Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman [his last words before his transformation]
Janey, don't leave me! Don't leave me!
Played by Billy Crudup 
Watchmen (2009) · 68 quotes
Watchmen (2009) · 68 quotes
2nd most-quoted character in Watchmen (2009): in 18 of its 68 quotes
Most scenes with: Rorschach/Walter Kovacs (3), Silk Spectre II/Laurie Juspeczyk (3)
Miracles. Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold. I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that in human coupling, millions upon millions of cells compete to create life, for generation after generation until, finally, your mother loves a man: Edward Blake, the Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate, and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds, it's you — only you — that emerged. To distill so specific a form, from all that chaos; it's like turning air into gold. A miracle. Now dry your eyes, and let's go home.
More lines from Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman
12 quotes Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman [as his human body is about to be destroyed]
I feel fear, for the last time.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman My father was a watch maker. He abandoned it when Einstein discovered time is relative. I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as a photograph of oxygen to a drowning man.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman They call me "Doctor Manhattan". They explain the name has been chosen for the ominous associations it will raise in America's enemies. They are shaping me into something gaudy. Something lethal.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman Janey accuses me of chasing jailbait. She bursts into angry tears, asking if it's because she's getting older. It's true. She's aging more noticeably every day... while I am standing still. I prefer the stillness here. I am tired of Earth. These people. I'm tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives. They claim their labours are to build a heaven, yet their heaven is populated with horrors. Perhaps the world is not made. Perhaps nothing is made. A clock without a craftsman. It's too late. Always has been. Always will be. Too late.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman Your mind goes to dark places, and you wonder why I keep the worst from you.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman All we ever see of stars is their old photographs.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman In my opinion, the existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman When you left me, I left Earth. Does that not show you I care?
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman I've walked across the surface of the sun, seen events so tiny and so fast that they hardly can be said to have occurred at all. But you, Adrian...are just a man. And the world's smartest man poses no more threat to me than does its smartest termite.
Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman I can change almost anything...but I can't change human nature.
Scenes with Doctor Manhattan/Dr. Jon Osterman
5 scenes Doctor Manhattan Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?
Then do it for me. If you ever cared.
Doctor Manhattan When you left me, I left Earth. Does that not show you that I care?
Doctor Manhattan [After The Comedian shoots a pregnant Vietnamese girl for slicing him with a broken bottle]
She was pregnant, and you gunned her down.
Yeah, well you know what, you watched me do it. You could have turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury, the bottle into goddamn snowflakes, but you didn't, did you? You really don't give a damn about human beings. You're drifting out of touch, Doc. God help us all.
Doctor Manhattan [Rorschach enters Doctor Manhattan's lab] [continuing his work unfazed]
Good evening, Rorschach.
Doctor Manhattan. You know why I'm here.
Doctor Manhattan Yes... [powers up device] but you're going to leave disappointed.
Rorschach! [enters room] You shouldn't be here, you're a wanted man.
Nice to see you too, Silk Spectre.
I have a real name I've been using a couple years now. Try it.
Whatever you say... Laurie.
What are you doing here?
Doctor Manhattan The Comedian is dead. Rorschach wants me to look into my future; see if the killer is ever publicly identified.
Already warned Dreiberg. Came to warn you too.
Doctor Manhattan Even if I wanted to help, my future is blocked by some kind of temporal interference. I cannot see it clearly.
Interference? Caused by what?
Doctor Manhattan In all likelihood... nuclear holocaust. If the United States and Soviet Union engage in all-out war, the resulting blast wave would produce a sudden burst of tachyons, particles which travel backwards through what you perceive as time, therefore obscuring my vision of the present. I must return to my work. [turns away]
Wait a minute. What if that's why someone wants us out of the way? So we can't do anything to stop it?
Doctor Manhattan Goodbye, Rorschach.
Took a lot of effort to get in here to see you. I'm not leaving... [Doctor Manhattan transports him back outside] ...till I've had my say. Hurm.
[Nixon finishes his speech on Veidt's TVs]
Do you see? It's your super powers retreating from war. I've saved the Earth from hell. We both have. This is as much your victory as it is mine. Now we can return. Do what we were meant to.
We were meant to exact justice! Everyone's gonna know what you've done...
Will they? By exposing me, you would sacrifice the peace so many died for today.
Peace based on a lie.
But peace! Nonetheless.
Jon ...He's right. Exposing Adrian would only doom the world to nuclear destruction again.
No... we can't do this.
Jon On Mars, you taught me the value of life. If we hope to preserve it here, we must remain silent.
Keep your own secrets...
[The others look as Rorschach leaves, then Jon and Adrian make eye contact]
Don't even think about it. [goes after Rorschach] Rorschach! Wait!
[turns]
Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel. [leaves the building]
I've made myself feel every death... see every innocent face I've murdered to save humanity. [turns to Jon] You understand, don't you?
Jon Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
[Outside of Karnak; Dr. Manhattan confronts Rorschach before he can leave]
Out of my way. People have to be told!
Doctor Manhattan You know I can't let you do that.
Suddenly, you discover humanity. Convenient. [takes off mask] If you had cared from the start, none of this would have happened.
Doctor Manhattan I can change almost anything. But I can't change human nature.
Of course you must protect Veidt's new utopia. What's one more body amongst the foundations? [pause] Well, what are you waiting for? Do it. [Manhattan hesitates] DO IT!
