10 Times Superheroes Became Public Enemy Number One

One of the most crucial historical plot points of Watchmen involves the 1977 Keene Act, which outlawed 'costumed adventuring' and vigilantism. While it's often overlooked, the act essentially served to make every member of the Watchmen's actions in the series a fairly serious crime - aside from those who were government-sanctioned officials, such as Dr. Manhattan.

Interestingly, although this legally made any vigilante public enemy number one, they'd already had this reputation in the public eye for some time.

Indeed, the Watchmen themselves were feared and hated before the Keene Act. Between Rorschach's blatant and brutal murders, and the rest of the Watchmen's involvement in the Vietnam war, the public swiftly turned against superheroes in general, believing them to cause equal damage to the villains they were supposed to protect people from.

In short, Watchmen basically covers a universe where superheroes are public enemy number one both to the general public, and to the legal system - which is part of what makes the story so damn interesting.