Alan Moore is a comic book legend whose subversive stories have shaped the entire industry. Works like Watchmen, The Killing Joke, “For the Man Who Has Everything,” and V for Vendetta are all rightfully lauded as some of the most nuanced and grim stories ever told in comics. While some of Moore’s views on superheroes are controversial to say the least, what can’t be argued is that he’s been responsible for creating some truly memorable characters who have stood the test of time. Outside of revitalizing preexisting characters like Swamp Thing and the Joker, Moore is credited with creating many original characters that change the way we look at heroes and villains.
Whether under DC Comics or an independent series, Alan Moore has originated many beloved characters who examine the nature of humanity, politics, and storytelling.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is one of Alan Moore’s most ambitious and successful franchises. The idea of bringing together numerous public-domain literary characters with unique spins was inspired that led to many spin-offs. One of the League’s members, the legendary pirate Captain Nemo, had a daughter, Janni Nemo, who became the star of three storylines. Initially rejecting her estranged father’s life of piracy, a traumatic event made Janni embrace her destiny and become a ruthless, yet somewhat honorable, anti-villain and pirate. As the new captain of the iconic Nautilus ship, Janni upholds her father’s legacy while also creating her own as she travels across the globe.
Alan Moore got his start writing for the hit British anthology comic 2000 AD, and his most iconic series in it was The Ballad of Halo Jones. The story follows the titular teenage hero who lives in the 50th century. To escape her world of dead-end jobs and boredom, Halo Jones hops on a ship and travels the galaxy to find a sense of purpose. Instead of a stereotypical action heroine, Halo is a much more down-to-earth character who constantly gets in over her head as she does everything from working odd jobs on starships to fighting in intergalactic wars. Still, Halo is an incredibly engaging character whose actions impact the galaxy for centuries to come.
Doctor Manhattan isn’t the only god-like hero Alan Moore has created. Sophie Bangs was just a regular college student in a futuristic New York City until she discovered she was the latest incarnation of Promethea, the living embodiment of magic and storytelling. Promethea was originally a young girl in Ancient Egypt until the gods took her to live in the Immateria, a world of myth and fantasy. Together, Sophie and Promethea work to protect imagination and the human collective unconscious from dark entities. Promethea is a mighty and compassionate hero who acts as a complex metaphor for the power of stories, spiritualism, and creative freedom.
Although Alan Moore wasn’t the original creator of the infamous Doctor Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he offers a creative new reinterpretation of the classic literary character in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Like a more vicious Victorian era Hulk, Jekyll struggles to contain the massive, sadistic, and depraved Mr. Hyde. When he’s forced to work with the League, Hyde becomes the team’s muscle. Although Hyde retained his cruel nature for the most part, over time, he underwent a limited redemption arc when he began to form a close bond with fellow Leaguer Mina Murray. In the end, Hyde finds redemption when he gives his life to save the Earth. Moore provides one of the best portrayals of the infamous Jekyll and Hyde split character.
Although Moore is most well-known for his bleak and satirical comics, sometimes he writes more lighthearted stories that pay tribute to old science fiction pulp magazines. Tom Strong is the premier superhero of DC’s imprint America’s Best Comics. Raised inside a high-gravity chamber, Tom achieved the peak of physical and mental conditioning. Thanks to his upbringing, Tom’s aging has slowed significantly to the point that he’s been protecting Millennium City for over a century. When he’s not fighting supervillains, Tom is developing ingenious inventions or exploring with his family strange new worlds . Tom Strong is a fun, caring, and brilliant hero who goes on exciting adventures across time and space.
The events of Watchmen, one of the most critically acclaimed comics of all time, were all set into motion by Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias. A former costumed crimefighter and the smartest man alive, Ozymandias sought to save the world by any means necessary. After killing the Comedian to cover up his plan, Ozymandias enacted a twisted plot that he believed would end the nuclear war that was on the horizon. To make the nations of the world come together to fight a common enemy, Ozymandias staged a fake alien invasion that killed millions. Ozymandias has gone down in history as the quintessential anti-villain, committing atrocities for what he believes is the greater good.
The ultimate anarchist revolutionary, the mysterious V, is willing to do anything to have his revenge and tear down the fascist regime that has a stranglehold on the UK. While much of V’s backstory is a mystery, what is known is that he was the victim of horrifying experiments that warped his mind and enhanced his body. Donning the now iconic Guy Fawkes mask, V spent years systematically killing everyone associated with the experiments. A genius strategist and expert fighter who’s also certifiably insane, V is a deeply complex character who won’t rest until the people rise and the UK is free from tyranny. To this day, V remains a symbol of revolution and anarchy in the face of fascism.
One of the most powerful characters ever created in modern fiction, Jon Osterman, aka Doctor Manhattan, is a deconstruction of the Superman archetype. Hailing from the Watchmen universe, Jon was caught in a radioactive particle test that tore him apart down to the atom. Upon reforming, he became the god-like Doctor Manhattan, whose powers include telekinesis, size alteration, teleportation, matter manipulation, immortality, duplication, reality warping, precognition, and near-omnipresence. However, with all this power, Doctor Manhattan became emotionally distant and disconnected from humanity. Even after the events of Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan would remain an important character, as he was responsible for altering the DC Universe during the New 52 era and served as the antagonist in Doomsday Clock.
Where Doctor Manhattan is a satire of cosmic heroes, Walter Korvac, aka Rorschach, tears apart the tropes of street-level superheroes. An absolute moralist who sees the world in black and white, Rorschach is the face of Watchmen and its themes. Having spent his life seeing the worst of humanity, he became a vigilante with an ever-changing mask. He’s a deranged and bigoted lunatic who will torture and butcher criminals without a shred of remorse as he dispenses his twisted sense of justice. Representing a world defined by nihilism, Rorschach remains one of Moore’s most compelling and tragic cautionary tales on the nature of vigilantes and superheroes.
First appearing as a side character in Moore’s run on Swamp Thing, John Constantine, the Hellblazer, has evolved into one of the greatest magical heroes in comic book history. A chain-smoking occult detective and con man, Constantine has spent the better part of his life trying to make up for his past sins. With his mastery of mysticism, Constantine casts powerful spells and outsmarts countless monsters and demons. He’s also well-known for being the founder and former leader of the magical superhero team Justice League Dark. While he can oftentimes get on people’s nerves due to his silver tongue and willingness to cross moral lines, Constantine is an integral part of DC’s superhero community who represents the darker side of magic.
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