In an alternate historical timeline where superheroes once thrived, society has grown weary of vigilantes, leading to a ban on these “costumed adventurers.” By 1985, the murder of The Comedian, a former hero now working for the government, catches the eye of Rorschach, the last remaining outlawed vigilante. As Rorschach delves into the case, he pulls his retired comrades—Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan, and Ozymandias—into a web of conflict with their pasts, with one another, and into a mystery that endangers their lives and a world teetering on the edge of war.