“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Role of the Divine in “Watchmen”

A few overarching themes appear in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, each involving our connections with the divine and with others who inhabit the world with us. Recently, I wrote some about this, specifically with Dr. Manhattan’s thoughts about the divine and humanity. Today, I want to continue examining these themes, notably through the use of Genesis 18: 25 at the end of Chapter III and through Rorschach's comments about himself and his feelings of being alone during his interviews with psychiatrist Malcolm Long.

At the end of Chapter III, Dr. Manhattan has retreated to Mars, fleeing any decisions that he could make regarding the looming war that hovers over the novel. Even though Milton Glass refers to Dr. Manhattan as “God,” Dr. Manhattan does not interfere in the deeds and acts of humankind. Even though he originated as Jon Osterman, he does not use his powers to interfere in the everyday machinations of humanity, refusing to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating John F. Kennedy or Edward Blake from murdering a Vietnamese woman he got pregnant. Dr. Manhattan knows the past, present, and future, yet he removes himself from altering any of it, even when he knows doing so will save lives.