Doomsday Clock #11: We don't really learn much here, as Johns is mostly just setting the stage for Dr. Manhattan's final confrontation with Superman.
The biggest revelation coms when Lex tells Lois that he became aware of Jon's presence in this Universe because Jon is unconsciously dropping a photograph of him and a girl from 1938 in places where he intervenes in the timeline. Lex initially found the photograph when he was chasing chronal anomalies and stumbled upon the Flash remembering Wally from "Rebirth" #1. Lex observed that Jon's suit in the photo is from the 1950s, making him realize that he was dealing with a time traveler. (Who knew Lex knew so much about sartorial history?)
Meanwhile, the world's cities erupt in chaos as Black Adam leads the supervillains of the world in an assault on the White House and the Amazonians remove Diana from the board for her own safety. Superman awakens and confronts the villains while Ozymandias exposits the events of the last few issues to Saturn Girl. He explains (I think for the first time) that Dr. Manhattan saved Marionette and the Mime's life because he realized that Nite Owl and Silk Spectre were going to adopt their son, making Silk Spectre happy. Adrian informs us that he realized that Jon would never abandon this world to save their world because he was among his own people (i.e., metahumans) on this one. So, he decided to save both worlds by setting Dr. Manhattan and Superman against each other, though Johns hasn't revealed why Adrian thinks this confrontation will result in that outcome. Saturn Girl then disappears as Adrian notes that Superman didn't recognize her because she was no longer part of this timeline.
I have no idea how Johns is going to wrap up all the loose ends still out there, but I guess we'll see.
Doomsday Clock #12: It turns out that Johns wrapped up those loose ends pretty neatly, all things considering.
In the present, Markovia and Russia's metahuman teams arrive in Washington to bring Superman to justice for the Moscow massacre. Black Adam tries to recruit them to his side, but they refuse. (He is a villain after all.) Superman asks an observing Dr. Manhattan for help as more and more metahuman teams converge on Washington and the situation spirals into chaos. Jon refuses, noting that he didn't save even his own world.
In the fateful moment that leads to the outcome that Jon predicted, Superman stops someone from attacking Jon. He's confused why Superman would do so, and Superman tells Jon that he has a third choice (beyond Superman destroying him or him destroying the metaverse): maybe he sees the darkness because he gives everything that he has to save his world. Superman notes that Jon's leaving copies of the photograph that Lex found last issue with every step he takes, and Jon looks at it: it's of him and Janey. It reminds him of his humanity, and he sets about fixing the situation that he created. Jon moves back the lantern so that Alan can become the Green Lantern and, in so doing, resurrects the Justice Society of America. Clark then decides to become Superboy because the Society inspires him to do so; in so doing, he not only saves his parents from the car crash that killed them and but resurrects the Legion of Superheroes.
The moment of brilliance that we were hoping to see now finally arrives. Johns explains that the frequent ret-cons of the DCU happen so that Superman always exists, because hope is the North Star of the metaverse. Johns walks us through all the various future crises and makes the following enduring observation: "The rocket arrives. A child is loved. Superman is made." Eventually his timeline will converge with the Legion's and humankind will finally embrace his ideals.
As the events in Washington occur, Batman recruits Rorschach to help him, and they discover in Nite Owl's ship the information that they need to exonerate Superman. Bruce gives it to Lois, who uses it with the information that she got from Lex to get out the true story. Dr. Manhattan then does three things before dying. First, he indirectly encourages Carver Coleman to come out, saving his life by telling him not to be afraid of what he feels. We learn that Carver dies with his partner of 40 years at his side as one of the gay right's movements original activists, with this mantra becoming its slogan. Dr. Manhattan then destroys all his world's nuclear weapons, completely changing the balance of power. Finally, he realizes that he can't see how Marionette and the Mime's child comes to stay with Laurie and Dan because he himself raises him. Deciding his home planet needs a protector who is loved like Earth has Superman, he raises the child and embues him with the last of his powers before giving him to Laurie and Dan, having named him Clark. (I still think that it's a stretch that Adrian say this outcome, setting up Dr. Manhattan's fight with Superman, but I'm willing to just go with this part.)
I've pretty much left DC at this point, but this series isn't a terrible way to go. On the confusing end, Johns implies that the DCnU still continues out there somewhere, and I'm still not really sure how or whether Rebirth changed the DCnU back into the DCU. But, Johns at least gives us a story set in the more mainstream understanding of the DCU, and I can't say that's a terrible thing. But, I also think that it's a little too late. The world of hope that Johns depicts here seems very far from the DC books that I've been reading, where Scott Snyder and Tom King have given us a lonely broken Batman and Scott Lobdell and Dan Jurgens have turned Nigthwing into the amnesiac rebellious Ric. If the DC Universe were to become anything like the one Johns portrayed here, I might be willing to dive back into the fray. For now, I've reduced my reading to "Detective Comics" and the various Batman mini-series. If "Doomsday Clock" points us in a new direction, I'm happy to follow. In the meantime, it was at least an interesting trip through Johns' imagination.
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