The Watchmen universe and core DC universe have been intermingling for years now, but the first crossover came in the 1980s and it was super meta.

Characters from Watchmen have been interacting with the larger DC Universe for the last few years, but the first crossover between Alan Moore's work and the main DC continuity actually happened in the 1980s, and in a most unconventional way—because in the DC Universe, Watchmen is an actual comic book! In 1988’s The Question #17 by Denny O’Neill (Green Lantern/Green Arrow) and Denys Cowan (Hardware), the title character reads the comic and has some thoughts, particularly on Rorschach.

It is ironic that The Question would have strong thoughts on Rorschach, because Question served as the basis for the character. When DC purchased the rights to characters from Charlton Comics (that also included The Blue Beetle and Peacemaker) Alan Moore wished to use them for a project. DC had other plans for the Charlton characters, and asked Moore to create his own; Moore did just this, using the Charlton characters as inspirations for his new team. Captain Atom became Doctor Manhattan and Peacemaker became The Comedian, The Question was turned into Rorschach and the rest is history.

Before flying out to Seattle on a mission, Vic Sage, The Question’s alter-ego, buys a copy of The Watchmen at a newsstand. Reading it on the flight, he notices how heavy and intense it is, and how unlike it is to the comics he read growing up. He takes a special interest in Rorschach, specifically the character’s anger and bigoted nature, but admits, “he does have moves.” He wonders if he could get a mask like Rorschach’s before falling asleep. While sleeping, he dreams he is Rorschach, working on a case close to The Question. Sage then wakes up, but not before loosely summing up The Watchmen’s themes of ambiguous heroism and villainy.

When he arrives in Seattle, he begins stalking his prey, and quickly gets attacked. Badly beaten, but victorious, he retreats to his hotel, bruised and vomiting. He wonders what Rorschach would think of his situation, concluding he would have laughed. The Question continually compares himself to Rorschach for the rest of the issue, before ultimately concluding Rorschach “sucks.”

There are layers to this melding of the two worlds. Arriving in 1988, just a few years after the conclusion of Watchmen, it functions as the first crossover (of sorts) betweenWatchmen characters and the mainstream DC Universe, a connection that would not be explored in full for almost 30 more years. It is interesting to note that Rorschach, The Comedian and Silk Spectre exist as characters in a comic book in the DC Universe. Even more interesting is that The Question specifically met Rorschach, a character based on him, and it gave The Question the opportunity to reflect on his personal growth. And finally, it gives a glimpse of how even a mere two years after it finished, Watchmen was well on its way to legendary status.

Next: The Watchmen Saga Continues in RORSCHACH From DC Black Label