Jon Osterman was born an unremarkable son of a watchmaker in 1929 Germany, but a fascination for nuclear science would lead him towards becoming a God-like entity with abilities unlike anything else in the world of Watchmen. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in 1986's Watchmen #1, this character has become even more important to the DC Universe through the recent Doomsday Clock series by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

After being vaporized in a  horrible accident, Jon Osterman pieces himself together atom by atom and succeeds in recreating himself as a new being which would come to be known as Doctor Manhattan, an incredibly complex character who is the most powerful being in Watchmen and quite possibly in the entire DC Multiverse.

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DOCTOR MANHATTAN'S APPEARANCE

Watchmen Cast

Doctor Manhattan's appearance is one of the most instantly recognizable things from Watchmen, and a lot can be said about it. For starters, his body is the definition of what he sees as perfection. Jon built his own body through atomic manipulation, and he created a body with a chiseled physique that puts other superheroes to shame. Additionally, Manhattan's body emanates a blue glow that is likely caused by a type of radiation, given the fact that his abilities come from nuclear power.

An interesting final piece of Manhattan's appearance is the symbol on his forehead. When he is first recruited into the costumed adventurer program, he is given a blue body-suit costume along with a helmet. Jon accepts the costume and the name "Doctor Manhattan," but he rejects the helmet and the atom symbol on it. He decides that if he is forced to have a symbol, it may as well be one he respects, so he etches a hydrogen molecule into his own forehead.

DOCTOR MANHATTAN'S NEEDS

Watchmen Doctor Manhattan Mars

It is a reoccurring theme for Jon to try to appear as though he is somewhat human, even though he has lost just about every shred of his humanity. One example of this is the fact that he no longer feels hungry, thirsty or tired. He has no human needs and feels (almost) no human emotions. In fact, he seems deeply confused by the needs and squabbles of humans. In a scene in Watchmen #9, Jon teleports himself and his fellow hero and love interest, Laurie, to Mars without remembering that Laurie is human and cannot breathe in space as he can. He apologizes for it saying, "Sometimes these things slip my mind."

But Manhattan's disregard for human needs stems beyond the need for air. Jon regularly comments about how little he cares for humanity. In a final confrontation with fellow hero, Ozymandias, he claims "This world's smartest man means no more to me than does its smartest termite." He spends much of his time trying to appear as though he cares about the needs of humanity, but in truth there is very little left of Jon Osterman under Doctor Manhattan's blue skin.

DOCTOR MANHATTAN'S PERCEPTION OF TIME

One of the most distinctive parts of Doctor Manhattan is the way that he perceives time. Jon can see and experience his past, present, and future simultaneously, and sometimes comments on all three at once. The theme of time perfectly fits into Jon's characterization as he grew up with an affinity for watches and the concept of time.

As shown in the finale of the Watchmen #12, the only reason he could not see Adrian Veidt as the mastermind behind the story's events is because Veidt used theoretical scientific particles called tachyons to obscure Jon's vision of the future and stop him from seeing Veidt's actions.

RELATED: Watchmen: Has DC FInally Made Doctor Manhattan a Hero?

DOCTOR MANHATTAN'S DUPLICATES

Because of his awesome power, Doctor Manhattan experiences time and perceives it in a non-linear manner. As a result of that, Manhattan can more or less exist in multiple times and places at once. That aspect of his powers also gives Manhattan teleportation abilities.

More notably, Manhattan can create multiple versions of himself. At one point, Jon uses this power when Silk Specter thinks that she's spending quality time with Jon, and she is horribly offended when she realizes she is only spending time with one part of him, and another part is off working on something else, paying her no mind.

DOCTOR MANHATTAN'S CONTROL OVER MATTER

HBO Watchmen Manhattan spoiler

Doctor Manhattan's powers are terrifying, even by superhero standards. He is able to control matter -- the very material that makes up everything in existence -- and bend it to whatever he wishes. The limits to this are unfathomable but some of the most impressive feats that fans see in both the film and comics include; almost single-handedly ending the Vietnam War by growing multiple-stories tall and causing explosions with the point of a finger, creating an enormous, flying palace from Martian sand and being able to pull himself back together when his body is torn apart by nuclear energy.

Doctor Manhattan's powers are so incredible that its nothing short of a miracle that he doesn't crave destruction like Darkseid or total power like Thanos, and yet it would be inaccurate to call him a conventional hero. In the final moments of the original Watchmen comic, Manhattan explicitly states that he's going to use his powers to create life somewhere else in the universe, which is a testament to how strong he really is.

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