Doctor Manhattan

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Character history

Doctor Manhattan was born Jon Osterman in 1929. His father was a watchmaker, and Jon plans to follow in his footsteps. When the US drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Jon is sixteen. His father, confronted with the undeniable facts of the theory of relativity, declares his profession outdated and throws Jon's watch-making parts out the windows. Not only is this the turning point in Jon's career choice, from watchmaker to nuclear physicist, it foreshadows Doctor Manhattan's 'relative' perception of time.

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Osterman attends Princeton University from 1948-58 and graduates with a Ph.D. in atomic physics. In 1959, he moves to the research base at Gila Flats. Here he meets Janey Slater, and they eventually become lovers.

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During a trip to New Jersey in July 1959, Jon and Janey visit the Amusement park. Janey's watchband breaks, and the watch is damaged when a fat man steps on it. Jon decides to repair the watch.

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In August, 1959, Jon goes to give Janey the repaired watch, only to discover he has left it in his lab coat inside the Intrinsic Field experiment test chamber. While inside the test chamber the door closes, automatically locking as a safety feature. The countown for the current experiment shortly reaches zero, and Jon has his "intrinsic field" removed. He is vaporised and thought to be dead, only to partially reappear over the following months; first as a nervous, then a circulatory system (November 10) then a partially muscled skeleton (November 14). Jon fully reappears on November 22 as a tall, bald, blue-skinned man.

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He is typically considered the only character in the Watchmen world to explicitly possess supernatural abilities (albeit there are indications that this is false, as it is relevant to the plot that at least one person possessed genuine psychic abilities). He has complete control over matter, including his own body's size, coloration and density. In addition, he can create multiple copies of himself which function independently of each other, project destructive energy rays, create force fields, transmute and create matter, teleport himself and others, move objects (telekinesis), and even reverse entropy locally. Part of Watchmens background information states he would be capable of destroying upwards of 60% of all Soviet nuclear missiles while at the same time 'destroying' large areas of Russia.

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Jon becomes a pawn of the United States government. They give him the code name Doctor Manhattan (a reference to the Manhattan Project) in order to scare America's enemies. He is also provided with a fairly ridiculous costume, which he slowly abandons as his detachment from humanity grows. His presence unbalances the cold war, and the United States becomes more aggressive and adventurist during this period. At President Nixon's request, he brings America victory in the Vietnam war within three months.

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His abilities radically alter the North American economy, synthesising the massive amounts of lithium required for cars to become electric.

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During the first meeting of the Crimebusters superhero group, he catches the eye of Laurie Juspeczyk, a.k.a. Silk Spectre II. His relationship with Janey Slater ends acrimoniously shortly after, and he begins dating Laurie.

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After his transformation, Jon begins to experience time in a non-linear, "quantum" fashion. His already weak will becomes sublimated further during this time. It is implied that he does not so much perceive the past or future as directly experience them. He increasingly has difficulty acting in what those around him consider the present moment. This leads to many accusations and even the public perception that he is emotionless. However, during the course of Watchmen he displays powerful emotion several times. His apparent lack of sentiment is more a matter of radically altered priorities.

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His precognition does not allow him to change events. He believes he has no choices for the large part of Watchmen. His total determinism of action and the implied amorality of such a position is strongly contrasted with his ability to do almost anything. In some sense, unlimited power has come at the cost of the total absence of responsibility. During the period where he fights crime, because his government told him to, he states that the morality of the activities escapes him. From his radically altered perspective, almost all human concerns appear pointless to him. This growing sense of disconnection is marked by his use of clothing which over the years gradually shrinks until he is naked by the 1980s.

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Doctor Manhattan serves the role of foil to Adrian Veidt. Doctor Manhattan is the technological superman: deterministic, incredibly powerful, extremely remote from daily concerns and apparently possessing no sentiment. Veidt is the more traditional Übermensch, having achieved his success from discipline, reason and willpower.

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