Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed between 1946 and 1986, although it began under a different name in 1944.
In 1983, Charlton Comics' superhero characters were bought by DC Comics. Alan Moore intended to use these characters as his protagonists when writing Watchmen as a limited series in 1985, although DC executives realised that allowing Moore to use them would make them unusable in the future. Instead, Moore created original characters that were based (sometimes quite loosely) on the Charlton Comics superheroes, and several of the Charlton superheroes (including Captain Atom, the Question and the Blue Beetle) were introduced into the mainstream DC Universe during that company's Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over.
Charlton Comics characters and their Watchmen counterparts
| Charlton Comics character | Creator(s) | Watchmen counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett) (WP, DCDP) |
Charles Nicholas Wojtkowski | Nite Owl (Hollis Mason) |
| Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) (WP, DCDP) |
Steve Ditko | Nite Owl (Dan Dreiberg) |
| Captain Atom (WP, DCDP) |
Joe Gill Steve Ditko |
Doctor Manhattan |
| Nightshade (WP, DCDP) |
Joe Gill Steve Ditko |
Silk Spectre (Laurie Juspeczyk) |
| Peacemaker (WP, DCDP) |
Joe Gill Pat Boyette |
Comedian |
| The Question (WP, DCDP) |
Steve Ditko | Rorschach |
| Thunderbolt (Peter Cannon) (WP, DCDP) |
Pete Morisi | Ozymandias |