"Isn't this guy a lunatic?"
Green Lantern Hal Jordan looked at Batman with a look of doubt on his face and asked.
If we talk about the superheroes present, who has the most dealings with psychopaths, antisocial lunatics, and perverts
The Dark Knight from Gotham, I dare to say that he is second, but probably no one dares to admit him.
It was a city with no sunny days and full of sin.
The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Black Mask... If you just go out and throw a brick in the sky, you can hit three or four villains.
"I'm not crazy."
Dr. Manhattan replied.
He looked at the superheroes around him, but his vision was extremely blurry, with no specific focus.
A few minutes ago, the space and time of this universe seemed to be disturbed or affected by some kind of interference.
The violent movement of tachyon particles is like a hazy gauze, blocking Dr. Manhattan's quantum perception.
He couldn't see clearly what would happen in the future just a moment later. It was like a movie with a skipped plot and he could only foresee the ending.
"I hope you can explain who you are, your purpose, and why you are doing this?"
Batman stared at the blue man, trying to get useful information from his expression.
However, nothing was found.
"This guy doesn't look like an intelligent creature at all. He doesn't even have the slightest emotion."
Batman's heart sank, and he silently raised the opponent's danger index by a level.
Even a madman like the Joker who cannot guess the logic of his behavior will show some obvious emotional tendencies.
But Dr. Manhattan is like a god overlooking mortals, with nothing but indifference.
"My purpose?"
Upon hearing the question, Dr. Manhattan's eyes became even more dazed.
His sight passed through the fog of tachyons and came to July 16, 1940.
A young engineer named Alan Scott boarded the train, but unfortunately the bridge collapsed while crossing it.
He clung to a green lantern and miraculously survived.
This is the story of the Justice Society, the first generation of Green Lanterns.
Time moved forward, and Dr. Manhattan's eyes fell on November 22, 1940.
Alan Scott put on a mask and sat at a round table, curious who would speak first.
This is the first meeting of the Justice Society.
This is the story as it should have happened.
Dr. Manhattan didn't let this happen.
On July 16, 1940, Alan Scott followed the trajectory of his life and boarded that train.
Bridges collapse and accidents occur.
A blue arm reached out and moved the green lantern.
As a result, Alan Scott did not get it and did not survive.
The first Green Lantern of the Justice Society disappeared.
"This is an experiment."
Dr. Manhattan replied.
His eyes stopped on Batman, but passed through the other person's body, looking towards the more distant past.
On April 18, 1938, Doctor Manhattan left the Watchmen universe and entered the DC universe.
The first person he talked to was a down-and-out actor named "Cavill Coleman."
Dr. Manhattan knew everything just by looking at the other person.
In December 1928, Cavill-Coleman came to Los Angeles alone, carrying only seventeen dollars and a few changes of clothes.
On January 19, 1929, Cavill-Coleman had been delivering newspapers at Paramount Pictures for eight months, and people still couldn't remember his name.
On February 14, Cavill-Coleman lost his job because the video studio was burned down.
On February 12, 1937, Cavill Coleman was fired from Dan Tana's restaurant because he skipped work to line up for an audition.
On April 18, 1938, Cavell-Coleman was evicted by his landlord and had to spend the night on the street.
Ten minutes before midnight, he was awakened by a blue light and saw himself.
Dr. Manhattan, who left the Watchmen universe, felt confused for the first time.
He went to new places and met new people.
Everything in this world and this universe is like a puzzle that has no answer yet.
So Dr. Manhattan conducted a simple experiment.
He invited a down-and-out Cavill Coleman to dinner and tried to foresee the future three minutes later.
However, it failed.
Dr. Manhattan realized that he needed a "coordinate" to focus on. He stared at Cavill-Coleman and saw a year in the future.
On April 18, 1939, Cavill-Coleman successfully auditioned.
The successful attempt brought Dr. Manhattan back to normal from a state of smoke and mirrors.
His quantum senses seem to be constantly using this multiverse.
What the future looks like is becoming increasingly clear.
On April 18, 1943, the movie starring Cavill Coleman was a box office hit.
On April 18, 1952, Cavill-Coleman won the Oscar for Best Actor.
On April 18, 1954, Cavill Coleman got cancer and was about to die soon.
On April 18, 1955, the seat opposite was empty.
In just one moment, Dr. Manhattan watched that man's life.
Then, he noticed someone more interesting than Cavill Coleman.
On April 18, 1938, news about Superman quickly spread throughout the United States.
There was a man in a red cloak, holding up a car.
Dr. Manhattan noticed that this was the beginning of a change in the world.
A theoretical physicist named "Bryce DeWitt" proposed a hypothesis. He believed that the universe is splitting into different timelines all the time.
According to this theory, the birth of parallel worlds is endless, just like the branches of a big tree.
"The multiverse."
Dr. Manhattan opened his mouth and said something that the superheroes on Mars did not understand.
His eyes were still moving around the timeline. At that special time on April 18, 1938, Superman appeared for the first time.
Doctor Manhattan keenly felt that the man in the red cloak called "Superman" was not only the world's first cross-dressing hero, he was also the center of this world and this multiverse.
With the emergence of Superman, in July 1940, young engineer Alan Scott will become the Green Lantern.
In January of the same year, a college student named "Jay Garrick" lost consciousness during a school experiment and inhaled heavy water vapor.
When he wakes up, he will be the fastest man in the world.
This is a generation of The Flash.
In the same month, archaeologist Carter Hall came into contact with a knife from ancient times, which awakened the memory of being an Egyptian prince in his previous life.
This is Eagle Man.
In May, a golden helmet with unknown supernatural powers fell into Kent Nelson's hands.
This is Doctor Fate.
In October, Al Platt, who had been repeatedly frustrated due to his size, found one of the greatest fighters in the world and began training under him.
This is the atom smasher.
In April 1939, Wesley Dodds dreamed of a serial killer who was taking advantage of the World's Fair to cause trouble.
Wearing a gas mask, he caught the murderer.
This is the original Sandman.
In February 1940, Jim Corrigan's body lay still.
Later, he rose from the dead and sought revenge.
This is a generation of ghosts.
In November 1940, everyone came together and the Justice Society of America was formed.
Dr. Manhattan has finished reading the past and the story of the cross-dressing hero.
Then, something beyond his expectation happened.
When Dr. Manhattan traveled back in time, he was surprised to find that Superman had disappeared.
It's like it was deleted and never heard of again.
It wasn't until 1956 that the man in the red cloak appeared in the Metropolis.
Twenty-five years ago, a meteorite fell over the Kent Farm in Kansas.
Jonathan and Martha found an orphan from Krypton and adopted him, naming him "Clark Kent".
The reason why Superman disappeared was because a mysterious force that even Doctor Manhattan could not detect changed his story.
Such changes affect every world in the multiverse at the same time.
But in October 1986, when Superman arrived on Earth, things changed again, and the story was different.
Dr. Manhattan is confused.
He couldn't understand this phenomenon.
Why do established facts change again and again
In May 1949, young Clark Kent sat in front of his bed, accompanying his dying parents.
In 1956, Dr. Manhattan watched Clark sweeping his grave.
And in October 1986, he saw the Kents who were supposed to be dead, but they were still alive.
A few years later, Jonathan Kent died again in his son's arms.
Dr. Manhattan stood quietly in the palace of Mars, but his consciousness traveled through the past and future.
Time is like an empty room to him.
He can exist in the past and be based in the future at the same time.
"I misunderstood the nature of the universe."
Doctor Manhattan spoke again, saying something that other superheroes didn't understand.
He no longer clings to the past, but looks to the future.
Follow Superman's trajectory and see a thousand years later.
Clark Kent is still here, not like Cavill Coleman, who is gone.
As a result, Dr. Manhattan became uncontrollably curious.
After becoming a quantum being, the world no longer has any secrets from him.
Human beings are too ordinary and life is too mediocre.
Everything seems to be the same, but it's completely different.
Until he came to the DC Universe and discovered Superman, Doctor Manhattan found something he was interested in again.
For example, reshaping the multiverse.
If this world, and even other parallel universes, they all exist and change because of Superman.
So what will be the consequences if he directly changes Superman
Therefore, Doctor Manhattan eliminated the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott.
On the eve of the Clark-Kent High School prom, couple Jean Jonathan and Martha die in a car accident.
Clark, who lost his parents, became increasingly alienated from human beings.
Since then, Dr. Manhattan has made several changes.
Like having Jonathan Kent die in a tornado.
Or have Superman die on Doomsday.
Increasing changes have caused the multiverse to fluctuate violently.
The third generation of Flash Wally West discovered Dr. Manhattan.
Later, Batman also had a vague glimpse.
"I want to know my ending."
For the last time, Dr. Manhattan uttered words that the superhero did not understand.
After he made these changes and observed the changes in Superman, the changes in the world, and the changes in the multiverse.
The blue man sees the end of the future.
Superman shook his fist at himself angrily, and then darkness fell.
In the next hundred or thousand years, nothing changed.
"So, did I destroy the world, or did Superman kill me?"
Manhattan's dazed eyes seemed to have found focus, looking at the superheroes surrounding him. (End of chapter)