Rorschach vs V (Watchmen vs V for Vendetta) VS Prediction Blog
“It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Gray... I don't know what to do with gray.” - Garrus
Rorschach, the psychotic vigilante watching over the men of New York
V, the anarchist freedom fighter with a vendetta on the Norsefire Party
In the history of comics, there was a fairly noticeable transitional period starting in the mid 80s where, in an attempt to make themselves be taken more seriously, they would reinvent themselves by putting out plots that were darker and tackled more serious subject matter. This was heralded in part by the works of Alan Moore, with these two stories being his most well known independent stories at the time, and are often cited as the main instigators of this shift. And at the center of these stories were these two malevolent masked men, and while they are fundamentally opposed in terms of their extreme ideologies, they can compare that they would stoop to any low to follow through on them and are willing to strike fear into any who dare to oppose it. So, can Rorschach put an end to this rebel’s twisted Vendetta, or will V show this man who he should really be watching out for?
Before We Begin
Both characters will be drawn primarily from their original comics, with additional details from other media and adaptations related to these as long as they can be seen as in line with their portrayals within these original stories. For Rorschach, that includes the 2009 film, its tie-in game, and the Before Watchmen prequel series. Doomsday Clock will also be acknowledged, but there will be no mainline DC scaling for the sake of fairness. As for V, that includes his 2005 film, and… nothing else actually, that’s the only notable one. Both of them have also had instances of other characters taking up these identities for their own both in their worlds and others, but this discussion will be focusing solely on the two’s original incarnations, as these are the “main” versions of the characters with the most to discuss. Finally, mature content warning, as both of these two’s stories tackle quite a bit of dark and mature subject matter, including sexual assault and child abuse. These topics will be freely mentioned here, so viewer discretion is advised.
Background
Rorschach
Walter Joseph Kovacs was not born in a happy place. He was raised alone by his mother, a prostitute who often abused him, was the target of frequent bullying, and after an incident where he brutally beat up two bullies, he was placed into a home for troubled children. This did give him a more peaceful environment to grow up in during his adolescence, letting him land a somewhat stable job in the garment industry. But things changed when he learned that one of his clients had been brutally raped and murdered, in full view of neighbors who did nothing to try and stop it. This embittered Kovacs, now believing that humanity was flawed, and as such he decided he needed to do something about it. So, after taking a unique fabric made for one of the woman’s dresses and fashioning it into a mask, he’d take to the streets, prepared to fight crime under the name Rorschach.
Rorschach’s early career brought him some success, as he managed to take down many criminals with the help of another vigilante by the name of Nite Owl. But things would change one fateful night when he was tracking down a kidnapping case. A six year old girl had been kidnapped by a man who mistakenly believed her family had a fortune, and Rorschach promised her parents that he would bring her home safely. However, he had arrived too late, as the kidnapper had realized his mistake and opted to clean up loose ends by murdering the girl, chopping her into pieces and feeding her to his dogs. After finding this out, Rorschach’s faith in humanity had shattered, as he believed any species which would allow for such depravity was clearly not worth anything. After burning the kidnapper alive, he’d become a far more brutal vigilante, his methods growing more aggressive and being fully willing to use lethal force. This only doubled after the government officially outlawed vigilantes, as he chose to remain a crime fighter in defiance of the law even after his colleagues retired.
He continued his war on crime until one fateful night, when a man named Edward Blake was pushed to his death from an apartment. This man was a former vigilante by the name of the Comedian, after investigating it, Rorschach believed this was a sign that there was a conspiracy to kill other vigilantes. After warning his retired colleagues, he’d attempt to uncover the truth of this conspiracy, but would inadvertently end up in a trap where he got arrested and taken to a prison. He would end up sitting through therapy and attempts on his life, until he managed to escape from the prison amidst a riot with the help of Nite Owl, who was stepping out of retirement. The two would end up stumbling upon the truth of the Comedian’s death and the later attempts on vigilanties. It was all done by Ozymandias, another former vigilante who was working on something big.
After going to his Antarctic base to confront him, the two would find that Ozymandias’s plot had been only the buildup. He intended to engineer a disaster which would kill many of the people within New York City, in order to prevent nuclear war between the powers of the world by making them believe they needed to come together as a world. While this was horrible, they had come too late to fully stop the event, and Ozymandias did manage to talk his former colleagues into agreeing to cover it up. All but Rorschach, who could not stand by compromising in the face of such an event. As such, he was ultimately killed by his own former ally, the superhuman Doctor Manhattan. But ultimately he did still manage to get word of this plot out, as his journal being sent to a newspaper before he left contained details which would point others to the truth.
V
In the 1980s, a cold war was brewing between the Soviet Union and the United States, with both sides having access to nuclear weapons they could use on each other. When both sides ended up firing at each, much of the world was devastated, with continental Europe and Africa becoming completely uninhabitable in the process. While the island of Great Britain was not directly targeted by these, the resulting nuclear winter devastated the country, resulting in a massive state of lawlessness and societal collapse. From these ashes rose the Norsefire party, a fascist regime which ruled over the country with an iron fist. The resulting police state was not a happy place to live for anyone, which was most notable a woman named Evey Hammond, who was forced to work as a prostitute to make ends meet, and one night would end up accosted by police officers abusing their power. However, she was saved by a mysterious figure, a man donning a mask in the likeness of Guy Fawkes, who desired to tear down this twisted government and bring the country back to a state of pure anarchy by any means necessary. He was known simply as V.
Not much is known of the past of V, not his real name, nor his childhood, nor even what he truly looks like under the mask. What we do know is that at some point he had been taken as an inmate to the Larkhill Resettlement Camp, a concentration camp meant for dealing with the “undesirable” members of society. While there, he was selected as a part of a group of prisoners who were subjected to experimental medical procedures, of which he was the sole survivor. This process did leave him scarred both physically and mentally, but he managed to break out of the camp after using gardening chemicals to mix together more deadly chemicals. He then spent some time systematically wiping out many of the surviving personnel of the camp, which ended with him personally dealing with 3 more notable members who had become important members of the Norsefire party. However, this vendetta being settled was not the end of his plot.
V would then end up taking control of a propaganda tower to announce his goals to the public, urging them to take action against the government. He’d then systematically engineer plots to make the Norsefire Party willingly turn off their surveillance of their citizens, as well as driving their leader into insanity. While this happened, he also placed Evey into a simulation of the camp he had suffered in, to test her resolve and show her the true evil he was fighting against, as he felt any government would inevitably devolve into a totalitarian regime. After she came to agree with him, he’d begin a final plan to finally end the tyranny.
On the night where the Party stopped their surveillance, the country would erupt into chaos, with many of the populace taking the chance to fight back. V had engineered the night so that several notable leaders of the Party would die, and as a final shot against tyranny he would send a train of explosives to destroy the center of their power. Unfortunately for him, he would be shot and killed before he could see the plot full through, dying in the arms of Evey. However, she’d take up his mask and activate his plot, taking to the streets and leading the people of London into finally freeing themselves.
Intelligence & Skill
Rorschach
Rorschach had always been fairly intelligent, having excelled in the studies of literature and religious education in his youth. He was able to quickly find the Comedian’s hidden vigilante gear, which the police had missed in their own search of the apartment, and was able to track the origin of the assassin that tried to kill Ozymandias. However, his true skill is as a fighter, which he demonstrated plenty of during his 11 years as a vigilante. His training in boxing and gymnastics when he was younger has made a very adept fighter in hand to hand combat, able to take out groups of enemies without breaking a sweat. He’s been able to hold his own against groups of cops before being overwhelmed, was able to single handedly defend the Lower East Side of New York during a massive riot, and in the game, him and Nite Owl end up running through several different locations on their own throughout a single night, beating up many groups of goons in quick succession with no difficulty.
V
While much of V’s past is shrouded in mystery, we do know he’s a man of very intelligent tastes, as he has knowledge of music, stage magic, cooking, hacking, and gardening, as well as having a personal collection of banned literature which he often peruses. But his real intelligence has been shown in more dangerous situations thanks to his terrorist plots. He stayed in hiding for 4 years after escaping the Larkhill Resettlement Camp, during which he silently killed many of the staff of the camp and set up his grander plot. He’s a skilled fighter, able to quickly take out groups of guards, and he’s been able to slip away from the sights of the authorities very casually. He was able to fake his death by making them shoot another man dressed up as him, made an elaborate play that drove a man to insanity, and over the course of these two issues he was able to get Evey to willingly support him by making her believe she was a prisoner in another concentration camp, making her experience the same evils he had. And even after his death, he was able to inspire Evey into taking up his mask and leading the people into a rebellion against the state.
Equipment
Rorschach
Mask
Rorschach’s most iconic piece of equipment is of course his mask, which was originally designed as part of a dress from his tailor days. It’s made of a special two-layered, latex-like fabric, between which there are viscous fluids which are heat and pressure sensitive, letting the liquid constantly shift around as he wears it.
Journal
Rorschach also keeps his journal on hand for him to note all his findings and thoughts. After uncovering Ozymandias’ conspiracy, he sent the journal to a newspaper to publish in case he died, which managed to lead to said conspiracy being unraveled. Pages from it are also presumably torn out to make his scribbled calling cards.
Grappling Hook Gun
Originally developed by his buddy Nite Owl, this fires a CO2 canister that launches a grappling hook through the air, letting him quickly scale buildings. While this is its main purpose, Rorscharch has used it more directly against foes, which promptly put the target in question in critical condition due to a shattered sternum. Nite Owl’s own gun was shown to be able to halt the momentum of several roller coaster carts, and he claimed it was designed to hold 5 times that weight.
Molotov
A more direct weapon, Rorschach has been seen utilizing these to burn foes alive.
Gas Grenade
He’s also utilized these, which can be used to distract and asphyxiate foes.
Improvised Weapons
Rorschach also has shown a good amount of skill in improvising weapons, as he’s able to improvise a flamethrower and blinding powder out of common household objects, quickly took out a man attempting to shank him in prison with a vat of hot cooking oil, trapped a man trying to grab him through prison bars with some rags to force his allies to kill him, broke a prison toilet to electrocute a man attempting to attack him with an electric saw, and used a chain from the cage of a tiger he freed to force a man into acting as a human shield against some gunfire. In the game he’s also able to pick up weapons utilized by enemies to use for himself.
Lockpick
He’s been shown to keep around lockpicks, which can help him get through locked doors. He’s also been shown to have the skill to pick with just basic bobby pins.
Flashlight
He’s been shown to possess a flashlight which can be used to light up dark areas.
Binoculars
He also possesses a pair of binoculars which can be used to spot faraway objects.
Rope
Back when he was still willing to merely subdue criminals, Rorschach carried around rope which he used to tie them up for the authorities. He’s also been seen using duct tape for restraining as well.
V
Mask
V’s most notable piece of equipment would be this, a mask made in the image of Guy Fawkes, which helps with keeping his identity hidden, giving his movement a recognizable symbol, and which he has used to confuse foes by making hostages don them so they don’t know who’s really him. In the movie, his personal mask appears to be made of metal, which helps protect him from blows towards his head.
Steel Chestplate
In the movie, he was also shown to be able to don a steel chestplate under his cloak. This was able to protect him well enough to survive gunfire from a group of police officers at once for long enough to take them out, though he did still ultimately die from these injuries.
Roses
V also tends to keep some roses on hand, which he leaves at the scenes of his crimes as a calling card. They’re actually a near extinct flower in this world, which V has personally cultivated.
Tape Recorder
V has commonly utilized these to help with his plots, both to record confessions and make it seem like he’s present by playing back his voice.
Mannequin
He’s also utilized mannequins to help fake out people and make it look like he’s present.
Daggers
V’s main weapon of choice is a pair of daggers which he keeps along with some spares on his belt. He’s very adept with them, being able to not only slice people himself, but also effectively use them as throwing weapons.
Rapier
In the movie, he’s also shown to possess a rapier. We don’t see him use it on anyone alive, just practice with it, but he presumably could slice up foes with it as well.
Bat
He’s been seen wielding this as well in a weird event he made while gaslighting Evey.
Explosives
He’s shown a good deal of skill with explosive devices, having utilized a fake exploding hand which blew up a cop that grabbed it, a bomb and some fireworks which blew up the House of Parliament, a box of chocolates which blew up the Lady Justice statue, an explosive vest which he used to threaten control of a TV station, and a train full of explosives which Evey used to give his body a viking funeral while also blowing up Downing Street.
Tear Gas
He’s been seen to emit tear gas from his cloak, which is used to disorient foes and cover for his escapes.
Mustard Gas and Napalm
To help escape from the camp he was imprisoned in, he was able to mix together some chemicals into these far more deadly substances.
Poison
He also used more discreet methods of killing, including communion wafers laced with cyanide and a painless poison which takes ten minutes to take effect after being injected.
Cement Injector
In the movie, he used this in order to seal a door and make it harder for the cops to approach him.
Abilities
Rorschach
Stealth
Rorschach has been shown to be fairly skilled at stealth. He successfully infiltrated a military research center, took a man by surprise by hiding in his refrigerator, snuck into his own locked apartment, snuck aboard Nite Owl’s airship without him noticing, and snuck up behind a cop without making a noise or him noticing.
Rage Meter
In the Watchmen: The End Is Nigh video game, Rorschach can build a meter by attacking foes, which will slowly decrease when he’s not in combat. He can spend part of the meter on a bull rush move which can knock down foes, and when it’s full he can activate a super mode which increases his strength and speed for as long as the meter still has juice.
Resistances
Cold - As a child, he survived staying outside overnight in the middle of the winter. Later was able to walk around the Arctic with no difficulty.
Fire - Survived being in a fire for a significant amount of time.
V
Stealth
V has shown to have a good knowledge of stealth. He was able to sneak undetected aboard a train while it was in a tunnel to kidnap an official, snuck out of a new station while it was in the middle of being raided by police, snuck up on Evey after she thought she got away from him in an elevator, and has been able to sneak up on people without making any sound.
Experiment Enhancements
In the movie continuity, the experiments that V experienced within Larkhill were to try and cure a disease that was ravaging the country. He was heavily disfigured and lost all memory of his past from this, but it also gave him an enhanced level of kinesthesia and reflexes, meaning his ability to remain aware of his own body and his reactions are superhuman. It’s also kind of implied these experiments made him blind, meaning he also potentially has enhanced senses, though this is a bit questionable and definitely does not apply to his original incarnation.
Resistances
Feats
Rorschach
Overall
Major fighter against crime in New York, even after superheroes were outlawed
Capable of taking out groups of criminals on his own
Uncovered the truth of the death of the Comedian
Posthumously managed to expose Ozymandias’ plot
Power
Squeezed a man’s fist so hard the glass he was holding broke
Broke through a chain link fence then punched through a security door's glass
Hit a SWAT officer hard enough to send him through a wooden railing
Speed
Durability
V
Overall
Broke out of the Larkhill Resettlement Camp
Blew up several major landmarks
Killed multiple crucial members of the Norsefire party
Inspired the ultimate uprising against the Norsefire Party with his death
Power
With planted explosives:
Speed
Incapacitated two guards before they could draw their weapons
Blitzed a group of soldiers from across a room with attacks faster than they could reload their guns (Mach 1.19 - 9.13)
Durability
Sole survivor of the experiments done in the Larkhill Resettlement Camp
Scaling
Rorschach
Other Vigilantes
As Rorschach is a physically normal human like most of the other vigilantes of his world and is portrayed as on par with them in fights, he should reasonably be comparable to his allies. The two exceptions for this would be Dr Manhattan, because, yeah, obviously, and Ozymandias, as he was explicitly far above the limits of a normal guy and was rather blatantly shown to be able to casually outpace Rorschach physically.
The Comedian was able to hit Ozymandias into bulletproof glass hard enough to crack it
The Comedian was able to punch apart a concrete object and through a wall
Nite Owl held back a roller coaster train with his grappling gun (839 Kilojoules)
Silk Spectre was able to outrun an explosion (Assuming it was a gas explosion, Mach 4.96 - 8.75)
V
Weaknesses
Rorschach
Rorschach is… not all there mentally, to put it bluntly. He’s dissociative to the point of seeing his mask as his real face, views the world through a stringent black and white moral code that can lead to lapses in judgment, and can act irrationally when dealing with something that sets him off. And while he is tenacious, he is still fundamentally human, and as such he can still be knocked out or taken down by anything which could affect a normal man.
V
For starters, V is also insane, as he suffers from schizophrenia and other mental issues. He also doesn’t tend to immediately go for combat, as he prefers to engineer his plot from the sidelines, and tends to go for quick incapacitations, meaning he’s not as experienced in prolonged combat. Finally, while V’s ideals are bulletproof, he himself is not, as beneath the cloak he is still physically a normal human who could be taken down by anything which could kill a normal man.
Verdict
Stats
In terms of strength, these two are very grounded physically speaking, as neither of them had many displays which were that out there for a normal human. But generally Rorscvhach had the edge in terms of physicality. Looking just at their original comics, him being able to bust open locked doors was a lot more impressive than V just being able to knock out other people. When including extended media, V is able to match this feat in breaking open a door himself, but Rorschach also has greater feats, as not only was his ability to bust a door in half more impressive than simply kicking it open, but scaling him to Nite Owl being able to halt a roller coaster train made him significantly stronger than V’s best displays of physical strength. The only real argument for V being stronger would be by trying to scale him to Larkhill’s destruction, but given the mostly offscreen nature of the feat and the unclear nature of how big the blast was or how close he was too it, there really isn’t a solid way to calculate it without making several assumptions. And V would definitely be stronger in terms of Attack Potency when accounting for his explosives, but there’s no reason to assume he should physically scale to these bombs in terms of his own strength. As such, Rorschach takes the edge in strength.
As for speed, that was a bit trickier to lock down. Both did have a couple arguable instances of bullet timing, but their most solid speed feats would be Rorschach scaling to Silk Spectre being able to outrun an explosion and V’s blitz of a firing squad respectively. The highest possible interpretations for both feats clocked in at Mach 8.75 and 9.13 respectively, which were very comparable to each other with a slight edge for V. Though that could arguably be brought down by assuming the firing squad had reactions slower than an actual soldier, which you could consider due to the fact that it's done by guards who appeared to just be police. It might seem odd to place these feats at equal numbers given V's is treated as far more visually impressive, but it's very blatant Silk Spectre out sped the explosion itself in this instance, as we directly see her turn around and run upon seeing the explosion about to happen, directly showing she had to move faster than it. And I feel that feat is fully valid to include, as while you could argue it’s a contradiction to the original comic’s story, so is V’s feat, as it is a markedly different scene than the equivalent in the original comic. As such, V at best was slightly faster than Rorschach, but was arguably significantly slower. So speed is about equal.
Arsenal & Abilities
Right off the bat, V did have a fairly sizable advantage just in the fact he comes into the combat armed, as opposed to Rorschach who tends to stick with just his fists. And V on paper did have the far more deadly arsenal overall, as a decent chunk of Rorschach’s more on hand equipment wasn’t as relevant to a fight. However, in practice, a lot of it wasn’t stuff that was likely to net V the win more often than not. For one thing, the two did counter some of each other’s capabilities, as Rorschach’s gas grenades matched V’s tear gas, and both of their natural resistance to fire meant the molotov and napalm respectively were unlikely to help end the battle. And Rorscharch was certainly able to hold his own despite the lack of on hand weapons, as his ability to improvise with whatever he can get his hands on meant he wouldn’t be starved for options when it came to a fight. He also had a significant edge with his grappling hook, as that offered him far better mobility than what V was capable of. And some of V’s tricks were unlikely to go off without a hitch from the get go, as the poison would require being injected, which would be hard to pull without being able to physically overpower Rorschach, and the exploding hand trick was on a timer and would rely on Rorschach… not just throwing a random fake hand away before it could blow him up.
V’s most notable equipment that could help take out Rorschach were his bombs and mustard gas, as both would certainly be able to eliminate Rorschach if given the chance. But there were several issues with this plan in practice. Most notably, these weren’t just random things he could toss out, as the bombs required being planted and the Mustard Gas required him to get a specific batch of chemicals, so him being able to just use them at any time was a bit questionable. Additionally, while they could kill Rorschach, they were also fully capable of killing V if he wasn’t careful, meaning he’d have to somehow slip away from Rorschach for long enough to set them up, trick Rorschach into getting close to it, and getting away from them himself. But given Rorschach’s comparable stealth skills and his ability to just instantly make a path to the rooftops with his grappling hook, this would be a tall order.
The final piece of V’s equipment to go over would be his armor. These being strong enough to help repel bullets for a time definitely meant that they would be useful in protecting from more physical blows. However, they do have a crucial weakness in the fact they’re only protecting a small amount of V’s body, that being the front of his chest and face. This meant Rorschach was fully capable of dealing a significant amount of damage to the rest of V’s body, and it would not be able to save V from having the bones in his limbs broken or getting choked out. And of course Rorschach’s physical edge meant overpowering him would be very easy. This is even more so when you consider the Rage mode, which could give Rorschach the chance to increase these edges if the fight dragged out for long enough. As such, while V definitely seemed to have the superior arsenal overall on paper, Rorschach’s own capabilities were enough to ensure these were unlikely to net the anarchist a win.
Tertiary Factors
Finally, in terms of the two’s intellect, V was likely smarter in a more general sense, as his wide array of skills and knowledge of the arts showed. But in terms of more combat relevant intellect, Rorschach was actually the superior one. Both have shown the skill to take on groups of goons and come out on top, but Rorschach was a lot more willing to resort to violence in the first place, whereas V tends to stick to plotting in the shadows, with his fights being more sporadic. Rorschach also had the edge in experience, as while V has been plotting in the shadows for about 5 years, Rorschach has been actively fighting crime nightly for 11 years.
V did have a pretty significant track record when it came to manipulating others, so that could be argued as a way to get him to trick Rorschach into some kind of trap. But beyond the issues mentioned above of his deadlier tricks requiring time and Rorschach being comparable in stealth and superior in mobility, the final nail in the coffin for the idea of this working is the fact that this fight would be the two’s first meeting. A lot of V’s more notable manipulations were on people he was able to scope out beforehand and learn the psychology of, which has been implied to take weeks of research and setup. While Rorschach doesn’t really have a perfect record when it comes to chessmasters manipulating him, V would not be able to instantly figure out how to perfectly manipulate him just from first meeting him, and any potential trap he could set up on such short notice would be very difficult to ensure Rorschach stayed in, given his superior strength.
Finally, neither of the two really had too much of note with specific weaknesses that hasn’t been brought up before. Both have mental issues, though these didn’t tend to hold them back when fighting others, and both are humans, but that really didn’t change much given they’re both so grounded.
Conclusion
"No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise."
Advantages:
Physically stronger
Arguably far faster
Grappling Hook Gun gave better mobility
Was unlikely to stay trapped for V’s wincons
Comparable stealth skills
More skilled and experienced
Played by Jackie Earle Haley
Disadvantages:
V’s explosives were stronger than what he could survive
Arguably slightly slower
Less deadly arsenal overall
Not as smart or as manipulative
Doomsday Clock
Advantages:
Explosives were more powerful than what Rorschach could survive
Arguably slightly faster
More deadly arsenal overall
Could potentially kill Rorschach with certain tools if given the chance…
Comparable stealth skills
Smarter and more manipulative
Played by Hugo Weaving
Disadvantages:
Physically weaker
Arguably far slower
Inferior mobility
…but without prep was unlikely to be able to keep Rorschach trapped long enough
Less skilled and experienced
British
So I mentioned back on my Blob vs Inkling blog that it might have been my first major upset, but this here is the first result where I 100% know is a major upset, given after looking at every discussion online I’ve seen the near unanimous conclusion is that V wins. However, while V’s equipment would certainly help him terrorize any foe, Rorschach’s superior physicality, skill, and greater drive to end this would ensure his victory. Ordinarily V’s Vendetta was unstoppable, but tonight, an anarchist died in New York. Or whatever hypothetical city this fight would take place in.
The winner is Rorschach.
Next Time
Sourcelist:
Rorschach Respect Threads by u/ya-boi-benny and u/Miserable-Ad-5573
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