Matthew Goode as
Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias

Ozymandias was a former superhero who draws inspiration from his hero Alexander the Great and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, for whom he is named.

A child prodigy, he graduated from high school and college before he was 18 and learned the art of lying as he hid the full scope of his brilliance for most of his childhood after being accused of cheating.

When he inherited his family's fortune upon his parents' death in a car accident, Adrian gave it away to see if he could be a success by himself. Veidt traced Alexander the Great's path himself across the globe and ultimately returned to the United States, where he became a successful businessman.

However, when his business partner and would-be love interest overdosed on drugs (purchased with funds given to her by Adrian as a gift to allow her to have fun in New York City one night), Veidt decided to avenge her death as a superhero.

His costume was conceived as a Halloween costume but he quickly developed a name for himself as a hero. Two years before the Keene Act passed, Veidt went public with his secret identity and began merchandising his alter ego as he became one of the most important businessmen in America.

However, his fear of a nuclear war between Russia and America, plus a rivalry with Comedian (who unknowingly planted the idea of stopping the inevitable nuclear holocaust into Veidt's head), led to him engaging in the vast conspiracy at the heart of the Watchmen series.

Ozymandias was directly based on Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt, whom Moore had admired for using his full brain capacity as well as possessing full physical and mental control. Veidt is believed to be the smartest man on the planet, even capable of outsmarting Dr. Manhattan.

His combination of intelligence and highly advanced fighting skills makes him perhaps the most feared and dangerous of the mortal vigilantes. He was even able to catch a bullet fired at him. He is often accompanied by his genetically-engineered lynx, Bubastis.

Richard Reynolds noted that by taking initiative to "help the world", Veidt displays a trait normally attributed to villains in superhero stories, and in a sense he is the "villain" of the series.

However, he purposely acts for an objective greater good, thus avoiding the traditional "villain" classification, which is typically self-serving, delusional or evil. Gibbons noted "One of the worst of his sins is kind of looking down on the rest of humanity, scorning the rest of humanity."

In 2008, he was ranked number 10 on the Forbes Fictional 15. Wizard magazine also ranked Ozymandias as 25th Greatest Villain of All Time and IGN ranked him as 21st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

His costume was designed to parody the rubber suits featuring nipples in the film Batman & Robin. This incarnation of Veidt uses a German accent when speaking with friends and an American accent when speaking publicly.

Instead of breeding a giant monster and placing it in New York to massacre half the city as in the comics, Veidt destroys New York with an energy blast designed to look as though Doctor Manhattan caused it, bringing the world to peace.

Snyder said Matthew Goode was "big and tall and lean," which aided in bringing "this beautiful ageless, Aryan superman" feel to the character. Goode explained that Adrian was ashamed of his parents' Nazi past, which in turn highlighted the themes of the American Dream and the character's duality.

Snyder said Goode "fit the bill.... We were having a hard time casting the role, because we needed someone handsome, beautiful and sophisticated, and that's a tough combo."

Resources: imdb.com, Wikipedia.org

Back at the rainy cemetery, Dr. Manhattan and Daniel are there. Manhattan remembers that during the Vietnam War, the Comedian and Manhattan fought the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, turning the tide of the war and allowing the United States to win.

In a bar, as the war is over, Dr. Manhattan and the Comedian watch the fireworks.

Blake [to Dr. Manhattan]: You know if we'd lost here in Vietnam, I think it might've driven us crazy. Y'know, as a country. But we didn't. Thanks to you.

A Vietnamese woman confronts the Comedian and tells him she is pregnant with his child. When the drunken Comedian refuses to take responsibility and insults her, she slashes his face with a broken bottle, causing a permanent scar.

Infuriated, and over Manhattan's pleas for him to stop, the Comedian shoots and kills the woman.

Dr. Manhattan: She was pregnant. And you gunned her down.

Blake: That's right. And you know what, you watched me. You could've turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury, the bottle into goddamned snowflakes but you didn't, did you? You really don't give a damn about human beings. You're driftin' out of touch, Doc. God help us all.

Adrian also watches the coffin being laid to rest and remembers a meeting of the Watchmen. He recalls that the Comedian was a sarcastic, misanthropic pessimist, while Ozymandias wanted to help humankind.

Adrian: For someone that calls himself the Comedian, I can never tell when you're joking. . . . . It doesn't take a genius to see that the world has problems.

Blake: No, but it takes a room full of morons to think they're small enough for you to handle.

Adrian: We can do so much more. We can save this world... with the right leadership.

Blake: Justice is coming to all of us, no matter what the fuck we do. You know, mankind's been trying to kill each other off since the beginning of time. Now, we finally have the power to finish the job. Ain't nothing gonna matter once those nukes start flying; we'll all be dust. And Ozymandias here will be the smartest man on the cinder.

The Comedian burns Adrian's display,.

Daniel recalls a time when the Comedian and the Night Owl tried to calm a rioting group of protesters during a police strike; the comic gleefully fought with the protesters and shot tear gas at the people.

Blake: God damn I love working on American soil, Dan. Ain't had this much fun since Woodward and Bernstein.

Dreiberg: How long can we keep this up?

Blake: Congress is pushing through some new bill that's gonna outlaw masks. Our days are numbered. Till then it's like you always say, we're society's only protection.

Dreiberg: From what?

Blake: You kidding me? From themselves.

Daniel, obviously bothered by the way lawlessness has engulfed the nation, asks the Comedian . . .

Dreiberg: What happened to us? What happened to the American Dream?

Amidst the destruction caused by the mob, the Comedian answers . . .

Blake: "What happened to the American Dream?" It came true! You're lookin' at it...

A tall, wizened man pays his respects and goes back to his flat by an adult movie theatre. He is "Moloch", a one-time "arch-enemy".

In his home, he is assaulted by Rorschach, who wants to know why Moloch went to the funeral. Moloch says that Eddie Blake had broken into Moloch's house a week before, very drunk, and had cried and rambled about a list.

Blake [flashback speaking to Moloch]: This is a joke. This is all a fucking joke. The truth is, you're the closest thing to a friend I got. What the fuck does that say? Mother forgive me.

Moloch: I have cancer.

Rorschach: What kind of cancer?

Moloch: You know the kind you eventually get better from? . . . . That ain't the kind I got.

Rorschach wanders through the streets reflecting on recent events.

Rorschach: I heard a joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Life seems harsh, and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world. Doctor says: "Treatment is simple. The great clown - Pagliacci - is in town. Go see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. "But doctor..." he says "I am Pagliacci." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

Laurie and Jon are having an intimate erotic moment when Laurie realizes Jon has replicated himself. At first, she is put off by making love to two people at the same time, but then she realizes that a third Jon is working on the energy design at the same time.

Angry at not having his full attention she throws an object through the blue figure's head. Jon teleports the machine to Adrian in Karnak, his Antarctic stronghold.

Dr. Manhattan: You're my only remaining link to the world.

Laurie: I don't want that responsibility anymore.

Laurie [to Adrian as she walks out]: He's all yours.

Adrian [on video]: Don't worry John, she'll be back.

Dr. Manhattan: No she won't.

Laurie goes to Daniel's house saying she has nowhere else to go. He is going to meet Hollis for their weekly session and invites her to join him.