I wonder why Moore didn’t use Judo Master and Sarge Steel expies in Watchmen

[Riv86672]

And yeah, I know the simple answer is, “he didn’t want to”.

Still, was hoping someone had an educated guess or info as to why, maybe something from Moore himself or an article on a site.

[Hypo]

Well unless there's a record of someone explicitly asking him why he didn't use Judomaster and/or Sarge Steel pastiches I think anything beyond "he didn't want to" is conjecture but I'll give it a shot, though it's conjecture on why he chose the characters he did rather than why he didn't use Judomaster and Sarge Steel expies.

In this interview Moore mentions that when he started conceptualizing Watchmen he actually started planning it around Archie Comic's The Mighty Crusaders and that it didn't really matter who the characters he used were as long as they were pre-existing/recognizable - he throws out T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents as another possibility - so he could create surprise/shock value with the story choices he was making. He settled on the Charlton character because DC had acquired the rights and were looking to use them in some way.

The Mighty Crusaders idea opened with The Shield being found dead and going from The Shield -> Peacemaker seems pretty straight forward.

Next, DC acquired the rights to the Charlton characters in 1983 and Moore submitted his pitch afterwards, prior to DC acquiring the rights Americomics had them and published a Sentinels of Justice book, which was a team book featuring Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, the Question and Nightshade, maybe this was on Moore mind when he came up with his pitch?

And finally he mentions in the same interview above that Ozymandis grew out of his affinity for Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt stating that he liked Peter Morisi's strip and he liked the idea of a character using 100% of his brain power.

[Riv86672]

Well unless there's a record of someone explicitly asking him why he didn't use Judomaster and/or Sarge Steel pastiches I think anything beyond "he didn't want to" is conjecture but I'll give it a shot, though it's conjecture on why he chose the characters he did rather than why he didn't use Judomaster and Sarge Steel expies.

In this interview Moore mentions that when he started conceptualizing Watchmen he actually started planning it around Archie Comic's The Mighty Crusaders and that it didn't really matter who the characters he used were as long as they were pre-existing/recognizable - he throws out T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents as another possibility - so he could create surprise/shock value with the story choices he was making. He settled on the Charlton character because DC had acquired the rights and were looking to use them in some way.

The Mighty Crusaders idea opened with The Shield being found dead and going from The Shield -> Peacemaker seems pretty straight forward.

Next, DC acquired the rights to the Charlton characters in 1983 and Moore submitted his pitch afterwards, prior to DC acquiring the rights Americomics had them and published a Sentinels of Justice book, which was a team book featuring Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, the Question and Nightshade, maybe this was on Moore mind when he came up with his pitch?

And finally he mentions in the same interview above that Ozymandis grew out of his affinity for Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt stating that he liked Peter Morisi's strip and he liked the idea of a character using 100% of his brain power.

^^^Hey, conjecture’s fine w. me, thanks for that AND the link!

[Thor-Ul]

As Hypo explained, most probably it was just Moore idea on what characters he needed for the story he had in mind.
...
Still, why is tehre no love for Son of Vulcan?

9279922-00-son-of-vulcan.jpg

[Dr. Poison]

As Hypo explained, most probably it was just Moore idea on what characters he needed for the story he had in mind.
...
Still, why is tehre no love for Son of Vulcan?

9279922-00-son-of-vulcan.jpg

I like Son of Vulcan. I wish DC wouldn't have killed him off in War of the Gods.

[Aarkus]

good question for Judomaster...

with Sarge Steel, I always sort of saw Comedian as a mash-up of Sarge AND Peacemaker - with only one character needed for that role, he took some elements of both and combined them. like everyone else here this is just conjecture on my part, but that was how I interpreted it

[Riv86672]

As Hypo explained, most probably it was just Moore idea on what characters he needed for the story he had in mind.
...
Still, why is tehre no love for Son of Vulcan?

9279922-00-son-of-vulcan.jpg

^^^I liked him, and the new guy too.

good question for Judomaster...

with Sarge Steel, I always sort of saw Comedian as a mash-up of Sarge AND Peacemaker - with only one character needed for that role, he took some elements of both and combined them. like everyone else here this is just conjecture on my part, but that was how I interpreted it

^^^I’ve thought that too, about the Comedian being a mashup. It’s not like he needed a liaison or anything.

[Aarkus]

^^^I’ve thought that too, about the Comedian being a mashup. It’s not like he needed a liaison or anything.

for sure, his personality/characterization seemed to split the difference between the two

[Thor-Ul]

good question for Judomaster...

with Sarge Steel, I always sort of saw Comedian as a mash-up of Sarge AND Peacemaker - with only one character needed for that role, he took some elements of both and combined them. like everyone else here this is just conjecture on my part, but that was how I interpreted it

Dunno about that. Watchmen was about the heroes who used those supersuits. Sarge Steel was just a tough guy with a prosthetic hand. Not so much super enough to brag about compared to the rest..