Doctor Manhattan

Pre-Transformation

Doctor Manhattan was born Jon Osterman in 1929, the son of a watchmaker.

Osterman attended Princeton University from 1948-58 and graduated with a Ph.D. in atomic physics. In 1959, he moved to a research base at Gila Flats, where experiments are being performed concerning the 'intrinsic fields' of physical objects which, if tampered with, result in their disintegration. Here he meet Janey Slater, a fellow researcher; they eventually became lovers.

During a trip to New Jersey in July 1959, Jon and Janey visited an amusement park. There Janey's watchband broke, and the watch was damaged when a man stepped on it. Jon decided that he could repair the watch, and tells Janey so. That night they sleep together.

One month later, in August, 1959, Jon prepared to give Janey the repaired watch, only to discover he left it in his lab coat, which he had left inside the intrinsic field experiment test chamber. While Jon was inside the test chamber retrieving his coat the door closed, automatically locking as a safety feature. Unable to open the door or override the countdown, Osterman's colleagues - save for Janey, who couldn't bear to see the last moment and fled the room - can only watch, horrified, as the countdown for the current experiment reached zero, and Jon's 'intrinsic field' was removed. He was instantly vaporised and declared dead.

Transformation and abilities

The following months saw a series of strange events and apparitions at the research base, leading residents to speculate the area was haunted. It becomes plain that Jon Osterman has been progressively reforming himself, 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 partially muscled skeleton (November 14). Each time, the appearance only lasted for a few seconds. Jon fully reappeared on November 22 as a tall, hairless, blue-skinned man.

In his new form, Jon had complete awareness of and control over the basic atomic (and possibly sub-atomic) particles of his own body. He can alter his body's size, coloration, density, and strength. He does not appear to age, need food, water, or air, and is for all intents and purposes immortal and indestructible. His only weakness appears to be to tachyons; a large burst of them can 'jam' or slow his ability to see the future to some extent. In addition, he can project destructive energy, create force fields, teleport himself and move objects without physically touching them (telekinesis). As a result of these capabilities, Doctor Manhattan became central to the United States' Cold War strategy of deterrence.

Perspective & Personality

After his transformation, Jon began to experience time in a non-linear, "quantum" fashion; however, rather than being able to foresee the future or recall the past perfectly (that is, perceive times outside the present), it appears that Jon directly experiences these moments according to whim. Jon is not omniscient; he remains reliant on his intellect 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.

Effect on the Cold War

Jon gradually became a pawn of the United States government, and he was given the code name 'Doctor Manhattan', a reference to the Manhattan Project that, it was hoped, would terrorize America's enemies. He was also provided with a costume which he grudgingly accepted, though he refused to accept the icon design which is provided for him (this being a stylised orbital model of the atom). Instead, Jon chose as his emblem a representation of a hydrogen atom; accordingly, he painlessly burned the mark into his forehead.

Dissappearance

For reasons of his own, Osterman left Earth (and perhaps even this galaxy and/or tangent universe) in 1971. He returned in 2001, his arrival more or less coinciding with AltEarth's first contact with the Celestials. He has since taken a sought to reconcile with his wife, Janey, and to live something of a normal life.

He now holds the position as undersecretary of the Department of Superhuman and Paranormal Affairs and was a member of the The Board that oversees the implementation of Senator Maxwell's pilot program of STAT.