Watchmen Reveals Shocking Truth About Hooded Justice That Changes Everything

The sixth episode of HBO’s Watchmen aired tonight and some big questions were finally answered. A longstanding mystery that goes back to the Watchmen comic has been the identity of Hooded Justice, the very first masked vigilante that inspired the Minutemen and later the Crimebusters. In the comic, the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, wrote in his book that he was never aware of his crimefighting companion’s identity, but explained how strongman Rolf Müller was suspected of being the man behind the mask. Müller was even mentioned in the opening sequence of the show within the HBO show, “American Hero Story.” However, the newest episode has finally unmasked the first costumed avenger, and not only is he not Müller, but his identity confirms a fan theory that has been in question since the series premiered.

Warning: Watchmen Spoilers Ahead…

Fans of HBO’s new show will probably not be surprised to learn that Hooded Justice was revealed to be Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr.), Angela Abar’s (Regina King) grandfather. During the episode, Angela experienced the intense effects of taking all of her grandfather’s Nostalgia pills, which sucked her into his memories. She saw a young Reeves (Jovan Adepo) become a New York police officer in the 1930s. During his attempt to uncover the truth about a racist organization called Cyclops, some corrupt cops hanged Reeves until he was nearly dead as a warning to stay out of their way. Right after the traumatic experience, Reeves still had the hood and rope around his neck when he encountered a woman in danger. He instinctively put the hood back up to rescue her, and Hooded Justice was born.

After that first rescue, Reeves decided to continue his work as a masked vigilante while painting part of his face to appear white since the city’s rampant racism wasn’t allowing him to do his job openly as a cop. From there, he eventually joined the Minutemen with only Captain Metropolis, who soon became his lover, knowing his true identity. Unfortunately, once he discovered Cyclops’ plan to brainwash black citizens into murdering each other, Reeves was forced to take matters into his own hands when Captain Metropolis refused to help, ultimately leading to his departure from the team and him murdering a group of Cyclops members.

You can read a full synopsis of “This Extraordinary Being” here.

Watchmen stars Regina King as Angela Abar/Sister Night, Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, Tim Blake Nelson as Looking Glass, Louis Gossett Jr. as Will Reeves, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Cal Abar, James Wolk as Senator Keane, Adelaide Clemens as Pirate Jenny, Andrew Howard as Red Scare, Jean Smart as Agent Laurie Blake, Hong Chau as Lady Trieu, and Don Johnson as Judd Crawford.

Watchmen currently airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO.