and swashbuckling. Maybe I’m not making myself too clear, but trust me, I’m incredibly glad they kept the pirate comic subplot entitled Tales Of The Black Freighter intact.
The movie was filmed outside of Vancouver last spring in a specially created backlot depicting in graphic detail the original story by writer Alan Moore and artist David Gibbons. The original graphic novel holds the distinction of being on Time’s 100 Best English Language Novels (true!). Needless to say, a lot of people are anxiously awaiting this Friday’s release.
Marvel has created a special motion comic for viewing on your iPhone. It’s just been released on DVD, but a search for ‘The Watchmen’ on Apples iTunes store will bring you the handheld version. It’s pretty neat.
Click on over here to the official site to find a midnight showing near you. It also is being shown in IMAX
Mortamor
Mortamor was a powerful dragon who had the elements on his side. He could breath fire, use dark magic, fly and he could control the water. With all of this power on his side he seemed unstoppable, but when the four evil wizards, Saege, Vladamier, Chaucer and Scorconian came he was imprisoned in their staffs. Each staff held one of his powers. Three thousand years later the first staff was found by a boy named David who was fourteen and lived in Jumington, California.
“David, time for school,” hollered Jim, David’s dad.
“Uuuuuhhh”, replied David.
“ If you miss the bus you’re walking”, retorted Dad.
David got up, got dressed, and ran outside to catch the bus. Alister was on the bus and told David he had a secret. David was curious, so he pleaded for Alister to tell him. Alister divulged that there was a big pit where construction crews had been digging up the ground to build a church, and the dirt was perfect for a bicycle jump. Alister told him to meet him there after school with his new BMX bike, David rushed home from school, grabbed an apple, and flew out the door on his bike. As soon as he got to the construction site he saw the huge dirt jump Alister had told him about. He waited impatiently for five minutes and decided Alister had forgotten, so he took off for the jump.
Once he was in the air he realized this was a mistake because there was a huge hole that was at least one hundred feet deep and he was falling down in it. When he hit the bottom, he realized that there was a landing pad. He automatically knew he didn’t break anything because he didn’t feel anything but excitement. He looked up and knew automatically that he could not get out that way. He decided to look around for another way out, but as soon as he picked his bike up he realized that the frame was bent to where he couldn’t ride it. He looked around and saw that there was only one way out and that was to go through the cave. He walked up the aisle and there was a fork in the cave at which he decided to go left. After walking a little ways he saw a small crack in the wall and through the crack he could see light, so he thought this was the way out. He began to bang on it with a stone he found, but it wouldn’t budge. He took his foot and kicked it as hard as he could and finally it burst open. What he saw astonished him.
There sitting on the rock was a staff that looked over one thousand years old. He ran to it and grabbed it, but as soon as his fingers wrapped around it he started to lift off the ground. He threw the staff down and jumped back because as soon as he grabbed the staff he heard a distant voice pleading “Help me.”
David went back to the staff, grabbed it, and said, “Is anybody there?” There was a reply and it was louder this time, “I am Mortamor and I am a dragon. I have been imprisoned in the four staffs of the evil wizards. This is Saege’s and with this staff you have the ability to fly. Do you accept to help free me from my prison?”
“Yes, I accept,” replied David.
“Then your training to be the next Dragon Master begins tomorrow,” announced the dragon.
David grabbed the staff and practiced his flying ability all the way home. As he was flying he could feel the wind blowing against his face and oddly this made him feel free as a bird. When he got home, he knew he could not tell anyone, which wasn’t a big problem because his dad was going out of town for the weekend and wouldn’t be back until Monday morning. When he walked in the door his dad was waiting for the taxi with bags packed . When the taxi arrived his dad gave him a hug and said he loved him. As soon as David knew his dad was gone, he grabbed the staff and went to the back yard.
David knew he must expect the unexpected, so he decided to perfect his flying ability. He held tight to his staff and zoomed through the air at unbelievable speeds. He was heading right for a tree, when suddenly he smashed headfirst onto the top branch. He flew to the bottom and decided that was enough practice for the day. He went back inside, laid down, and fell into a dark sleep.
Mortamor came to him in his dream and told him to fly to the desert in Nevada and he would guide him from there. As soon as David woke up he got dressed, grabbed the staff, and took off. He hit a little air traffic in the form of a flock of birds, so he started flapping his hands and knocked two of them right out of the air. He arrived at his destination in the desert of Nevada and landed. As soon as he descended he saw a huge pit exactly like the one in Jummington. He automatically knew what this was and was about to go in and WHAM! He was being thrown to the ground by someone or something very powerful. He caught himself and flew into the air for a look around. what he saw astonished him.
There, coming up towards him, were four kids holding books with a green glow around them. Mortamor’s voice responded from the staff, “They are the sons of the old wizards.”
He knew this would be a challenge, because they were wizards and he had never fought any one, so he shot up at least one thousand feet and dive bombed them. Two of them disappeared and the other two dodged him. He was hit in the back, which knocked him out. He awoke bound to a rock by some mystical force. He struggled to break free, but every time he touched the magical rope it shocked him. After a few minutes they came in and told him he would die tonight. He knew he had to get out of there now, but his staff was on the other side of the room. He summoned every ounce of energy he had left and called for his staff which flew at him and broke his bonds. He was so exhausted that when he tried to fly, he got about three feet and fell. So he decided he would walk until his energy built up. After David came upon the entrance of the cave, he was confident he could make it out of there. He grabbed his staff with every ounce of energy in his body and took off.
He flew back into the the air and shot towards the pit at magnificent speeds. He could feel the aura of the staff guiding him. Once he knew he was there, he used his staff to blow the wall down that was hiding the second element to make him the Dragon Master. This was the Staff of Fire and as he grabbed the staff he felt a wave of heat come over him that made him feel secure. He knew it was time to go… but where? At that moment he heard Mortamor direct him, “ Go to Lake Superior and you will feel the staff’s aura calling you.”
As soon as David heard this he blasted off as fast as he could towards New York. At first it was awkward carrying two staffs, but then a magical thing happened; the Staff of the Wind absorbed the other one but he could still feel the Staff of Fire’s power. After he discovered that he was close to the Staff of Water, David started to descend, but he saw there was no room to land. He decided the staff must be under water but how could he get to it? At that moment he had an idea. He put every ounce of energy he had into the Staff of Wind and slammed his staff against the water with magnificent force. The water parted and he could see the staff held within the grip of a concrete gargoyle. There was only one problem; he didn’t know if he could hold the water up while getting the staff.
He was wondering what to do when… bang! he was being hit upside the head by a water monster. No, not a monster, but a wizard. One of the wizard’s was controlling the water while the others went for the staff. David thought fast and shot all of the fire power he had at them and it was just enough to make them lose concentration. He darted to the staff, grabbed it, and took off, but as he took off there was a huge purple ball being thrown at him. It nailed him right in the back, and felt like someone had tazed him.
Through all this pain he was still able to escape from the clutches of the evil wizards. He flew to a cave off the coast of Lake Superior, and as he pulled his limp body into the cave he passed out. Mortamor came to him in his dreams and told him the staffs would heal him. Mortamor revealed that the next staff would be the most powerful one, it is dark magic. He also told David that this would be the final battle between good and evil.
David awoke feeling better than ever, but there was only one problem. He didn’t know where to go, so he decided the answer would come when it was time. For now he would train. He practiced shaping the water into things, controlling his fire, and being able to combine all of his abilities into a great attack. When he did this, it caused the ocean to have an earthquake which caused tsunamis. He settled the tsunamis down by putting his staff in the water and commanding, “Be still!”
At about lunchtime he heard Mortamor say, “It’s time.” He flew around for what seemed like forever, feeling for an aura, and then it came. It was coming from over some abandoned library in Vancouver. He came down cautiously, went inside, got the Staff of Dark Magic, and as soon as his staff absorbed it, he realized the wizards were there ready for the final battle.
This was an all out battle to the death. David was fighting heroically when he was shot in the side by the dark magic of a wizard, and Mortamor sensed he needed help. At that moment another magical thing happened, as Mortamor came out of David’s staff, which blew up causing all four wizards to disintegrate before David’s very eyes. At that moment Mortamor announced to David,“ You are the Dragon Master and all four abilities will be restored within you for an eternity.”
After he finished talking to Mortamor David flew home. Now he is known all over the universe as Elemental Hero. He scours rooftops fighting crime with the abilities that Mortamor gave him.