Doctor Manhattan vs. Superman: Who Would Win in a Fight?

There are a lot of different powerful entities and characters in the DC universe, and Doctor Manhattan is one of them. Of course, when we think of powerful DC characters, we can never not think of Superman, who has long been the poster boy of superheroes for decades. As such, we know that both Doctor Manhattan and Superman are incredibly powerful. But who would win in a fight between Doctor Manhattan and Superman?

Doctor Manhattan would always win a fight against Superman because he has nigh-omnipotence, and that means that he is basically godlike in terms of what he could do. His control over molecules is so precise that he could disintegrate Superman at the molecular level if he wanted to do so.

There are a lot of different characters that are powerful in their own right, but Doctor Manhattan is at a different level in the DC universe. There are only a handful of characters that are more powerful than Doctor Manhattan, and that means that he simply outclasses Superman. Now, with that said, let’s look at this battle in greater detail so that we can understand why Superman loses.

Strength

Doctor Manhattan’s powers allow him to control his molecular structure at will. That means that he could make himself as big or as small as he wants to. On top of that, he can alter his molecular structure to the degree that allows him to develop dense muscle fibers that give him incredible strength. He is so strong that he is capable of lifting planetary structures at will and without even any sort of effort whatsoever.

One of the things that make Superman the superhero that he has always been is his superhuman strength. After getting exposed to yellow sunlight while growing on Earth, his Kryptonian physiology allowed him to become incredibly strong to the point that he could lift the heaviest objects without effort. At his strongest point, he could destroy small planets with a punch, and that means that he is one of the strongest characters in the DC universe.

Even though Superman is incredibly strong, Doctor Manhattan can make himself stronger at will. As such, his nigh-omnipotence also covers his physical attributes as he can simply alter his molecular structure to make him stronger than Superman.

Manhattan 1, Superman 0

Powers and Abilities

Doctor Manhattan’s powers revolve around his nigh-omnipotence as he has the ability to do almost anything he imagines due to the fact that he has supreme control over molecules. He has the ability to create and destroy things at will and can even create life. Manhattan has also reached a power level so incredible that he could see into the past, present, and future and even into other universes because he has a full understanding of his presence in all of those timelines and alternate dimensions. He can even alter reality as he pleases and can erase them at will.

Superman has an incredible array of powers that allow him to become the poster boy of the Justice League. On top of the fact that he has a host of superhuman abilities, he is capable of flight at supersonic levels. Superman is also capable of blasting laser beams from his eyes, and his heat vision is powerful enough to damage or kill some of the strongest beings in the DC universe. He also has incredible senses that allow him to have X-ray vision and incredible hearing.

Even though Superman has incredible powers, he still has nothing against Doctor Manhattan’s nigh-omnipotence. Mister Mxyzptlk, a nigh-omnipotent being that has always tormented Superman and has not been beaten by the Man of Steel, once said that he fears Doctor Manhattan’s powers.

Manhattan 2, Superman 0

Durability

Thanks to his supreme control over molecules, Doctor Manhattan is nigh-indestructible and almost unkillable. Even when he gets disintegrated by an incredibly powerful force, he can always recreate himself from scratch due to how incredibly powerful he is. He can also easily manipulate his own molecular structure to make his body as dense as possible so that he can’t get damaged by any kind of force. On top of that, he is an immortal being that exists in the past, present, and future and in different universes all over the vast multiverse.

The reason why Superman is called the Man of Steel is the fact that he hardly gets damaged by conventional weapons and even by superpowered beings. He is incredibly durable to the point that the only things that can damage him are attacks from stronger characters, magic, and Kryptonite. Other than that, Superman is basically invulnerable to damage due to his incredible Kryptonian physiology.

While Superman may be almost invulnerable, Doctor Manhattan can be as invulnerable as he wants. And even if his entire body gets disintegrated, he can reconstruct himself from a molecular level.

Manhattan 3, Superman 0

Speed

Doctor Manhattan hardly ever uses his physical abilities, but there is no doubt that he is capable of traveling and moving at incredible speeds. That’s because moving from one planet to another in the vast universe is quite easy for him as he is capable of traveling at light speed and teleporting by warping the space around him. He is even capable of traveling from one dimension to another due to his nigh-omnipotent control over space and time.

Superman is capable of running and flying at incredible speeds. In fact, he is so fast that he is almost as fast as Flash’s running speed. Superman has also displayed his ability to fly from one planet to another so fast that he is almost flying at light speed. And in a fight, he moves so fast that he is merely a blur to opponents that don’t have the senses that will allow them to comprehend Superman’s speed.

It might be true that Superman is fast when we are talking about his physical capabilities, but Doctor Manhattan is fast in the sense that he can easily move from one place to another through sheer will due to his ability to control space.

Manhattan 4, Superman 0

Intelligence

Doctor Manhattan, as a human being, was already a genius. However, when he became Doctor Manhattan, his intelligence reached an entirely different level because his knowledge was now cosmic and multiversal in terms of its level. In fact, Doctor Manhattan has become so smart and basically knows almost anything that his only goal in life is to understand human emotion, which is something that he has never been able to properly comprehend.

Superman, due to his Kryptonian genetics, is naturally smarter than regular human beings. He has the ability to learn and understand things at a faster rate than humans, and that can be seen in the fact that he has extensive knowledge of different sciences. Superman is also supposedly smarter than Batman from an objective standpoint but doesn’t have the same kind of tactical and strategic intelligence that his Justice League teammate has.

Even though Superman is basically a level above genius in terms of his intelligence, Doctor Manhattan’s understanding is at a cosmic level. There is nothing that Superman’s intelligence can do against a being whose knowledge is nigh-omnipotent.

Manhattan 5, Superman 0