Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Emmy-Winning Performance in HBO's 'Watchmen' Is a Must-Watch After 'Wonder Man'

Watchmen is a property so nuanced and specific in its themes that the prospect of a proper adaptation seemed impossible. Although Zack Snyder’s 2009 film was visually stunning and captured the beauty of some of the original graphic novel’s panels, it fundamentally didn’t understand the critical eye that Alan Moore took towards the superhero genre in its entirety.

Damon Lindelof’s HBO series was unique because it wasn’t a straight adaptation of Watchmen, but rather a continuation that used the original text as established history. The series was able to stack its own mythology on top of the material that Moore had already created, and Watchmen found genius ways to incorporate the original characters, including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Doctor Manhattan. In addition to the show’s win at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Limited Series, the Wonder Man star also walked away with the prize for Best Supporting Actor.

HBO's 'Watchmen' Redefined the Origin of Doctor Manhattan

HBO’s version of Watchmen is set 34 years after Adrian Veidt (Jeremy Irons) was banished for launching a false flag attack on New York City that put people in fear of an alien threat, and vigilantes have been outlawed altogether because of the potential threat they pose to society at large. Angela Abar (Regina King) is a member of the Tulsa Police Department who tries to uproot a conspiracy of white nationalists inspired by Rorschach, but she also operated as the superhero “Sister Midnight.” Abdul-Mateen II co-stars as Angela’s supportive husband Cal, who cares for her after her mentor, Chief Judd Crawford (Don Johnson), is murdered under mysterious circumstances. However, it’s later revealed that Cal is actually Doctor Manhattan, who has been trapped in mortal form as a means of hiding from persecuting forces.

Doctor Manhattan is one of the most challenging characters to depict in the history of Watchmen because he is essentially an all-powerful god who does not perceive time the same way that humans do. Although Doctor Manhattan can sometimes seem cruel in the way that he forsakes his relationships with others, his inability to fulfill the obligations of a romantic partner are because he feels the burden of the enormity of time itself. Abdul-Mateen II was able to give a more grounded performance as Doctor Manhattan because the show justified why he would be inspired to take human form for the sake of Angela.

In an era where superheroes have become targeted by the public and hated, it makes sense for the most powerful of them all to mask his identity — even to himself. For a character as powerful as Doctor Manhattan, the notion of giving up his knowledge and memories is a massive sacrifice, which proves why he is so deeply in love with Angela. Watchmen goes deeper into its mythology than most comic book shows, but the series also makes time for compelling moments of romantic drama between Abdul-Mateen II and King.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Gave the Most Emotional Performance in HBO's 'Watchmen'

Although Abdul-Mateen II was able to subtly hint at the pending reveal within the early episodes of the miniseries, Watchmen offered its most thoughtful analysis of Doctor Manhattan in the standout episode “A God Walks into Abar,” which takes place right after Angela chooses to unleash Cal’s true identity in order to awaken the powerful superhero within him. It doesn’t distract from the relentless pacing of the thrilling series, but perfectly contextualizes the way in which Doctor Manhattan would be repurposed for this version of events. In Lindelof’s Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan has seen that he could be blind to Ozymandias and his plan to devastate humanity, and is searching for someone who could share the burden of his powers. He identifies Angela as someone of upstanding character who would be capable of his responsibilities, and he also recognizes something pure within her heart that makes him fall in love for the first time in decades. To see Doctor Manhattan invoke his human origins required a complex feat of acting that Abdul-Mateen II pulled off beautifully.

It's extremely challenging to develop empathy for a character that is used as a metaphor for an all-powerful figure, but Abdul-Mateen II was able to generate a tremendous amount of pathos for Doctor Manhattan by showing how he is helpless to control the way that he perceives the world. Although he often feels distracted because he is literally not present, it’s quite telling when Doctor Manhattan chooses to focus his mind on one segment of the timeline in order to stay with Angela. The gripping end to the show works because it suggests that Doctor Manhattan had too much faith in people to anticipate that a new wave of racist authorities would want to seize control of society, over a century after the Tulsa race massacre. While this sense of innocence is what makes Doctor Manhattan a character worth rooting for, it also helps to diffuse his powers so that he can’t simply solve every issue that is placed in front of him. It’s a brilliant piece of acting on Abdul-Mateen II’s part, as he is able to redefine one of the most iconic characters in the history of DC comics, while still ceding authority to King and her lead performance.

There are many fans of Billy Crudup’s performance of Doctor Manhattan in Snyder’s Watchmen, and in all likelihood, there will inevitably be another remake or reimagining of the material at some point. However, Abdul-Mateen II’s performance as Doctor Manhattan will stand the test of time as the definitive version of the character because he was able to generate sympathy for Cal before his transformation, while also providing insight as to what version of Doctor Manhattan would be in the aftermath of the most significant event in the universe’s fictional history. Unpacking the mind of a messianic character after recorded events is a task that religious scholars have been attempting for decades, but Watchmen gave Abdul-Mateen II the opportunity to play a character who was both imposing and intimate. His willingness to take on such a challenging role — which easily could have earned him backlash — is one of the many reasons why Watchmen is one of the all-time greatest comic book adaptations.