The Scott Summers Awards for Top 5 Doomed Superhero Romances: #4


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dr manhattan on mars#4: Doctor Manhattan and Laurie Juspeczyk
Courtship Appears in Watchmen #1-12
Written by: Alan Moore

Summary (contains spoilers):
Doctor Jonathan Osterman gained superpowers when he was involved in an accident with an Intrinsic Field Subtractor, which turned him into the super-powered Doctor Manhattan. He was given the abilities to teleport and manipulate matter in nearly any way imaginable, and, due to the nature of the accident, was thrust into a sort of quantum universe, where he experienced time all at once, instead of in the linear fashion we’re used to. Oh, and it also turned him blue.

After the accident, Osterman’s sweetheart (Janey Slater) left him when she suspected a budding relationship between Osterman and another masked vigilante, known as the second Silk Spectre, real name Laurie Juspeczyk.

Her suspicions grew accurate, as Dr. Manhattan and Laurie started seeing each other shortly thereafter. Due to the extreme levels of his powers, though, the United States government thought it was in their best interests to form a partnership with him, which eventually led both Manhattan and Laurie to live together on an army base, secluded from the rest of society, for the most part.

This seclusion led Laurie to feel increasingly isolated and lonely. After former associates of Dr. Manhattan started revealing that they’d been diagnosed with cancer, and the subsequent controversy that stemmed from it, Dr. Manhattan left Earth for Mars, and Laurie moved in with another former masked vigilante, the second Nite Owl, Dan Dreiberg.

Once he’d dealt with his past and come to terms with it, Dr. Manhattan decided he’d leave the fate of the Earth up to Laurie, and teleported her to Mars in order to have her convince him to save the planet.

While discussing things on Mars, she came to the realization that her real father was the Comedian, and, in a fit, decided that her life was a meaningless joke, just like all the other human lives, but Dr. Manhattan disagreed and realized just how significant each living thing on Earth is, while acknowledging that it’s an easy thing to forget (especially when you have the powers of a God or god-like deity, mind you).

Upon returning to Earth, however, the couple landed smack in the middle of the disaster in New York City, unleashed by the big bad guy. After a confrontation, Dr. Manhattan decided that the bad guy’s logic was sound, understood Laurie was in love with Dan, and left Earth for a new galaxy, to create some life of his own.

dr manhattan silk spectreWhat Doomed It:
It could be argued that Dr. Manhattan’s relationship with Laurie wasn’t nearly as strong as his relationship with Janey Slater, his first love, so it shouldn’t be considered nearly as tragic. Afterall, the way it’s depicted in the comic shows that Osterman is truly in love with Janey, but Laurie later serves as something of a distraction, a nice piece of ass to keep him company while working on top secret army plans.

But, to argue that would be missing the point, I think. While Dr. Manhattan might not be as good at expressing his love for Laurie as Dr. Osterman was at expressing his love for Janey, the implication is that the love is just as strong, but Manhattan simply lacks the ability to convey it. And, more than that, Laurie isn’t just Manhattan’s lover; rather, she’s his connection to the whole damned human race, and, without her in his life, he wouldn’t even feel the slightest bit of guilt at letting the entire planet fall to destruction.

How’s that for pressure?

As the story unfolds, Dr. Manhattan slowly starts to shed his emotional attachment to humanity (not to mention the shedding of his clothes, hubba hubba), and Laurie is the one thing keeping him grounded. Once he discovers that she’s found solace in the arms of another man, he isn’t so much hurt as he is resigned to the notion that that’s the way it had to happen in the first place. One of the drawbacks of transforming into a quantum being, I suppose, is having your perception of human affairs altered to the point where you can’t get upset over something that’s already taken place, is taking place, and will eventually, inevitably take place.

And, really, it’s this perception that led to the ultimate destruction of their relationship. What would be the point in fighting for something when you already know the outcome of your entire existence?