He'll Take Manhattan

In the Watchmen , one of the most incredible characters is the omnipotent Dr. Manhattan, who can manipulate the physical laws of the universe as the result of a strange accident involving "atomic physics." After being exposed to radiation, Dr. Manhattan is suffused with a blue glow and can see through time. But it turns out there was actually a real-life version of Dr. Manhattan named Louis Alexander Slotin, who was exposed to the same radioactive particles.

Unfortunately, Slotin did not develop superstrength.

It’s May 21, 1946, and Slotin, a scientist with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, is working on the Manhattan Project with his colleagues. Their experiment involves fission reaction, placing two half-spheres of beryllium around a plutonium core. At 3:20 p.m. Slotin is grasping an upper beryllium hemisphere with his left hand while maintaining separation of the sphere with a screwdriver—a tool that was not part of the protocol. The screwdriver slips and the upper hemisphere fell, causing a critical reaction and a burst of hard radiation. His colleagues report seeing a “blue glow” as the air ionized and felt a wave of heat. Slotin retracted his hand in reaction and the upper hemisphere fell on the floor. He was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation, equivalent of being 1500 meters away from a detonation of an atomic bomb. Nine days later, Slotin becomes the second victim in history to die of a criticality accident.

So was it the inspiration? Well, up until the part he dies maybe...