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In the movie Watchmen (2009) in the first Rorschach scene, he stumbles upon two policemen.

One policeman shoots from a very short distance at him. We can see that Rorschach is very close, as the blaze of the gun is visible on his mask, and we can assume that the policeman has no trouble aiming at him - Rorschach doesn't move and the policeman does not change the position of his gun when firing (so I assume he doesn't have to correct his aim).

How is it possible that Rorschach does not get hurt after several gunshots? He might be wearing a bulletproof vest, but this would make him look bigger and not so agile.

If he's not bulletproof - why would he risk getting severely hurt (or killed)?

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  • Officially...no.
    – Paulie_D
    Dec 22, 2016 at 10:29
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    Just to give the cop the benefit of the doubt, it was a dark apartment at night and he put down his flashlight.
    – Walt
    Dec 22, 2016 at 15:58

2 Answers 2

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No, he's not bulletproof.

This confrontation with the police wasn't in the original graphic novel. There, Rorschach finds the Comedian's hiding place, lays out everything on the ground, releases his trademark "Hurm", and the next page cuts to Rorschach ambushing Nite-Owl at his house to inform him of the Comedian's murder.

If he's not bulletproof - why would he risk getting severely hurt (or killed)?

Rorschach is the son of a prostitute who dons the mask to scrawl his own moral design on a world of cowards willing to watch their neighbors raped and murdered. Nobody shoots at him in the original graphic novel (even when the police later capture him, they dog-pile him instead of firing), and it's likely that if anyone did, his crime-fighting career would have a sadly realistic and anti-climactic end. In the comic, his only action that might count as superhuman is being able to survive Antarctic temperatures wearing only a trenchcoat. Otherwise, he's a totally ordinary guy — just tough as nails, extremely tactical, and a good street brawler.

How is it possible that Rorschach does not get hurt after several gunshots?

Zach Snyder's a director who values visual style over realism. His rendition of Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice has a memorable scene where a cop catches Bats branding a criminal, then shoots at him with a shotgun no less than four times while he somehow dodges with superhuman reflexes.

I'd chalk this one up to Rule of Cool. It's not the sort of scene Snyder means for you to question, though it does look bizarre.

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    Well, the Batman example is interesting, but not much of a point either if we consider that he probably wears a ton more body armour than Rorschach.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Dec 22, 2016 at 14:40
  • That's true. At a later point, Bats gets shot multiple times without any ill effects. youtube.com/watch?v=MyVPh3Usrho But in the video from the answer, I'm referring more to how he seems to literally outrun the shotgun. It struck me as visually satisfying but fairly absurd.
    – user36795
    Dec 22, 2016 at 15:11
  • Doesn't really answer the question.....
    – user25738
    Dec 22, 2016 at 17:08
  • Okay, let me make this clearer. No, he's not bulletproof.
    – user36795
    Dec 22, 2016 at 22:18
  • Batman didn't dodge, the cop was a a babyfaced rookie, scared, and can't aim right. He aimed at where batman was, not where he was moving to. He didn't even shoot his partner, missing. The cop was not a crack shot. But I digress, Batman has nothing to do with Watchman. Well, you know what I mean.
    – cde
    Dec 22, 2016 at 22:39
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How is it possible that Rorschach does not get hurt after several gunshots? He might be wearing a bulletproof vest, but this would make him look bigger and not so agile.

No so. He's wearing a trench coat, and many bulletproof vest are easily hidden under a large coat. He could have one, or even something made by Nite Owl II (like his grappling gun), but no. The Rorschach wouldn't wear one.

If he's not bulletproof - why would he risk getting severely hurt (or killed)?

Because the Rorschach has a death wish. Which is why he doesn't wear armor, or use a gun liberally. Why he has no problem taking on multiple people at a time. He wants to die, but doesn't want to commit suicide. This is also why he doesn't flinch at the cop aiming at him.

So given that he doesn't have armor, how did he survive? The cop simply missed.

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Look how dark this apartment is. And it's movie dark, in real life it would be much darker. You can't barely tell where Rorschach's legs and arms are, outside of the flashlight. Once the cop puts down the flashlight, he's basically aiming blind. He misses. Rorschach gets confirmation that the cop is useless, so he jumps and moves on.

Also keep in mind that Rorschach is a legend, a myth, a boogieman in the masked hero world. The cop was scared. His partner was hurt and a murderous vigilante is standing at a window staring him down. Later in the film, 5 cops freeze up when they see Rorschach.

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