Doctor Manhattan quickly became America's greatest hero and its greatest weapon, bringing a quick and decisive end to the war in Vietnam and standing as a one-man deterrent to Soviet aggression. He also single-handedly solved the global energy crisis.

As a result, the United States has become extremely dependent on Doctor Manhattan as an instrument of policy and defense. Because he exists outside of time (he lives in the past, present and future all simultaneously), Doctor Manhattan sees all of history as predetermined, and has a very stoic and fatalistic disposition. Over the decades he has become more detached and less human.