Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
Watchmen: Twitter is turning blue in the face over that jaw-dropping reveal
***WARNING! The following contains major spoilers for Episode 7 of Watchmen on HBO!***
The Superman exists, and he lives in Tulsa, Oklohoma... On the latest episode of HBO's Watchmen, fans were shocked and delighted to learn that the husband of Angela Abar, Cal Abar (played by Aquaman's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), was actually Doctor Manhattan in disguise this entire time. The blue-skinned superhero, who is basically an all-powerful god, has not been living on Mars as many of us thought.
Earlier this season, Angela (aka Sister Night, played by Regina King) hinted at Cal's "accident," which left him with total amnesia. As it turns out, that accident didn't actually happen and was just a cover story, so Doctor Manhattan could live among humanity like a normal man.
The reveal came with the force of a hammer blow — both figuratively and literally — as Angela cracked open Cal's forehead to pull out a mysterious totem resembling Manhattan's iconic forehead insignia: the atomic structure of hydrogen.
If you look on Reddit, many will tell you the hints have been there all along. One of the most interesting examples is that Cal is an allusion to Kal-El, the Kryptonian birthname of DC's Superman. Another person may point to the name of Agent Blake's Manhattan-inspired sex toy, Excalibur. When broken down, Reddit says, that name becomes "Ex of Cal Abar," a reference to the fact that Laurie (Jean Smart) dated Jon Osterman in the past.
Once the episode was over, Twitter unleashed blue fury upon the world. Below, you'll find some of the best reactions to Doctor Manhattan's bloody return to the world of Watchmen. We'll start off with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's amazing post-episode tweet that consists of him just laughing at us for having no idea. Well played, Yahya. Well played, indeed.
Based on the teaser for next week's episode, it looks like Angela met Manhattan during her time as a police officer in Vietnam. Readers of the graphic novel will know that the deity formerly known as Jon Osterman helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War, which then allowed America to absorb the Southeast Asian country as the 51st state.
