Watchmen [Digest urth.v028.n034]

I had a different impression than Alex; Veidt saw a war coming (and we readers are made to see the same, so he is correct), and used a drastic but relatively cheap method to stop it. I liked the character: so many superheros are just beefcake, and this guy was not only strong but smart, and had thought long and hard about this issue; the part I liked least was the killing of the servants and the destruction of his "Fortress of Solitude"-analog. But it was necessary. Does that make him evil? I don't know; my emotional reaction is yes, he shouldn't kill others to save many more (fiat justica,_ruat_coeleum, "do justice even if the heavens fall" if I have the Latin right), but perhaps megadeath has a quality all its own. Does it make a difference that Veidt knew what was going to happen, but Severian can't really picture it? Plus I loved the tweaks to the conventions of comics: he tells the nominal heros his plan, but they can't do anything, 'cause its too late. -John Bishop