Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #5 Review

Comic: Ozymandias#5

Written By: Len Wien

Pencils By: Jae Lee

Publisher: DC Comics

Release Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (VIA COMIXOLOGY)

rating: 3

Ozymandias's spoken recording of his life story continues and we head ever closer to his master plan to save the world from nuclear destruction. In this penultimate issue we see Vedit's public reveal of his costumed identity, his setting up of a bio-lab and his purchase of the hidden island where he can start building his monster. This is another calculated issue from the Wien and Lee combo but hitting the point where Ozy's plan is coming together, it feels like a real shame that we only have a single issue to go. I think I would have much preferred if at least half of this six issue run was set on the island as the "space creature" was being constructed. Instead with get a lot of the cold and calm Veidt, bossing his personal assistant about and laying out every step of of plan to us, the reader and how literally everything that happens in his life plays into his ultimate goal. I'll wrap up the Veidt reviews with the next issue but I will briefly say at this time that Ozymandias is covering all of the right elements but given the straight edge nature of his character it's quite difficult to warm to many of the elements here. I don't dislike Veidt in any way. In fact I find the approach to him to match my feelings about him in the original Watchmen but I wish the focus was a little tighter on some elements. We sweep through years with the understanding all that was happening was planning and building but some of that planning and building needs more page space I feel. Another than that dawned on me here. For every repetitive and celebrated moment from the original Watchmen, the Keene act has really only been brushed upon. To me a mini series could have been written on the Keene Act and it would have been great to see how it unfolded around the costumed crime fighters. Here it's a few events, we skim across and really it offers nothing that the original Watchmen does. Maybe I'm just at the point where I know this Before Watchmen run has nothing all that new to offer, or now that I know what is the focus, I'm thinking more of what might have been or what might have been missed. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying Before Watchmen a great deal but maybe my love of some elements of original Watchmen is not what DC Comics wanted to expand upon so much. Before Watchmen Weekly Overview: