Review: Doomsday Clock
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is engaging, is packed with great characters, and concludes with a good message. The book has many elements that establish worthwhile connections to Watchmen. The meta narrative is a beautiful story about the history of DC Comics. The artwork is gorgeous and is layered with meaning.
Cons: Small story elements are weird. The book’s reflection on its time is not quite as impressive as it could have been.
Overall: This is a book that will range from good to great depending on how much fans like DC Comics. Universal positives come from the fun characters, the engaging storyline, the meaningful messaging, and the fantastic visuals. However, the book’s finest qualities come from the way it reviews the history of DC Comics and the messages held within its characters. For anyone, this will prove to be a solid read but for diehard fans of DC Comics, this read has so much more.
Story
Doomsday Clock, by Geoff Johns, is good in some ways and fantastic in others. As an isolated narrative and sequel to Watchmen it is good. The main narrative brings together wonderful characters, an engaging narrative, and provides a worthwhile reflection of modern society. There are some small problems here and there but, overall, the story is enjoyable. However, as a musing on the history of DC Comics, Doomsday Clock is simply fantastic. It brings together the publisher’s rich history and some of its finest characters to tell a meta narrative about the themes powering this history and these characters. For DC Comics fans, Doomsday Clock feels like a genuine love letter.
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Right from the start, Doomsday Clock follows an exciting and engaging story. It has the denizens of a familiar, dying world travel to the DC Universe in order to fix their world’s problems. Then, it reveals conflict in the DC Universe, introduces two fantastic new characters, and explains how reality has been heavily manipulated by Doctor Manhattan. The struggle eventually erupts into some exciting superhero brawls but is ultimately solved through a message of hope instead of violence, which convinces Manhattan to undo the damage he has done and to work on fixing his original world. It is a fun read that also contains a solid message.
There are just a few small pieces undermining this otherwise enjoyable narrative. Batman’s decision to put someone who just broke into the Batcave in Arkham seems incredibly short-sighted for the Dark Knight. The Comedian and Joker’s inclusion in the book felt almost entirely unnecessary and only served to add a few cheap thrills. In a similar way, both Marionette and Mime feel a bit sidelined by the book’s conclusion, despite starting out as worthwhile additions to the Watchmen universe.
Like Watchmen before it, the main storyline in Doomsday Clock also serves as a reflection of modern feelings. The main conflict is created by an environment where hope is lacking and where misinformation thrives. It also incorporates a world where hyper-connectivity and social media are creating an environment of division. Though I believe Watchmen works better as an encapsulation of the zeitgeist, what Doomsday Clock does is still interesting and suits the book well.
Where Doomsday Clock achieves its most significant success is as a reflection on the nature of DC Comics. The meta narrative in Doomsday Clock explores DC’s various reboots and continuity shifts in the form of incursions on this metaverse. It suggests that the metaverse has been under assault since its creation but that it is resilient due to the hope at its core.
Superimposing this theme over the book’s main storyline works as a fantastic criticism of comic history. It starts by casting DC’s staff, through the guise of Doctor Manhattan, as the villains in DC’s meta narrative, beings who constantly tinker with continuity and force the world to undergo reboots and changes. However, by the end of the book, readers realize that change isn’t always bad and that DC’s staff, and Doctor Manhattan, are not necessarily villains. The book’s conclusion suggests that change can add fantastic new things to the world of comics but it should still respect history and be true to the characters it works on; as long as Superman is still Superman at the core, it doesn’t matter if his ship crash landed in the 1950s or the 2050s. In a time of seemingly constant reboots and continuity changes, Doomsday Clock seems to be a love letter to those who care about these comics.
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Art
The artwork in Doomsday Clock is absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. Gary Frank’s visuals are insanely impressive in how they manage to blend realistic takes on the world with the unrealistic demonstrations that come with comics. This allows intense emotion to come through during serious dialogues while intense drama comes through in fighting scenes. Plus, every one of this book’s vast array of characters looks good and features a unique design, some even feature interpretations that look better than they usually do. The cherry on top is Brad Anderson’s colors, which suit the tone of this book perfectly.
The artwork in Doomsday Clock is also impressive in how it enhances the story. The use of the nine-panel grid, the inclusion of realistic looking documents at the end of chapters, and some direct visual callbacks help deepen this comic’s connection to Watchmen. Transitions between pages or scenes help connect specific points from one page to the next. There are even visual motifs found throughout the book that help bolster aspects of the storytelling, like how ink blots represent feelings or how glass represents fragility. There is plenty more that could be said about the way this comic’s artwork tells a story all on its own but the simple fact of the matter is that the visuals here are seriously impressive and make this a far more enjoyable read.
Continuity
Doomsday Clock continues two somewhat separate storylines. The entire volume is a spiritual successor to Watchmen that continues its story. The volume also answers mysteries that began with the mysterious appearance of a button in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
The story here does not continue in any specific comic. However, some of its ramifications are felt in Dark Nights: Death Metal.
This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:
- Various “crisis” events from DC’s past are brought up at various points in this read:
- The DC Universe was revealed to exist across two separate realities in The Flash #123, collected in The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 2, which first explained the difference between the standard Earth and Earth-Two.
- The “first and greatest” crisis occurred in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- Wally West returned to the Multiverse in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
- Extant changed the Multiverse in Zero Hour.
- The Dark Multiverse was revealed across Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order).
- The files at the conclusion of Doomsday Clock #5 reference Black Adam’s battle with the Shazam Family. This battle occurred across the Shazam’s storyline in the New 52 Justice League series, all of which is collected in Shazam! (Review).
- Numerous references are made to Superman’s first appearance involving lifting a car above his head. This is a reference to Action Comics #1, collected in Superman: The Golden Age Vol. 1.
- Doomsday Clock #9 starts by discussing Ferro Lad’s death in Adventure Comics #353, collected in Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 2.
- Superman’s induction into the Legion of Super-heroes occurred in Adventure Comics Vol 1 247, collected in Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Vol. 1.
- Doomsday Clock #10 references various versions of the deaths of Superman’s parents.
- They were shown to have died in bed from a mysterious illness in Superman Vol. 1 161.
- Jonathan Kent’s death was changed in Action Comics Vol 1 870, collected in Superman: Last Son of Krypton.
- Both of their deaths were retconned to have occurred in a car crash in Action Comics Vol. 2 #17, collected in Action Comics Vol. 3: At The End Of Days.
- Doomsday Clock #11 briefly mentions Lex Luthor encountering the threat from “Nibiru”. This happened in Superman: The Coming of the Supermen.
- A picture at the conclusion of Doomsday Clock #11 references The Flash #123, collected in The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 2.