Exactly how steamy is this story?
R
Let’s face it, Dr. Manhattan is one big, blue nudist. That entails some male, full frontal (IV.10.4.). Now that might make you squeamish, but it’s tastefully done, more like a Greek statue than anything else. In addition, there are three other scenes that elevate Watchmen to an “R” rating. The first is when Sally shows her daughter Laurie (proudly, we might add) an old Mexican porno comic featuring a young Silk Spectre (II.4.4). The second is grisly and hard to watch: the Comedian’s attempted rape of Silk Spectre in 1940.
It is unfortunate how in many superhero comics, women’s bodies are there to be objectified. But in Watchmen, Sally and Laurie take the power back by discussing the issues, and coming to their own decisions. Five chapters later, after rescuing folks from a tenement fire, Dan and Laurie set Archie on autopilot and join the mile-high club. This scene, unlike the others, is meant to be beautiful and intimate, judging from Dave Gibbons’ artwork (VII.27-28). In other words, Watchmen isn’t Trix cereal, which is just for kids.