Argument from evil, restated

[Esquilax]

Dr. Manhattan is sort of the god character in that story, but the point is, withholding action when you could have prevented something makes you complicit with it. He didn't have to kill the comedian either, he could turn the bullets into vapor, which the comedian tells him.

This is unreasonable when you are powerless to do anything about a situation, but if you're all-powerful, you can do all the things to stop it.

Yeah, that's the part I've never understood either: if we've got a benevolent god looking over the world, why don't we live in a universe where every time someone goes to shoot another person, the gun jams, or the bullet misses? Why don't we live in a world where every attempt at non consensual sex leads to a sudden bout of impotence? Or where every assault suddenly leaves the attacker very, very uncoordinated? You'd still have the free will to attempt those actions, the only thing specifically being removed is the harm.