After a year of pointedly discussing no superhero stories, Paul and Arlo revive Four-Color Flashback for a new decade with the big kahuna of all superhero stories: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' 1986-87 maxi-series Watchmen. Aided by emotional sherpa Greg Sahadachny, once and future host of The Debatable Podcast, the boys openly admit there is no new light to shed on perhaps the most analyzed comic book of all time--then get to shedding. What's it like reading Watchmen in 2020? In the wake of Damon Lindelof's TV sequel? The gang finds that, like all great art, Watchmen has not changed in the 33 years since its run wrapped, but we have. In a world where fascism seems much more tangible, where superhero fiction reigns supreme, Moore and Gibbons' work has taken on a renewed sense of meaning. The gang discusses the book's formalist genius; our heroes' utter contempt for those they claim to save; why, for a certain type of reader, Rorschach is a morally just idol; and plenty more.

Next: we continue watching the Watchmen with a discussion of Lindelof's HBO show.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:50:43

• 00:00:21 - Intro
• 00:04:00 - Watchmen
• 01:47:43 - Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

• "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
• "Cosmic Charlie" by The Grateful Dead, Aoxomoxoa (1969)

THE LINKS

• "In 1986, Watchmen skewered the way we love superheroes. It's still as relevant as ever." by Alex Abad-Santos, Vox

• "Watchmen's Fearful Symmetry: (almost) frame by frame" by Pedro V. Ribeiro, Medium

• Sam Hamm's Batman Script