"I need to see you, you appear... I mean, it's all so Deux ex Machina..." (Chapt. 8, Page 23, Panel 3)
In this panel Laurie compares Dr. Manhattan's behavior to the plot device "Duex ex Machina", meaning "The god out of the machine" which Dr. Manhattan announces in the next panel. This Latin phrase derives from a few ancient Greek dramas whose conflicts were surprisingly solved by the intervention of God. In these plays God was usually brought on stage by a machine that would elevate the actor, hence the phrase "God out of the machine". The use of this term draws similarities from God to Dr. Manhattan, but also deifies Veidt as the liberator of the conflict. Moore also adds this term to inform the reader that all the evidence he is showing will be put together during an unexpected change in plot. Every detail that Moore adds to the Watchmen is significant, from logos on candy wrappers to obvious symbolic threads such as the clock. The mention of this term makes the reader more aware that this evidence is present and leading up to a tern of events.
~"Lynch, Literary Terms — Deus ex Machina." Rutgers-Newark: The State University of New Jersey. 01 Apr. 2009
~"Geithner Ex Machina." Australian Financial News | The Daily Reckoning Australia. 01 Apr. 2009
nice -- the reference making the reader know Moore is self-aware of his intents
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