Watchmen #2 (1986)

Laurie Juspeczyk visits the Nepenthe Gardens retirement home to see her mother, Sally, the original Silk Spectre. She only came because she's been forced to visit, transported by Jon since she hadn't wanted to attend the funeral of Eddie Blake. Sally shows a large sense of sympathy for Blake. During her conversation with Laurie, Sally remembers the night that the Minutemen were taking their group photo in 1940. The group discussed the war in Europe, until the original Nite Owl stopped the discussion and they all headed down to the Owl's Nest, except for Sally who stays behind to change her clothes. The Comedian stepped into the room and interrupts her, attempting to sexually assault her to which Sally clawed his face. Blake brutally attacked her, intending to rape her, before Hooded Justice walked in. He viciously attacked Eddie, but lets him go when Eddie says to him "This is what you like, huh? This is what gets you hot..." At Eddie's funeral, Adrian Veidt recalls the first meeting of the Crimebusters, held by Nelson Gardner, Captain Metropolis, in April, 1966. Nelson attempted to recreate another team of masked adventurers since the Minutemen's breakup in 1949. However, The Comedian derided Nelson's plan as "bullshit" and accused Nelson of trying to seek personal glory as akin to "playin' cowboys and Indians." Nite Owl II (Dan Dreiberg) defended Nelson's Crimebusters idea by saying that he and Rorschach had made some success together fighting criminal gangs. Though Rorschach agreed with his partner, he saw the group as more of a "publicity exercise" and too unyielding. Ozymandias chimed in that the group only need the right person coordinating them. The Comedian continued to mock the group's intentions, especially Veidt's, and arguing the Crimebusters would not make a difference in a world heading towards nuclear apocalypse. He then burns Metropolis' presentation board and leaves the room with nearly everyone following. Nelson, in vain, begged them not to leave, telling them that someone had to "save the world." Doctor Manhattan recalls "V.V.N. Night" - the celebration of America's victory in the Vietnam War due to Manhattan's intervention - in Saigon with Blake and discussing his strange attitude toward life and war, how he sees it all as a joke, although admittedly not a "good joke." He mentioned how anxious he is to leave the country. A Vietnamese woman approached Blake and tells him that she is pregnant with his child. She also asserts that Blake has a responsibility to the child. But Blake doesn't seem to care, saying how he will forget them and their entire country. The woman angrily breaks a glass bottle and slashes Blake's face. Blake impulsively shoots her, while Manhattan stands watching. Blake then lashes at Manhattan for not intervening to save the woman and accuses him of not caring about human life. He then walks away to look for someone to heal his face as he laments over Manhattan's loss of touch with humanity. Dan Dreiberg recalls how he and The Comedian worked riot control during the 1970's Police Strike in New York. The streets were crowded with angry rioters, but The Comedian and Dreiberg (as the Nite Owl) cleared the streets after The Comedian throws a gas bomb into the angry mob. Looking at the devastation, Dreiberg asked Blake, "What's happened to the American dream?" Blake simply replies, while staring into the foggy streets filled with riot gas, "It came true. You're lookin' at it." As the funeral ends, Dan drops The Comedian's smiley face badge into the grave. A man in a trench-coat leaves flowers on Blake's grave and walks to his apartment. The man is suddenly ambushed by Rorschach, who leaps out of the man's refrigerator. Rorschach identifies him as Edgar Jacobi, a former villain known as Moloch the Mystic. He questions him about Eddie Blake, and Jacobi explains that he attended Blake's funeral out of compulsion because Blake broke into his home one night while he was in bed. Blake was drunk and under distress, and babbling to Jacobi about how it's all a joke that he doesn't get it. Blake mentioned an island with writers, scientists and artists, and he says that he did bad things before leaving. Moloch was left very confused and bewildered by Blake's rant. After Moloch finished explaining Rorschach doesn't consider the retired villain as Blake's murderer. He then informs Jacobi that he found him using Laetril, a faked cancer cure medicine that is widely illegal. Jacobi explains that he was diagnosed with cancer and was desperate. Rorschach leaves Jacobi alone but will be seeing him again to keep him out of trouble. Rorschach goes to the cemetery at night to pay his respects to Eddie Blake. After finishing his journal entry, he leaves the cemetery with a red rose.