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By Andy Frisk
February 27, 2009 - 23:42
Dr. Jon Osterman, PhD atomic physics, victim of a tragic intrinsic field experiment, separated from his physical body and self re-formed with the power of control over anything, anyone or anywhere’s atomic/quantum structure. Dr. Jon Osterman, PhD atomic physics, codenamed Dr. Manhattan, the “super-man that exists and he’s American,” ultimate nuclear deterrent, rapidly disengaging super conscious and god-like being. Dr. Manhattan aka metaphoric god or being with god like knowledge, both at once engaged, disengaged, destructive and creative of mankind, a being to be revered, feared and perhaps most importantly, understood.
Dr. Manhattan’s story in Watchmen is one of the most frightening simply because of his existence. He is all powerful and benevolent but rapidly advances beyond the ability to reason and relate to mankind. He isn’t quite a force of nature, to describe him as such seems to deprive him of consciousness and will, both of which he very much possesses. He is more metaphorically and aptly described to be a god, birthed not from a superstition by men who once looked to the skies in fear of the lightening which exists there, but from an incredibly and potentially dangerous level of super-knowledge, attained by accident or design, Dr. Manhattan himself seems unable to answer. On page 28 of Chapter IV of Watchmen titled “Watchmaker,” Dr. Manhattan muses, “Perhaps the world is not made. Perhaps nothing is made. Perhaps it simply is, has been, will always be there…a clock without a craftsman.” What Dr. Manhattan can do though is see the world as a master watchmaker would see cog, flywheel and gear constructed timepiece. Where he appears to get lost, thus abandoning mankind is where he fails to see the purpose of the watch for being lost in its components, much like he sees the components of mankind, atomically and quantum-ly and over looks the whole package, man.
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| Listen to him...don't do it. |
Dr. Manhattan eventually ends up regaining his interest in human life after a confrontation with Laurie, his former lover and current Silk Specter on Mars where he has retreated to after wearying of “being caught in the tangles of human lives.” Dr. Manhattan realizes that life itself is a thermo dynamic miracle, and men and women are the embodiment of this miracle. As he states, “but the world is full of people, so crowded with these miracles that they become commonplace and we forget…I forget.” After this realization, he returns home with Laurie and plays a major role in the story’s resolution.
For all this talk of Dr. Manhattan being a metaphor for god and super scientific knowledge, as well as his vacillating interest/disinterest in life what is the metaphoric point being made in Watchmen through his character? The TV reporter who announces that “super-man exists and he’s American” could easily have read, “god exists and he’s American,” where the more accurate statement should have been “super-man/god exists and he is a human being.” As we as a species grow in intellect and unlock the secrets of quantum physics, super-string theory and the like, we become more and more understanding of powers that govern the universe and twist these discoveries into not just beneficial and benevolent advances in the quality of life but into horrible means of destroying life, i.e. nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction much like we take our benevolent and well meaning gods (Jesus, Buddha and Allah) and twist their messages to one of destruction of our fellow men through war, bigotry and hate. Little do we know the power we toy with though, for the laws of quantum physics and super-string theory are not conscious beings but incredibly powerful insights into the morally and ethically neutral powers of the universe. These powers are not governed by compassion, they simply are, and we as humankind must insert our own reason and compassion into their use or they become possible neutral agents of our destruction. Dr. Manhattan ends up inserting his buried but still alive compassion and wonder for the miracle that is life before its too late. It is a message we as a species would do well to heed.
Dr. Manhattan ends up representing the fearful power of knowledge divorced from reason and compassion and a god twisted to serve our petty grievances who ends up abandoning us. He ends up being a metaphor for the twisting of knowledge from a potential sort of life giving, comfort providing power to one of mass destruction. He is a power created who drifts into amorality and indifference but comes back from this abyss by realizing his compassion and awe for the miracle that is life and creation not death and destruction. He is a metaphor for the god-like knowledge that we as a species are rapidly attaining to but must respect and revere and employ with reason and compassion. Dr. Manhattan’s story is one of caution yet hope. We can only hope to God (whatever name we assign him) that we can heed the lesson of his tale. Reason and compassion must govern our knowledge or we’ll all suffer the consequences. These are pretty heavy messages for a comic book tale, and one that is worthy of our admiration.
