The Game Warden was the first male being created on Europa as part of Doctor Manhattan's terraformation of it into a paradise. He became a servant and requested enemy of Adrian Veidt, who later killed him in his escape from the moon.
History
Born and Abandoned
In 1985, Doctor Manhattan, protector of Earth, grew bored of humanity and traveled to Jupiter's moon Europa. When he arrived on November 3, he began terraforming a portion of the moon into a paradise, an atmospheric bubble filled with plant life and animals. He then created a great lake in this paradise where the people of this world were created as fetuses, which could be harvested and, via accelerated biomechanical maturation, grow instantly to adulthood. The male and female of this species first to emerge Manhattan nicknamed "Adam" and "Eve", with the first "Adam" later taking on the name of the Game Warden. Manhattan clothed them and teleported Cartwithen Castle to them from Earth as a home in which they should stay.
For twenty years, many more of these beings (the males of which became known as Mister Phillips and the females as Ms. Crookshanks) were spawned and began tending to Manhattan's every whim. They were genetically engineered by them so their entire life's purpose, at least to them, would be to help their masters in any way they could, making them desperate to help others. Eventually, Manhattan grew bored of them, and in 2009 traveled back to Earth, leaving them abandoned for many months.[1]
A New Master
Later that year, Manhattan sent his children a gift: Adrian Veidt, a genius who saved the world but had to keep it secret to keep it intact. He craved attention and worship, and the Game Warden, along with the various Phillipses and Crookshankses were overjoyed to provide. At first, Veidt was ecstatic on Europa, having his servants perform a play he'd written retelling the origins of Doctor Manhattan, and many other activities, including hunting and, to make things more interesting for himself, giving himself an adversary, ordering the Game Warden to take up that name and wear a mask, wielding a gun to try and stop him from hunting. Eventually, though, Veidt too grew tired of the constant praise and love, but unlike Manhattan, not because it tired, but because it didn't feel earned to him. The peoples of Earth should be celebrating him, not these creatures. So Veidt hatched a plan to free himself, using the bodies of various Phillipses and Crookshankses he had killed to spell out a message outside the atmospheric bubble to be seen by someone who could save him. When the Game Warden learned this, he wasted no time at all sending Veidt a letter insisting he not leave, which Veidt responded to, but did not heed.[2]
The Warden tried, again and again, to get Veidt to stop, but after years he finally could take it no longer and forced Veidt out under the arrest of a makeshift government. Unfortunately for him, Veidt had already succeeded in making sure his message was seen, and a ship would come in due time. The bitter Game Warden forced Veidt into a year-long trial, in which he presided as judge, Veidt defended himself, and the Crookshankses and Phillipses acted against him.
The trial lasted a full year, and all that time Veidt gave no defense but a loud fart on the last day. Disgusted but triumphant, the Game Warden declared Veidt guilty on all charges and sent him to be punished accordingly.[3] This punishment resulted in every Phillips and Crookshanks stepping up to Veidt, who was tied to a tree, asking him to stay, and smashing a tomato in his face when he said no.
After this ordeal, Veidt was returned to his cell, where the Game Warden brought him his arrival anniversary cake Veidt was served every year. The two had a short, angry exchange, where each one asked the other "why" and tried to make them see their side. It was to no avail, as neither the Warden nor Veidt would budge, and the Warden left Veidt in disgrace, storming out as he angrily spat "enjoy your fucking cake" in Veidt's general direction. Unbeknownst to the Warden, however, the Phillips and Crookshanks who prepared the cake slipped a horseshoe into it, which Veidt then spent the next two years using to carve a hole into the stone floor under his cell's bed, which soon transformed into a tunnel that lead outside the castle.[1]
Final Battle Against Veidt
At long last, eight years after Veidt's arrival, a spaceship was sent and landed on Europa, right next to the castle, to take him home. Furious, the Game Warden made his way to Veidt's cell, only to find him gone. Once he reached the spacecraft and found Veidt, horseshoe in hand, the Warden ordered him to return to his cell, and when he refused, shot him point-blank in the chest. The Warden walked over to Veidt, remorseful of what he had done, but Veidt opened his eyes to reveal he had caught the bullet in mid-air. Shocked, the Game Warden received a violent kick to the stomach, knocking him over, as Veidt stood to leave and the Phillipses and Crookshankses lined themselves up by the craft's door to bid him goodbye. Now on his last stretch of sanity, the Game Warden lunged at Veidt, knocked him flat on the ground, and began punching him repeatedly in the face, yelling over and over again "I will not let you go!" until the horseshoe jabbed its way through his stomach, its ends sharpened into deadly points by years of scraping. Veidt pulled the horseshoe out of the Warden and tossed his dying body off of him, then crawled over and cradled the miserable Warden in his arms as he lay dying.
As he bled out, the Game Warden asked Veidt why he made him wear the mask. Veidt explained that "masks make men cruel" and that a worthy adversary helped him keep his sanity. When the Game Warden asked if he was a worthy adversary, Veidt responded plainly and bluntly: "No... but you put on a hell of a show."
With that, Veidt dumped the horrified and disgraced Game Warden onto the ground, where he died, a look of shock and anger frozen on the face of his cold corpse for all eternity.[4]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Notes
- The Game Warden was portrayed by Tom Mison.
Related
- 5 Appearances of Game Warden (Watchmen TV Series)
- 7 Images featuring Game Warden (Watchmen TV Series)
- 2 Quotations by or about Game Warden (Watchmen TV Series)
- Character Gallery: Game Warden (Watchmen TV Series)
Footnotes