Yes, in the sense that they are a group of super-powered beings (and non-super individuals) that have banded together for the purpose of fighting crime. The characters, however, are not as easily classified as those superheroes possessing a greater sense of optimism, strong ideals, and obvious motives for their actions; unambiguous characters such as Superman, Captain America, or Spider-Man. The Watchmen could be better categorized as "antiheroes."
The Watchmen are a group of antiheroes in a graphic novel by Alan Moore. They possess superhuman abilities but are portrayed in a more complex, morally ambiguous light compared to traditional superheroes.
In the graphic novel they don't actually say the word watchmen at all, they used the term 'masks' a lot though. The term 'watchmen' is meant to refer to superheroes in general, not a group. In the movie they use it maybe five or six times but they still stuck with the idea that it wasn't a specific crimefighting team.
"Watchmen" is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity... but who is watching the Watchmen?"
"Watchmen" is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity... but who is watching the Watchmen?"
superheroes
At first superheroes were never morally ambiguous being altruistically motivated to do good and to be a both a benefit to society and their respective culture whereas in contrast the modern day 'superhero' is , at best , morally ambivalent [little different from an antagonistic antihero] seeking to impose their own agenda upon their world and environment . As examples see how the superhero myth was deconstructed by Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" and Pat Mills' "Marshal Law" where the 'heroes' are more problematic to the betterment of society .
Watchmen was created in 1987.
The Watchmen ended in 2003.
Watchmen is fiction.
The Watchmen - novel - was created in 2004.
The ISBN of The Watchmen - novel - is 0399151737.
The Production Budget for Watchmen was $138,000,000.
The movie 'Watchmen' was directed by Zack Snyder.