In chapter twelve, after Adrian Veidt— also known as Ozymandias— enacts his scheme to end the Cold War tension between Russia and the United States by leveling major cities around the world and blaming the attack on an alien force, he seeks validation from Dr. Manhattan:
“Jon, wait, before you leave... I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end” (27).
This is when Dr. Manhattan questions the arbitrary nature of “the end.” To Dr. Manhattan, there is no such thing as a beginning, middle, or end; these are distinctions that he no longer makes as an omnipotent, god-like being. Additionally, Dr. Manhattan hints that Veidt’s extreme action, which has admittedly positive implications in establishing world peace, will have long-term effects that Veidt cannot predict. Indeed, in chapter ten, Rorschach puts his journal that has clues pertaining to Veidt’s involvement in the attack into the mail to be delivered to journalists. The end of Watchmen has Alan Moore brilliantly leaving the series on an ambiguous note as a frazzled journalist must add extra material to a newspaper, and he reaches for Rorschach’s journal to read it for the first time. The implication here is that Veidt’s actions are not an “end.” As Dr. Manhattan notes, there is no definitive end.
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