User blog comment:DYBAD/Character Sheet/@comment-5651818-20171122204602/@comment-4867780-20171124022223

The perfect accident, I couldn't have summed it up better myself ^ ^ Even more so since his powers weren't actually gained but are inherent part of his nature from the very beginning.

I think one of Lawrence's most interesting aspects narratively speaking is the way he essentially personifies the unfairness of reality to a truly extreme degree (the "Born Lucky" trope pushed beyond the impossible), but instead of living up to this philosophical heritage chose to turn his back on it, using his utterly unfair abilities as the foundation and lifeblood of a new reality where kindness and fairness rule unchallenged as its most fundamental laws, reforging the paradigm by creating "right" from "might" in an epic system-screwing move ^ ^

I think dramatic tension is simply the most reliable way to capture and retain the audience's interest ("what are they going to do ? how will they make it ? what's going to happen ?"), so fiction being a business first and foremost, writters have adapted accordingly to keep the sales as high as possible. Yup, definitely the product of our survival-centered neurological wiring.

The problem of Doctor Manhattan is mainly loneliness, the absence of someone to genuinely relate to, which in turn makes his own existence essentially meaningless, as he lacks personal drives aside from studying the workings of reality, which is also meaningless without some purpose to serve. So despite all his powers, Manhattan’s inner misery does seem probable if he just lets the situation fester indefinitely.

He did eventually find his peace and place in the universe by taking on the role of an evolutionary deity, deciding to sow the seeds of life on some unknown world in a far-away galaxy, observe/study them as they gradually realize their potential and personally grow/mature alongside them.