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does anyone have the information of where did alan moore take the inspiration for their secret identities names?

I remember seeing a movie called 'The Osterman Weekend' and I was wondering if there was nothing to do with Jon...as a reminder: it was based on a novel and the movie kept its name.

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I think Alan Moore went a bit deeper for inspiration than early 80's Rutger Hauer movies; he doesn't strike me as a big fan:

Oster = ‘Easter’ - from German: nickname for someone who had a connection with the festival of Easter (for example, someone who was born or baptized at that time).

Osterman or literally 'Easter Man' therefore carries certain connotations with the whole theme of resurrection and rebirth... somewhat appropriate in the case of Dr Manhattan. Check out that Messianic pose when he first appeared and the whole walking on water bit at the end.

indeed it is.

now i wonder what kovacs means...

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Walter - from the old German (again) meaning 'powerful warrior' or, literally, 'rule army'.

By turn, Kovacs happens to the most popular surname to appear in Hungary. Being their equivalent of Smith, it fits in perfectly with this loner of a character who wanders the streets by day in total anonymity, unremarkable and ironically overlooked by all. Additionally, Moore has said that he particularly chose the name of Kovacs as a respectful nod to the great Steve Ditko, legendary comics creator (and ardent advocate of objectivism) who counts both Mr. A and The Question among his work, characters on which Rorschach was based: Ditko had a particular penchant for using 'K' in his own character's workaday names.

So Kovacs is sort of like the surname version of John/Jane Doe, then? Interesting. Makes him sound like a nobody when he is, arguably, anything but a nobody-or at least he thinks he is somebody, or rather, embodies something out of the ordinary.

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In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes!
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

ok, now out of the real names field, i always have been curious about the origin of moloch - since this is the name of an evil god of bible times. anything to do???

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Moloch (or Molech, Molekh, Molek) is either the name of a god or the name of a particular kind of sacrifice associated historically with cultures throughout the Middle East, including Egyptian with which Veidt himself has something of an affinity. Did not Veidt in effect make a sacrifice of the former Moloch The Mystic, first by giving him terminal cancer in order to cultivate him as a weapon against Dr. Manhattan, then more abruptly when he was forced to improvise and instead shoot Moloch dead as part of his revised plan to ensnare and frame Rorschach?

Alan Moore was undoubtedly influenced in part by the seminal Paradise Lost by Milton, a poem depicting the Fall of Man and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Dealing with themes of fate, predestination, and free will, all of which resonate throughout WATCHMEN, Moloch is one of Milton's greatest warriors of the rebel angels led by Satan, vengeful and militant: might not this allude to his former position as being one of the chief adversaries of the costumed heroes of WATCHMEN back in their heyday, a principal arch-enemy 'supervillian'?
The Moloch of Paradise Lost argues for immediate warfare against God... just as Moloch The Mystic appears to be ordering an attack on Dr. Manhattan (Moore's 'God') at IV.14.2 in his underground vice-den named, appropriately enough, Dante's. Hell (pardon the pun)... he's even got the pointed ears and goatee, folks.

As for his adopted current civilian moniker circa 1985, 'Edgar' from both the Old English and Germanic means "fortunate and powerful; wealthy spear", all somewhat deliciously ironic when applied to the situation that the former crime boss now finds himself in when compared to his past glories.

'Jacobi' from Hebrew and Latin by turn means "supplanter" (another Paradise Lost reference, a term oft used by Milton in that work), by definition one who takes the place of or usurps, one who lays low, a wrongdoer or peron who transgresses moral law. 'Jacobi' can also mean "held by the heel": as already touched upon, Moloch is one of the primary WATCHMEN arch-villains, the story's heel (as in a low-down despicable person).

I've even read convincing argument elsewhere to suggest that the entire name of 'Edgar Jacobi' is a direct reference to the Belgian writer/artist and Tintin collaborator Edgar P. Jacobs, whose 'clear line' style of artwork is actually quite close to that as demonstrated by Dave Gibbons.

so which is one is right? a hommage do tintin's artist or a metaphor to a demon carachter of Paradise Lost's poem?

i'm not sure...but i think that sounds way too much interpretive. i mean, because alan moore has such 'connections' - which is something, apparently he enjoys on himself and just that - people immediately attribute those 'meanings' and etc. probably to fit within a 'obvious' context, which regards alan moore's beliefs and etc. but i'm not sure how deeply in watchmen that is.

I mean how mystic moloch really is? I mean...I don't remember.

for instance, since ozymandias was mentioned...i saw someone state that he's 'borderliningly satanistic'...??? how? where? when??

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Well, if you go by Milton's Satan/Lucifer, Ozy is similar in how he's charismatic, handsome, powerful, heroic....and yet the "bad guy".

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In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes!
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

see? this is so much interpretive. i see watchmen as a sci/fi-police story and that's it. if alan moore used classic english literature or poetry to grant his carachters some dramatic depth it's another story. but i wouldn't attribute this same weight or 'spiritual meaning' if someone ever asked me.

which leads me back to the names subject...adrian veidt...could veidt, the 'v', so strongly present in his persona, enterprise, etc somehow related with his vanity?

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."-Hunter S. Thompson (R.I.P.)

Vain and especially villain work pefectly well: look at all those big ass Vs we see in Chap. (that's right) V, along with the immortal line spoken by Mr V himself, I want to know who's behind this (wink wink). That's the beauty of the work: it requires... demands a degree of interpretive thinking from the individual reader. It's why it's remained in print and still continues to promote discussion a full two decades after publication; not many finite comic book series can claim that.

'Adrian', a derivative of the Roman Hadrian, means 'wealthy' - no argument as far as charater relevance there.

'Veidt' means 'faith' - I don't consider it to be too interpretive a stretch to view the comics character as being someone who believes in the necessity of mankind placing its faith in the hands of the superior intellectual elite (namely himself) if it is to survive.

This is a work that truly is so much more than just a "sci/fi-police story". Please don't take my word for it... discover for yourself.

of course it is Writer of Wrongs and I'm not trying to underrate Watchmen, under any term.

I just don't accept that Moloch do represent a demon and for so, I don't keep looking for those meanings, cause I honestly don't think they'll add anything to the history. Maybe, Alan Moore used this Milton's poem in order to add some layers to Moloch's persona, a kinda of a 'literary credit'. Indeed, on that particular panel, you get to see Moloch even wearing a traditional beard, so associated to the graphic representations of carachters like this - either funny or serious way.

but i don't remember of any connection to Satanistic origins or to Milton's poetry about his name or why he chose his name, or any mysticism about his powers and capabilities. or is there?

I'll also use this to ask for Dreiberg meaning. Berg means 'hill' or 'mountain'; Daniel a hebrew name (The Lord is my Judge; Judged by God).

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Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste......

I know about it, Moloch or Baal was a god that demanded baby sacrifices from his worshipers. He was first mentioned as Nimrod's god, the hunter in opposition to the True God.

However, what i'm trying to say is...Alan Moore didn't blend those concepts the same way the Wachoswki Bros. did with Alan Kardec's spiritism and Buddhism in Matrix, for isntance. The whole concept of entering and re-entering the Matrix into hacked personas, and the 'posession' of agents over regular citizens in the Matrix relates to the basic teachings of spiritism, spiritual cycle and spiritiual life.

Apparently, Alan Moore brings nothing but ironic references, not conceptual or even meaningful, spiritual relationships of their carachters, names and their actions and capabilities. I mean, Moloch is not a demon in Watchmen, he has no demonic powers and he probably chose this name for the same reason of Captain Carnage - to cause shock and daunt, and nothing more.

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Quite right. No-one is saying he has.


Quite right again. But the question here isn't what motivated the fictional character to choose his name, but rather what motivated Alan Moore to choose that name for his creation.

WATCHMEN, like all works by Moore, is filled to the brim with references culled from classic literature across the ages, philosophical concepts, religious ideologies, and pop culture. It's positively overflowing with 'em, in fact. Some are glaringly obvious, others much less so. As you have so rightly pointed out, there are many facets to this work (i.e. the origins of the characters' names for one) that remain deliberately unanswered by the creators even after all these years and which are thus left down to the readers/scholars/rabid fanboys to interpret for themselves, to draw their own conclusions without being spoon-fed along the way.

I'm as guilty as anyone of analysis to the nth degree, interpretive overload, and coming up with suggestions that are probably as far from the truth as can possibly be, but remember that's all they are: suggestions. Not fact. Not to be taken as read to the exclusion of all other ideas. Just concepts put out there to promote discussion. That's the fun of it, and what enables this work to continue to be read, appreciated, and talked about in places such as this a full twenty-one years after original publication.

Alan Moore is smart. He creates smart work for smart people. WATCHMEN is only one such example. To fail to attempt, or to even refuse, to venture beneath the surface and peel away multi-faceted layer after multi-faceted layer is to view this work on a spectacularly superficial level only... which is truly a waste.

Read it again. Come here, visit other discussion sites, go over some of the multitude of essays and interviews that have sprung up over the years and which populate the internet regarding this work; many have links that appear on this very site. Read it again. Come up with your own theories and interpretations to explain the possible relevance of not only all the references but also the wider thematic messages at the heart of the story, post them here and elsewhere, invigorate the discussion in order to promote an exchange of ideas. And read WATCHMEN again. Keep reading it whilst going off to research all the intricate details, study the art, soak up the plethora of content crammed between those covers. Work at it - believe me on this at least, you'll need to, just as the creators intended you should to get the most from their labours.

And truly enjoy.

sounds fine to me.

it also sounds more like alan moore trying to have fun over his own creations and giving this same liberty to the fans.

now...anyone has any info about dreiberg meaning?

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You go first.

The name "Daniel" means "Judged by God". Alternatively, it could mean "The Judge of God." Dan is the decision maker in Watchmen; the moral lightening rod. He listens to Rorschach, Laurie, Hollis - even his conscience and libido and makes what he thinks are the right decisions in the story that help carry it to its conclusion.

He decides to break Rorschach out of prison. He's the one that states "I think it's Adrian," He decides that it would be pointless to turn Veidt in at the end. So Dan becomes the judge of Veidt.

As for Dreiberg, I assume Moore picked a name that did not sound like an atypical hero name. One that even sounds "drippy." Dreiberg is an accountant's name, not a vigilante's. It's also not as solid sounding as Wayne or Kent, and in fact is a jewish name, which also sets it apart form the standard Anglo-Saxon monikers of Batman and Superman's "real" names.

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Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music - George Carlin

Also — when thinking about the Nite Owl comic costume — Dreiberg's nose is the owl's "beak".

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