Walter Kovacs (New Earth-Twenty One)

Veidt's Plot and Survival
Rorschach was investigating the mystery surrounding The Comedian's death when he discovered that he was murder by non-other then the former hero Ozymandias. Rorschach secretly began spying on Veidt and eventually discovered his plan. Rorschach used the knowledge to make a plan to avoid the possibility of being Veidt's next victim. Rorschach would go to a scientist by the name of Doctor Martin Stein that was working on cloning humans, but lacked willing participants to test is theories. Rorschach would offer himself as a guinea pig if he could use the clone, which Stein agreed to do.

After a few months of waiting the clone was finish right before Rorschach, Dr, Manhattan, Silk Specte, and Nite Owl where going to attempt to stop Veidt. Before leaving Rorschach decided to send his clone who was rigged with a stolen listening device in his inner ear and fake right eye with a wireless camera in it that Rorschach had taken from the CIA. Rorschach and Doctor Stein would watch and hear what happened through the clone. Eventually Veidt's plot succeeds and all the other heroes decide to cover up the plan except for Rorschach's clone who argues that it is not right to lie to people. The clone would then be killed by Dr Manhattan who vaporized after attempting to reason with him. After seeing his clone die at the hands of Dr. Manhattan, Doctor Stein asks Rorschach if he agreed with his clones stance and Rorschach responds by saying that he would of done the same thing.

Rorschach would then tell Doctor Stein that he had sent a journal detailing his investigation on Veidt and his findings to a news paper in Chicago and if that never saw the light of day, he would reveal the truth in one year when he was fully prepared for the fallout. Rorschach would leave the Doctor Stein's lab and begin preparing for what came next.

The Year
Rorschach would into the home of the former Mothman, Byron Lewis who after hearing Rorschach's story agreed to help him. Rorschach would temporarily give up his Rorschach persona to avoid detection by Dr Manhattan and Veidt and take on the alias of Paul Carson and would begin recruiting allies to aid him in exposing the conspiracy.

His first recruit was originally going to be Rolf Müller the original Hooded Justice, but upon arriving at the circus he preformed at, he discovered that Rolf died due to a fall while doing a trapeze's stunt a few months prior to his arrival. Rorschach saddened by the news said his condolences and was about to leave when a young man stopped him and told him that he was Rolf's apprentice and adoptive son, Nelson Müller who told Rorschach he knew who he really was and wanted to help him. Interested in what Nelson had to say, Rorschach decided to listen.