What would Nietzsche have to say about it?

Published December 2, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Gentlemen!

This wasn’t my favorite episode of the series but I did come away feeling positive about it and I was lost in thought for about 20 minutes afterward. Here’s where my mind went:

Keane’s hints to Laurie Blake and Trieu’s summary of the Seventh Kavalry’s big plan got me thinking about Friedrich Nietzsche’s Übermensch. If Nietzsche’s intent was to promote a philosophy of transcending the value society places on other-worldliness to embrace and affirm our earthly life that was lost on the Nazis who embraced the Übermensch to prop up their belief in a biologically superior master race.

It’s interesting to examine the Seventh Kavalry’s justification for the plan: to become like Dr Manhattan to restore balance to the world. Nothing about Dr Manhattan’s abilities or presence suggest balance. He is inherently disproportionate to the rest of humanity.

The 7K’s reasoning reminds me of cries for an international men’s day or a white history month. The idea ultimately amounting to some people of privilege wanting more recognition to “keep things fair” when it’s actually a means to counter societal shifts that challenge their privilege.

In the final reveal of the episode we have confirmation that Dr Manhattan has been hiding in the life of a happily married man and father on Earth, just another member of humanity. The 7K may see Dr Manhattan as being a biologically superior Übermensch but I wonder if Nietzsche would consider Manhattan’s embrace of worldliness and the humaness of humanity to be the truer embodiment of the philosophy…

Your friend,

Carmelita from California

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