Watchmen Quotes
In an alternate 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it.
Rorschach: I heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Life seems harsh, and cruel. Says he feels all alone in threatening world. Doctor says: "Treatment is simple. The great clown - Pagliacci - is in town. Go see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. "But doctor..." he says "I am Pagliacci." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
Rorschach: [reading from journal] Rorschach's Journal. October 12th, 1985: Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll whisper "no."
Adrian Veidt: [Nixon finishes his speech on Veidt's TVs] Do you see? It's your super powers retreating from war. I've saved the Earth from hell. We both have. This is as much your victory as it is mine. Now we can return. Do what we were meant to.
Rorschach: We were meant to exact justice! Everyone's gonna know what you've done...
Adrian Veidt: Will they? By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.
Dan Dreiberg: Peace based on a lie.
Adrian Veidt: But peace! Nonetheless.
Jon Osterman: ...He's right. Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to Nuclear destruction again.
Laurie Juspeczyk: No... we can't do this.
Jon Osterman: On Mars, you taught me the value of life. If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.
Rorschach: Keep your own secrets...
[the others look as Rorscach leaves, then Jon and Adrian make eye contact]
Dan Dreiberg: Don't even think about it.
[Goes after Rorscach]
Dan Dreiberg: Rorscach! Wait.
Rorschach: [Turns] Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.
[Leaves the building]
Adrian Veidt: I've made myself feel every death... see every innocent face I've murdered to save humanity.
[Turns to Jon]
Adrian Veidt: You understand, don't you?
Jon Osterman: Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
Rorschach: [Outside, in the snow, Rorscach comes across a copy of Jon standing in the snow] Out of my way. People have to be told.
Jon Osterman: You know I can't let you do that.
Rorschach: Suddenly you discover humanity. Convenient.
[Takes off his mask]
Rorschach: If you'd cared from the start, none of this would've happened.
Jon Osterman: I can change almost anything... but I can't change human nature.
Rorschach: Of course, you must protect Veidt's new Utopia. One more body amongst foundations makes little difference. Well, what are you waiting for? Do it...
[Jon hesitates]
Rorschach: DO IT!
[Jon makes Rorscach explode into a pile of blood]
Dan Dreiberg: NOOOOOOOO!
Rorschach: We were meant to exact justice! Everyone's gonna know what you've done...
Adrian Veidt: Will they? By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.
Dan Dreiberg: Peace based on a lie.
Adrian Veidt: But peace! Nonetheless.
Jon Osterman: ...He's right. Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to Nuclear destruction again.
Laurie Juspeczyk: No... we can't do this.
Jon Osterman: On Mars, you taught me the value of life. If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.
Rorschach: Keep your own secrets...
[the others look as Rorscach leaves, then Jon and Adrian make eye contact]
Dan Dreiberg: Don't even think about it.
[Goes after Rorscach]
Dan Dreiberg: Rorscach! Wait.
Rorschach: [Turns] Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.
[Leaves the building]
Adrian Veidt: I've made myself feel every death... see every innocent face I've murdered to save humanity.
[Turns to Jon]
Adrian Veidt: You understand, don't you?
Jon Osterman: Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
Rorschach: [Outside, in the snow, Rorscach comes across a copy of Jon standing in the snow] Out of my way. People have to be told.
Jon Osterman: You know I can't let you do that.
Rorschach: Suddenly you discover humanity. Convenient.
[Takes off his mask]
Rorschach: If you'd cared from the start, none of this would've happened.
Jon Osterman: I can change almost anything... but I can't change human nature.
Rorschach: Of course, you must protect Veidt's new Utopia. One more body amongst foundations makes little difference. Well, what are you waiting for? Do it...
[Jon hesitates]
Rorschach: DO IT!
[Jon makes Rorscach explode into a pile of blood]
Dan Dreiberg: NOOOOOOOO!
Dr. Manhattan: She was pregnant. And you gunned her down.
Edward Blake: That's right. And you know what, you watched me. You could've turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury, the bottle into goddamned snowflakes but you didn't, did you? You really don't give a damn about human beings. You're driftin' out of touch, Doc. God help us all.
Edward Blake: That's right. And you know what, you watched me. You could've turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury, the bottle into goddamned snowflakes but you didn't, did you? You really don't give a damn about human beings. You're driftin' out of touch, Doc. God help us all.
Jon Osterman: Will you smile? If I admit I was wrong?
Laurie Juspeczyk: About what?
Jon Osterman: Miracles. Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold. I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that in human coupling, millions upon millions of cells compete to create life, for generation after generation until, finally, your mother loves a man, Edward Blake, the Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate, and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds, it's you - only you - that emerged. To distill so specific a form, from all that chaos. It's like turning air into gold. A miracle. And so... I was wrong. Now dry your eyes, and let's go home.
Laurie Juspeczyk: About what?
Jon Osterman: Miracles. Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold. I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that in human coupling, millions upon millions of cells compete to create life, for generation after generation until, finally, your mother loves a man, Edward Blake, the Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate, and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds, it's you - only you - that emerged. To distill so specific a form, from all that chaos. It's like turning air into gold. A miracle. And so... I was wrong. Now dry your eyes, and let's go home.
Jon Osterman: Reassembling myself was the first trick I learned. It didn't kill Osterman... did you really think it would kill me? I have walked across the surface of the Sun. I have witnessed events so tiny and so fast they can hardly be said to have occurred at all. But you, Adrian, you're just a man. The world's smartest man poses no more threat to me than does its smartest termite.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Do you remember that crazy guy? What did he call himself... Captain Carnage. The one who used to pretend he was a supervillain just so he could get beaten up all the time?
Dan Dreiberg: Yeah, he tried that on me once. I just walked away. He starts following me down the street in broad daylight, yelling 'Punish me! Punish me!' I'm just saying 'No! Get lost.'
Laurie Juspeczyk: God. Whatever happened to him?
Dan Dreiberg: Well, he pulled that on Rorschach, and Rorschach dropped him down an elevator shaft.
[pause, then both laugh]
Laurie Juspeczyk: Oh my god. That isn't even funny.
Dan Dreiberg: [laughing] It is a *little* funny.
Dan Dreiberg: Yeah, he tried that on me once. I just walked away. He starts following me down the street in broad daylight, yelling 'Punish me! Punish me!' I'm just saying 'No! Get lost.'
Laurie Juspeczyk: God. Whatever happened to him?
Dan Dreiberg: Well, he pulled that on Rorschach, and Rorschach dropped him down an elevator shaft.
[pause, then both laugh]
Laurie Juspeczyk: Oh my god. That isn't even funny.
Dan Dreiberg: [laughing] It is a *little* funny.
Rorschach: [voiceover] Rorschach's journal, October 13th, 1985. 8:30 PM. Meeting with Dreiberg left bad taste in mouth. A flabby failure who sits whimpering in his basement. Why are so few of us left active, healthy, and without personality disorders? The first Nite Owl runs an auto repair shop. The first Silk Spectre is a bloated, aging whore, dying in a California rest resort. Dollar Bill got his cape stuck in a revolving door where he got gunned down. Silhouette, murdered: a victim of her own indecent lifestyle. Mothman's in an asylum in Maine. Only two names remain on my list. Both share private quarters at Rockefeller Military Research Center. I shall go to them. I shall go tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
Rorschach: We need to squeeze people.
Dan Dreiberg: [sarcastic] Sure. We'll pick them out of a phone book.
Rorschach: You forgot how we do things, Daniel. You've gotten too soft. Too trusting. Especially with women.
Dan Dreiberg: No, listen, I am through with that! God, who do you think you are, Rorschach? You live off people while insulting them and nobody complains because they think you're a goddamn lunatic!
Dan Dreiberg: [Rorschach approaches Dan, who sighs and turns to him] I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, man.
Rorschach: Daniel? You are a good friend.
[extends his hand and Dan takes it]
Dan Dreiberg: [sarcastic] Sure. We'll pick them out of a phone book.
Rorschach: You forgot how we do things, Daniel. You've gotten too soft. Too trusting. Especially with women.
Dan Dreiberg: No, listen, I am through with that! God, who do you think you are, Rorschach? You live off people while insulting them and nobody complains because they think you're a goddamn lunatic!
Dan Dreiberg: [Rorschach approaches Dan, who sighs and turns to him] I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, man.
Rorschach: Daniel? You are a good friend.
[extends his hand and Dan takes it]
Janet Black: Doctor Manhattan as you know the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face analogizing humankind's proximity to extinction, midnight representing the threat of nuclear war. As of now it stands at four minutes to midnight. Would you agree that we are that close to annihilation?
Jon Osterman: My father was a watch maker. He abandoned it when Einstein discovered time is relative. I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man.
Jon Osterman: My father was a watch maker. He abandoned it when Einstein discovered time is relative. I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man.
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] Rorschach! This is the police, we know you're in there.
Rorschach: No! No!
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] If there's anybody in there with you, send 'em out unharmed.
Rorschach: No! No, no, no, no!
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] Come out and make this a nice, clean surrender.
Rorschach: Walked right into it! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Never surrender.
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] Alright, I hope you're ready, hero.
Rorschach: When you are.
Rorschach: No! No!
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] If there's anybody in there with you, send 'em out unharmed.
Rorschach: No! No, no, no, no!
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] Come out and make this a nice, clean surrender.
Rorschach: Walked right into it! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Never surrender.
Detective Fine: [From outside Moloch's apartment] Alright, I hope you're ready, hero.
Rorschach: When you are.
Wally Weaver: You see, at the time I was misquoted. I never said 'The Super-man exists and he is American', what I said was '*God* exists and he is American'. Now if you begin to feel an intense and crushing feeling of religious terror at the concept, don't be alarmed. That indicates only that you are still sane.
Edward Blake: God damn I love working on American soil, Dan. Ain't had this much fun since Woodward and Bernstein.
Dan Dreiberg: How long can we keep this up?
Edward Blake: Congress is pushing through some new bill that's gonna outlaw masks. Our days are numbered. Till then it's like you always say, we're society's only protection.
Dan Dreiberg: From what?
Edward Blake: You kidding me? From themselves.
Dan Dreiberg: How long can we keep this up?
Edward Blake: Congress is pushing through some new bill that's gonna outlaw masks. Our days are numbered. Till then it's like you always say, we're society's only protection.
Dan Dreiberg: From what?
Edward Blake: You kidding me? From themselves.
Edward Blake: Justice is coming to all of us, no matter what the fuck we do. You know, mankind's been trying to kill each other off since the beginning of time. Now, we finally have the power to finish the job. Ain't nothing gonna matter once those nukes start flying; we'll all be dust. And Ozymandias here will be the smartest man on the cinder.
Adrian Veidt: You wanna know my past? Okay. Happily. It's a matter of public record that by seventeen both my parents were dead, leaving me alone. I guess you could say I've always been alone. I mean, they say I'm the smartest man in the world, but the truth is I've often felt stupid at being unable to relate to anybody. Well... anyone living, that is. The only person with whom I felt any kinship died three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Alexander of Macedonia. His vision of a United world, well... it was unprecedented. I wanted... needed to match his accomplishments, and so I resolved to apply antiquity's teachings to our world today, and so began my path to conquest. Conquest not of men, but of the evils that beset them. Fossil Fuels. Oil. Nuclear Power. Like a drug, and you, gentlemen, along with foreign interests, are the pushers.
Lee Iacocca: Now listen.
Adrian Veidt: No. You listen. The world will survive. And it deserves more than you've been able to provide. So let's cut to it, shall we? Privately I'm worth more than all of your corporations combined, I could buy and sell you three times over, which is something you should factor into your decision should you choose to make our disagreement public. I think you know the way out.
Adrian Veidt's Assistant: The toy people wanna talk to you about some new villains for the Ozymandias line. Seems all the old villains are dead.
Lee Iacocca: Mr Veidt?
Adrian Veidt: I think I have some ideas.
Lee Iacocca: Now listen.
Adrian Veidt: No. You listen. The world will survive. And it deserves more than you've been able to provide. So let's cut to it, shall we? Privately I'm worth more than all of your corporations combined, I could buy and sell you three times over, which is something you should factor into your decision should you choose to make our disagreement public. I think you know the way out.
Adrian Veidt's Assistant: The toy people wanna talk to you about some new villains for the Ozymandias line. Seems all the old villains are dead.
Lee Iacocca: Mr Veidt?
Adrian Veidt: I think I have some ideas.
Big Figure: He's dead, Rorschach. While everyone's distracted, we thought we'd bring you a little housewarming gift. Something from the machine shop.
Fat Thug: Hey, Boss, you notice? None of that "small world, tall order" crap, cause he knows once we slice open his lock, he's next on the block.
Rorschach: Fat chance.
Fat Thug: Hey, Boss, you notice? None of that "small world, tall order" crap, cause he knows once we slice open his lock, he's next on the block.
Rorschach: Fat chance.
Dan Dreiberg: [referring to the exit tunnel] There's a maintenance hatch that will let you out two blocks north.
Rorschach: I remember. I used to come here often, back when we were partners.
Dan Dreiberg: Those were good times, huh Rorschach? What happened?
Rorschach: [as he walks down the tunnel] You quit.
Rorschach: I remember. I used to come here often, back when we were partners.
Dan Dreiberg: Those were good times, huh Rorschach? What happened?
Rorschach: [as he walks down the tunnel] You quit.
Dan Dreiberg: So I've been thinking, I feel we have an obligation to our fraternity... I think we oughta spring Rorshach.
Laurie Juspeczyk: What?
Dan Dreiberg: Someone set him up. This whole cancer thing with Jon, it just doesn't make sense. You didn't get it.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Yeah, but breaking into a maximum security prison is a lot different than putting out a fire.
Dan Dreiberg: Yeah, you're right... it'll be more fun.
Laurie Juspeczyk: What?
Dan Dreiberg: Someone set him up. This whole cancer thing with Jon, it just doesn't make sense. You didn't get it.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Yeah, but breaking into a maximum security prison is a lot different than putting out a fire.
Dan Dreiberg: Yeah, you're right... it'll be more fun.
Doug Roth: Mr. Veidt, to date, you're one of only two Watchmen ever to reveal their true identity to the world, the first being Hollis Mason. And you've certainly profited greatly by it turning your superhero alter ego, Ozymandias, into a billion-dollar industry: toys, lunchboxes, genetic engineering. I understand there's a movie in the works.
Adrian Veidt: I'm not hearing a question, Mr. Roth.
Doug Roth: I'm sorry. Do you think...
Adrian Veidt: The other Watchmen resent me for prostituting their struggle? It's a fair question. Yes, it's crossed my mind some of my old colleagues might see it that way, just as you're clearly aware that biased journalism sells more magazines. The merchandising arm of Veidt Industries is funding our work with Dr. Manhattan. We recently expanded our research facility in Antarctica in the hope of developing cheap, renewable sources of energy that we might eliminate the world's reliance on fossil fuels. Now, it doesn't take a political scientist to see that our Cold War with the Russians isn't ideological - it's based upon fear. Fear of not having enough. But if we make resources infinite... ah... we make war obsolete. I would hope the other Watchmen understand that. Wherever they may be. Thanks for your time.
Dan Dreiberg: You look good, Adrian.
Adrian Veidt: Dan. It's been too long. So Rorschach thinks someone's hunting the Watchmen, huh?
Dan Dreiberg: You think it's possible?
Adrian Veidt: Statistically, one murder doesn't equal a trend. Rorschach's a sociopath, Dan. And so was the Comedian. He was practically a Nazi. You know that better than anyone.
Dan Dreiberg: I'm not here because I miss him.
Adrian Veidt: It's occurred to Rorschach that we're the only ones who know each other's identities.
Dan Dreiberg: Actually, the whole world knows yours. That's why I'm warning you first.
Adrian Veidt: Thank you, Dan, but I fear there's something much more real to worry about than Rorschach's mask killer.
Dan Dreiberg: If the Russians do launch their nukes, can Jon really stop them?
Adrian Veidt: The Soviets have 51,000 warheads stockpiled. Even if Jon stops 99 percent of them, the 1 percent that get through could still kill every living thing on Earth. Even Dr. Manhattan can't be everywhere at once.
Adrian Veidt: I'm not hearing a question, Mr. Roth.
Doug Roth: I'm sorry. Do you think...
Adrian Veidt: The other Watchmen resent me for prostituting their struggle? It's a fair question. Yes, it's crossed my mind some of my old colleagues might see it that way, just as you're clearly aware that biased journalism sells more magazines. The merchandising arm of Veidt Industries is funding our work with Dr. Manhattan. We recently expanded our research facility in Antarctica in the hope of developing cheap, renewable sources of energy that we might eliminate the world's reliance on fossil fuels. Now, it doesn't take a political scientist to see that our Cold War with the Russians isn't ideological - it's based upon fear. Fear of not having enough. But if we make resources infinite... ah... we make war obsolete. I would hope the other Watchmen understand that. Wherever they may be. Thanks for your time.
Dan Dreiberg: You look good, Adrian.
Adrian Veidt: Dan. It's been too long. So Rorschach thinks someone's hunting the Watchmen, huh?
Dan Dreiberg: You think it's possible?
Adrian Veidt: Statistically, one murder doesn't equal a trend. Rorschach's a sociopath, Dan. And so was the Comedian. He was practically a Nazi. You know that better than anyone.
Dan Dreiberg: I'm not here because I miss him.
Adrian Veidt: It's occurred to Rorschach that we're the only ones who know each other's identities.
Dan Dreiberg: Actually, the whole world knows yours. That's why I'm warning you first.
Adrian Veidt: Thank you, Dan, but I fear there's something much more real to worry about than Rorschach's mask killer.
Dan Dreiberg: If the Russians do launch their nukes, can Jon really stop them?
Adrian Veidt: The Soviets have 51,000 warheads stockpiled. Even if Jon stops 99 percent of them, the 1 percent that get through could still kill every living thing on Earth. Even Dr. Manhattan can't be everywhere at once.
[as they ascend a flight of glass stairs on Mars]
Jon Osterman: This is where we hold our conversation. In it, you reveal to me that you and Dreiberg have been sleeping together.
[suddenly taken aback]
Laurie Juspeczyk: You know about me and Dan?
Jon Osterman: Not yet. But in a few moments, you're going to tell me.
Laurie Juspeczyk: If you already know the future, then why were you surprised when I left you? Or when that reporter ambushed you? Why even argue about it if you already know how this is going to end?
Jon Osterman: I have no choice. Everything is preordained... even my responses.
Laurie Juspeczyk: And you're just going through the motions? The most powerful thing in the universe is still just a puppet...
Jon Osterman: We are all puppets, Laurie. I'm just the puppet who can see the strings.
Laurie Juspeczyk: And what if you're wrong?
Jon Osterman: Why does my perception of time distress you so?
Laurie Juspeczyk: Because it's inhuman. Because it makes me insane. You always say you wanna comfort me. Well, it isn't working. Look, I don't want to fight. I'm sorry I slept with Dan.
[suddenly upset]
Jon Osterman: You slept with Dan?
Laurie Juspeczyk: You just said that you already knew about that.
Jon Osterman: I said - *often* - that you were my only remaining link to humanity. Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?
Laurie Juspeczyk: Then, do it for me... if you really care.
Jon Osterman: When you left me, I left Earth. Does that not show you that I care? My red world here, now, means more to me than your blue one. Let me show you.
Jon Osterman: This is where we hold our conversation. In it, you reveal to me that you and Dreiberg have been sleeping together.
[suddenly taken aback]
Laurie Juspeczyk: You know about me and Dan?
Jon Osterman: Not yet. But in a few moments, you're going to tell me.
Laurie Juspeczyk: If you already know the future, then why were you surprised when I left you? Or when that reporter ambushed you? Why even argue about it if you already know how this is going to end?
Jon Osterman: I have no choice. Everything is preordained... even my responses.
Laurie Juspeczyk: And you're just going through the motions? The most powerful thing in the universe is still just a puppet...
Jon Osterman: We are all puppets, Laurie. I'm just the puppet who can see the strings.
Laurie Juspeczyk: And what if you're wrong?
Jon Osterman: Why does my perception of time distress you so?
Laurie Juspeczyk: Because it's inhuman. Because it makes me insane. You always say you wanna comfort me. Well, it isn't working. Look, I don't want to fight. I'm sorry I slept with Dan.
[suddenly upset]
Jon Osterman: You slept with Dan?
Laurie Juspeczyk: You just said that you already knew about that.
Jon Osterman: I said - *often* - that you were my only remaining link to humanity. Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?
Laurie Juspeczyk: Then, do it for me... if you really care.
Jon Osterman: When you left me, I left Earth. Does that not show you that I care? My red world here, now, means more to me than your blue one. Let me show you.
[From Ultimate Cut]
News Vendor: Hey, all this time you've been coming down here, I never caught your name.
Teenager at Newsstand: Bernard.
News Vendor: Bernard? You're kidding? That's
News Vendor: [chuckles]
News Vendor: my name too.
Teenager at Newsstand: Not that big a deal. There's lots of people called Bernard.
News Vendor: Hey, all this time you've been coming down here, I never caught your name.
Teenager at Newsstand: Bernard.
News Vendor: Bernard? You're kidding? That's
News Vendor: [chuckles]
News Vendor: my name too.
Teenager at Newsstand: Not that big a deal. There's lots of people called Bernard.
John McLaughlin: On a scale of 0 to 10 - zero being impossible, ten being complete metaphysical certitude - what are the chances the Russians will actually attack the United States? Pat Buchanan.
Pat Buchanan: Zero. The Soviets would never risk going to war when we have a walking nuclear deterrent on our side.
Pat Buchanan: Zero. The Soviets would never risk going to war when we have a walking nuclear deterrent on our side.
Dr. Manhattan: [remembering Janey while on Mars] Janey accuses me of chasing jailbait. She bursts into angry tears, asking if it's because she's getting older. It's true. She's aging more noticeably every day - while I am standing still. I prefer the stillness here. I am tired of Earth. These people. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Dan?
[steps toward him]
Laurie Juspeczyk: Is everything alright?
Dan Dreiberg: God I'm tired of being afraid, afraid of war, afraid of the mask-killer... and afraid of this goddamn suit, and how much I need it.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Me too. So to hell with it; let's take Archi out.
Dan Dreiberg: [Dan turns his head and takes a long look at her] You're serious.
[not as a question]
Laurie Juspeczyk: I used to be a masked avenger too, you know; I'm used to getting up at 3 in the morning and doing something stupid.
[steps toward him]
Laurie Juspeczyk: Is everything alright?
Dan Dreiberg: God I'm tired of being afraid, afraid of war, afraid of the mask-killer... and afraid of this goddamn suit, and how much I need it.
Laurie Juspeczyk: Me too. So to hell with it; let's take Archi out.
Dan Dreiberg: [Dan turns his head and takes a long look at her] You're serious.
[not as a question]
Laurie Juspeczyk: I used to be a masked avenger too, you know; I'm used to getting up at 3 in the morning and doing something stupid.
Adrian Veidt: [Nixon finishes his speech on Veidt's TVs] Do you see? Two super powers retreating from war. I've saved the Earth from hell. We both have. This is as much your victory as it is mine. Now we can return. Do what we were meant to.
Rorschach: We were meant to exact justice! Everyone's gonna know what you've done...
Adrian Veidt: Will they? By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.
Dan Dreiberg: Peace based on a lie.
Adrian Veidt: But peace! Nonetheless.
Jon Osterman: ...He's right. Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to Nuclear destruction again.
Laurie Juspeczyk: No... we can't do this.
Jon Osterman: On Mars, you taught me the value of life. If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.
Rorschach: Keep your own secrets...
[the others look as Rorscach leaves, then Jon and Adrian make eye contact]
Dan Dreiberg: Don't even think about it.
[Goes after Rorscach]
Dan Dreiberg: Rorscach! Wait.
Rorschach: [Turns] Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.
[Leaves the building]
Adrian Veidt: I've made myself feel every death... see every innocent face I've murdered to save humanity.
[Turns to Jon]
Adrian Veidt: You understand, don't you?
Jon Osterman: Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
Rorschach: We were meant to exact justice! Everyone's gonna know what you've done...
Adrian Veidt: Will they? By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.
Dan Dreiberg: Peace based on a lie.
Adrian Veidt: But peace! Nonetheless.
Jon Osterman: ...He's right. Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to Nuclear destruction again.
Laurie Juspeczyk: No... we can't do this.
Jon Osterman: On Mars, you taught me the value of life. If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.
Rorschach: Keep your own secrets...
[the others look as Rorscach leaves, then Jon and Adrian make eye contact]
Dan Dreiberg: Don't even think about it.
[Goes after Rorscach]
Dan Dreiberg: Rorscach! Wait.
Rorschach: [Turns] Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.
[Leaves the building]
Adrian Veidt: I've made myself feel every death... see every innocent face I've murdered to save humanity.
[Turns to Jon]
Adrian Veidt: You understand, don't you?
Jon Osterman: Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
