Watchmen is set in an alternate history during the 1980s. The United States is about to enter a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Earlier, superheroes helped the United States win the Vietnam War. Now, superheroes work for the government (Doctor Manhattan, The Comedian), are retired (Nite Owl, Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, Silk Spectre), or work illegally (Rorschach).