About a month ago, I picked up the DC Absolute Edition of Watchmen. It's been a while since I've re-read the book, and I picked it up because all the buzz about the movie (which I never did see) made me curious again. The book, of course, holds up really well and is always interesting. Except for one thing.
Dr. Manhattan really sucks.
As in, the way he is conceived and carried out as a character is pretty much the *definition* of lame. I get that Dr. Manhattan sees time differently than the other characters, and I also get that Moore is connecting Manhattan's own indifference to free will (as "caused" by this different perspective) to Jon Osterman's own lack of direction prior to being transformed into the world's first superhero. In fact, Moore seems to be implying, at times, that Manhattan is using his sense of experiencing all time at once as just an excuse to give up his *own* free will - to really put himself fully in the hands of others, which is what he always preferred when he was "just human."
That part is fine.
The part that really sucks is just the way Manhattan talks and acts. In particular, last night I just read issue nine, where Dr. Manhattan and Laurie (the Silk Spectre) have their debate about why to save the world. And Manhattan is supposed to be saying all these profound things about how life doesn't matter, and mostly they sound like crap a Goth 9th grader would say. What I'm getting at is: Alan Moore really blows at writing grand metaphysical ideas.
I just re-read the Sandman, also in Absolute Editions, and the contrast is stark. In the Sandman, Neil Gaiman is telling a story where half (or more) of the characters are gods, "anthropomorphic personifications," immortal, or witches. Many of conversations involve big ideas, and strange conceptions of time and space. And it feels ..... *heavier* than Moore's take on Manhattan. It feels strange and mysterious; often, Gaiman's characters think and act in a decidedly *alien* manner. Gaiman is also not alone in being able to pull this off: Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis also seem able to pull off this feat of presenting a character as truly "Other."
It makes me wonder: what the fuck happened with Dr. Manhattan? Is he supposed to be that shittily conceived? As in: is his whole "I is a god" schtick just really a mask for how truly messed up he always has been, even before the accident? Or did Moore just know how to really handle such a cosmic character?
Dr. Manhattan really sucks.
As in, the way he is conceived and carried out as a character is pretty much the *definition* of lame. I get that Dr. Manhattan sees time differently than the other characters, and I also get that Moore is connecting Manhattan's own indifference to free will (as "caused" by this different perspective) to Jon Osterman's own lack of direction prior to being transformed into the world's first superhero. In fact, Moore seems to be implying, at times, that Manhattan is using his sense of experiencing all time at once as just an excuse to give up his *own* free will - to really put himself fully in the hands of others, which is what he always preferred when he was "just human."
That part is fine.
The part that really sucks is just the way Manhattan talks and acts. In particular, last night I just read issue nine, where Dr. Manhattan and Laurie (the Silk Spectre) have their debate about why to save the world. And Manhattan is supposed to be saying all these profound things about how life doesn't matter, and mostly they sound like crap a Goth 9th grader would say. What I'm getting at is: Alan Moore really blows at writing grand metaphysical ideas.
I just re-read the Sandman, also in Absolute Editions, and the contrast is stark. In the Sandman, Neil Gaiman is telling a story where half (or more) of the characters are gods, "anthropomorphic personifications," immortal, or witches. Many of conversations involve big ideas, and strange conceptions of time and space. And it feels ..... *heavier* than Moore's take on Manhattan. It feels strange and mysterious; often, Gaiman's characters think and act in a decidedly *alien* manner. Gaiman is also not alone in being able to pull this off: Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis also seem able to pull off this feat of presenting a character as truly "Other."
It makes me wonder: what the fuck happened with Dr. Manhattan? Is he supposed to be that shittily conceived? As in: is his whole "I is a god" schtick just really a mask for how truly messed up he always has been, even before the accident? Or did Moore just know how to really handle such a cosmic character?
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
obd:
I liked the movie, but I've never read the book. It sounds like Sandman mike make it onto the night stand though, and I love all of the Warren Ellis I've read.
toothpickmoe:
He's never been one of my favorite characters. Shit, I like the newsstand guy more than the doc. But the movie certainly helped.