4 issue test #45 - Doomsday Clock

I’ve got a lot of backstory for this one. I should probably have done a separate editorial or something on Watchmen but hey, here we are, so I’ll give you a very condensed recap

We start with the death of superhero the Comedian as he’s tossed out the window of his apartment by person or persons unknown. It turns out he’s a piece of sh*t, but that’s a lot of characters in this. The world is on the brink of shooting everything at each other and the solution comes with Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandius. Throughout the story he sets his plan in motion, to teleport an inter-dimensional squid monster into a major city and have it kill thousands. The immediate result was a ceasefire between nations that Veidt hoped would result in world peace. His only major opponent was Rorschach, a vicious vigilante with a particular code that this crossed. This ultimately resulted in his death at the hands of Dr Manhattan.

Dr Manhattan was America’s super-weapon, able to do pretty much anything but he began to re-evaluate things when he found out his very being was giving cancer to the people he loved. At the end of the story he decided to leave and for reasons as yet unknown he entered the DC Universe.

Watchmen is, at its core, an attempt to deconstruct superheroes, mainly using retooled versions of characters from Charleston comics. I’ve only covered a few relevant to important information in the plot. I don’t like Watchmen that much. It’s not that it’s a bad comic, it’s just not a comic that was intended for me. I do get its appeal.

Alan Moore wrote Watchmen with DC Comics distributing, under that though the own creative licence to all the characters to use how they see fit, including prequels, sequels and sequel crossovers, something which may have been a part of Moore growing sour to the comic book industry. But this brings us to the DC Universe.

This story apparently takes place ahead of the current comics continuity, but there’s been a bit of build-up starting in DC Rebirth #1, where Wally West, the ginger one, returns from wherever it was he’s been since Flashpoint, he has secrets to tell too, apparently someone has erased 10 years from everyone’s memories, including him, although that changes quickly. Other semi-important bits include the arrival of Saturn Girl, asking for Superman, who was dead at the time, she was later placed as a Jane Doe in Arkham Asylum and Johnny Thunder waiting in an elderly person’s home. Batman has a clue, the comedian’s pin which he and the Flash were investigating. Also, character Pandora was killed by a familiar blue blast.

The evidence was clear, Dr Manhattan is in the main DCU and is responsible for all of it. More things happen including Batman and the Flash getting a trip to the Flashpoint universe, words from his father may have been partly responsible for the growth of the relationship between Batman and Catwoman. Kyle Rayner lost his white Lantern Ring and became a regular Green Lantern again, Jor-El was brought back from the dead, took on the guise of Mr Oz and tried to convince Superman that Earth is hopeless.

So, with things comic to a head we have the Geoff Johns as a writer and Gary Frank on art duties, a great combination although it has led to some delays, and we’ll get to that later on.

But Let’s just dig into #1-4

#1 opens up with a revelation, Veidt’s plan, it didn’t work, there are protesters on the streets outside his company, pushing over police cars and not backing down. One of the protesters manages to break in but is soon shot. It’s not great news in international politics, the Vice President killed the attorney General, 17 hostages at the White House, North Korea’s missiles are now capable of reaching Texas, the EU has fallen and Russia is on the verge invading Europe, the wall to Mexico (here we go) has been broken and refugees are flooding into Mexico, all whilst the President is out playing golf. Political satire at it’s cr*ppest.

So yeah, Rorschach’s death wasn’t the end of his interference. His journal was revealed to the world, and it revealed Veidt’s part in the attack on New York. People are believing the government was colluding with him. There’s a manhunt for Veidt but he’s disappeared, also the journal was stolen soon after it was made public.

It’s soon announced that Russia has invaded Poland and the US plans to launch its nukes to stop them if they don’t retreat. We cut to a prison where a prisoner tries to frighten a guard to giving them his keys. The guard is knocked out, but the prisoner backs away. Who frightened him? Rorschach, or at least someone who looks like him.

He heads to the sell and we meet the Marionette, who Rorschach had been sent to break out. Also, the US have begun the launch sequence for their nukes. Rorschach’s partner has information about the son of Marionette, who will share if she co-operates. She agrees, but only with her partner, the Mime. His plan is to ‘find god’ and save the world.

A bunch of inmates somehow out of their cells beat up another guard and grab his keys, they want a piece of the guy in one of the locked cells, the Mime. They seem to have him beat but the Marionette calls him, tells him to end his ‘performance’ before telling Rorschach that he likes to play the underdog before surprising them, which he does by brutally taking each of them down. He lacks his weapons, which are in the armoury. They head there and it seems like his weapons are either imaginary or invisible. Rorschach just thinks he’s a moron.

The prison is being evacuated, I think because the city nearby is a target, as that too is undergoing a mandatory evacuation. The trio head through a sewer tunnel, and end up in what appears to be Night Owl’s layer (I didn’t mention Night Owl until now, so there you go) but it’s not Night Owl who summoned them, it’s Veidt, along with a weird cat like thing.

Marionette threatens to kill him if he doesn’t get her son, collect the massive bounty on his head, but Veidt can offer an even bigger sum. He also warns her no more threats, especially against Rorschach. Veidt also reveals he has cancer and is dying. We see that Russian forces in Poland are continuing their advance 2 hours after the initial invasion. The only hope to save their world is to find Dr Manhattan, wherever he’s gone. That’s their mission

We cut over to Metropolis on DC Earth Clark Kent is having a bad dream. As a kid, Ma and Pa Kent forced him to the senior prom, despite the fact he didn’t have a date. Lana was dancing with someone else. As Jon and Martha drive away, discussing him, they’re hit by a truck and smashed into a tree, Clark awakens and Lois tells him he was yelling and room was shaking. Clark says he doesn’t remember ever having a nightmare

There are a couple of pages dedicated to world building I’m gonna skip them, this recap’s long enough as it is.

#2 opens with a scene of the Mime and the Marionette robbing a bank, the kill a fair few people in their display, although stop short of killing a desk clerk person when they see she has a kid, and even cut the finger off the boss who insults her, although they later regret that as the safe requires his full hand print to open. Dr Manhattan appears in the bank. He is about to blast the Mime but Marionette stands in front of him. Dr Manhattan sees that she’s pregnant and leaves them alone as the police arrive to arrest them

Veidt hopes that the memory of them might convince Dr Manhattan to return. Nukes are being launched and their time is running out. They get into Night Owl’s ship and follow the electron trail left by Doctor Manhattan into the DC Universe.

In the DC Universe, Bruce Wayne is having his yearly psych eval, ink blot tests, he lies about seeing boats, claiming he has a meeting with a friend about a yacht or something. He failed a psych eval 7 years ago because he was being honest, for some reason. He doesn’t think they’re necessary, especially with the Mad Hatter on the loose but Lucius Fox tells him the board need this, and they need Bruce to be more of a presence with a looming threat of LexCorp on them.

Yeah… This is a complete turnaround for Lex Luthor… I haven’t seen anything of him of late that would imply that would go in this direction. I’m gonna give you the jist of what’s going on now, despite a lot of it not being revealed till later. They call it the Superman Theory, heroes like Rex Mason and Man-Bat have come forward and said their being is the direct result of government experimentation. This has lead a lot of people to believe that the US is essentially growing their own super-weapons, which has encompassed just about every hero in the country, including Batman.

Night Owl’s ship crashes in a condemned part of Gotham City. Veidt decides to cuff Mime and Marionette in the ship, not wanting to take chances whilst he and Rorschach explore and try and find him. Their first stop: an abandoned library, Veidt discovers who the two smartest people on the planet are, Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne. Mr Terrific would be disappointed. Veidt wants to try for the smartest, Lex Luthor.

Rorschach easily breaks into Wayne Manor, finding pancakes left for Bruce (he has a weird obsession with them, don’t get it) and soon discovers the entrance to the bat-cave. Batman takes down the Mad Hatter, who warns that Arkham is making him worse. Batman soon gets an alert that Rorschach has entered the cave.

At LexCorp, Luthor fires his lab staff which might involve leave them to radiated to death, given the panel, and as is confronted by Veidt. Veidt admires Luthor’s tastes and explains how he’s the ‘smartest man’ on his Earth. Luthor allows him the time until security arrives to satisfy his curiosity. The Marionette is happy that the Mime has a lock pick

Luthor mocks Veidt’s original plan as Rorschach sees the stuff in the bat-cave and thinks Wayne is a crazy person. Takes one to know one, but we will get to that shortly. Luthor and Veidt are shot but by whom, the Comedian, back from the dead and out for revenge against the man who killed him. Rorschach comes face to face with Batman, ending the issue.

#3 opens with Veidt attacking the Comedian back in the opening of watchmen, catching him by surprise and shoving him out the window, along with his convenient blood pin which ultimately ended up with Batman. The Comedian awakens in the DC Earth in the water, he gets to surface and swims to shore, where Dr Manhattan greets him.

The Glass is stronger at LexCorp so the Comedian’s attempt to replicate wasn’t successful. Veidt turns off the lights but they’re still at a stalemate with the Comedian still angry and Veidt murdering him, and Veidt suspecting the hand of Dr Manhattan and trying to get answers. Veidt is backed up against the glass and smashes through it, falling down and only barely surviving.

Batman asks who his visitor is, he has trouble explaining so gives him the old Rorschach’s journal. Mime and Marionette head through the amusement park, convinced Veidt doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing, they decide to head into the city for a drink. 

Time passes but after a long night, Batman’s only on the 4^th page. Batman tells Rorschach to head back upstairs, clean up and rest, which Rorschach agrees to.

Protests continue in Gotham, including law enforcement demanding Batman remove his mask and address the connections between him, Metamorpho, man-bat and now also Lady Clayface, she’s not been in a comic for years, well before the New 52. Johnny Thunder is waiting at a window, hoping to be taken out but they don’t seem to be coming.

Rorschach isn’t fond of the rooms, they’re all too big for him. He settles on the smallest and requests some more pancakes from Alfred. He goes to have a shower. There’s some bits about a movie that I’m skipping over but it’s worth noting there’s been an explosion in Germany, they believe it’s their attempt to create meta-humans.

Back with the Mime and Marionette, they enter a bar, in the Joker’s turf, and the patrons aren’t happy to see their makeup, believing it to be an insult to their boss, especially since the Marionette says she doesn’t know who the Joker is. Mime threatens them, but they laugh, but we see he’s holding onto real weapons. I’m not sure how his powers work exactly, the weapons could be invisible, he had retrieve something from the weapons lockup. Marionette uses her sharp string to help in the battle. With all the patrons dead, they want to pay this Joker a visit.

So, Lex Luthor is in hospital after the attack, he’s stable but alive. The news believes the attack may have been driven because of LexCorp’s new meta-gene detectors, which are being rolled out across the planet. Meanwhile, Rorschach is remembering the day in New York when the attack happened, he was driving home to see his parents, hearing about the oncoming war when the squid monster appeared, looking right on top of him.

He wakes up with Batman next to him, he’d been asleep for almost a day and Batman had read the journal. He knows where Doctor Manhattan is, he takes Rorschach to Arkham Asylum and eventually tricks him into a cell and locks him in. He tells Rorschach he belongs here and Rorschach begs to be let out.

#4… #4… I’ll give you the highly condensed version because this issue offers next to nothing. Rorschach mark 2 was the son of the guy assigned to study the original Rorschach before his escape and the events of watchmen. He was not an aggressive type and was often bullied. The squid thing didn’t kill him but left him prone to violent outbursts.

He tries to run for the roof only to be confronted by Byron, the moth man, attempting to escape prison naked in a flight suit. He’s quickly recaptured and the two become friends, despite some rather ruthless guards. When Rorschach’s journal’s come out, it fills new Rorschach with a need for vengeance, since his parents were killed by the squid. He and Byron stage a prison break, ultimately setting the prison on fire. Byron sees the fire and is attracted towards it, but leaves Rorschach a gift, the Rorschach mask, and a map to Veidt’s location. He goes there with the intent of killing but seeing the regret he shows, he ultimately can’t bring himself to do it.

In Arkham Asylum, Batman disguises himself as a psychologist to try and get answers from Rorschach but is unsuccessful. Jane Doe, aka Saturn Girl has been reading his mind since he entered and breaks him out, saying it’s not long before she disappears or something

So that was Doomsday Clock #1-4, where do I stand? Let’s take a closer look.

The way the started off the event is interesting, having Rorschach bite Veidt from beyond the grave was a good move, but ultimately resulted in everything good Veidt had achieved coming undone and the world on the brink of war again. Veidt ultimately regretting his actions rather than blaming Rorschach showed that he’s a man with compassion and depth, but also on the brink of desperation, needing Dr Manhattan to set things right.

On the subject of Watchmen characters, I love the Mime and Marionette duo. They are fantastic characters and great foils, not physically imposing but very threatening. I’ll doubtless enjoy their confrontation with the Joker. Their child adds another layer to them, meaning they’re not just a copy of the Joker.

I also like that the brought the Comedian back, it’s a nice nod to the beginning of the original watchmen and I’m curious to where this’ll lead.

Gary Frank’s artwork is gorgeous, it totally fits the moody and gritty atmosphere of the Watchmen comics, using a 9-panel per page style layout for most of the issues to get a fair amount in. I also have to credit Geoff John’s world building, kind of reminiscent of the Dark Knight Returns, and it makes sense for an even with this much scope to have some political commentary. That said, it’s not subtle when it gets there.

But I do have significant problems with the way the book’s been handled. First off, this book was ultimately marketed as the ideological battle between Superman and Doctor Manhattan and yet neither have been major players in the title so far, Manhattan’s only appeared in Flashbacks and Superman only out of costume in the last 4 pages of #1

Pacing is the big issue with this book. The book’s been more about teasing us of things to come (ala the scenes with Johnny Thunder in #3) than it has been about progressing the narrative at hand. #1 I forgive but #4 basically has no plot progression at all.

And that brings us to the other big elephant in the room, Rorschach 2.0. I understand the need to create imagery to match with the predecessor, I also get the theme of legacy, and I don’t care that he’s a character of colour. My problem is he’s incredibly boring. Knowing about a character isn’t the same as knowing them, a backstory should be used to explain why the are the way they are. That was answered in #3, no further backstory required.

If this backstory was necessary, it shouldn’t have been in the main book, it should’ve been in a one-shot tie-in issue, maybe released in a between month with a different artist. The symbolism of the moth attracted and zapped by the light was just tedious, the book could’ve been several pages shorter.

The portrayal of the DC universe as being one step away from being the Watchmen universe also struck me as odd, considering that’s not how the DC universe is being portrayed currently. There’s only so much ‘it takes place in the future’ can get away with.

Ratings

#1 8/10

#2 7.5/10

#3 8/10

#4 4/10

Overall 6.875/10

Recommendation: I’m honestly torn on this one. I’m gonna continue picking it up, I hope #4 is just a blip, but if you haven’t picked up #1-4 already, maybe best waiting for the trade collection.