Doomsday Clock Issue #11 Sets Up The Battle Of The Supermen

So here we are, the penultimate installment of DC Comics’ Watchmen crossover event Doomsday Clock.

Everything Geoff Johns and company has been building for the last twenty-two months will set up one of the most epic battles to ever take place on the pages of a comic book. Superman vs. Dr. Manhattan. The Man Of Steel vs. whatever Dr. Manhattan’s nickname is.

Now if you’ve been following the series it’s as guaranteed as an empty bank account after a weekend in Vegas that these two would meet at some point and in the closing frames of Issue #11, entitled “A Lifelong Mistake” two forces come face to face for the big final showdown.

This meeting happens at the end, and that’s basically it, they just look at each other. But the implication of what’s to come will have a major impact on the future of the DC Comics Universe. I’m sure Issue #12 will be nothing shy of incredible. But since we’re not there yet, and some pretty interesting stuff took place in the latest chapter. So let’s take a stroll through a few of Doomsday Clock’s recent developments.

I’d say the issue as a whole casts a wide net and is by far the most integrated we’ve seen since the run began. All of the central characters’ stories are not only touched on, but they’re all kinda coming together in this collective circular way which I believe will bring a conclusion with a ton of star power and twists. Aside from the familiar faces, Issue #11 shines some light on a couple of the hidden mythologies within the DC “Rebirth” Universe and also serves as one big “bad guy explains his plan” episode that’s totally necessary if we’re to move into the finale accordingly.

You know the bad guy has to let us know everything before it happens and we got a fair shot exposition from both Ozymandias and Lex Luthor. They were one dry erase board away actually teaching a class called Evil Ploys 101. Ozymandias basically explains, just like in the original Watchmen, that all of the events that have transpired are all in accordance with his design. His bad guy mastermind monologue covers manipulating Reggie’s Rorschach transformation through the discrediting of Superman. He also claims responsibility for the Moscow Firestorm Massacre which he started by using Bubastis’ (his supercat) powers to trigger the blue blast essentially framing Dr. Manhattan for the incident.

I forgot to mention that Ozy is giving this speech to Saturn Girl. She has the gift of foresight. We met a couple issues back along with Johnny Thunder (the guy with the green lantern). At the end of Vedit’s soliloquy Saturn Girl turns to ash in true Infinity War Snap fashion symbolizing a change in the future she initially saw.

I’ll add that Ozy believes Dr. Manhattan is on some type of spiritual pilgrimage between comic book universes to be with his people.

Also, the Nite Owl and the Silk Spectre 2 wind up somehow adopting Mime and Marionette’s child. I guess they’re alive, married, possibly fighting crime on the side in the Watchmen world.

Luthor’s exposition I feel will be addressed in more detail as the DC Rebirth Universe expands. We’re only touching the tip of the iceberg here. He takes Lois Lane to his grand Mac Daddy secret vault where he keep a vast collection of pictures. No, not porn, even though I’ll bet your dirty mind was immediately thinking porn. In fact, Lex’s photography museum is more of a log of Dr. Manhattan’s appearances in the DC Universe. The snapshots of Jon Osterman and Janey Slater along with energy signatures have captivated Luthor as he believes this “trail of bread crumbs” was left by the most powerful being ever. And we’re all aware of what happens when he gets obsessed with power.

Granted it’s a pretty significant display of information. However at this point, I don’t believe we’ve seen the full extent of what the reveal will mean for the big picture. Even in the pages of Issue #11, this scene gets lost in an avalanche of events going on elsewhere.

And yes there was a lot happening outside of our antagonists spilling the beans…

Batman stopped the Russians from starting a nuclear war. Thank you Batsy.

Alfred, read the Original Rorschach’s journal that detailed Ozy’s staged alien invasion and became inspired to seek out the New Rorschach. He even made Reggie a batch of his so well received pancakes. Thank you Alfred.

Black Adam got himself a crew of Metahumans together and are raising hell in America. We’re talking full blown conquest mode. His Kahndaq costumed heroes come with so much force that they destroyed the Egyptian Pyramids as an exercise. Then after making their debut at a gathering of world leaders, the group made their way to the White House lawn where they were met by Superman. Thank you Supes.

But it’s not over yet. Black Adam’s wrath is definitely worth noting because he believes the controversial Superman Theory. This is the whole humans making metahumans thing. And as to be expected, he’s pretty mad. Even the cover of Issue #11 has Evil Shazam! tearing up the American flag. Dude really hates America.

So we got all these threads coming together on top of the Dr. Manhattan, Superman showdown. The stakes couldn’t be any higher. This is what we have been waiting all this goddamn time for. Finally, this DC Rebirth vision Geoff Johns has been concocting will meet its conclusion.

All and all I really enjoyed “A Lifelong Mistake.” Can’t believe the series will be over soon. As we wait a couple months for Doomsday Clock ticks its final tock at least we’ll have HBO’s Watchmen show (October 20th) to hold us over.

By Adam Chmielewski

@PolishKaiju

Photo Credits- DC Comics

Who will win… Dr. Manhattan or Superman? Let Nerdbot know in the comments!!