Watchmen Wiki
Register
Advertisement
For the other versions of Jon, see Doctor Manhattan (disambiguation).

Doctor Jonathan "Jon" Osterman was a nuclear physicist who was caught in a radioactive particle test, which transformed him into a god-like being known as Doctor Manhattan. Initially a government controlled superhero who won the United States of America the Vietnam War, he eventually lost interest in the world and humanity, abandoning it for Mars. He returned to stop Adrian Veidt from causing his alien monster hoax that would kill three million people to stop the Cold War, but he failed and retreated to the stars.

After years of living on Europa with his created species, Phillips and Crookshanks, Jon traveled back to Earth to meet and marry his destined sweetheart, Angela Abar. After spending ten years with her under the alias Cal Abar, he was destroyed by Lady Trieu in another bid to save the world.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Watchmaker's Son[]

Jon Osterman and father - Watchmen (TV series)-0

Young Jon Osterman and father

Jonathan Osterman was born on February 14, 1929 in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was raised. His father, Hans, was a Jewish watchmaker who left Germany with his son in 1936 after Jon's mother abandoned them for an SS officer. Fearing for his family's well-being, Hans took Jon to Gwynedd, Wales and stayed at Cartwithen Castle.

While there, Jon saw a young couple about to have sex while peeking from a wardrobe. They spotted him, and while he ran away, the couple caught up with him later. They explained they were creating a life because their son died young, and handed Jon a bible, asking him in return to make something beautiful when he got older. He agreed, and left the manor sometime later for America.

Pursuing Nuclear Physics[]

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima[]

When the United States drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Jon was just sixteen and living with his father in Brooklyn. The summer morning after the event he was studying the pocket watch belonging to his father in their kitchen, presumably in training to follow into his profession. His father, confronted with the undeniable facts of the theory of relativity and the advance of military science, declares his profession outdated and throws the clocks out the windows, urging him to instead pursue a career studying atomic science.[1] The incident represents the turning point in Jon's potential future and foreshadows Doctor Manhattan's 'exterior' perception of time as predetermined and all things within it as so determined, including Doctor Manhattan's own reactions and emotions.

Princeton University[]

Osterman attended Princeton University from 1948-58 where he watched Albert Einstein in a lecture.[1] Always fascinated with clocks, he had the reputation among his fellow students that he was too stuffy and narrow and casually ignored him in their activities. Nonetheless, an attractive girl was interested in him and once she attempted to invite him to hike down the lake with the others, hoping to offer him a chance to be surprised by life. Jon, however, preferred to finish his job. Despite his stuffiness, however, he forms friendships with several students from New Jersey.

As a PhD student, Osterman chose to do his dissertation on the neutrino theory of light involving C waves. Once completed, he submitted his doctoral dissertation to Dr. Michael Florence, the chairman of Princeton University's Department of Physics. On May 6, 1958, Osterman is informed by Florence that his dissertation was accepted by the department. Osterman graduates and is awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nuclear Physics.

Career at Gila Flats[]

Upon graduating he is invited by Dr. Milton Glass, who read his doctoral thesis at Princeton, to visit New Mexico's Gila Flats Test Base. Glass hired Osterman to replace the late Hank Meadows to come work at Gila Flats as a project researcher in the facility's Weapons Testing Center, where experiments were being performed concerning the intrinsic fields of physical objects which, if tampered with, result in their disintegration. Here he befriended Wally Weaver and met Janey Slater, a fellow researcher, who buys him a beer.[1]

During a trip to New Jersey to see his friends in July 1959, Janey accompanies him to see her mother. She doesn't answer the phone so they spent time in the Palisades Amusement Park. Thinking they are a couple, a photographer calls them over and takes a souvenir picture. Near the shooting gallery, Janey's watchband breaks, and the watch is damaged when a fat man[2] steps on it. That night Janey's mother still doesn't answer so they spend the evening in Jon's hotel. They sit in the bed examining the broken watch promising he can fix it. Then they make love.[1]

One month later, on August 20, 1959, shortly after his thirtieth birthday, Jon plans to give Janey the repaired watch, only to discover he has left it in his lab coat which is inside the intrinsic field experiment test chamber. While Jon is inside the test chamber retrieving his coat the door closes, automatically locking as a safety feature in preparation to disintegrate test block 15. Unable to open the door or override the countdown, Osterman's colleagues - save for Janey, who cannot bear to see the last moment and flees the room - can only watch, horrified, as the countdown for the current experiment shortly reaches zero, and Jon has his 'intrinsic field' removed. Bathed in the radiant light, he is torn to pieces from the force of the generator, instantly vaporized and officially declared dead. A token funeral is made in his honor and Janey put their photo behind the glass of the Bestiary.[3][1]

Transformation[]

The following months see a series of strange events and apparitions at the research base, leading residents to speculate the area is now haunted. It becomes plain that Jon's consciousness has survived as an electromagnetic pattern and learned to control the particles and used them to reform himself as if he reassembled a watch.[4][1] This progression being indicated by a series of partial bodily reappearances: first as a disembodied nervous system, including the brain and eyes; then as a circulatory system (November 10); then a screaming partially muscled skeleton (November 14). Each time, the appearance only lasts for a few seconds.[1]

Jon fully reappears on November 22, 1959[5] in the Gila Flats cafeteria; a whistling sound is heard, cutlery is sparkling and he appears as a tall, hairless, naked, blue-skinned figure in an ultraviolet light that caused sunburn to those present.[1]

His relationship with Janey proceeded although she felt that everything changed around them. The following Christmas she bought him a golden ring and Jon admired its molecular structure. Janey expressed her concerns and that she was scared. Jon quieted her promising that he will always love her, although he knew it would change.[1]

The next year the government entered the process in making him a costumed adventurer and prepared a suit and hat for him as well as a name reminiscent of the Manhattan Project for their enemies. Dr. Manhattan didn't like the association with the atomic symbol and rather chose to mark his forehead with the symbol of the hydrogen atom.

Government Career[]

Becoming a Government Operative[]

Jon gradually becomes a pawn of the United States government, though the means by which his loyalty is secured are never revealed; he is given the code name 'Doctor Manhattan', a reference to the Manhattan Project that, it is hoped, will defeat America's enemies. He is also provided with a costume that he grudgingly accepts, though he refuses to accept the icon design which is provided for him (this being a stylized orbital model of the atom). Instead, Jon chooses as his emblem a representation of a hydrogen atom, whose simplicity he declares to be something that kindles his respect; accordingly, he painlessly burns the mark into his forehead.

He was filmed dismantling a rifle, destroying a Patton tank and announced in public. He was considered the "Dawn of super-hero".[6][1]

In 1960, Manhattan attended a fundraising event with other former costumed adventurers.[3] There he met aging Hollis Mason (aka Nite Owl) and Ozymandias, the smartest person on Earth, and the only person he found interesting.[1]

Later that year, the Pentagon sent him to fight Moloch to justify his name as a "crimefighter". He entered Dante's, Moloch's vice den, and made the head of a gangster explode.[1]

Accompanied by Milton Glass, he met President John F. Kennedy in '61, who asked him how it is like to be a super-hero. Jon jokingly answered that JFK should know already. JFK had problems with Cuba but didn't ask for his help.[1]

The next year he attended a banquet in honor of Hollis Mason who decided to retire from being Nite Owl. In a private dialogue, he shares with Jon his plans to become an auto mechanic. From that he got the idea to synthesize the massive amounts of lithium required for polyacetylene batteries, allowing all motor vehicles to become electric. His actions radically altered the world economy and technology and his presence tips the balance of the Cold War in the West's favor, and the United States consequently becomes more aggressive and adventurist during this period.[1]

He predicts but "fails" to prevent the murder of John F. Kennedy. Around that time his relationship with Slater becomes strained and they begin arguing.[7] While arguing he predicts that they will make love; moments later she receives the golden earrings Jon made for her, shaped like a hydrogen atom, quieting her anger.[1]

In 1964 he decided to change his attire and informed the Pentagon.[1][8]

Meeting Laurie Juspeczyk[]

Crimebusters Meeting[]

Doctor Manhattan was summoned by Captain Metropolis for the first meeting of the Crimebusters superhero group and Slater came with him. Laurie Juspeckzyk, the second Silk Spectre, catches his eye, something that was noticed by Janey.[9][1] Metropolis pulled lots to assign them to pairs, which further enraged Janey, blaming him for altering the result to team-up with her, although Jon claimed that he would always love her. This didn't stop him from patrolling with her and soon they came close. Learning this, Janey left him bitterly.[1]

Going Public[]

A few years later his father Hans died and Manhattan decided to publish his birth name. Soon after he moved with Laurie to Washington, following the closure of Gila Flats compound.[1]

Effects of the Cold War[]

Ending the Vietnam War[]

In 1971, Doctor Manhattan is requested by President Richard Nixon to bring America to victory in the Vietnam War. Manhattan travels to Vietnam and he meets up with the Comedian. Within three months, America is victorious in the Vietnam War; many Viet Cong surrendered personally to him in superstitious awe.[1] On the victory celebrations and the day Nixon arrives to Vietnam, he witnesses the Comedian kill a Vietnamese woman he had impregnated. The Comedian noted that the Manhattan is losing touch with humanity.[9]

International Tension[]

This victory in Vietnam shapes the American political process, as the 22nd Amendment is repealed and Richard Nixon is then repeatedly reelected (by 1985, he serves his fifth term). Critics, however, suggest that, far from solving the problems underlying the international tension, Doctor Manhattan's presence, in fact, exacerbates them while stifling their expression, which inevitably builds towards disaster, as Milton Glass wrote in Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers.

In 1973 he accompanied Laurie at a banquet to honor the Comedian. There she assaulted him for attempting to rape her mother. He became angry at her behavior and he teleported her home.[10]

The Keene Act[]

During the 1970s, there are riots against the costumed adventurers, Manhattan with Laurie attempt to quiet the unrest in Washington.[9] Laurie attempted to hold ringleaders from the crowd outside the White House. This seemed to go on too long and Manhattan teleported everyone to their homes; 2 of them died of a heart attack, although Manhattan believed that more would die during the riots. Eventually, the Keene Act passed outlawing the superheroes, but as the country's defense rested in Manhattan's hands, he continued working for the government.[1]

In 1981 he moved to Rockefeller Military Research Center where he performed research and construction of new technology.[1] Laurie was assigned with him, who (in her mother's words) "has to get the H-bomb laid every once in a while".[9]

In the summer of 1985, he and Laurie walked to Grand Central Station and bought a Time issue celebrating Hiroshima week; the cover had a frozen wristwatch, whose arms had stopped at the same position as Janey's when her own was broken.[1]

During the execution of Adrian Veidt's plot to save the world, he fabricates evidence to make Manhattan wrongly accused of giving cancer to those exposed to him over long periods of time.

Events of Watchmen[]

Death of the Comedian[]

When the Comedian was killed, Doctor Manhattan was informed by the CIA.[1] Rorschach came to warn him and Laurie that the Comedian was dead, and all former costumed adventurers should watch out. His attitude disturbed Laurie and Jon dismissed Rorschach by teleporting him out. As he was busy locating a gluino, he allowed Laurie to go out with Dan.[11] Jon attended the Comedian's funeral and reflected on their association in the Vietnam War.[9] He sensed Moloch's presence but he was not sure that he knew him once.[1]

Exiled to Mars[]

He appeared in Benny Anger's show where he would be interviewed. Agent Forbes briefed him on the politics of the Cold War that he might be asked upon. However, it was not what Manhattan was there for. The magazine Nova Express made an investigation about whether Dr. Manhattan caused cancer to his associates, and Doug Roth (who had previously interviewed Janey Slater) made these allegations in public; a fray erupted and the journalists came towards him asking for details concerning his relationship to Slater. Forbes attempted to guide Manhattan outside and hold off the journalists. Eventually, Manhattan teleported everyone away.[7]

He leaves his place for the abandoned Gila Flats and recovers the photograph with Slater. He then teleports to Mars.[7]

However, this was a frame arranged by Veidt to induce Osterman to leave, to remove his interference in his scheme to save the world. During his absence, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, bringing the world closer to a nuclear war than ever.[7][12]

Eventually, he briefly returns one hour before November 1 to bring Laurie (who, in the meantime, has taken Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II as a new lover) to Mars, where they argue over the fate of the human race.[13] Discussing why he should do anything to aid humanity, Laurie inadvertently wins the argument when she goes through her life and realizes to her shock that her father is the Comedian, a man whom she despised for sexually assaulting her mother. From that revelation, Doctor Manhattan is amazed by the improbable chances that occurred to result in the birth of Laurie, which he sees as a stunning "thermodynamic miracle." By extension, this miracle can apply to any living thing on Earth, and so Doctor Manhattan decides to return to Earth to protect humanity rather than disregarding it as insignificant.

Confronting Adrian Veidt[]

Although they return too late to stop Veidt's plan, they teleport to Karnak, Antarctica to confront him. Veidt hinders Doctor Manhattan with a tachyon generator that interferes with Doctor Manhattan's ability to see the future and then disintegrates him by subtracting his intrinsic field. To Veidt's surprise, Doctor Manhattan restores himself much more quickly this time, but when Veidt reveals that his scheme, in which he used his alien monster to kill half of New York City, appears to have averted the looming nuclear war by frightening the world's governments into cooperation, Doctor Manhattan realizes that to expose the scheme would be too dangerous for all life on Earth. Doctor Manhattan and the other superheroes except for Rorschach agree to keep quiet to preserve Veidt's results. Rorschach leaves on his own and is murdered by Doctor Manhattan to prevent him from ever telling the truth. Manhattan does so reluctantly, at Rorschach's own insistence, who asserts that his death is the only thing that will ensure his silence. Doctor Manhattan does not mention Rorschach's death when talking to Veidt not long after, instead of telling Veidt he "does not think Rorschach will reach civilization".

Leaving Earth[]

Doctor Manhattan decided to depart Earth once again, but stated that he may return one day. Adrian Veidt is surprised by his decision, pointing out the apparent contradiction with Doctor Manhattan's renewed interest in human life, to which he suggested that he may "create some [human life]". When Veidt asks if his plan worked out in the end, Jon Osterman smiles and enigmatically replies that "nothing ever ends."

Europa[]

Life on Mars[]

To ensure he’d be left alone in his new exploits, Osterman created a decoy version of himself to perform certain tasks on a schedule and placed it on Mars to trick the human race into thinking they knew where he was, and unintentionally inspiring them to build phone booths to call him on the red planet, as well as create an entire television series chronicling his life.

Doctor Manhattan on Europa - Watchmen (TV series)

Doctor Manhattan terraforms Europa

Terraforming Europa[]

Free to go on his own but unsure of what to do, Jon thought back to the day in his youth in 1936 when he met the kindly couple that told him to make something beautiful when he got older.

Osterman decided to settle down on Jupiter's moon of Europa, and with his matter-bending abilities created an atmospheric shell of a few miles, which he terraformed into a bountiful land filled with endless plant life, fruits, animals, and an animal species based in appearance on the kindly lord and lady of the manor Jon had stayed in all those years ago. He completed this process in ninety seconds. The species was designed to care only for others and not at all for themselves, with the males being known as Mister Phillips and the females being known as Ms. Crookshanks. Finally, Jon teleported the Cartwithen Castle itself to Europa for the new species to live within.

Leaving Europa[]

For many years, Jon was happy and fascinated watching the various Phillips' and Crookshanks' tend to his every whim, despite the fact that nothing he did required assistance. However, just as with humanity, he grew bored with them, and in 2009, abandoned them to return to Earth and meet Angela Abar, the woman he fell in love with by seeing the moment in the future when he told her he could not be saved, and she attempted to anyway. They were also destined to be together for many years, and their relationship would be rough at times, but overall beautiful.

Meeting Angela Abar[]

Destined Love[]

Doctor Manhattan Tease in HBO Watchmen Initial Trailer

Doctor Manhattan arrives in Vietnam

When Jon arrived on Earth, specifically, in the state of Vietnam, it was VVN Night, celebrating America's victory of the Vietnam War that Jon himself won them decades earlier. Wearing a suit and standing among the mess of confetti, streamers, and pieces of Doctor Manhattan costumes, Jon picked up a plastic mask of his own face, put it on, and walked into the bar he was meant to meet Angela Abar in. Once inside, he bought her a drink, offered it to her, and asked if she'd have dinner with him the following night. She was at first hesitant, but when he told her she was drinking alone to commemorate the anniversary of her parents' death, something she wouldn't tell him for another twenty minutes, she reluctantly let him sit down.

Jon attempted to convince Angela he was indeed Doctor Manhattan himself, and not just another person dressed as him in celebration. He told her about his paradise on Europa, created an egg that would've given her his power if she consumed it, and told her that she would in fact join him for dinner, and that they would stay together for ten years after a brief falling out in six months' time. While Angela didn't believe him, she did find him rather amusing, sweet, and handsome. Impressed by what she thought was dedication to the part of Manhattan, she accepted his invitation of dinner, beginning their long relationship.

Becoming Human[]

A short time after the initial meeting, Angela figured out that Jon hadn't been joking, and that he really was Doctor Manhattan. Still wanting to pursue the relationship, Angela suggested they disguise him as a human. They snuck into the Saigon PD morgue and brought up a selection of various men with no next of kin to identify them, one of which Jon would take the appearance of to hide in public. Jon was hesitant at first to change his appearance, but eventually he picked a man named Calvin Jelani, and moved in with Angela, which was leading to a fight he told her about in the bar the night they met.

Angela's irritation prompted Jon to meet with Adrian Veidt, the retired Ozymandias, asking him to help him fully become human. Veidt gave him a ring that would wipe his memory and suppress his abilities, in exchange for Jon looking to the future to see if his utopia would ever come to be. Seeing his friend was lonely and dissatisfied on Earth, Jon offered to teleport Veidt to his paradise on Europa. Veidt accepted, and so Jon sent him away, keeping the ring for himself, and preparing to make one last stop before settling for good with Angela.

Meeting Will Reeves[]

In New York City, Jon met with Angela's grandfather, Will Reeves, the retired vigilante Hooded Justice, who Angela was not yet aware. Jon proposed an alliance between the two of them to stop the plans of the white supremacist group Cyclops, which Will had fought in the past, from destroying Jon and absorbing his powers in ten years' time. In the future, Angela asked Jon if, using his simultaneous perception of the past and future, he could ask Will in 2009 how he knew a man named Judd Crawford was a Cyclops member. When Jon asked, however, Will revealed he didn't know who Crawford was, but the information later inspired Will to find and kill Crawford in 2019. In 2009, however, Will accepted Jon's alliance, and so Will made his own alliance with trillionaire Lady Trieu, who was working with Cyclops, but planned to betray them and take Jon's power for herself.

Moving to Tulsa[]

With his business now completed, Jon returned to Angela with the ring, and by making himself intangible, allowed her to place the disc within his forehead and on his brain. When the ring took effect, Jon lost his memory, and Angela told him his name was Cal Abar, and that he'd been in an accident that resulted in total amnesia. Cal believed her, and they were married, moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start over and have a new life together.

White Night[]

Identity Exposed[]

On Christmas night in 2016, every police officer in Tulsa was attacked by members of Cyclops, including Angela Abar, simultaneously in their homes. When Angela was shot, Cal's reflexes kicked in, teleporting the attacker to Gila Flats. When Angela recovered, she and Cal adopted Topher, Emma, and Rosie, the children of her late partner, Doyle, and she continued to operate as a cop under the alias Sister Night, thanks to the new law requiring police to wear masks and keep their identities secret. Unbeknownst to Cal and Angela, however, the teleportation allowed Cyclops to figure out that Cal was Doctor Manhattan, and so they began hatching their plan to capture him, with one of their members, police chief Judd Crawford, getting to be close friends with the Abars to learn more about them.

Capture and Destruction[]

When she learned they planned to capture and destroy Jon, she split open Cal's head with a hammer, removing the ring from his brain and restoring his memory and power. She explained to him their situation, but Jon, having foreseen it years ago, teleported their children to safety with Will, who Angela still didn't trust. He explained their plan, as well as his meeting with Will in 2009, which he was experiencing at that moment. She asked him to ask Will in 2009 how he knew Crawford was part of Cyclops, which inspired Will to seek out and kill Crawford in the future, creating a time loop Jon couldn't help but find fascinating.

To ensure the future, Jon then put part of his essence into an egg for Angela to find later, and, knowing there was nothing they could do to avert the future, Jon waited in their house, prepared for his demise, but Angela refused to let him go, and made her way outside to fight off Cyclops and stop them. This had been the moment Jon had seen years ago that made him fall in love with Angela in the first place, and so he joined her in fighting Cyclops. However, he left one alive to teleport him to a holding cell created using technology from Lady Trieu, surrounded by Cyclops members, and leaving Angela alone to try and save him.

As Cyclops prepared to destroy Jon and transfer his powers into their leader Joe Keene, Jon realized that in front of the cage was a kidnapped Laurie Blake, the former Silk Spectre, watching in horror as they prepared to kill her ex-boyfriend. Just before Cyclops was about to destroy Jon, Angela arrived to plead with them to stop, telling them all that Lady Trieu was planning to double cross them and destroy them all. Cyclops prepared to destroy Jon anyway, but just as they tried, they, along with Jon, were teleported to the center of Tulsa, where Trieu, her workers, and Adrian Veidt, who she had rescued from Europa, were waiting for them. Joe Keene was liquefied in the transport, and the liquid spilled under Jon's cage, as well as under the feet of Veidt, Laurie, and an undercover cop named Wade Tillman.

Once Trieu murdered the rest of Cyclops, Jon touched the liquefied Keene and sent his energy rippling through it, teleporting Veidt, Laurie, and Wade to Veidt's base in Antarctica to save the day. A furious Trieu activated her machine, the Millennium Clock, above Jon's cage, and began absorbing his essence into it, all as Angela watched in horror. Angela cried out for Jon to fight to stay, but all he could do was give a tearful goodbye to his wife as she helplessly watched him be disintegrated and sucked up into the Millennium Clock, never to be seen again.

Legacy[]

"He was Hercules, expanding our borders with might and magic. He was Prometheus, forging new technologies powered by the fire of his synthetic lithium. He was Apollo, elevating our standard for excellence. No, maybe we couldn't defy gravity like him or walk across the sun as he did. But we could be like him in our own way; he was our inspiration to transcend our history and our flaws and be the best possible version of ourselves. Even at his most banal, he was our liberation, our redemption, our Christ."

—Allan Kurtis Shea - "He's Gone Away" The Manhattan Project

Jon Osterman made a great sacrifice in allowing himself to be caught and destroyed, but it was not in vain. After destroying him, Lady Trieu attempted to transfer his power to herself, but his teleportation of Veidt, Laurie, and Wade to Antarctica allowed Veidt to rain frozen baby squids down on her from the sky, destroying the machine and killing her. His alliance with Will also allowed Cyclops to finally be destroyed, finally allowing Will to have justice after so many years. Jon's children also had a mellow, loving father whose love would be felt long after his death, and the power and legacy of his time as Doctor Manhattan will likely never be forgotten. The egg he left with his essence was later found by Angela, who ate it and gained his godlike abilities, inheriting the power and heroic legacy of Doctor Manhattan, and allowing her to presumably become a hero herself.

Personality[]

While a superpowered being, it is ironic that Osterman/Manhattan's life was directed by others; his career was forced on him by his father, his relationship with Slater began with her initiative, his actions were mostly obeying the government and the Pentagon, as if Dr. Manhattan didn't care about what he was doing. As he saw past-present-future simultaneously, he did things just because they should be.

After his transformation, Jon begins to experience time in a non-linear, "quantum" fashion, and it is implied that he is aware of and experiencing all the moments of his life simultaneously. Jon is not omniscient; he remains reliant on his intellect and sensory experience to reach conclusions, but his range of sensory data has been abruptly extended, in proportion to the lessening of his emotional capacities. This often leads him to arrive at conclusions greatly different from those available to normal humans. 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, owing to a colossal, unbridgeable gap of perception between Jon and the rest of humanity.

He subscribes to a deterministic view of events. During the period in which Doctor Manhattan is a crime-fighter (at the behest of the government), he states that the morality of such activities escapes him. From his radically altered perspective, almost all human concerns appear pointless and without obvious merit.

Manhattan appears to have a personality disorder, in his case, schizoid personality disorder which is characterized by reclusiveness and voluntary withdrawal from socializing to the detriment of personal relationships, though this can be countered by the fact that he's basically a god and, therefore, the way he experiences and reacts to the human environment and even reality itself cannot, in any way, be compared or encased inside the human condition and psychology.

Powers and Abilities[]

Jon Osterman is presented to be the only being on the planet with actual superpowers. He is shown to be absolutely powerful and invulnerable to all harm; even when his body is disintegrated, he can reconstruct it in a matter of seconds, which is the very first "trick" he learned.[4] Osterman has complete awareness of and control over atomic and subatomic particles and can see even neutrinos.[13] He is also an omnikinetic. He does not need air, water, food or sleep and is immortal. He can teleport himself and others over limitless distances, an ability which Dan Dreiberg had nicknamed Manhattan Transfer.[13] Due to his perception of time, he sees the past, present, and future simultaneously. He can see events so tiny and so fast, that they can be said to have never occurred at all.

Although Adrian Veidt is obviously the second-most dangerous person, as Osterman himself observes, "...the world's smartest man poses no more of a threat to me than does its smartest termite." In addition to these powers, Osterman is able to phase any part of his body through solid objects without damaging them, produce multiple copies of himself which function independently of each other, alter his size, project destructive energy, disintegrate people, create force fields, transmute, create and destroy matter, move objects without physically touching them (telekinesis), reverse entropy, and, he suggests, create life and has walked on the surface of the sun. At one point it is stated that, in the event of a nuclear war, he would be capable of destroying Soviet nuclear missiles while at the same time 'destroying' large areas of Russia. As a result of these capabilities, Jon becomes central to the United States' Cold War strategy of deterrence.

Osterman's limitation appears to be apathy. In some sense, unlimited power has come at the cost of the total absence of responsibility, and his phenomenal omnipotence is juxtaposed with his growing detachment. Although he doesn't age in the biological sense, his character has changed over time with gradual detachment from humanity.

He subscribes to a deterministic view of events and exerts an effort of choice; his actions often seemed governed by a rigidly utilitarian code of ethics in which the correct course of action must be the one that benefits the most. From his radically altered perspective, almost all human concerns appear pointless and without obvious merit. For instance, he does nothing to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (even though he could see the future) or the murder of the Vietnamese woman, even though she was pregnant.

Powers[]

  • Connective Energy: Due to being exposed to Connective Energy, Osterman's "intrinsic field" was removed due to an accident that sent his atoms flying, leaving him with barely enough control over his DNA structure. Over time, he was able to re-evaluate his physiology and become Doctor Manhattan, a quantum being of nearly unlimited power.
    • Nigh-Omniscience: Osterman perceives time in a non-linear fashion. This means that he sees the past, present, and the future simultaneously. Likewise, he can grant others with this "atemporal" vision. While originally limited to only his perception of time, Osterman later learned to view the timelines of others, as well as possible timelines that never happened. He was able to see the entire timeline of the metaverse when reconstructing the changes he made to it.[10] However, this power can be blocked by tachyons, restricting him to only the present as the only facet of time that he can see and actively experience, blocking his atemporal vision from probing far enough to perceive the future.[12]
      • Precognition: Due to his ability to see the past, present, and future simultaneously, Osterman is able to look into the future of his own timeline, or any timeline he wishes.[10]
      • Retrocognition: Due to his ability to see the past, present, and future simultaneously, Osterman can see past timelines that were erased or altered.[10]
      • Time-Travel: Due to his ability to view the timestream from a third person perspective, Osterman is capable of traveling throughout the timeline at will.[13] He can also pull others through time along with him.[7] By altering the outcomes of certain events while travelling throughout time, Jon can create new timelines that splinter reality in both past and future.[14]
    • Bio-Fission: Osterman is able to split and replicate himself. He is capable of dividing his quantum consciousness among other separate physical forms resembling his physical appearance.
      • Bio-Fusion: Likewise with his Bio-Fission ability, Osterman can bring his sentient copies back into his body without any adverse side effects.
    • Cosmic Awareness: Osterman possesses an understanding of the workings of the universe on a cosmic scale, and has the ability to oversee other universes as he wishes.
    • Dimensional Travel: Osterman is able to travel to other realities at will.
    • Electrokinesis: Osterman can generate sparks of electrical energy from his body, as well as from the objects he telekinetically levitates.
    • Elemental Control: Osterman is capable of manipulating elements at will. He was capable of creating an oxygen aura around Laurie Blake when he brought her to Mars.[15] He was also able to instantly create water.
    • Enhanced Intellect: Osterman's mind is far more enhanced than that of a normal human. He has perceived events so tiny and so fast they can hardly be said to have occurred at all.
    • Enhanced Senses: Osterman's senses are far acuter than any normal human. He has been able to sense the heartbeat of a child inside of an unnoticeably pregnant woman.
      • Enhanced Hearing:
      • Enhanced Vision: Osterman states he is able to read atoms.
    • Energy Construct Creation: Osterman can create and manipulate various energies in a manner that creates matter from virtually nothing. It is unknown whether some of the creations he made were the manipulation of matter, molecules, or entirely quantum energy constructs. Osterman is also seemingly able to create life with his own power, as displayed when he used his energy to accelerate evolution on an uninhabited planet as an experiment.
    • Energy Projection: Osterman is able to manipulate multiple forms of energy with precision. He is able to cause massive explosions at will.
    • Flight: Manhattan is not restrained by basic physical laws and can levitate and fly at will.
    • Force Field: Osterman is capable of projecting powerful force-fields.
    • Immortality: Never seeming to age, Osterman never appears any older both physically and mentally after his accident. He stated that the world grew older around him.
    • Intangibility: Bullets and blows travel through Osterman ; as such, he can allow all objects to pass through him without so much as a reaction. He can extend this ability to other people and objects. His intangibility coincides with his ability to phase through matter, allowing him to pass through solid substances without any considerable difficulty or loss of control. His intangibility has no specific emphasized drawbacks.
      • Phasing: Osterman is capable of phasing his body through solid matter.
    • Invulnerability: Osterman possesses incredible durability and is practically invulnerable to any physical harm. His durability has allowed him to walk across the sun unharmed.
    • Molecular Reconstruction: Osterman was able to restructure himself after the removal of his intrinsic field. Osterman is not limited to using this reconstruction power only on himself. He has taken apart most inanimate objects and even taken apart human beings as well as reconstructing Martian sand into large glass structures. He was also able to instantly transform water into milk.
      • Disintegration: Osterman is capable of using his power to completely disintegrate human beings,
      • Regeneration: Osterman can regenerate his entire body from total disintegration (down to the sub-atomic level), endlessly, as long as his consciousness survives.[18] He was also able to instantly recover from a snapped neck.
    • Photokinesis: Osterman can shift the color frequencies of the light around him in order to hide his true appearance and make himself appear as he wishes others to see him.[8]
    • Power Distribution: Osterman was capable of transferring his power to Cal Abar.
    • Radiation Production: Osterman's body emits some level of ultraviolet radiation.
      • Thermokinesis: When Osterman restructured his body, he produced great amounts of heat from his body's ultraviolet radiation. It was great enough to give nearby people sunburns.
    • Reality Alteration: Osterman can create new universes with even the most casual act, as well as destroy them.
    • Self-Sustenance: Osterman doesn't require food, sleep, or oxygen to survive.
    • Size Alteration: Able to grow or shrink incredibly fast without a seeming limit, Osterman displayed great abilities and focus while at these sizes without a loss of control in any fashion.
    • Superhuman Strength: While in microscopic size, superhuman heights or in a seemingly normal form, he displayed great physical strength such as hurling tanks, lifting planetary structures, and heaving delicate technological equipment about.
    • Telekinesis: Osterman is capable of manipulating the movement of objects with his mind.[20] He could also use this ability to cause a person's head to forcefully explode.
    • Teleportation: By warping space around him, Osterman can teleport himself and others at will. Osterman had teleported huge and small objects, people and animals alike.

Weaknesses[]

Veidt correctly assumed tachyons; a large burst of them can slow his ability to see the future to a moderate extent, but still, his telekinetic powers were unaffected. (Note: tachyons exist only in theoretical physics)

Although it was not seen in practice, Dr. Manhattan surmised that an EM pulse would cause such "static" that obscures the future, hinting at another possible weakness.[10]

Trivia[]

  • The symbol Doctor Manhattan inscribes on his forehead depicts the Bohr model of a hydrogen atom: one proton (the central dot) orbited by one electron (the upper dot). Hydrogen is the most common and fundamental element in the universe. In the original story, a promotions official tried to give Manhattan a helmet with a six-electron symbol on it. Manhattan refused saying he would have a icon he could "respect" and then burned the hydrogen symbol into his head.

Behind the Scenes[]

  • In the Watchmen TV series, he is portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. For much of the series, he is solely known by the name Cal Abar, the husband of series protagonist Angela Abar. In 2009, Doctor Manhattan approaches Angela Abar at a bar in Saigon and they begin a ten year relationship. Two weeks after this initial meeting, Manhattan assumes the appearance of Cal Abar at the suggestion of Angela Abar. Manhattan installed a device given to him by Adrian Veidt into his forehead that suppressed his superpowers and his omniscient sense of time, allowing him to pursue a comfortable relationship with Angela, though this did remove his memory prior to 2009. Manhattan is also revealed to have been the person who transported Adrian Veidt on Europa.
  • Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following a previous incarnation portrayed by Billy Crudup.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 Chapter IV: Watchmaker
  2. Moore admitted in Comics Interview #65 that this was deliberate; note that it parallels his father's destroying the watch in the aftermath of Hiroshima!
  3. 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named man1
  4. 4.0 4.1 Chapter XII
  5. Exactly 4 years before JFK's assassination.
  6. Under the Hood: Chapter V
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Chapter III
  8. This marks Jon's declining humanity, which is progressively mirrored by his gradual shedding of the uniform - by the end of the 1970s, he refuses to wear anything at all except for mandatory public appearances.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Chapter II
  10. 10.0 10.1 Chapter IX
  11. Chapter I
  12. Chapter V
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Chapter VIII
Advertisement