HBO’s Watchmen has slowly become both a ratings hit and a critical darling since it premiered on HBO 8 weeks ago. During its run thus far, it has shown remarkable care in its characterization, plotting, and treatment of the heavy issues at its center. This care is shown down to its smallest details: a blurry poster in the background, its online supplemental material, and in the writers’ selection of names for its characters.
From protagonist Angela Abar to the morally ambiguous Lady Trieu, the characters in the show have names layered with meaning and associations and also clues that work toward solving a larger mystery.
Watchmen has proven itself to be one of those shows that really knows how to do fictional names right. And they are doing an especially great job with their action-hero–style names. So let’s dive in!
Be warned: spoilers through episode 7 below!
SPOILER ALERT FOR WATCHMEN
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The Abar Family
At the center of Watchmen, you have Regina King’s Detective Angela Abar. (Can we take a minute to geek out that the actress’s name means “Queen King”?). At first, it seems like a rather innocuous name. Angela is perfectly appropriate for the age of the character. Angela was born in the 1970s when her name was consistently one of the top 10 female names. But consider that she’s playing a superhero, and the superhero genre is very much concerned with the battle of good versus evil. Quickly, you have to make the connection to how her name relates to angels, and the side of “good.” (Though the show by no means subscribes to a black and white view of good versus evil.)
Then there’s her last name, Abar. It’s not one of those on-the-nose surnames like Lucifer or Light. But dig a little deeper, and you come to find out that in 1977, there was a blaxploitation film called Abar, the First Black Superman. For a show about superheroes, this has got to be done on purpose.
Then you have her superhero name: Sister Night. In episode 7, the show reveals that Angela’s choice of alias was inspired by an in-universe blaxploitation film of the same name. But the name Sister Night, as well as her costume, also have direct associations with Christianity and thus, God. How so? Well, consider that nuns are considered to be married to God, and in Watchmen, who is considered a God but not God? The blue guy himself, Dr. Manhattan.
And WHO is Dr. Manhattan?
Turns out, in a stunning twist, the blue god himself who everyone thought was on Mars, is in fact Angela’s husband in disguise, Cal Abar. And Cal’s name is just as interesting as Angela’s. First, throw away the actual meaning of Cal or Calvin, which means “bald or hairless.” Then think superheroes once more. What iconic superhero’s name was originally Cal? Or rather, Kal-El? That would be the Superman.
And in an R-rated connection, Agent Laurie Blake, the former Silk Spectre and the former lover of Dr. Manhattan, has a blue “personal massager” that is called Excalibur, or if you will, “Ex-Cal-Abar.”
We’re not even done with Angela’s family yet! Her mysterious grandfather, the original masked avenger, Hooded Justice, takes on the name Will Reeves after surviving the Tulsa massacre. His name is inspired by real life lawman, Bass Reeves. But we can’t help but also see the Superman connection, as two of the most famous Superman actors, Christopher and George, had the last name Reeves, too.
Lady Trieu
Then, there is the mysterious Lady Trieu. What to make of her? What does her name possibly reveal? The first thing that jumps out is how her name is a homonym for the word “true.” Is this meant ironically, or is a clue that she is a force for good? Then there is the literal meaning of her name from the Vietnamese: “Tide.” Could she serve as a tide of change, or will she be a tide that sweeps over and destroys everything?
And we also have Lady Trieu’s “daughter,” Bian. Her name set the internet abuzz when she was first introduced. Perceptive viewers noted right away that in Vietnamese, the name Bian means “secretive.” A mystery back then, it is a mystery no more. We now know her secret, which is that she isn’t Lady Trieu’s daughter but instead a clone of Lady Trieu’s mother.
There’s still a lot to be revealed in the last two episodes. Maybe there will be some more exciting name-related reveals! We’ll just have to wait and see. But we think it’s going to be interesting no matter what.