Dr. Manhattan

Dr. Jon Osterman, also known as Dr. Manhattan, is one of the major characters from the DC Comics.

Dr. Jon Osterman was a lowly lab technician, before he was caught in a radioactive particle test. He returned as a god-like superhuman. He is powerful and highly intelligent, yet he grew to become emotionally distant towards people. He is the only superhero with powers in the Watchmen storyline.

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.

Abilities
Dr. Manhattan seems to have some mastery over the manipulation of matter and energies around him, as well as an understanding of their make-up on the most fundamental level. This control extends to possibly a complete control of his physical person, which came about after the removal of his intrinsic field. It was after this accident that he was able to piece himself back together over a period of time, and was shown to have these abilities.

Manhattan also has a unique perception of time, seemingly perceiving all events that occur in his life simultaneously. This is with exception, for certain events blur or distort his perception of certain sections of time until he becomes closer chronologically to those events. Despite his perception of time he finds himself a slave to predetermination, understanding the sequence of events that will occur as well as his own involvement in them but unable to alter the events in the past or future that he will be a part of. It should be noted that this ability has been impeded before through the use of tachyons.

It is also worth mentioning that because of his unique perception of time, energy, and matter Dr. Manhattan does not view life or humanity in the same way that normal sentient beings would. Manhattan may also be incapable of normal human emotions, as he exhibits none of the emotional traits of a normal human.

It has been noted that "in well supported theoretical terms", that Manhattan could destroy "large areas" of Soviet territory instantly (no notes to quantify "large"), and that he could deflect or disarm at least 60% of incoming missiles from Soviet bases in the USSR and Europe before reaching their intended targets, if they were to launch a full scale nuclear assault.

While the true extent and nature of Manhattan's power is not known, here is a list of some of the powers, abilities, and traits that he has exhibited:
 * Size Alteration
 * Godlike Strength
 * Teleportation of himself or other individuals over incredible distances
 * Matter Manipulation/Atomic Structure Control – limits unknown. Has been shown to be able to do things like: create crystalline structures on Mars, create a small amount of water, melt a portion of a tank. It was also stated he possibly could have turned a gun to steam, bullets to mercury, and a bottle to snowflakes by an angry Blake, though he is never actually shown doing these things.
 * Can create copies of himself which act independently of each other, but operate in an intelligent collective fashion.
 * Intangibility
 * Atemporal (in terms of his perception of time).
 * Does not appear to age.
 * Does not seem to require food, water, or air.
 * Creation of Environmental Fields – as seen when he creates a field around Laurie, allowing her to survive on Mars.
 * Can read atoms and sense tachyons
 * Telekinesis
 * Able to restructure himself after the removal of his intrinsic field.
 * Disintegration/Intrinsic Field removal – It is unclear whether he is disintegrating his targets or removing their intrinsic field. It should be noted that he does seem to need to aim his hand at the intended target.

Trivia

 * Allen Adam, the "Quantum Superman" of Earth-4, is in part based on Doctor Manhattan.