Watchmen‘s Brilliant “Washmen” PSA Might Confirm the Identity of “Lube Man”

We miss Watchmen a lot. It’s only been a few months since the fantastic series concluded, but thanks to 2020 being, well, 2020, that feels like a decade ago. Luckily, the cast is back with an important PSA from the “Washmen” about proper hygiene in the time of coronavirus. But does it also contain a confirmation of a popular fan theory?

A Public Service Announcement from the heroic cast of #WatchmenHBO: pic.twitter.com/5ENTV75YdD

— Jeff Jensen (@EWDocJensen) March 27, 2020

First off: I love every single thing about this. I love the message delivered in a fun way. I love the multiple Tom Misons (and his Jeremy Irons impression), I love Jean Smart and Tim Blake in character. I love that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is lit in Blue and that Jovan Adepo is in black and white (as he was in his flashback episode). And honestly, I will do anything Regina King tells me to do in that tone.

But what might be the most fun in the video is the little wink from Dustin Ingram when he says the words “lube up.” You might have been distracted by Ingram’s amazing Sister Night cosplay, but that wink contains multitudes.

Now, if you remember, in episode four of the HBO series a mysterious vigilante (maybe) in a silver suit that sorta made him look like an alien was caught spying on Angela Abar. She chased him down but he escaped by, yes, lubing himself up and sliding into a storm drain. The mystery of the identity and motivation of “Lube Man” was never answered in the first (and probably only) season of the series.

That’s not to say that there weren’t been theories about who Lube Man was. The biggest theory was that it was Agent Dale Petey, Laurie Blake’s young co-worker who was obsessed with superheroes (and was played by Dustin Ingram). This was seemingly confirmed by the final entry on “Petey-Pedia,” an in-universe site that supplemented the show.

But now Ingram’s wink here is solid confirmation, I’d say, that Petey really was Lube Man, as is the tweet below from Watchmen writer Jeff Jensen.

Oh, and the Petey stuff? CANON. https://t.co/jUcc6hK3WG

— Jeff Jensen (@EWDocJensen) March 27, 2020

So there you have it. Petey IS Lube Man. Also: WASH YOUR HANDS.

(image: HBO)

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