Before Watchmen: Moloch (2013) #1

"Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned": Eddie Jacobi's boyhood was a hell-ride of ridicule and abuse, due to his freakish appearance, and he grew up bitter and antisocial. Inspired by a carnival stage magician, he incorporated that theme into his developing criminal outlook. He did his first pr

"Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned"
Before Watchmen: Moloch Vol 1 #1
January, 2013
Executive Editor	Bobbie Chase
Cover Artists	Eduardo Risso
Variant Cover Artists
Cover Variant #1	Matt Wagner Brennan Wagner
Cover Variant #2	Jim Lee Alex Sinclair
Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
Writers	J. Michael Straczynski
Pencilers	Eduardo Risso
Inkers	Eduardo Risso
Colorists	Patricia Mulvihill
Letterers	Clem Robins
Editors	Camilla Zhang Mark Chiarello
Wide Were His Dragon Wings: Part Four
Writers	John Higgins
Pencilers	John Higgins
Inkers	John Higgins
Colorists	John Higgins
Letterers	Sal Cipriano
Next Issue	Before Watchmen: Moloch # 2

I couldn't blame her. I was ugly, a freak. But the world... the world was uglier. So I hurt it. And I hurt it again-- and again-- and again-- and again and again and again and againagainagainagain--

— Moloch (Edgar "Eddie" Jacobi)

Before Watchmen: Moloch #1 is an issue of the series Before Watchmen: Moloch (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2013. It was published on November 7, 2012.

Synopsis for "Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned"

Eddie Jacobi's boyhood was a hell-ride of ridicule and abuse, due to his freakish appearance, and he grew up bitter and antisocial. Inspired by a carnival stage magician, he incorporated that theme into his developing criminal outlook. He did his first premeditated murder in early adolescence, then ran away from home.

In 1937 he put together a vaudeville-style act, now calling himself Moloch the Mystic. It paid very poorly, so he robbed banks as a sideline, developing criminal applications for familiar magic tricks. This was more lucrative and more fun, so Jacobi recruited some thugs and went into robbery and kidnapping full-time. As the eccentric technology of his era developed, he availed himself of such advanced devices as Professor Tungren's Solar Mirror Weapon. His early clashes with the colorful vigilante criminal-fighters of the early 1940s was frustrating for him, but in the long run was educational. He learned and invented a lot of new tricks, while getting into and out of prison, over the next several decades.

While serving one life sentence, much to his own surprise, Edgar Jacobi was paroled, due to the influence of the famous Adrian Viedt, Ozymandias, who had an important matter to discuss with him.

Appearing in "Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned"

Featured Characters:

• Moloch (Edgar "Eddie" Jacobi) (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback and main story) (Narrator)

Supporting Characters:

• Mr. Fantastico (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
  • Unnamed assistant (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
• Ozymandias (Cameo)
• Moloch's Gang (Flashback only)
• Professor Tungren (Single appearance) (Flashback only)

Antagonists:

• Chicago Police Department (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
• Doctor Manhattan (Flashback only)
• Edgar Jacobi's bullies (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
  • David (Single appearance) (Dies in flashback)
• Minutemen (Flashback only)
  • Captain Metropolis
  • Dollar Bill
  • Hooded Justice
  • Mothman
  • Silhouette
  • Silk Spectre

Other Characters:

• Edgard Jacobi's schoolmates (Flashback only)
  • Marie (Edgar Jacobi's love interest) (Single appearance)
  • Jimmy (Single appearance) (Cameo)
• Mr. Jacobi (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• Mrs. Jacobi (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• Jesus (Statue only)
• United States Army (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• The Vaudeville Circuit (Single appearance) (In picture only) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
  • Joel Jesse (Single appearance)
  • Sacha Malden (Single appearance)
  • Venus Gypsy (Single appearance)
• God (Mentioned only)
• Moloch the Ammonite God (Mentioned only)

Locations:

• Watchmen Universe (Unnamed)
  • 1930s
    • United States of America
      • Chicago (Flashback only)
  • 1960
    • United States of America
      • Dante's (Flashback only)
  • Late 1960s
    • Prison (Unnamed)

Items:

• Daily Mail (Flashback only)
• Solar Mirror Weapon (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback only)

Vehicles:

• Veidt's silver limousine (Cameo)

Concepts:

• Connective Energy (Unnamed) (Flashback only)
• Magic (Mentioned only)
  

Appearing in "Wide Were His Dragon Wings: Part Four"

Featured Characters:

• Gordon McClachlan

Supporting Characters:

• N'Tunga (Zombified)

Antagonists:

• Giant snake
• Mesoamerican Tribe (Unnamed)
• Slavers
  • Snakehead (Dies)

Other Characters:

• N'Tunga's baby (Unnamed) (Cameo)
• God (Mentioned only)

Locations:

• 1771
  • Mexico (Unnamed)

Items:

• "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" (Behind the scenes)

Concepts:

• Magic

Notes

• "Wide Were His Dragon Wings" chronologically continues from Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #4 and chronologically continues in Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #4.
• "Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned" is reprinted in Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan.
• "Wide Were His Dragon Wings, Part Four" is reprinted in Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair.

Trivia

• Edgar Jacobi named himself Moloch, after the Ammonite god worshipped by the Phoenicians and the Canaanites. Moloch was a being of vast supernatural power. Also Moloch was the god most associated with the ritual sacrifice of children.

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Before Watchmen: Moloch series
• Images from Before Watchmen: Moloch Vol 1 1