Karnak is the name of Adrian Veidt's Antarctic retreat. A large and luxurious complex, it consists of several buildings housing rooms of various themes; visible in the story are a large dining room, a room with a large pool, one containing a wall of television monitors from which Veidt can observe world newscasts and events, and a meditation chamber containing an orrery.

The complex also included a large dome housing a huge terrarium where many species of plant and animal life were kept alive, despite the harsh climate outdoors. Upon returning to Karnak after securing his plan for world peace, Veidt lectures his Asian servants on the origins of his superhero persona. However, Veidt also poisons all three men and opens the dome, letting in the frigid air, killing all the life within the terrarium.

Karnak also contained an intrinsic field subtractor much like the one that Jon Osterman worked with at Gila Flats prior to the accident that transformed him into Dr. Manhattan. Veidt, using his pet lynx, Bubastis, tricks Manhattan into entering the field generator, attempting to destroy his former colleague.

The complex is named for the Karnak complex in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.