Doctor Manhattan is partially based on DC Comics ' Captain Atom, although he has more in common with Gold Key Comics ' Solar. In Moore's original proposal, Captain Atom was surrounded by the shadow of a nuclear threat. However, Moore found he could do more with Manhattan as "a supreme super-hero" than he ever could have done with Captain Atom. Moore sought to delve into nuclear physics and quantum mechanics in constructing the character of Doctor Manhattan. He believed a character living in a quantum universe would not perceive time from a linear perspective, which would influence the character's perception of human affairs. Moore also wanted to avoid creating an emotionless character like Spock from Star Trek, so he allowed Doctor Manhattan to retain "human habits", but eventually grow away from them and humanity in general.