'Watchmen' hero compared to Hitler

Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons has compared the story's protagonist to Adolf Hitler and Margaret Thatcher.

Portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley in the upcoming movie adaptation, the masked vigilante Rorschach uses extreme violence in his quest to find out who is murdering his former superhero colleagues.

Gibbons told Digital Spy: "I can almost imagine him entering into the language with people saying 'Don't do a Rorschach on me, man'. He's very elemental, a very novel character.

"Just as all the characters are archetypal - there's the Batman equivalent, the feisty female heroine, the Superman - Rorschach is like the gumshoe detective or the masked vigilante taken way out of everyone's comfort zone. The ultimate vigilante where everything is black and white.

"I put him in the same kind of bag as Hitler and Margaret Thatcher - you might not like them but you can't deny that there's something very attractive about someone who has no grey areas."

Gibbons revealed that a scene taken straight from the comic, which sees Rorschach butcher a dog, has contributed to the movie being handed an 18 certificate.

"It is an 18 certificate," he confirmed. "I'd like to point out that no dogs were harmed during the filming of the movie! There is canine mayhem!"

Watchmen is released in cinemas on March 6, 2009.

> Click here for our movie interview with Watchmen's Dave Gibbons