Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan (2012) #1

"What's In The Box?": The synopsis for this issue has not yet been written.

"What's In The Box?"
Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan Vol 1 #1
October, 2012
Executive Editor	Bobbie Chase
Cover Artists	Adam Hughes Paul Pope Lovern Kindzierski Jim Lee Scott Williams
What's In The Box?
Writers	J. Michael Straczynski
Pencilers	Adam Hughes
Inkers	Adam Hughes
Colorists	Laura Martin
Letterers	Steve Wands
Editors	Mark Chiarello Chris Conroy Camilla Zhang
The Evil That Men Do...! Part Two
Writers	Len Wein
Pencilers	John Higgins
Inkers	John Higgins
Colorists	John Higgins
Letterers	Sal Cipriano
Next Issue	Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan # 2

It's August 20th, 1959. I'm enterting the test chamber in the intrinsic field center. I assume I have time to get my coat. I'm wrong. One second becomes zero.

— Doctor Manhattan (Jon Osterman)

Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan #1 is an issue of the series Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 2012.

Appearing in "What's In The Box?"

Featured Characters:

• Doctor Manhattan (Jon Osterman) (Flashback and main story) (Origin)

Supporting Characters:

• Crimebusters (Flashback only)
  • Captain Metropolis
  • Nite Owl (Dan Dreiberg)
  • Ozymandias
  • Rorschach
  • Silk Spectre
• Gila Flats staff (Flashback only)
  • Janey Slater
  • Prof. Milton Glass
  • Dr. Wally Weaver
• Osterman Family (Flashback only)
  • Josef Osterman
  • Mrs. Osterman (First appearance; unnamed) (Cameo)

Antagonists:

• 
  

Other Characters:

• Crimebusters (Alternate 1966) (First appearance) (In a vision) (Cameo)
  • Doctor Manhattan (First appearance)
  • Nite Owl (Dan Dreiberg) (Single appearance)
  • Rorschach (First appearance)
  • Silk Spectre (Single appearance)
• Jon Osterman's Hypertime counterparts (In a vision) (Cameo)
• Jon Osterman's Princeton friend (First appearance; unnamed) (Flashback only)
• Minutemen (Flashback only) (Cameo)
  • Comedian (Edward Blake)
  • Mothman
  • Nite Owl (Hollis Mason)
• President John F. Kennedy (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• President Lyndon B. Johnson (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• President Richard Nixon (Flashback only) (Cameo)
• God (Mentioned only)
• J. Robert Oppenheimer (Mentioned only)

Locations:

• Hypertime (Behind the scenes)
  • Timestream (Cameo)
  • Watchmen Universe (Unnamed)
    • 1938
      • Germany
        • Osterman House (Flashback only)
    • 1949
      • United States of America
        • Princeton
          • Princeton University (Flashback only)
    • 1959
      • United States of America
        • Arizona
          • Gila Flats (Flashback only)
            • Bestiary Bar (Cameo)
        • New York
          • New York City
            • Brooklyn
              • Osterman House (Cameo)
    • 1960
      • United States of America
        • New York City (Flashback only)
      • India (Mentioned only)
    • 1966
      • United States of America
        • New York City
          • Nelson Gardner's Mansion (Flashback only)
    • 1985
      • Earth
        • United States of America
          • Arizona
            • Gila Flats
              • Bestiary Bar (In ruins)
          • New York
            • New York City
      • Mars
        • Doctor Manhattan's Glass Structure
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Doctor Manhattan partners with Rorshach) (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
    • 1966
      • United States of America
        • Washington, D.C. (In a vision)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon a baseball in 1938) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
    • 1938
      • Germany
        • Osterman House (In a vision) (Cameo)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon a bear toy in 1938) (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
    • 1938
      • Germany
        • Osterman House (In a vision) (Cameo)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon a cat in 1938) (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
    • 1938
      • Germany
        • Osterman House (In a vision) (Cameo)
  • Heaven (Mentioned only)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon wooden soldiers in 1938) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon a toy castle in 1938) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
  • Alternate Watchmen Timeline (Josef Osterman gifted Jon construction blocks in 1938) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)

Items:

• Comedian's Button (Cameo)
• Intrinsic Field Subtractor (Flashback only)
• Janey Slater & Jon Osterman's Photo (Cameo)
• Janey Slater's Watch (Mentioned only)

Events:

• Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Mentioned only)
• Big Bang (Mentioned only)
• Intrinsic Field Incident (Flashback only)
• Vietnam War (Mentioned only)

Concepts:

• Connective Energy (Unnamed)
• Manhattan Project (Mentioned only)
• "Quantum Realities"
  • Alternate Timelines
  • Possible Futures (Mentioned only)
• Time Travel
  • Temporal Paradox
    

Appearing in "The Evil That Men Do...! Part Two"

Featured Characters:

• Gordon McClachlan (Also as a spirit)

Supporting Characters:

• Crimson Corsair
  • Flying Dutchman's Crew (Behind the scenes)

Antagonists:

• 
  

Other Characters:

• Demons (Mentioned only)
• God (Mentioned only)

Locations:

• 1771
  • Caribbean Sea (Cameo)
• Spirit Realm
• Hell (Mentioned only)
• Purgatory (Mentioned only)

Items:

• "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" (Behind the scenes)

Vehicles:

• Flying Dutchman

Concepts:

• Magic

Notes

• "The Evil That Men Do...!" continues from Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1 and is continued in Before Watchmen: Minutemen #3.
• The events of "What's In The Box" suggest that Doctor Manhattan's existence is a causal loop.
• "What's In The Box?" is reprinted in Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan.
• "The Evil That Men Do, Part Two" is reprinted in Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair.

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan series
• Images from Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan Vol 1 1

Links and References

Summary Needed

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