New York Comic Con attendees were treated this past weekend to the first twenty minutes of the upcoming Watchmen movie. Original Watchmen artist David Gibbons appeared on-stage to thank the over 2,000 people in attendance and introduced the footage we were about to see. Within minutes, the crowd was witnessing the opening scenes of this year’s most anticipated film as it will appear in theatres on March 6, plus a never-before-seen clip from later on in the movie.

SPOILER WARNING! The following contains spoilers from the Watchmen graphic novel and reveals specific plot-points as they appear in the movie. Read on at your own discretion. I will not provide any further spoiler warnings during this piece SPOILER WARNING!

The movie opens with faux vintage TV clips of a Nixon speech, a political roundtable discussion (with a young Pat Buchanan), and an advertisement featuring an attractive young couple reclining poolside. The camera pulls out to reveal Edward Blake lounging in front of his television set, chomping on his trademark cigar and beer can in hand.

His gaze is drawn toward the front door of his well-appointed apartment, where he notices a shadow projected onto his floor. Just then, the door splinters open with a powerful kick and a shadowy assassin stands in the entranceway. Blake rises from his chair and in determined resignation grumbles “Just a matter of time, I suppose.”

He somersaults for a handgun lying on his coffee table, but the assassin is too quick, disarming The Comedian instantly. An extended, original fight scene not present in the beginning of the book (but alluded to) unfolds, and it’s positively brutal. Blake gets thrown through tables and against walls like a ragdoll, as his assassin savagely beats him. The cinematography here is jaw-dropping; in one shot, we see a cross-view of the apartment from outside the window, New York City skyline reflected in the glass, and Blake getting thrown through the air in slow-motion.

The Comedian puts up a hell of a fight, but the sheer speed and strength of his adversary is too much. The assassin grabs Blake by the neck and pulls him in close. “It’s a joke,” he chuckles with his dying breath. “It’s all a joke.” A single drop of blood falls from his face onto the smiley face button pinned to his robe just before he’s thrown through his plate-glass window, hurtling to the street below. The pin lands beside his body in the gutter and the camera zooms in close as the blood pools around it.

The opening credits play to Dylan’s mournful acoustic “The Times They Are A-Changin.’” Each scene (many lifted directly from the book, but some original) in the credits is a slow-motion work of art in itself. It begins with the original Minutemen and their successful campaigns during the World War II years to thwart bank robberies and arrest criminals. But for every scene of triumph, comes one of defeat. Mothman being dragged off to a mental institution. Silhouette laying in bed beside her lover with their throats slit.

Things don’t fare much better for the Watchmen. Dr. Manhattan shakes hands with JFK on the White House lawn in one clip. In the next, the President’s head is blown open on a sunny day in Dallas (the camera pans out to reveal Edward Blake packing up a scoped rifle). A small, redheaded boy standing in a hallway gets a pat on the head from a man leaving his mother’s bedroom, only to be replaced immediately by a second man entering (the crowd loved this one). Other notable moments: A police officer stumbles upon two criminals bound with rope to a fire hydrant, with a scrap of paper bearing Rorschach’s signature insignia lying at their feet. Dr. Manhattan films man’s first steps on the moon (without a space suit, of course). The attention to detail Snyder has captured with each and every shot is simply mind-blowing.

After the credits, we get our first real look at arguably the most beloved Watchmen character, Rorschach, whose gruff, clipped voice is perfectly matched in the film. He recites his now infamous October 12, 1985 journal entry as he picks the Comedian’s pin up out of the gutter.

Rorschach uses his grappling hook to launch himself through Blake’s broken apartment window. The scene that follows is essentially exactly that at the beginning of the graphic novel, so I won’t delve any further here, other than to say, it’s recreated exquisitely

The scene that plays next is from about 2/3 into the movie. Rorschach has been apprehended and is incarcerated. He waits in line at the prison’s cafeteria, his face emotionless. An inmate in line behind him makes quips about wanting Rorschach autographs, and exposes a metal shiv to the camera.

The man lunges to stab Kovacs, but he blocks the attackers jab with his tray and delivers a crushing blow to the man’s skull. He then swiftly breaks a glass display window on the counter and hurls a pan of hot oil at the face of the criminal. The man falls to his knees, screaming in agony, and the camera focuses in on the grease literally melting away at his skin.

Both the other inmates in the cafeteria and the audience that surrounds me go wild. Several prison guards intervene (in the movie, not at the Javits Center), grabbing Kovacs by the arms. Rorschach snarls at the criminals “None of you understand! I’m not locked in here with you…” A guard delivers a rib crushing blow to the captive with a nightstick, but an unshaken, Rorschach barks “You’re locked in here with me!” Cut to black. Further cheers of joy from the crowd.

David Gibbons answered questions from the audience following the screening. I wasn’t able to record the session and didn’t copy any direct quotes, but these are some interesting things that were said:

-Gibbons met director Zach Snyder around the time that 300 was released. Gibbons was blown away by Snyder’s dedication to capturing the visuals of Frank Miller’s graphic novel on-screen and immediately thought he was a great choice for a Watchmen film.

-Gibbons described Watchmen author Alan Moore as the most “rational” man he knows. Even though Moore has distanced himself from the project and clearly resents Hollywood for its treatment of his properties, the two men are still close friends.

-Gibbons revealed that the Ozymandias’ “squid monster” does not appear in the film’s finale and described it as something that would have been “just another special effect in a film full of special effects.” He is adamant, however, that the overall message and storyline present at the end of the novel is maintained in the film. (In my opinion, the number of extraneous and oftentimes confusing scenes needed to make the squid work would probably not been enjoyable for moviegoers)

-Gibbons said that he would not endorse or help develop any future Watchmen films and that doing so would only dilute the story and brand. According to Gibbons, Snyder also has stated he will not sign on to do another Watchmen film should Warner Bros. intend to make one.

Watchmen opens in theatres on March 6.