Gender violence and female submissiveness is at the heart of Alan Moore's Watchman. It is pivotal to the plot and is at the center of part of the overall drama. But what is the point? How does the attempted rape of Miss Jupiter matter in the overarcing "save the world" plotline and the end of Golden Age comic book innocence?
Even though Watchmen is a great work of writing, you bring up a good point when discussing female violence. Would the story drastically change If Miss Jupiter being sexually assaulted was removed? Probably not. It may make The Comedian more despicable as a character. However the scene where he shoots a women because she was pregnant with his baby shows how much of a scumbags he really is. So his sexually assaulting Miss Jupiter could be seen as overkill. It is certainly a interesting conversation to be had. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
This is an article that I think is worth writing. Watchmen's a great story, but that doesn't render it immune to criticism, and Sally's attempted rape is pretty superfluous to the plot. There were a lot of ways that Moore could have established hatred between Silk Spectre I and The Comedian without having to go there. – Winter9 years ago
The Comedian's attempted rape of Sally is not superfluous to the story insofar as Dr. Manhattan only sees the value of human life when he realizes the "miraculous" fact that Laurie is the product of such improbable circumstances. The Comedian also impregnates a woman while fighting in Vietnam and kills her when she tries to make him take responsibility. These and other instances of abuse toward women reflect Moore's overarching interest in depicting the self-destructiveness of human nature and stripping away the loftiness of earlier comics. – JLaurenceCohen9 years ago