The Young Avengers/Watchmen comparison isn't that far off. So often what's forgotten about Watchmen in the examination of the plot and character decisions is how novel a lot of the stretching of the medium (and I guess to a lesser extent genre trappings) was. YA is full of a ton of Scott McCloud-esque playing with panels and the nature of comics and it is really a thorough examination and experimental embracing of the genre. Maybe not Watchmen but definitely Nextwave or Allred X-Force level.