The Manhattan Projects: Historical Fact vs Science Fiction

In Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra’s The Manhattan Projects, the protagonists aren’t a bunch of musclebound men in tights or sword-wielding barbarians, but rather men of science. With each character based, sometimes loosely, on actual scientists that took part in the famed Manhattan Project during World War II, it’s surely left many a reader wondering how these alien-killing, robot-destroying scientists compare to the real men with whom they share a name. Below, the principal cast of the book will be compared to their counterparts, determining just how each stacks up and seeing just how strange Hickman’s science fiction really is.

J. Robert Oppenheimer– Born in 1904, Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor at University of California, Berkeley. He’s often known as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb. It’s become a part of American legend that Oppenheimer remarked after the first test of the atomic bomb with a quote from the Bhagavad Gita, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

After WWII, Oppenheimer went on to lobby for control of nuclear arms as a way to avoid nuclear proliferation and an arms race with the Soviet Union. He was also appointed the director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.

Though he had a falling out with the government in the 1950s, he was always influential in the physics community and his notable achievements include the first prediction of quantum tunneling and his work on electrons and positrons.

 

In The Manhattan Projects, Robert Oppenheimer is most notable for actually being his psychotic, cannibal twin brother, Joseph Oppenheimer. Though he shares his brother’s “super genius” level intellect, he’s much more vicious. Joseph has multiple personalities and is also a presumed serial killer, eating his victims and incorporating something of their knowledge and personality into one of his own personalities. He too was part of the team that created the first atomic bomb, but as part of The Manhattan Projects, he’s been part of much more.

He’s repelled an invasion by Japanese Kamikaze robots, been to other worlds, and eaten many living things, including an alien, a president, and his own brother. He’s been part of the Manhattan Projects’ atomic bomb program, the FDR AI project, the cooperative with Star City and more. Upon finding a gateway to other worlds, he remarks, “We have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

His knowledge gained through eating others has been instrumental in the preemptive strike that the Manhattan Projects crew executed against would-be alien invaders. It also remains to be seen how much of his level of intellect is himself and what he acquired from eating his brother. After his recent ingestion of President Truman, it’s unknown what sort of knowledge he gained.

 

Haroutune “Harry” Daghlian, Jr.- Harry Daghlian was an American physicist who was just 23 when he began working on the Manhattan Project. In our history, he’s little more than a footnote as he was accidentally exposed to radiation while trying to build a neutron reflector around a plutonium core and died of severe radiation poisoning on August 21, 1945, just 25 days after exposure. His death prompted stricter safety regulations when handling radioactive cores.

 

The comic book version of Daghlian was also presumably caught in a radiation accident, but had a much different reaction. He appears as a skull floating above a hazmat suit appearing to be filled with radiation. He’s seen “feeding” on radiation in at least instance, so it may be that he needs to do this periodically to survive in his new state.

Daghlian too is of a “super genius” intellect and an vital part of The Manhattan Projects. He was instrumental in the FDR AI program, making the data connection with the dead body of President Franklin Roosevelt and transferring his consciousness into the first artificial intelligence. He was also was indirectly responsible for the xenocide of the alien Siill race, as his helmet was purposely cracked by another, causing his radiation to leak out and kill all the aliens present.

Daghlian has readily accepted his new life, stating that though the plutonium melted his skin and organs, it gave him something much greater: extended life. This statement implies that he enjoys some sort of immortality or prolonged life due to the radiation exposure, so he could be doing science and causing mayhem for many centuries to come.

Albert Einstein– Albert Einstein is easily the most recognizable of the cast of The Manhattan Projects. In our history, he’s as much known for his many, many scientific discoveries as he is for his sharp intellect and originality. He’s well known for his most famous equation “E=mc^2”, along with his theory of relativity and his discovery of the photoelectric effect.

Einstein’s actual involvement with the Manhattan Project was minimal. In 1939 he was persuaded to lend his name to a letter written by fellow physicist Leo Szilard that warned President Roosevelt of the possibility of Germany acquiring atomic weapons and the need for the American’s to acquire them first. Out of this letter the Manhattan Project was born. Einstein was never directly involved with production of the atomic bomb and denounced the use of nuclear fission as a weapon.

In The Manhattan Projects, Einstein has been replaced by an alternate universe version of himself, known as Albrecht Einstein. Though it’s unknown to any of the other members of the group, the alternate Einstein has been masquerading as our Einstein for quite a time.

He drinks, swears, has anger issues, and freely admits to being not as brilliant as those around him. He arrived on our world through a gateway known as a Pulling Way which allowed him to travel across vast distances and escape from a world which seems to be lacking in science.

Albrecht appears to have sinister plans for the Pulling Way, though his true intentions have yet to be revealed. His much gruffer and cruder personality is very at odds with our own image of Einstein, which makes for great contrast for the two characters. In our world, Einstein is one of our greatest. In this world, he’s likely one of the worst.

Enrico Fermi– Fermi was an Italian scientist that emigrated to the United States in 1938. He, along with Oppenheimer, was known as “The Father of the Atomic Bomb” for his work on the Manhattan Project. He helped develop the first nuclear reactor, named neutrinos, and had a variety of things named after him, including an element.

Fermi is regarded highly for his extremely high intellect and also his ability to arrive at accurate answers to complicated problems using simple methods. He was especially lauded for his success in both theoretical and experimental physics, something which was odd at the time.

One of his non-physics related namesakes is the Fermi Paradox, which questions why Earth has had no extraterrestrial contact despite the high probability of such civilizations existing.

In the strange world of The Manhattan Projects Fermi may actually be the answer to his paradox. He’s a “chromosomal” alien, which the meaning of is unclear. Whether it indicates merely a genetic anomaly or an extraterrestrial origin is unknown. He’s shown to have some degree of shape-shifting with his alien form being shown as a large, insect-like creature capable of completely slaughtering army troops.

In the comic he seems to be a bit of a timid man and his status as an alien is used to question his opinions. He’s boldly made a trip to the Siill homeworld and helped in the FDR AI program. Fermi seems to have a friendship with Daghlian, possibly as a result of both “men” being both much less and much more than human.

 

Richard Feynman– Next to Einstein, Richard Feynman is likely the most well-known scientist involved with the Manhattan Project. He assisted with the creation of the atomic bomb, investigated the Challenger explosion, pioneered quantum computing, and introduced the concept of nanotechnology. In addition to that he was a science educator, somewhat akin to Carl Sagan, and wrote many books about both his works and those about his life.

He became involved with the Manhattan Project during his graduate work at Princeton at the urging of Oppenheimer. He worked mainly in computational capacities but delighted in playing jokes on the other scientists there and picking the locks on their lockers and safes. Out of boredom, he would often sneak away and play drums in the hills surrounding Los Alamos, leading to a tale of a mysterious drummer named “Injun Joe”. He had a quirky personality with an odd sense of humor, took every physics class at MIT, and came off as a bit larger than life.

Richard Feynman as portrayed in The Manhattan Projects is likely the most accurate portrayal of any of the characters. He’s cocky, brilliant, and delights in jokes. If anything, he’s a bit more narcissistic in the comic than in life, but that’s it. He’s the youngest of the group, not counting Daghlian in his irradiated state, which makes for a bit naivety and innocence on his part.

Feynman was the one to solve the mystery of Einstein’s Pulling Way gateway and open up the portal to other worlds. It’s through his brilliance and insight that the group was able use the Pulling Way and journey to the Siill homeworld. He also was the one to parachute into Germany to recruit Wernher von Braun, despite their idealogical differences. In later issues he seems to reach a sort of understanding with Wernher in their pursuit of their goals.

Wernher von Braun– Wernher von Braun has been proclaimed as “the greatest rocket scientist in history”. He was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, and space architect. He was a Nazi rocket scientist who was recruited/captured by American forces as part of Operation Paperclip. After his group was absorbed by NASA, von Braun was the chief architect on the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was responsible for landing the first men on the Moon.

His ties to the Nazi party were, by his own account, mostly for political and social promotion. It was the best way for him to continue his life’s work of rocketry, so he took the chance. After his arrival in the US, he showed little to no lingering feeling for Nazi Germany, further supporting his accounts of never fully embracing Nazi beliefs.

In the comic, von Braun is first shown standing in a garden with Hitler. What follows is a plot of full of bloodshed as he ensures that he is the only scientist left for the Americans to take. He has an extremely overbearing and purposeful demeanor, made only more imposing by his robotic arm. As with his real life counterpart, this von Braun uses his alliances and appointments as nothing more than a means to achieve his goals and is driven forward by his life’s work: to reach the stars.

Von Braun risks, and loses, limbs in order to achieve his goals. He initially clashes with Feynman, believing that he does not have the will to pursue his goals to the end. Later, there is something of an understanding between the two as the two men go through some perilous events together. Von Braun and his attitude are summed up perfectly in a quote from the fictional Clavius Aurea: The Recorded Feynman: “What did I call the place beyond pain, beyond loss, and beyond suffering? Commitment.”

 

Leslie Groves– Leslie Groves was the Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and also directed the Manhattan Project. He graduated fourth in his class at West Point and was known as a “doer, driver, and stickler for duty”. After WWII, he realized that he would never again have an appointment with near the amount of importance as his past projects and instead opted to leave military service and became vice-president of Sperry-Rand.

Groves was an intelligent man by many standards, but after meeting with Oppenheimer to discuss the Manhattan Project, he was impressed not only by the man’s intellect but also the breadth of his knowledge, something which would be useful on a project that would involve physics, chemistry, metallurgy, and more. He also saw a drive in the man that made Oppenheimer Groves’ ideal choice to lead the project.

In the comic, Groves is never seen as intelligent but is constantly one step ahead of everyone. He’s completely prepared for any and all situations and plays everyone exactly how he needs to. His demeanor is very gruff and rude and extremely physical. He’s constantly shown as having weapons of all sorts around him, even wearing a grenade as a lapel pin.

In the descriptions, Groves is described as “not a genius”. Even so, he’s managed to not only assemble a team of super geniuses that he somehow keeps in line and commands completely, but also has maneuvered himself into a position of near limitless power and near limitless funding. As is said in the ninth issue “The General plays a pretty good game of poker.”

While many of the comic adaptations are a bit of a stretch, there seems to be a bit of truth to each adaptation, tapping into some facet or idea surrounding the person. The overall alternate take on history is at least every bit as fascinating as the real life events. The scientists behind the Manhattan Project are the closest thing the real world has had to Marvel Comics’ Illuminati, and the comic versions of these scientists are even more spectacular and flawed. It’s this strange take on an already storied event that makes this story a perfect melding of history and fiction.

 

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