Zack Snyder directs this adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's graphic novel set in a parallel Earth in 1985, where despite the threat of nuclear war, superheroes are prohibited from using their powers. But when one of their number is murdered, the outlaw heroes, including Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), unite to defend themselves.