Manhattan's forehead is marked with the atomic structure of hydrogen, which he put on himself, declining a helmet with the atom symbol. Fictional character biography Origins Jonathan Osterman is born in 1929 to a German-American family. He plans to follow in his father's footsteps as a watchmaker, but when the U.S. drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, his father declares his profession outdated and forces Jon to work toward a career studying nuclear physics. This turning point foreshadows Doctor Manhattan's "exterior" perception of time as predetermined and all things within it as so determined, including Manhattan's reactions and emotions. Jon attends Princeton University and graduates with a Ph.D. in atomic physics. In early 1959, he moves to a research base at Gila Flats, where experiments are being performed on the "intrinsic fields" of physical objects which, if tampered with, result in their disintegration. Here he meets Janey Slater, a fellow researcher; they eventually become lovers. During a visit to an amusement park in New Jersey, Janey's wristwatch breaks and Jon promises to fix it. A month later, Jon realizes he left the repaired watch in his lab coat that's inside a test chamber. When he goes inside to retrieve it the test chamber door closes behind him locking him inside. Researchers outside are unable to open the door or override the countdown, and the force of the generator tears Jon to pieces. A series of strange events and ghostly appearances occur over the next few months, leading researchers to speculate that the area is haunted. After a series of partial bodily appearances, it becomes apparent that Jon is progressively re-forming himself. Each time, the appearance lasts for only a few seconds: first a disembodied nervous system including the brain and eyes; then a circulatory system; and then a partially muscled skeleton. Jon eventually reappears as a tall, muscular, hairless, naked, blue-skinned man, glowing with a "flare of ultraviolet." Before Watchmen Jon gradually becomes a pawn of the U.S. government. It gives him the code name "Doctor Manhattan"—a reference to the Manhattan Project—and a costume that he begrudgingly accepts. Doctor Manhattan chooses a representation of a hydrogen atom as his emblem. He declares that its simplicity kindles his respect; accordingly, he painlessly burns the mark into his forehead. This preference for material mechanisms marks the beginning of his declining humanity. Over time, he sheds uniform bit by bit. By the end