Rorschach (Walter J. Kovacs) Timeline and Summary

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• Chap I—Rorschach investigates the Edward Blake murder and stops by unannounced at some old friends’ casas. He writes everything down in his trusty journal (October 12-13, 1985).
• Chap II—Shifty-Face trails Moloch after Blake’s funeral and learns more about the dead Comedian (October 16, 1985).
• Chap III—Rorschach (in street clothes as Walter Kovacs) buys a copy of the New Frontiersman.
• Chap IV—Through Dr. Manhattan’s flashbacks, we learn Rorschach had to go underground after the Keene Act in 1977.
• Chap V—KEY CHAPTER: Rorschach is set up for Moloch’s murder. He tries to flee, but the police take him into custody and send him upriver to Sing-Sing (October 21, 1985).
• Chap VI—KEY CHAPTER: During multiple sessions with Dr. Malcolm Long, Rorschach revisits the most horrific moments of his past, the ones that have turned him into a merciless vigilante (October 25-28, 1985). He also defends himself from an inmate’s attack by heaving a vat of boiling fat on his face.
• Chapter F: Documents from the life of Walter J. Kovacs—KEY CHAPTER: These files speak volumes about the man, both what he was like as a child and who he has become.
• Chap VII—Rorschach stews in jail, biding his time.
• Chap VIII—During a prison riot, Rorschach kills the crime boss Big Figure and is rescued by Nite Owl and Silk Spectre (October 31, 1985).
• Chap IX—Rorschach and Nite Owl rest up before restarting their quest.
• Chap X—The two of them continue to investigate, and head over to join up with Veidt, before discovering he’s the one behind it all. Rorschach and Nite Owl head to Antarctica, where their nemesis awaits.
• Chap XI—Rorschach tries to take Veidt down, but gets his butt whupped. He learns how Veidt has killed three million New Yorkers in hopes of creating peace on Earth (November 2, 1985).
• Chap XII—Shifty-Face can’t cover up secrets, and tries to leave to tell the world the truth. He gives Dr. Manhattan no choice but to kill him. Rorschach might be dead, but his work lives on, in the form of his journal, which appears center-frame in Watchmen’s very last panel (December 25, 1985).