The Watchmen's gaze on the DC Universe looms ever so ominously, as DC Comics offers fans a preview of the first six uncolored manuscripts of "Doomsday Clock" in the New York Comic-Con. Writer Geoff Johns revealed the events succeeding the ending of Alan Moore's "Watchmen" graphic novel.
Apparently, the story of "Doomsday Clock" starts on Nov. 1992 in a narrative style, which appears to be similar to the tone of speech of the vigilante Rorschach who was killed by Doctor Manhattan in the end of "Watchmen." Somehow, the vigilante survived and ended up in a prison cell. It was not indicated how Rorschach survived being vaporized by Doctor Manhattan, but fans assume that it will be explained by Johns later on in the series.
Johns also states that "Doomsday Clock" does not start on the DC Universe and instead will focus first on the events of the universe that "Watchmen" has created, which took place during 1985 at the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the US. "Doomsday Clock" will also be continuing the "Watchmen" storyline before integrating with "DC: Rebirth" and overlapping with the Justice League.
This hyped fans of both "Watchmen" and Justice League following the big reveal in the "DC Universe: Rebirth Special" that the architect of the events of the New 52 series of DC comic storyline was orchestrated by none other than Doctor Manhattan. "Doomsday Clock" takes place first in the "Watchmen" universe since Johns has to set up the stage first and re-introduce the Watchmen characters before adjoining them to "DC: Rebirth."
"It was that god's eye point of view that I wanted to challenge because Doctor Manhattan is essentially a god, and this is all about what the world's become and the strife between the sides that the world has broken into and kind of a damnation of it... and a perspective of how god has left and this is the world he's left behind. And the only way to save it is to bring god back down," according to Johns.
Despite Johns and the artists following the art, color, paneling style, as well as the writing of "Watchmen" and trying to replicate Moore's master stroke, some of the fans were in doubt. Since a lot of the readers of "Watchmen" considered the ending of the graphic novel as a masterpiece, they fear that tampering with the storyline that Moore has concluded might ruin the franchise.
Still, that notion remains to be seen in the first issue of "Doomsday Clock," which is set to arrive on Nov. 22.
