1970s

This is a timeline of events that occurred during the 1970s.

1970[]

• Gila Flats is shutdown.^[1]
• After serving two years in prison, Twilight Lady is set free and moves to France, where she vanishes into obscurity.
• Sally Jupiter attempts to visit Laurie Juspeczyk, but a government agent stops her from entering, saying she is not on the building's approved visitors list. Sally writes a letter to Laurie warning that she's making a mistake in moving in with Doctor Manhattan and urging her to contact Hollis Mason or Nelson Gardner to ask them about Jon's failed relationship with Janey Slater.
• Adrian Veidt secretly purchases his island.^[2]

February[]

• While performing covert duties in Lik Dao, Eddie Blake sustains a gunshot wound, requiring the removal of a .22-caliber bullet from his left thigh. Doctor Edward Ross tends to Blake's injuries.^[3]

December[]

1st[]

• On Laurie Juspeczyk's 20th birthday, she and Jon Osterman move into an apartment together in Washington, D.C.

1971[]

January[]

4th[]

• President Richard Nixon asks Doctor Manhattan to intervene in the Vietnam War.^[1]

March[]

• Doctor Manhattan travels to Saigon to intervene in the Vietnam War. There, he is reintroduced to Eddie Blake. Jon finds Blake's deliberate amorality fascinating.^[1]

March to May[]

• Doctor Manhattan uses his mental abilities to decimate the Viet Cong forces. Ultimately, Several of the Viet Cong soldiers surrender directly to him, their terror balanced by an almost religious reverence.^[1]

April[]

16th[]

• Adrian Veidt submits articles of incorporation to New York State for Luxor Imports, Inc., registered to Dimensional Developments, Inc. Veidt names Leo Winston CEO, Dimensional Developments a principal owner, and Leroy Gibbons treasurer.^[4]

May[]

• The United States government predicts that the Viet Cong will surrender within a week.

Before June 1971[]

• The Comedian impregnates a young Vietnamese woman.^[5]

June[]

• The Vietnam War lasts a few weeks longer than expected, finally ending when Doctor Manhattan decimates the Việt Cộng’s guerrilla forces by molecularly restructuring the jungles in which they hide into noxious gases.^[4]

29th[]

• North Vietnam officially surrenders to the United States.
• V.V.N. Day, celebrating American victory in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon arrives in Saigon by helicopter to great applause. A pregnant Vietnamese woman accosts the Comedian. When he refuses to take responsibility for their baby, she slashes him across the face with a broken bottle, leaving a permanent scar. In return, he shoots her dead. Doctor Manhattan watches, but does not interfere.^[1][5]
• Dr. Edward Ross repairs Eddie Blake's facial lacerations, but the resultant scar is permanent.^[4]

In or After June 29th, 1971[]

• The end of the Vietnam War was followed by a series of purges against the rebels. Adrian Veidt intervened during this period and took in Viet Cong refugees as servants to Karnak, Antarctica.

30th[]

• The New York Gazette reports on North Vietnam's unconditional surrender.^[4]

July[]

1st[]

• Eddie Blake is court-martialed for killing the pregnant Vietnamese woman. To keep his identity a secret, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff conduct the trial privately. He admits to the shooting, claims it was in self-defense since she was attacking him.^[4]

Mid-1971[]

• Ken Shade writes a book about his role in the failed assassination of Richard Nixon in 1968 titled Sell Your Soul.^[6]

September[]

11th[]

• The Joint Chiefs of Staff, presiding over Eddie Blake's court-martial for killing an unarmed civilian in Saigon, dismiss all charges, citing a lack of evidence.^[4]

November[]

• Doctor Manhattan learns that Wally Weaver dies of cancer.^[7] He attends his funeral.

1972[]

March[]

5th[]

• John Ehrlichman issues a check to Eddie Blake for $50,000, drawn from a National Bank of New York account. The check's memo line reads "Creep Payment".^[4]

24th[]

• The Godfather is released in the United States.^[4][8]

June[]

17th[]

• Five men are arrested for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.. The FBI finds a possible connection to Richard Nixon's campaign, the Committee for the Reelection of the President.^[8]

September[]

11th[]

• Dan Dreiberg finishes constructing a lightweight anti-radiation suit designed to mimic his standard Nite Owl suit, capable of withstanding intense radiation for up to five hours.^[4]

November[]

7th[]

• Richard Nixon is reelected to a second term of office as President of the United States.^[8][9]

In or After 1972[]

• Underboss awakens from his coma and is sentenced to New York City's Riker's Island jail complex.^[4]

1973[]

• Devo is formed.^[8][10]

January[]

• Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover evidence exposing Richard Nixon's involvement in a burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Watergate office complex.^[6]
• Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are both assassinated, and the evidence they gathered exposing Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate burglary is destroyed.^[6][11]
• Members of the underground press deem the double homicide of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein suspicious, and the Berkeley Barb publishes an article suggesting a conspiracy.^[11]
• A banquet is held in honor of Eddie Blake with Gerald Ford and G. Gordon Liddy in attendance. Laurie Juspeczyk drunkenly accuses him of attempting to rape her mother. Jon Osterman is angered by her behavior and teleports her home.^[11]

March[]

14th[]

• Eddie Blake delivers a speech at a presidential fundraiser for Richard Nixon.^[4]

Between December 6th, 1973 and October 12th, 1985[]

• Eddie Blake is photographed shaking hands with Vice President Gerald Ford.^[12]

1974[]

• Rorschach investigates a kidnap case that "drives him nuts".^[5]

August[]

• Nelson Gardner loses control of his car and crashes into a barrier at a high rate of speed. He ejects through the front windshield and is decapitated.

1975[]

• Newspaper headline: "Third Term for Dick?" and "Ozymandias Quits: Smartest Man in World Goes Public."^[1]
• Gerald Anthony Grice kidnaps six-year-old Blair Roche thinking she was connected to the Roche Chemical fortune. When he realizes his mistakes he murders her in the abandoned Modern Modes building. Rorschach intervenes and burns him alive.^[13]
• Rorschach's activities become more brutal in the wake of the Blair Roche kidnapping case.
• Fast and safe airships are announced to become economically viable.

January[]

20th[]

• The 22nd Amendment is abolished, allowing Richard Nixon to run for a third term as president.^[1][14]
• Adrian Veidt retires from vigilantism, announces his identity publicly, and markets his image for Veidt Enterprises.^[1][12][14]

July[]

12th[]

• Adrian Veidt's interview to Doug Roth is published in Nova Express.^[14]

1976[]

• Alan Greenfeldt issues an internal memo discussing two studies conducted by Jacobs employees to prevent fuel tank flare-ups and assess liability in the event of a lawsuit.^[4]
• Captain Carnage makes his debut begging costumed heroes to beat him up.^[4][12] He devises an fake theft ring that last for months to have Silk Spectre II track him down.^[4] He approaches Nite Owl II begging him to beat him up, and but tells him to get lost.^[12]

January[]

• Probe features an interview with Adrian Veidt.^[4]

11th[]

• Dan Dreiberg finishes constructing a battery-powered exoskeleton prototype capable of increasing a wearer's strength by a factor of sixteen or more.

September[]

• Probe features an interview with Sally Jupiter.^[15]

November[]

2nd[]

• Richard Nixon is reelected to a third term of office as President of the United States.^[9]

In or Before 1977[]

• While pursuing a dope dealer, Dan Dreiberg takes a moment to urinate. By the time he finishes and dons his costume, his quarry escapes. Afterward, Dreiberg redesigns his outfit to make it easier to relieve himself in the future.
• For a time, Rorschach types his journal entries instead of writing them by hand.

1977[]

• "Who Watches the Watchmen?" graffiti begins to appear all throughout New York City.^[5]
• Newspaper headlines: "Cops Say 'Let Them Do It'" and "Senator Keene Proposes Emergency Bill".^[5]
• The police go on strike causing riots spring up in New York City and Washington, D.C..
• In New York City, the Comedian and Nite Owl II attempt to keep the peace while Rorschach, who now works alone, is at the lower east side.
• Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre II settle the riots in Washington, D.C..^[5] Manhattan teleports the rioters back to their respective homes.^[1]

March[]

• The Twilight Lady is released from prison after nine years. Returning to her now dilapidated Upper East Side mansion, she resumes the vice trade.

April[]

• The New York City Police Union enters into negotiations with the city council regarding their annual pay raise. The council denies the request on the grounds that masked adventurers have been doing the cops' job for them.

12th[]

• The New York Gazette's front-page headline reads "City Council Denies Cops Raise!" Upon reading the article, Adrian Veidt deems the council's decision shortsighted.

August[]

3rd[]

• The Keene Act, an emergency bill proposed by Senator Keene, is passed, outlawing costumed superheroes that are not government sanctioned.^[1]
• Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk retire from crime-fighting.^[1]
• Newspaper headline: "Keene Act Passed: Vigilantes Illegal".^[13]
• Rorschach kills multiple rapist Harvey Charles Furniss^[13] and leaves his body outside the headquarters of the New York City Police Department with the note "NEVER!" signifying his continuation to fight crime in open defiance of the Keene Act.^[1]

29th[]

• Lust for Life by Iggy Pop is released, featuring the song "Neighborhood Threat".^[8][12]

October[]

14th[]

• "Watching the Detectives" by Elvis Costello is released.

After October 23rd, 1977[]

• Dan Dreiberg begins writing occasional articles for ornithological journals.

1978[]

August[]

28th[]

• Devo's debut studio album Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is released, featuring the song "Jocko Homo".^[8][10]

September[]

6th[]

• Dr. Thomas M. Dewey, the Smithsonian Institute's special programs curator, writes a letter to Laurie Juspeczyk, asking her to donate her Silk Spectre costume for display in the "Law and Order" exhibit.

22nd[]

• The New York Gazette covers the Comedian's successful rescue of the U.S. hostages.^[4]

1979[]

• The United States launches a retaliatory bombing of Beirut, Lebanon violating international law.^[16]
• Hector Godfrey, editor-in-chief of the New Frontiersman, deems the bombing of Beirut justifiable.^[16]

February[]

• The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., opens its "Law and Order" museum exhibit. Focused on costumed adventurers from the 1930s to the 1970s, ranging from Hooded Justice to Doctor Manhattan, the exhibit includes numerous weapons, props, and memorabilia.^[4]

August[]

14th[]

• Pursued by a police officer, Rorschach runs into an ally. A cab driver recognizes him and offers him a ride, calling the fugitive his hero in the war against sinners, politicians, and false prophets. The vigilante later records a journal entry describing the conversation.^[4]

November[]

4th[]

References[]

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