Rorschach (character): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{short description|Comic book antihero}}

</noinclude>{{Infobox comics character▼

{{Merge from|Rorschach (Reggie Long)|discuss=Talk:Rorschach (character)#Proposed merge of Rorschach (Reggie Long) into Rorschach (character)|date=May 2023}}

<noinclude>{{User:RMCD bot/subject notice|1=Rorschach (Walter Joseph Kovacs)|2=Talk:Rorschach (character)#Requested move 22 May 2023}}

▲</noinclude>{{Infobox comics character

| character_name = Rorschach

| image = Rorschach.png

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| partners = [[Nite Owl II]]

| powers =

*Master detective

*Expert hand-to-hand combatant

*Use of improvised weapons

}}

'''Rorschach''' ('''Walter Joseph Kovacs''') is a fictional [[antihero]] and one of the [[protagonist]]s in the [[graphic novel]] [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Watchmen]]'', published by [[DC Comics]] in 1986. Rorschach was created by writer [[Alan Moore]] with artist [[Dave Gibbons]]; as with most of the main characters in the series, he was an analogue for a [[Charlton Comics]] character, in this case [[Steve Ditko]]'s the [[Question (character)|Question]]. Moore also modeled Rorschach on [[Mr. A]], another Steve Ditko creation on whom the Question was originally based.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a29565670/watchmen-hbo-backlash-controversy-white-supremacy/ |title=The Right-Wing Troll Backlash Against HBO's Watchmen Is Hilariously Stupid |first=Matt |last=Miller |date=October 24, 2019 |website=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |access-date=November 5, 2019}}</ref>

While ''Watchmen'' has an [[ensemble cast]], many consider Rorschach to be the [[primary protagonist]] as he drives most of the plot forward and serves as the series' narrator.<ref name="National Post">{{cite news|last=Medley|first=Mark|title=A comic book neophyte's guide to ''Watchmen''|newspaper=[[National Post]]|date=March 3, 2009|url=https://nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=1345804|access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="UTF1">{{cite web |url=http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/comics/before-watchmen-rorschach-1-review/24102|last=Alvarez|first=Daniel|title=''Before Watchmen: Rorschach'' #1 Review|date=August 15, 2012|publisher=Unleash The Fanboy|access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Inescapable Collapse">{{cite web |url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/luongo/luongo16.1.html|last=Luongo|first=Thomas|title=The Inescapable Collapse of ''Watchman''|date=December 9, 2010|publisher=[[LewRockwell.com]]|access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> In the beginning of the story, he is introduced as the only masked [[vigilante]] to remain active on his own terms and initiative, a criminal outlaw as opposed to other former superheroes now covertly employed by the U.S. government. A ruthless crime-fighter, Rorschach believes in [[moral absolutism]]&mdash;[[good and evil]] as pure ends, with no shades of gray&mdash;which compels him to seek to punish any evidence of evil at all costs. His mask displays a constantly morphing inkblot based on the ambiguous designs used in [[Rorschach inkblot test]]s, also his namesake, with the mask's black and white coloring consistent with his [[Splitting (psychology)|sense and view of morality]].

The original character was positively received, with multiple references in other comic titles and appearances in other media. He reappears in the ''[[Before Watchmen]]'' comic book [[prequel]] inincluding his own miniseries. Rorschach made his live-action debut in the 2009 film ''[[Watchmen (film)|Watchmen]]'', played by [[Jackie Earle Haley]], who also voices him in the video game ''[[Watchmen: The End Is Nigh]]''.

A successor to the Rorschach mantle, named [[Rorschach (Reggie Long)|Reggie Long]], debuted in the sequel miniserieslimited series ''[[Doomsday Clock (comics)|Doomsday Clock]]'', which connects the ''Watchmen'' universe with the mainstream [[DC Universe]]. Another incarnation of Rorschach, Wil Myerson, appears in the [[DC Black Label]] limited series ''[[Rorschach (comic book)|Rorschach]]'', a standalone sequel to ''Watchmen''.

==Publication history==

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While Moore came up with Rorschach's name and descriptions, [[Dave Gibbons]] was in charge of the character's appearance. In Gibbons' initial designs, Rorschach wore white clothing which had [[inkblots]] not only on his head but all over his body. He also wore a large blue trench-coat, red gloves, red-blue hat and items that look like jodhpurs or spats over his boots.<ref name="Watching the Watchmen">{{cite book|last1=Gibbons|first1=Dave|last2=Kidd|first2=Chip|last3=Essl|first3=Mike|title=Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel|publisher=[[Titan Books|Titan Books Ltd]]|date=October 2008|isbn=978-1-8485-6041-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/watchingwatchmen0000gibb}}</ref> When designing the characters of the series, Gibbons said Rorschach was his favorite to draw due to his relatively simpler features. He described:

{{blockquote|If I had a favorite character to draw, ... the one that I'll draw is Rorschach. Basically, you just have to draw a hat. If you can draw a hat, then you've drawn Rorschach, you just draw kind of a shape for his face and put some black blobs on it and you're done. So he's a favorite to draw in that circumstance.<ref name="illustrating watchmen">{{cite web|title=Illustrating ''Watchmen''|publisher=WatchmenComicMovie.com|date=October 23, 2008|url=http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/102308-dave-gibbons-watchmen-comic-illustrator.php|access-date=March 16, 2013|archive-date=January 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103151227/http://watchmencomicmovie.com/102308-dave-gibbons-watchmen-comic-illustrator.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

Moore said he did not foresee the death of Rorschach until the fourth issue when he realized that his refusal to compromise would result in his not surviving the story. He claimed that initially he knew a lot about the character's surface mannerisms, but did not realize what was inside him until he "started to dig."<ref name="Moore Interview, 1988">{{cite web|last1=Eno|first1=Vincent|last2=Csawza|first2=El|title=Vincent Eno and El Csawza meet comics megastar ALAN MOORE|publisher=Strange Things Are Happening|date=May–June 1988|url=http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2006/02/20/alan-moore-interview-1988/|access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> Moore added that Rorschach had a "king-sized" [[Suicide|deathwish]] due to his psychologically troubled life, and actively wanted to die but in his own dignified and honorable way, no matter how "twisted" it might have been.<ref name="Comics Britannia"/> In response to why he chose to have Rorschach take off his mask to face death at the end, Moore said that he thought it "just felt right". He believed that it "is not the mask talking, it's not Rorschach, it's the actual human being [Walter Kovacs] that is somewhere under there".<ref name="Moore Interview"/>

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==Fictional character biography==

===Before ''Watchmen''===

Walter Joseph Kovacs was born on March 21, 1940, the son of Sylvia Kovacs, who was a [[Prostitution|prostitute]], and an unknown father only known to Kovacs as "Charlie". His mother was frequently [[Child abuse|abusive]] and condescending towards him. In July 1951, at the age of 11, Kovacs became involved in a violent fight with two older bullies, and subsequently his living conditions were finally looked into. After his home was investigated, Kovacs was removed from his mother's care and put in "The Lillian Charlton Home for Problem Children" in [[New Jersey]], where he rapidly seemed to improve, excelling at [[scholastics]] as well as [[gymnastics]] and [[amateur boxing]]. In 1956, after leaving the Charlton Home when he was 16, Kovacs took a job as a [[garment worker]] in a dress shop, which he found "bearable but unpleasant" partly because he had to handle women's clothing; it was here that he acquired a certain dress fabric that he would later fashion into the mask he wears as Rorschach. His mother was brutally murdered by her [[pimp]], George Paterson, by forcing her to drink [[Drano|Drano cleaning fluid]] and dumped her body in the back alleyway. In 1962, Kovacs scavenged the material from a rejected dress that had been special-ordered by a young woman with an Italian name. Though Kovacs learned how to cut and fashion the material successfully with heated implements, he soon grew bored with it, as it served him no real purpose at the time.<ref name="Watchmen #6">{{cite comic|writer=[[Alan Moore]]|penciller=[[Dave Gibbons]]|inker=[[John Higgins (comics)|John Higgins]]|story=The Abyss Gazes Also|title=[[Watchmen]]|volume=|issue=6|date=February 1987|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|page=|panel=}}</ref>

Two years later when buying a newspaper on his way to work in March 1964, Kovacs read about the rape and [[murder of [[Kitty Genovese]], who he believed was the Italian woman who had rejected the dress. Ashamed by what he read about the [[Bystander effect|unresponsiveness of her neighbors]], Kovacs became disillusioned with the underlying apathy that he saw as inherent in most people. Inspired by Genovese's fate, Kovacs returned home, made "a face [he] could bear to look at in the mirror" from the dress's fabric, and began fighting crime as the vigilante Rorschach. Initially, Kovacs left criminals alive, but bloodied, for the police to arrest, leaving a calling card in the form of a Rorschach test at every crime scene. In the mid 1960s, he teamed up with [[Nite Owl#Daniel Dreiberg|Nite Owl II]], a partnership which proved highly successful at battling [[organized crime]].<ref name="Watchmen #6"/>

In 1975, an investigation into the [[Child abduction|kidnapping]] of a young girl named Blair Roche led to the transformation of the "soft" Kovacs into the ruthlessly uncompromising Rorschach. He tracked the kidnapping to a man named Gerald Grice. At Grice's shack, Kovacs found evidence Grice had killed the girl and had fed her remains to his dogs. Discovering this, Rorschach suffered a psychotic breakdown, killed the dogs with Grice's [[meat cleaver]] and waited for his arrival. When Grice returned, Rorschach hurled the corpses of the dogs through his windows, handcuffed him to a stove, and poured kerosene around him. Leaving Grice a [[hacksaw]], Rorschach told him that his only chance to escape would be by cutting off his hand. Rorschach then set the shack on fire and left. No one emerged.<ref name="Watchmen #6"/> During a later psychological evaluation, the vigilante stated that Kovacs went into the shack, but that Rorschach came out.

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=== Events of ''Doomsday Clock'' ===

{{further|List of Doomsday Clock characters#Ozymandias' team}}

The events of ''Doomsday Clock'' begin with [[Robert Redford]] winning the 1992 election by using the details of Kovacs' journal, which he gained from the ''New Frontiersman'', leading the citizens of New York to rally against Ozymandias, while the United States faces an inevitable nuclear war. [[Rorschach (Reggie Long)|Reggie Long]], son of Kovacs's prison psychologist Dr. Malcolm Long, later takes on the Rorschach mantle after being driven insane by Veidt's monster and learning self-defense techniques from former Mothman [[List of Watchmen characters#Mothman|Byron Lewis]], and mistakenly believing that his father and Rorschach had been friends after reading parts of his reports on him.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=[[Doomsday Clock (comics)|Doomsday Clock]] ''#1''|date=November 2017|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|author=Johns, Geoff|author-link=Geoff Johns}}</ref>

A new character takes on the name of Rorschach in the 2017 series ''[[Doomsday Clock (comics)|Doomsday Clock]]'' by [[Geoff Johns]] and [[Gary Frank (comics)|Gary Frank]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='Doomsday Clock' Gives First Clue to the New Rorschach's Identity |url=https://comicbook.com/dc/news/doomsday-clock-gives-first-clue-to-the-new-rorschachs-identity/ |website=DC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Polo |first=Susana |date=March 28, 2018 |title=New Rorschach has ties to the old one, Doomsday Clock confirms |url=https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/3/28/17169734/rorshcach-doomsday-clock-dc-comics-origin-story |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 29, 2018 |title=Doomsday Clock's Rorschach Origin Has a Twist Even Rorschach Is Unaware Of |url=https://www.cbr.com/doomsday-clock-rorschach-origin/ |website=CBR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Doomsday Clock: Batman's True Plan for Rorschach Is... Diabolical |url=https://www.cbr.com/doomsday-clock-batman-rorschach-arkham-plans/ |website=CBR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=las 18:40 |first=byJoshua Yehl Actualizado el 28 de Marzo de 2018 a las 17:46 Publicado el 28 de Marzo de 2018 a |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Geoff Johns y Gary Frank explican el origen del nuevo Rorschach |url=https://latam.ign.com/doomsday-clock/48080/feature/geoff-johns-y-gary-frank-explican-el-origen-del-nuevo-rorschach |website=IGN Latinoamérica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 28, 2018 |title=New Rorschach Identity Revealed by DC in Doomsday Clock |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/comics/new-rorschach-identity-revealed-by-dc-in-doomsday-clock/ |website=Den of Geek}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 26, 2018 |title='Doomsday Clock' #6: Geoff Johns teases what's next for Rorschach, Black Adam & more |url=https://www.newsweek.com/doomsday-clock-6-issue-geoff-johns-gary-frank-dc-comics-994983 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The events of ''Doomsday Clock'' begin with [[Robert Redford]] winning the 1992 election by using the details of Kovacs' journal, which he gained from the ''New Frontiersman'', leading the citizens of New York to rally against Ozymandias, while the United States faces an inevitable nuclear war. Reggie Long, son of Kovacs's prison psychologist Dr. Malcolm Long, later takes on the Rorschach mantle after being driven insane by Veidt's monster and learning self-defense techniques from former Mothman [[List of Watchmen characters#Mothman|Byron Lewis]], and mistakenly believing that his father and Rorschach had been friends after reading parts of his reports on him.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=[[Doomsday Clock (comics)|Doomsday Clock]] ''#1''|date=November 2017|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|author=Johns, Geoff|author-link=Geoff Johns}}</ref> The identity of this new Rorscach is not revealed until issue four.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2023 |title=Batman &#124; GamesRadar+ |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/tag/batman/ |website=gamesradar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=28 March 2018 |title=DC ROUND-UP: DOOMSDAY CLOCK #4 reveals Rorschach's identity in its strongest showing yet |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/dc-round-up-doomsday-clock-4-reveals-rorschachs-identity-in-its-strongest-showing-yet/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 2018 |title=Doomsday Clock Reveals Exactly Who's Been Wearing Rorschach's Mask and Why |url=https://gizmodo.com/doomsday-clock-reveals-exactly-whos-been-wearing-rorsch-1824265121 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=DOOMSDAY CLOCK Reveals the Identity of the WATCHMEN's New Rorschach - Nerdist |url=https://nerdist.com/article/watchmen-doomsday-clock-rorschach-new-identity-revealed/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726215419/https://nerdist.com/article/watchmen-doomsday-clock-rorschach-new-identity-revealed/ |archive-date=2019-07-26 |website=nerdist.com}}</ref>

=== Events of ''Rorschach'' ===

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== Characterization ==

[[File:Kovacs Rorschach.png|thumb|right|250px|Walter Kovacs, Rorschach's "disguise" (leftLeft); and the [[inkblot]] mask, Rorschach's "true face" (rightRight)]]

===Appearance===

Rorschach is 5'6" tall and weighs 140 pounds, and, as Walter Kovacs (his "disguise"), he appears as a red-haired, expressionless, man<ref name="Watchmen #6"/> who always carries with him a sign that reads "THE END IS NIGH".<ref name="Watchmen #1"/> Most people who see Kovacs consider him [[Ugliness|ugly]] and Rorschach himself states that he cannot bear to look upon his own human face, considering his mask (or true "face") to be beautiful instead.<ref name="Watchmen #6"/> His clothing then matches those of a homeless man, which seems to be his disguise when he has not donned his vigilante attire.

During Rorschach's nighttime patrols, he wears a striped purple business suit, similarly colored leather gloves, a grayed scarf, and heavily unpolished elevator shoes. More signature of his apparel is his brown trench coat with his matching [[fedora]] hat that has a light purple stripe.<ref name="Watchmen #5"/> However, Rorschach's most defining feature of his costume is his ink-blotted mask.

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===Personality===

During his childhood, Walter Kovacs was described as bright, and excelled in [[literature]], [[mathematics]], [[political science]], and [[religious education]]. Kovacs continues a one-man battle against crime long after superheroes have become both detested and illegal, eventually replacing his Kovacs identity with the persona of Rorschach. Rorschach considers his mask his true "face" and his unmasked persona to be his "disguise", refusing to answer to his birth name during his trial and psychiatric sessions. Moore depicted Rorschach as being extremely [[right-wing]], and morally absolute, a viewpoint that has alienated him from the rest of society, even among other superheroes. Rorschach presents his views on right and wrong as starkly black and white with no room for compromise, with the exception of his respect for the Comedian, whose attempted rape of the first [[Silk Spectre]] he dismisses as a "moral lapse.". He holds deep contempt for behavior he considers immoral and is openly derogatory toward heroes who do not share his unwavering views, deriding them as "soft".

Rorschach displays a discomfort with female sexuality as a result of his early childhood, although the crimes that most affected him spiritually were against women: the murders of [[Kitty Genovese]] and Blair Roche. Rorschach is often described as being mentally ill by other characters in the comic.

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The character of Rorschach has been received with critical acclaim by critics, reviewers, and readers; he has also been awarded. In [[Eagle Award (comics)#1988|1988]], the character won the "Character Most Worthy of Own Title" category in the American Section of the [[Eagle Award (comics)|Eagle Awards]] for comics released during 1987.<ref name="Eagle Awards">{{cite web|url=http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/category/previous-winners/1988|title=1988 Eagle Awards|year=2013|publisher=[[Eagle Award (comics)|Eagle Awards]]|access-date=March 24, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007003510/http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/category/previous-winners/1988/|archive-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref> Rorschach has been labelled the "obvious fan favorite"<ref name="IGNCast">{{cite web |url=http://au.ign.com/articles/2008/08/01/cast-of-characters-watchmen?page=3|last=Collura|first=Scott|title=Cast of Characters: ''Watchmen''|date=August 1, 2008|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> and the "flagship" character<ref name="ManiaBWR1">{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/before-watchmen-rorschach-1-comic-review_article_133908.html|last=Kruse|first=Jarrett|title=''Before Watchmen: Rorschach'' #1 Comic Review|date=August 19, 2012|publisher=Mania: Beyond Entertainment|access-date=March 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325104853/http://www.mania.com/before-watchmen-rorschach-1-comic-review_article_133908.html|archive-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref> of ''Watchmen'', and is often regarded as the most iconic and popular character of the series.<ref name="Empire">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.empireonline.com/50greatestcomiccharacters/default.asp?c=16|title=The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters - #16 Rorschach|magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] Magazine|date=July 2008|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="CBB,BWR1">{{cite web |url=http://www.comicbookbin.com/Before_Watchmen_Rorschach_001.html|last=Frisk|first=Andy|title=''Before Watchmen: Rorschach'' #1 Review|date=August 19, 2012|publisher=ComicBookBin|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="UTF3">{{cite web |url=http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/comics/before-watchmen-rorschach-3-review/36903|last=Alvarez|first=Daniel|title=''Before Watchmen: Rorschach'' #3 Review|date=December 12, 2012|publisher=Unleash The Fanboy|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="USA W">{{cite web|url=http://vip.usaweekend.com/2009/03/watchmens-jackie-earle-haley-on-playing-rorschach|title=''Watchmen''{{'}}s Jackie Earle Haley on playing Rorschach|date=March 4, 2009|publisher=[[USA Weekend]]|access-date=March 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130412023705/http://vip.usaweekend.com/2009/03/watchmens-jackie-earle-haley-on-playing-rorschach/|archive-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name="DailySkew">{{cite web|url=http://skew.dailyskew.com/2012/08/before-watchmen-reviews-august-2012.html|title=''Before Watchmen'' Reviews (August 2012)|date=August 20, 2012|publisher=DailySkew|access-date=March 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016150724/http://skew.dailyskew.com/2012/08/before-watchmen-reviews-august-2012.html|archive-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref><ref name="IGNBrianAzzarello">{{cite web |url=http://au.ign.com/articles/2012/04/09/brian-azzarello-on-before-watchmen|last=Schedeen|first=Jesse|title=Brian Azzarello on ''Before Watchmen''|date=April 9, 2012|website=IGN|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> The misanthropic character's popularity has led author Alan Moore to proclaim ''Watchmen''{{'}}s failure as literature.<ref>Cited by Matthew Wolf-Meyer, "The World Ozymandias Made: Utopias in the Superhero Comic, Subculture, and the Conservation of Difference", ''[[The Journal of Popular Culture|Journal of Popular Culture]]'' 36.3 (2003): 497 – 517.</ref>

Rorschach was named the 6th-greatest comic book character of all time by ''[[Wizard (magazine)|Wizard]]'' magazine in May 2008, with the magazine stating that "Rorschach still stands as one of the most compelling and frightening characters in comics' history."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wizarduniverse.com/05240810thgreatestcharacters2.html |title=THE 200 GREATEST COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME |date=May 23, 2008|access-date=November 6, 2011|publisher=Wizarduniverse.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003165505/http://www.wizarduniverse.com/05240810thgreatestcharacters2.html |archive-date=October 3, 2009}}</ref> In July 2008, he was ranked as the 16th "Greatest Comic Book Character" by ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine, which, when picking their top ''Watchmen'' character, proclaimed "from a purely iconic point of view, it had to be Rorschach" and described him as "taut, tortured, complex creation who, as well as being at the centre of some of ''Watchmen''{{'}}s most memorable sequences [...], ends up being perhaps the most pure out of the graphic novel's characters."<ref name="Empire"/> TopTenz placed Rorschach 3rd on their 2010 list of the "Top 10 Comic Book [[Anti-Heroes]] (Marvel & DC)" where he was described as "just one of many outstanding characters introduced during the landmark ''Watchmen'' series, but he is far and away the most popular and fascinating."<ref name="TopTenz">{{cite web |url=http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-anti-heroes.php|last=Stockel|first=Thomas|title=Top 10 Comic Book Anti-Heroes (Marvel & DC)|date=May 11, 2010|publisher=TopTenz.net|access-date=March 21, 2013}}</ref> In 2011, [[IGN]] ranked the character 16th on their "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list, noting that "One has to admire his determination, if not necessarily his methods."<ref name="IGN Rank">{{cite web |url=http://au.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/16|title=The 100 Comic Book Heroes - #16 Rorschach|website=IGN|date=May 2011|access-date=March 11, 2013|archive-date=January 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120165633/http://au.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rorschach's friendship with Nite Owl II was listed 10th on Fandomania's 2009 "Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Friendships" list, which commented that "even though they have contrasting world views, they have the same belief towards crime: it must be fought against."<ref name="FandomFriend">{{cite web |url=http://fandomania.com/the-top-10-sci-fi-fantasy-friendships|last=Ubilla|first=Julio|title=The Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Friendships|date=May 20, 2009|publisher=Fandomania|access-date=March 21, 2013}}</ref>

In the making of the film adaptation, director Zack Snyder said "no character" was more important than Rorschach. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' further added on Snyder's statement, claiming "The filmmaker said [Rorschach] 'is easily one of the greatest comic book characters ever' and that's a view shared by many fans and the press that serves them."<ref name="LATimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-watchmen11-2009jan11,0,5430384.story|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|title=Behind Rorschach's mask in ''Watchmen''|date=January 11, 2009|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> When asked what he thought of the character, Jackie Earle Haley responded that Rorschach was "an awesome character. He is one twisted, sick individual but he's still a fascinating character."<ref name="USA W"/>

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===Television===

* Rorschach appears in ''[[Watchmen: Motion Comic]]'', where he, along with every other character in the series, is voiced by actor [[Tom Stechschulte]].<ref name="IMDbref">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1322240/|title="Watchmen" (2008) TV Series|website=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=March 25, 2009}}</ref>

* In ''[[Watchmen (TV series)|Watchmen]]'', after Rorschach's mysterious disappearance (in reality his death, as depicted at the end of the graphic novel), his journal was discovered. Published in a reactionary newspaper known for conspiracy theories, it was initially ignored. However, the journal was later appropriated by the "'''Seventh Kavalry'''", a white supremacist splinter terrorist group, who, given Rorschach's right-wing politics and description of morality as "black-and-white", misinterpreted it as a racist manifesto. Members of the Kavalry wear crude replicas of Rorschach's mask and attack members of the [[Tulsa, Oklahoma|Tulsa]] police and their families for enforcing President [[Robert Redford]]'s reparations to victims of racial injustices, and intend to acquire the powers of Doctor Manhattan for themselves and their masters, the secret white supremacist order "Cyclops" led by Senator Joseph Keene, Jr.<ref>"Little Fear of Lightning." Damon Lindelof, Carly Wray (writer) & Steph Green (director). Watchmen. HBO. November 17, 2019. No. 5, season 1</ref>

===Film===

[[File:Rorschach film.png|thumb|right|[[Jackie Earle Haley]] as Rorschach in the film ''[[Watchmen (film)|Watchmen]]'']]

* Rorschach appears in [[Watchmen (film)|''Watchmen'']], portrayed by [[Jackie Earle Haley]],<ref>{{cite web|last=SuperHeroHype|title=''Watchmen'' Cast Confirmed!|publisher=SuperHeroHype|date=July 25, 2007|url=http://www.superherohype.com/features/articles/94431-watchmen-cast-confirmed|access-date=March 24, 2013}}</ref> with Eli Snyder, the son of the film's director [[Zack Snyder]], playing the young Rorschach in flashbacks.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Franklin|first=Garth|title=Special Feature: Zack Snyder On ''Watchmen''|publisher=[[Dark Horizons]]|date=November 7, 2008|url=http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/081107k.php|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091008005621/http%3A//www.darkhorizons.com/news08/081107k.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 8, 2009|access-date=November 8, 2008}}</ref> While Rorschach in the film adaptation is relatively faithful to his graphic novel counterpart, there are still some differences in description and storyline. Rorschach's age in the film is 35,<ref>{{cite AV media|people=[[Zack Snyder]] (Director)|title=Watchmen|medium=Film|publisher=[[Warner Bros.]]/[[Paramount Pictures]]|date=March 6, 2009|quote='''Newscaster''': The masked vigilante Rorschach has been apprehended and identified as Walter Kovacs, a 35-year old white male.}}</ref> whereas in the graphic novel he is 45 years old (although this was most likely an error in production as his certificate marks him as forty-five).<ref name="Watchmen #6"/> He is depicted in the film as being right-handed (justified by Jackie Earle Haley being right-handed) as opposed to left-handed.<ref name="Watchmen film">{{cite AV media|people=Zack Snyder (Director)|title=Watchmen|medium=Film|publisher=Warner Bros./Paramount Pictures|date=March 6, 2009}}</ref> In the graphic novel, Rorschach consistently talks in a thudding [[pidgin]] while this is toned down in the film, with Rorschach talking in a more growling manner. His psychological instability in the film is downplayed, and he appears to be stronger than his graphic novel-self<ref name="Book Vs. Film">{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Tasha|title=Book Vs. Film: ''Watchmen''|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=March 6, 2009|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/book-vs-film-watchmen,24746/|access-date=March 24, 2013}}</ref> as he manages to ward off some attacking policemen, even after falling from an apartment window. He is also shown to openly disapprove of Nite Owl and Silk Spectre's relationship. In the film, rather than Rorschach, Nite Owl II is the one who warns Ozymandias of the possible mask-killer, although Rorschach was revealed to have visited him earlier. Rorschach's method of killing Grice differs also. In the film he uses the meat cleaver that killed Blair Roche to continuously hack the kidnapper,<ref name="Book Vs. Film"/> uttering after killing Grice, "Men get arrested. Dogs get put down!".<ref name="Watchmen film"/> The number of times Rorschach visits the criminal underworld, Nite Owl and Moloch are reduced, and some of these scenes are also altered. Rorschach's landlady, and anything concerning his apartment are left out; when obtaining his costume after the prison break, instead of wearing a spare one in his apartment, he regains his previous one in the prison.<ref name="Geekbox">{{cite web|last=Scott|first=Ryan|title=''Watchmen'': What's different?|publisher=The Geekbox|date=March 2, 2009|url=http://www.geekbox.net/archives/2009/03/02/watchmen-whats-different|access-date=March 25, 2013|archive-date=December 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218062418/http://www.geekbox.net/archives/2009/03/02/watchmen-whats-different/|url-status=dead}}</ref> While Rorschach's meeting with Dr. Malcolm Long is shown, this has been reduced to one meeting; also, Long's dark [[subplot]] where Rorschach's story affects his personal life and philosophy are omitted. Snyder admitted that while he did not film the scene he "would have loved to."<ref name="MTV">{{cite web|last=Carroll|first=Larry|title=''Watchmen'' Director Reveals Key Differences Between Graphic Novel, Film|publisher=[[MTV]]|date=February 24, 2009|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1605765/key-differences-between-watchmen-comic-film.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427185745/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1605765/key-differences-between-watchmen-comic-film.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 27, 2012|access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref> Rorschach's confrontation with Dr. Manhattan is extended. Unlike in the novel, Nite Owl is present for Rorschach's death, becoming enraged at Ozymandias after witnessing the spectacle. Snyder felt he "needed a moment at the end" and explained that he changed this scene because he wanted to show a glimpse of the "sweet" relationship between Rorschach and Nite Owl that was established in the film.<ref name="MTV"/>

* Rorschach appears in the animated film [[Watchmen Chapter I]], voiced by [[Titus Welliver]].

===Video games===

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* In the first episode of the second season of ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated]]'', [[Velma Dinkley|Velma]] is dressed in an overcoat and fedora and asks [[Fred Jones (Scooby-Doo)|Fred]], "Who were you expecting, Rorschach?"

* Rorschach was briefly portrayed in the documentary ''[[The Mindscape of Alan Moore]]'', where he is voiced by Alan Moore himself.

* In the Japanese manga ''[[Attack on Titan]]'', the character [[Levi Ackerman]] was inspired by Rorschach, according to the series creator [[Hajime Isayama]]. In the same manga, the character Erwin Smith is inspired by [[Ozymandias (Watchmen)|Ozymandias]], another character from ''Watchmen''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/attack-on-titan-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-levi-ackerman|title=Attack On Titan: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Levi Ackerman|last=Mullen|first=Amanda|date=20 August 2019|publisher=[[cbr.com]]|access-date=2 December 2019}}</ref>

* Rorschach appears in [[Laura Beatty]]'s 2019 novel, ''[[Lost Property (Beatty novel)|Lost Property]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43453669-lost-property | title=Lost Property }}</ref>

==See also==

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[[Category:2020 comics debuts]]

[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1986]]

[[Category:DC Comics martial artists]]

[[Category:DC Comics male superheroes]]

[[Category:DC Comics film characters]]

[[Category:Fictional boxers]]

[[Category:Fictional characters from New York City]]

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[[Category:Fictional private investigators]]

[[Category:Fictional Republicans (United States)]]

[[Category:Male characters in film]]

[[Category:Question (DC Comics)]]

[[Category:Superhero detectives]]

[[Category:Watchmen characters]]

[[Category:Vigilante characters in comics]]