Watchmen's Rorschach Just Got An Even Darker Legacy | Screen Rant
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Rorschach #4 from Tom King and Jorge Fornés
The mystery of DC Comics' new Rorschach series continues with its latest issue, following one detective's investigation into the return and later death of the former Crimebuster. The first issue saw the surprising return of Rorschach, despite the fact that he was believed to have been killed by Doctor Manhattan at the end of the original Watchmen graphic novel from Alan Moore. Regardless, this Rorschach was quickly killed in the first few pages of the series, along with his new partner known as The Kid after they failed to assassinate a presidential candidate. While the jury is still out on whether or not this was indeed the real Rorschach known as Walter Kovacs, it seems as though he left behind an even darker legacy thanks to the efforts of The Kid.
Rorschach #3 revealed the sad and disturbing origins of The Kid, also known as Laura Cummings. Laura was raised by an extremely paranoid father, who believed that the squids from outer space were staging another attack and invasion, and had perhaps already begun to infiltrate the world using mind control. His delusions led to the murder of his wife, whom he believed was likewise "mind-controlled" and Laura eventually grew up to believe the same, while also being trained to shoot all kinds of firearms with a deadly accuracy in order to be prepared for "when the squids come."
After killing her own father at his request out of fear that he had be taken by the squids, Laura joined the circus as revealed in Rorschach #4 from writer Tom King with art by Jorge Fornés. While there, she met a strongman whom she believed was Rorschach. In her mind, The Kid had it all figured out. After the first squid attack, the Crimebusters must have decided that the only way to fight the squids going forward would be to have Doctor Manhattan destroy their bodies and put their souls into other bodies. That way they could keep fighting the squids without the squids knowing. That's why the Crimebusters haven't been seen since the fist attack, and why Manhattan left (in order to keep their actions and "plan" a secret). However, The Kid's reasoning as to why Ozymandias was still around was because he must have thought he was smart enough to resist any kind of squid mind control. The Kid believed she'd found Rorschach in the strongman, and the lovestruck and confused man simply believed her, eventually becoming convinced that he really was the real deal.
The Kid would then have her Rorschach kill criminals evading justice as well as anyone else she believed were controlled by the squids. At least until this new Rorschach was shot, arrested, and imprisoned. Then, The Kid claimed to have never known him, quickly moving on to find another Rorschach in Will Myerson, a comic book writer and the police's top suspect for the man behind the Rorschach mask during the failed assassination attempt in the first issue.
Thanks to The Kid, Rorschach's legacy just became even darker that it already was. It was bad enough that his mask and likeness was co-opted for the white supremacist group known as the Seventh Kalvary in HBO's Watchmen, as well as the tragic version seen in DC's Doomsday Clock. Now, Rorschach #4 has revealed that new Rorschachs were being created to act as serial killers for this disturbed young woman. Were the Strongman and Myerson the only Rorschachs, or did The Kid create more to wear the mask for her? Regardless, there's still the possible DNA match to the original Rorschach on one of the bodies after the assassination attempt. Could Water Kovacs still be alive somehow? Fans will have to wait and see the mystery unfold as DC Comics' Rorschach series continues.