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Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan
Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #4
“I have a small suggestion regarding the destruction of Earth.”
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
5 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
J. Michael Straczynski
1,377 books1,284 followersJoseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 6, 2017
Story-wise, my personal Before Watchmen series favorite is the Minutemen. But for the awe and wonder I have felt, it is definitely Dr. Manhattan.
Almost all of the things here are drawn directly from Watchmen, so it is a must that you have read it before reading Dr. Manhattan.
There's also a bit of After Watchmen panels here which are so gorgeous to look at.
Almost all of the things here are drawn directly from Watchmen, so it is a must that you have read it before reading Dr. Manhattan.
There's also a bit of After Watchmen panels here which are so gorgeous to look at.
November 20, 2017
the strongest man on earth is vulnerable to a lie
loved it all
and now it is time to decide which before watchmen i will read next.
loved it all
and now it is time to decide which before watchmen i will read next.
July 28, 2015
Still warring over whether Dr. Manhattan or Rorschach is my favorite Watchmen character. This story arc puts a vote in Dr. M's favor. What a great great tale.
May 19, 2017
A closer look at the amazing creation of Dr. Manhattan and his tragic life. #4 really is the best of the bunch, but I can't say I'm a fan of the whole upside-down gimmick- it feels like JMS knows he'll never quite reach the depth of Moore and tries to cover it up with a clever trick and a tip of the ol fedora.
March 9, 2020
This is my read on this story, it was not easy to turn into words and I might well be totally wrong here:
So there's this box with a cat in it.
As long as the observer does not open the box, the cat exists in two states at the same time, dead and alive. Once the observer opens the box, one of two options becomes a reality: dead OR alive cat.
In Before Watchmen: Dr Manhattan 1-4, we catch a glimps of what happens when the doc is the observer. He travels through space and time, opening boxes and looking at all possible outcomes, from birthday presents to the box that made him to the celestial superpower he is. But instead of creating one fixed reality, he sees a limitless amount of realities unfold, all seemingly broken in one way or another.
The end result? Dr Manhattan decides to close all realities that don't work out, creating one True reality. But then he reaches a new problem: this one reality has one more box left, one more option that possibly leads to destruction. But instead of being the observer on this one (and in the process, creating a new fixed reality himself), he realises that it's not up to him anymore to open the box. He gives the observer power to Osmandias and leaves earth for a simpler world. He has Come to terms with the idea that the fate of humanity is not his to decide on, rather it's humanity itself that has to decide which reality it wants to see once it opens the box.
OR something like that, I dunno!
I really enjoyed this story. While it does not add anything substantial to the Watchmen story overall (which I actually really like), it gives us a glimps into the power that is Dr Manhattan, and why he chose not to interfere in Osmandias' plan (even though he knew by the nervous tic that O. Was lying).
Impressive story, backed by even more Impressive artwork leads me to say: this is a must read for any watchmen fan!
So there's this box with a cat in it.
As long as the observer does not open the box, the cat exists in two states at the same time, dead and alive. Once the observer opens the box, one of two options becomes a reality: dead OR alive cat.
In Before Watchmen: Dr Manhattan 1-4, we catch a glimps of what happens when the doc is the observer. He travels through space and time, opening boxes and looking at all possible outcomes, from birthday presents to the box that made him to the celestial superpower he is. But instead of creating one fixed reality, he sees a limitless amount of realities unfold, all seemingly broken in one way or another.
The end result? Dr Manhattan decides to close all realities that don't work out, creating one True reality. But then he reaches a new problem: this one reality has one more box left, one more option that possibly leads to destruction. But instead of being the observer on this one (and in the process, creating a new fixed reality himself), he realises that it's not up to him anymore to open the box. He gives the observer power to Osmandias and leaves earth for a simpler world. He has Come to terms with the idea that the fate of humanity is not his to decide on, rather it's humanity itself that has to decide which reality it wants to see once it opens the box.
OR something like that, I dunno!
I really enjoyed this story. While it does not add anything substantial to the Watchmen story overall (which I actually really like), it gives us a glimps into the power that is Dr Manhattan, and why he chose not to interfere in Osmandias' plan (even though he knew by the nervous tic that O. Was lying).
Impressive story, backed by even more Impressive artwork leads me to say: this is a must read for any watchmen fan!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2023
This is where the money is at in the world of Before Watchmen. I feel like they could have told everyone’s prequel/sidequel tales through the big blue doc’s eyes and it would’ve self justified better overall. Maybe not though, since I do like getting multiple POVs.
That said, the Doc Manhattan chapters have been far and away the best. I like that the writers have embraced his existence outside of time to have fun with the established timeline, without doing cheap retcons or pointless connections. While the rest of BW is mostly fun filler, the Doc chapters enrich the story.
That said, the Doc Manhattan chapters have been far and away the best. I like that the writers have embraced his existence outside of time to have fun with the established timeline, without doing cheap retcons or pointless connections. While the rest of BW is mostly fun filler, the Doc chapters enrich the story.
April 24, 2023
Issue #4: 2 stars
Hmmmm I don't know...it felts incredibly rushed and again just rehashed what already happened in the film. I loved how the ending was done giving us a peak into what Dr. Manhattan got up too after watchmen. The art throughout these Issues has been the greatest point of intrest, from the coloring to the line work. The dialogue was uneven and would often leave a lot to be desired.
Hmmmm I don't know...it felts incredibly rushed and again just rehashed what already happened in the film. I loved how the ending was done giving us a peak into what Dr. Manhattan got up too after watchmen. The art throughout these Issues has been the greatest point of intrest, from the coloring to the line work. The dialogue was uneven and would often leave a lot to be desired.
August 17, 2017
This series of back stories is brilliant in both style and content, reflecting back on the golden age of super heroes but with a critical eye.
May 22, 2013
Una obra maestra. Creo que ha sido lo mejor que he leído en bastante tiempo. Lo guardaré como un auténtico tesoro.
January 4, 2017
It's not certain that Dr. Manhattan's world is DC Rebirth, but the concept of Manhattan as the Quantum Observer is very enticing and leaves us screaming, What's in the box!!!"
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews