The Watchmen Fancy Dress CostumesThe story takes place in an alternate timeline in which masked heroes fight crime in America, originally in response to a rise in masked and costumed gangs and criminal gangs. In the 1930s and '40s, a vigilanty group formed a group called the Minutemen to "finish what the law was not able to". Of the eight Minutemen, three died violently, one disappeared, and one was committed to an asylum. Decades later, a second generation of "superheroes" attempts to form a similar team called the Watchmen. Various historical events are shown to have been altered by the existence of superheroes, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. The American victory in Vietnam, due to the intervention of the godlike being Doctor Manhattan, leads to Richard Nixon's third term as President following the repeal of term limits in the United States.