Doctor Manhattan is practically a god in the Watchmen universe. How does one cook up a conflict worthy of that power scale while still conforming to the events of the original series? J. Michael Straczynski has managed to crack that nut by pitting Jon against the very fabric of time itself. Issue #3 weaves an enjoyable tale of one all-powerful man reflecting back on a lifetime of choices. Unfortunately, it leaves very little room for the fourth and final issue to continue the conflict. As short as this series is, even four issues might have been too much for the conflict at hand.
Still, that's a problem for issue #4 to address, successfully or otherwise. Straczynski delivers another solid script that effectively explores the spiraling effects of Jon's meddling in his own past. The many ways in which the image of Schrodinger's Box reappears in the story shows a cleverness and thoughtfulness that pays more homage to the original series than any amount of rehashed scenes or pirate comics ever could. And though Straczynski does revisit a lot of familiar scenes in issue #3, he also explores some genuinely new material as he showcases how the Osterman family fled to America and what early tragedies defined both father and son.
Adam Hughes' artwork doesn't excel as much as some other Before Watchmen artists when it comes to inventive page layouts. However, he does provide plenty of striking imagery and emotive characters to make up for that. And as is so often the case, Laura Martin's colors are the star of the show. Whether it's the ethereal blue glow of a winter forest of the faded yellow Jon's childhood home, the colors are rich and perfectly suited to the tone of each scene.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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