Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is one of the most famous comics of all time, and is widely considered the best deconstruction of superhero archetypes ever published.
Alan Moore's original pitch for the series did not involve original characters, but rather superheroes from the defunct Charlton Comics line that had been acquired by DC Comics in 1983.
DC Comics integrated the Charlton characters into the DC Universe, alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash.
Moore's pitch, which at that point was called "Who Killed the Peacemaker?," was rejected because it conflicted with DC's plans for the characters.
Moore and Gibbons decided to keep their story, but create their own characters directly based on the Charlton superheroes.
It totally worked out, and the rest is comics history.
Now anyone who has read the book can tell you that Watchmen is simply the title, and not a team of characters.
The Avengers-like gathering of characters in the story is actually called Crimebusters, and...well, only sorta.
Here's the cool part. That name was actually suggested by a fan nearly 20 years before Watchmen was published.
This letter was published in Captain Atom #87 in 1967.
Alan Moore clearly agreed with Sean Cook of Eldorado, Kansas and made his dream come true. Pretty cool, right?
It's one of those things that make you "Hurm."
