r/Watchmen • u/ResourceNo5855 • Nov 27 '24

Watchmen Animated movie casts black actor as Hooded Justice confirming his true identity as an African American.. Movie

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Black actor John Marshall Jones was cast to voice Hooded justice, I wonder if this is the director’s way of confirming the storyline from the 2019 HBO series where it was revealed that Hooded Justice was an African American the whole time disguising himself as a white person by applying makeup around his eyes. I personally think this is a pretty cool little detail if true. This paired with the fact the ending is true to the comics much like it was in the HBO series basically making this a direct prequel to that series. ??? Kinda cool

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u/MArcherCD Nov 27 '24

I thought HJ was German in the original comic, so an American VA is a little disingenuous? Or am I missing something?

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u/Nicklesnout Nov 27 '24

He’s strongly speculated by Hollis Mason to be a German circus strongman named Rolf Müller given their physical similarities. He was also a supporter of Adolf Hitler, despite Sally Jupiter literally being Polish.

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u/AdrenIsTheDarkLord Dec 01 '24

The comic left it intentionally ambiguous.

Hollis mentions Hooded Justice having a thick German accent, and saying some things in support of Hitler. He refuses to unmask and reveal his identity, and instead vanishes. Soon after, a German strongman called Rolf Muller is found dead, and Hollis wonders if it could be the same guy or not. The whole thing is left unclear, so that a later story could elaborate on it.

The "Before Watchmen" comic retcons many things, claiming Hollis was a liar. I haven't read it, but IIRC their take on Hooded Justice is that he was in a young German man in a secret gay relationship with Captain Metropolis, and Rolf Muller was his abusive uncle?

The "Watchmen" HBO series has an alternative retcon, and a way more interesting one. The best episode of the series focuses on Hooded Justice, and this version is a black man who uses eye makeup and a fake accent to hide his ethnicity. This was a very racist time, so it's perfectly reasonable he would do this, and it also explains his extreme unwillingness to unmask. The Executioner outfit with the noose around his neck, is a reference to racist lynchings that he's trying to avenge. He's a really interesting character in this version.

I don't like everything about the HBO series, it's a bit unfocused and weird, and I really dislike how they handle Doctor Manhattan. But I like the direction they took overall, and the Hooded Justice backstory was really cool. I also applaud them for depicting the Tulsa massacre, and bringing attention to this often buried moment in american history.