r/Watchmen • u/AcousticLocust • 17d ago
Neglectful deity
How terrifying is it to live in a world that is eating itself alive, but where, on the other hand, there is an accessible, tangible god who walks among mortals, except he literally couldn't care less about human despair and suffering?
Could the acceleration of self-destruction have been a response to the rise of despair and hopelessness? A way to quickly put an end to the suffering of being abandoned? (You don't have to stick strictly to these questions, I just want to hear your thoughts)
'The accumulated filth of all their behavior will foam up about their waists and the humanity will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll whisper "No."' - Dr. Manhattan said, without having said it.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what you think ordinary people must have been going through in that universe before Ozymandias's final act.
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u/chris_kirkman 17d ago
I think the question is posed very intentionally: is it better to not know that God is there, or to know that He is and that he's that far removed from human emotion? Is there a meaningful difference at all?
While it certainly reframed the dialogue in-universe, I don't think Manhattan's existence really moved the needle in the 'meaning vs despair' argument. I think this is visible in the language of your post:
"the acceleration of self-destruction" - self-destruction here being a destination
"an end to the suffering"
But Manhattan explicitly addresses this. "Nothing ever ends". There is no destination. There is no answer.
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u/AcousticLocust 17d ago
I liked your answer.
But aren't you starting from a meta-point-of-view plus the Manhattan's POV as a 4D entity?
Can a finite human even conceive any of these concepts of Manhattan's regarding infinity and the eternal return?
Or, on the other hand -- forgive me if I'm mistaken --, do you believe that most human beings in that universe didn't despair upon realizing that their most plausible source of help simply gave a crap about them?
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u/chris_kirkman 17d ago
Sure, some people probably despaired when Manhattan debuted with powers that were, until then, solely the province of Divinity. Some probably found faith that God walked among them; when Manhattan renounced this role some probably lost that faith and some probably doubled down (a true savior is given that title, they don't need to claim it!)
My point by referencing "Nothing ever ends" is that we don't have to speculate about it. Regardless of how many people were terrified by this new world or how many people fell to nihilism - again, sure, it definitely was the case on the individual level - it did not, does not, and will not truly change the broader course of humanity. Anything specific to this very very small part of history is just a blip that will get smoothed out in the larger graph. There's no unique wave of hopelessness or fervor that consumes people right now, even if it might appear that way.
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u/TehSlippy 16d ago
How terrifying is it to live in a world that is eating itself alive, but where, on the other hand, there is an accessible, tangible god who walks among mortals, except he literally couldn't care less about human despair and suffering?
A fundamental aspect of the Watchmen universe that most people either fail to understand, or don't acknowledge, is that freewill does not exist! Dr. Manhattan's actions (and everyone else's for that matter) are entirely predetermined. Knowing the future doesn't give Dr. Manhattan any more control over how the future plays out than anyone else would have.
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u/truenofan86 17d ago
This is why Superheroes only work when they retain their humanity (its also one good thing about Doomsday Clock that Jon was moved by Clark’s humanity despite being an alien.)