Zombies Ruin Everything

Oh, Alan Moore! You creator of thematically powerful yet equally depressing worlds, you! Though Moore has a tendency to look back on his own work with a certain disdain it seems, I’ve yet to read anything about him leaving Watchmen out to dry. And why would he? It still fits his criteria of dark, brutal, and subtextual. Then again, do you expect anything else from a guy that looks like this?

So prepare to read what’s below and disagree, only leaving me, the author of the this, to wonder who liked this and who thought otherwise. Read on, reader!

Night Owl II- ISFJ

Emotion!

Timid and insecure, Daniel Dreiberg is not only a picture of an unhealthy ISFJ (They don’t have to be that way), he’s also a good example of one that gets his act together and takes Arnold’s advice. Much of the story revolves around Dreiberg pining for the old days while also being glad they’re over.

While the character’s persona already made it easy to infer a Batman of a different universe, the movie helped solidify it with a costume based off of the 90s Batman movies. Dreiberg’s reluctance to do anything other than continue living an existence that would kill him slower and more painfully than crime-fighting would displays that side of the ISFJ that says “I hate what I’m doing, but what else am I gonna do?”

“Well, sweetie, the ISFJ HAS to sleep like that so they can resume worrying as soon as they wake up.”

This is not because they have to and have no other talents other than the ones that get them through work, but valuing their safe place above all else, they limit themselves as to what they’re capable of.

And to understand Dan’s perspective, his crime-fighting activities were actually dangerous, using only his fists and his gadgets to get the job done, it’s definitely safer to stay out of costume. Due to “the Keene Act” which made all superhero-ing illegal, Dan follows the law like your general ISFJ would. Do they ever break rules? Sure, but usually they’ll try to follow the rules for the sake of not making waves; if they’re in power, they’ll want you to do the same.

A Tuesday night.

Notice that when Veidt (Ozymandias) murders so many people around the world, it’s the intuitives that see the bigger picture while the sensors, Dan included, that refuse to get past the action of murder itself rather than the bigger picture of what’s just been done.

Silk Spectre- ISFP

While the ISFJ holds everything and everyone they know on their back, the ISFP will casually let most things slide off their back. Laurie Juspeczyk inherited the title from her mother (An ESFP) and never seemed to mind beating the snot out of criminals nightly.

ISFPs use Se as their auxiliary function which keeps them in the moment with what they’re doing and keeps them from getting bored by even the simplest thing if they’re interested in it.

Somebody step on a beetle or something? Hyuck hyuck hyuck.

While being “close” acquaintances with Manhattan, the thing that seems to bother her the most is the put simply, Manhattan doesn’t really care for her too much. Or at least, doesn’t show it enough. Something this personal will bother the ISFP, as their Fi acts as a kind of emotional intelligence; or knowledge of others and their own feelings. If you didn’t know.

Those close to the ISFP know that there’s a lot more going on in their heads than they let on and while they aren’t necessarily the most intellectual of types with their as their inferior function, they know where they stand on what they feel and why. So advice from them is often sound, save for their episodic indecisiveness.

“No, wait Jon, I changed my mind, put it back how I had it!”

So while Dan can be mopey and wanting to get out of his funk, it’s not until the free-spirited Laurie simply tells him to put his suit on and get out there. ISFPs love all that harmony and the like but if you mess with their personal happiness, they gon’ break some rules.

Rorschach- ISTJ

While many may think ISTP because, let’s face it, the real difference seems to be that one is laid back and one isn’t, Walter Kovacs’ mission in life isn’t like that of the real ISTP, Woverine; laid back, taking on missions and dangerous objectives as they come his way- no, Rorschach’s way of dealing with life is by grabbing it by the horns and dismissing anyone that doesn’t do exactly as he does. While Wolverine may care the least of anyone on his team, Rorschach may care the most on his.

The ISTJ can be one of the more difficult types to get along with even in their healthier states because they want things done their way. An ESTJ doesn’t mind putting themselves out there and telling you what to do even if you shoot them down. But the ISTJ will become immediately fidgety and visibly uncomfortable if you’re not doing it their way; they don’t want to have to tell you but somebody has to make it clear you’re doing it wrong.

“Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise…”

While this is a great line and some might even consider it to be a sort of personal mantra, it’s the ISTJ that really lives this line. What many might not realize is that compromise can be something that says “Hey- maybe I’m not right all the time. Maybe I could do things differently.” But not the hard headed ISTJ. They know what they know and the only way they’ll change is slowly, after repeatedly seeing how a different way might be the right way.

The ISTJ you know will be hard-nosed in whatever it is they believe and may have very harsh thoughts about anything otherwise. If they have at some point begun to believe that seeing things from others’ point of view is the right way then they will do that, but they’ll probably regress once someone who is intolerant of others’ views comes along. Get the paradox?

Dr. Manhattan- INTP

The true thinker, had we lived in this comic book universe, things would have been very different for us if Dr. Manhattan had been an ESFJ; but alas, there is no such fortune here. Jon Osterman had to be the brilliant and detached Engineer which often creates a person so deep and thoughtful of the world around them that they don’t care about anything.

And Dr. Manhattan is an INTP in true form. All the power in the world and while he does what he can to help mankind in many ways such as ending the Vietnam War, his mind always wanders to the point where he’s just got to see what’s out there in the great beyond.

“Well, I’m just sittin’ up here thinkin’, ya know?”

INTPs do this mentally, as Dr. Manhattan does it physically as well. If you know an INTP, you know that what blows their mind one week will bore them the next as they’ve moved onto the even bigger picture. New ideas are constantly being introduced to them and there can be a lot to learn from them, though it can often be frustrating when everything they’ve talked about before is now null when brought back up. But that’s the way it goes.

Dr. Manhattan’s neutrality is brought into perspective when he realizes what Ozymandias’ plan is and decides to allow himself to become the villain as Ozymandias’ plan deems necessary because Manhattan knows it’s the only way the plan will work. This is a good example of  the INTJ’s cunning and planning, using others as tools, while the INTP allows himself to be used- something an INTJ would never willingly do. But as Manhattan says, he’s simply a puppet that can see the strings.

The Comedian- ESTP

The wild card of the team, Eddie Blake is also a nihilist, believing humanity to be a joke, hence the name. But you already knew that I’d imagine, if you’re reading this. The Comedian did almost as much damage for the team as he did good, being he carried out orders with the ruthlessness and cynicism of a government agent, which he was.

The ESTP isn’t naturally such a villain, but as you see, most characters in the Watchmen universe aren’t in the healthiest of mentalities.

ESTPs aren’t known for their soft side anyway with tertiary Fe; they have the innate gift of having something of an understanding of another person’s feelings but whether or not they choose to act on that knowledge is up to them. A less mature ESTP will use this to their advantage regardless of how it affects the person of interest. ESTPs know people and have the reputation of being smooth talkers. So whether or not you like them, you may not be able to deny what they’re saying.

His message is discouraging but there is truth to it as far as the story is concerned and the real reason what the Comedian is saying comes of detestable is because of his careless, scoffing attitude.

But all types play up to their roles in the above clip, with the ISFJ and ISTJ dealing with the day-to-day, the INTJ dealing with saving the entire world, and the ESTP speaking practically and persuasively, though his message is one you want to disagree with…

Ozymandias- INTJ

“I don’t mind being the smartest man in the world, I just wish it wasn’t this one.”

It seems almost too easy to type the “mastermind” behind the biggest crime this fictional world has ever known…that they don’t actually know. Setting in motion the entire story of the Watchmen saga, Adrian Veidt has everything that stands out as an INTJ villain with the sole exception that his public image is of positive standing.

You see me standing here in my purple room, don’t you? Why don’t you try KNOCKING?!”

This is a rarity as a general INTJ weakness is that they don’t care what others think of them causing much of their social well-being to become retarded and for others to withdraw due to the INTJ arrogance. You know how Doctor Doom is.

“The World’s Smartest Man” is, unsurprisingly, the one who predicted that superheroes would be on the decline and that they would eventually be outcasted. So he decided to get off the wagon and market his image, making himself rich in the process.

Like a true INTJ, Adrian Veidt acquired not only his resources but his peak physique, and genius intellect all on his own. Not because INTJs really do have it all (Screw you, Batman) but the INTJ MO is to plan, plan, plan…then execute flawlessly. In reality, this could just mean how a day is going to go- they may have planned for this day the week before and it’s not even a special day- it’s just what they do.

“Sup, MTV. Welcome to my crib! If you just watch the-…Oh.”

Huh? What’s that you say? No Idealists? No wonder this story is all gloom and doom- no high-minded NFs to show us the light, I guess. Eh, maybe Ozymandias created some in the aftermath of his master plan.

This entry was posted on 01/31/2014 at 2:57 am and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Guardians, MBTI Rationals, MBTI Stuff with tags comedian, dr manhattan, ESTP, intj, intp, isfj, isfp, istj, mbti in fiction, nite owl II, ozymandias, rorschach, silk spectre II, watchmen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.