Many understandably consider the violent and ruthless vigilante known as Rorschach to be one of comic book's most tragic anti-heroes on of his unfortunate childhood experiences that helped shape his moral absolutistic views later in life. But the latest issue of Rorschach by Tom King, Jorge Fornes, and Dave Stewart, explores the early years of the so-called "The Kid" that tells a more heart-wrenching tale that helps explain why she would aid the new Rorschach in the attempted assassination of a politician in the present day.
Before adopting the name Rorschach, Walter Kovacs was not only subjected to regular beatings from his mother as a child but was the son of a prostitute - as the exposure of which affected him three-fold. His personal humiliation of his mother's profession is one thing, but having one's peers exacerbate these feelings by both pointing it out and ridiculing him in addition to the irreparable harm that comes from witnessing one's mother engaging in such activities at a young age compound the mental anguish and overall damage.
What's important to realize, however, is that Walter never experienced love or kindness. While tragic, it was never something he could lose. Additionally, nothing forced his mother to adopt these tendencies save for natural, albeit unfortunate events and her own personal failings. This might be sad, but the fact that these events would have transpired regardless of any outside force makes them less tragic on of it all being inevitable. Meanwhile, The Kid's unique situation was driven entirely by otherworldly events. When Adrian Veidt teleported his monster squid to New York City in Watchmen, the shockwave of its impact killed millions and drove some of the human population out of their minds - a fragile and volatile condition that Veidt then exploited through the use of subliminal messaging that promised the coming of more like it. The Kid's father succumbs to this madness which eventually manifests in the radicalizing of his own daughter and, worse, in violence.
At an early age, The Kid then known by her God-given name, Laura Cummings, is not only taught how to kill the squids that her father thinks are out there, but to be the savior of their world. Additionally, he shows his arsenal of military-grade weapons to her at too young an age and has her participate in gun training sessions with a local militia at 12 years old that involves building bombs. Even more disturbing is she learned a technique on how one holds a gun to the head of a person who is under the control of the squids while putting them in a chokehold so they can't think and kill them with their minds. What's worse, Laura's father not only killed her mother because he believed the squids had taken over her mind but tells his daughter this early on. So when he one day asks his daughter to shoot him and stage it to look as though it were a suicide, her radicalization allows her to do so without hesitation and arguably without feeling. She just walks over to his corpse, kisses him on the forehead, and leaves.
In comparison to Rorschach from Watchmen, The Kid was radicalized at a young age due to an otherworldly phenomenon that undoubtedly wouldn't have happened naturally, making it more tragic on of her most likely living a normal life if these impossible events never transpired. Additionally, Laura's father destroyed her family on two separate occasions that were not only twisted but rationalized to such an extent that Laura unequivocally viewed it as acceptable and understandable. And not only did Laura experience and then lose love, but was the one who extinguished it at the behest of her last surviving parent.
