What is the endgame of Rebirth/Doomsday Clock?

[BohemiaDrinker]

In the first/last pages of Rebirth #1, Johns shows a watch, Wally's, that was broken. And –*maybe people noticed this before –*when it is reassembled on Mars, presumably by Dr. Manhattan, it moves backwards from about 4:52 to 4:47 (or something :47). Clearly, Johns sees the circular metaphor as one he's going to use, and unless I'm very surprised, he's going to be all about things moving forward in endless fashion.

Kinda like the algorithm 8 from Multiversity. So, does a round watch seen in 4d vision look like a moebius strip?

Dr. Manhattan is going to lose or he's going to be converted by Superman. He's either acting out of sheer evil (which is out of character) or he's acting out of sheer, apathetic indifference, conducting an experiment with timelines (which is in character). He's toying with timelines, including the ones we've been in and the ones we haven't, lately (e.g., Flashpoint, COIE, the Silver Age JLA). Something good, something optimistic, will come out of this. But there's going to be pain along the way.

There's the possibility that he's doing it out of some misguided altruism. As if he needs to take something from the DCU and transplant it to Watchmen to make it viable. I mean, the Comedian is alive, Rorschach has a legacy, Ozymandias is now a clear-cut villain; something changed over there.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There's the possibility that he's doing it out of some misguided altruism. As if he needs to take something from the DCU and transplant it to Watchmen to make it viable. I mean, the Comedian is alive, Rorschach has a legacy, Ozymandias is now a clear-cut villain; something changed over there.

I suspect this is the case, too.

I don't think Doc Manhattan is some moustache-twirling villain trying to torment Superman, and by extention, the DCU. I think Manhattan may be trying to prove a point and make Superman better. He's tinkering with Superman's life and history in an attempt to improve him by deconstructing him, but has ended up breaking him, much as Alan Moore's deconstruction of the superheroic ideal ended up derailing the DCU for decades.

[jackolover]

Manhattan would make a great villain.
He has this dismissive air about humanity, where he has lost connection with human concerns.
Superman isn’t going to be able to reason with Manhattan.
Manhattans like Galactus - humans are just ants.
Manhattan operates on a technical level - there are molecules and energy, and that’s about all he sees.

[astro@work]

Johns likes to play the long game on his stories, (see his original JSA run where it took over 50 issues to resolve Lyta's story), so I'd bet the outcome is all hinted at in the Rebirth one shot.

"The Missing Ten Years" is what I'd guess will change the DCU after. Does it get restored? If so, what does that mean?
(Has it already been restored with the Superman meld that allows Jon to be ten in normal continuity?) Does it restore Cyborg as a Teen Titan? Martian Manhunters position with the JLA?

Dr Manhattan's motives will also likely be a huge key to the puzzle. As many have mentioned, he's not likely to be meddling with the timeline just to meddle. There's likely an end-game, so what is it? And whatever it is, his eventual defeat may be what restores the lost time.

[The Darknight Detective]

Now, that's a year I'm sooooo unlikely to still be alive for!

(Even 2051 would be pushing things for me, but a slight possibility.)

In 2078, I'll be only 113. By them we'll all be living to 300 and riding around in Jetson air cars, right?

[Flash Gordon]

Manhattan would make a great villain.
He has this dismissive air about humanity, where he has lost connection with human concerns.
Superman isn’t going to be able to reason with Manhattan.
Manhattans like Galactus - humans are just ants.
Manhattan operates on a technical level - there are molecules and energy, and that’s about all he sees.

That's...not at all who Doctor Manhattan was.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

The final issue of Metal comes out next week. Does anyone else think that it will feature the continuity revamp that Doomsday Clock was originally meant to do, prior to Johns's deciding to drop the idea, then changing his mind?

Or am I wearing a tinfoil hat again and nobody wants to tell me?

[Rod G]

The final issue of Metal comes out next week. Does anyone else think that it will feature the continuity revamp that Doomsday Clock was originally meant to do, prior to Johns's deciding to drop the idea, then changing his mind?

Or am I wearing a tinfoil hat again and nobody wants to tell me?

Nobody wants to tell you?

I’m not surprised.

IMO, though, I don’t think there’s any endgame to Doomsday Clock, and with Metal gone as grimdark as it has . . .

[MajorHoy]

Or am I wearing a tinfoil hat again and nobody wants to tell me?

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

The final issue of Metal comes out next week. Does anyone else think that it will feature the continuity revamp that Doomsday Clock was originally meant to do, prior to Johns's deciding to drop the idea, then changing his mind?

Or am I wearing a tinfoil hat again and nobody wants to tell me?

I don't think we've seen anything to suggest that Metal will set everything right or that Doomsday Clock still isn't ramping up to the conclusion it's been billed to have. If Metal finishes and Wally is still in his current "status quo" then there's still more work to be done.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I don't think we've seen anything to suggest that Metal will set everything right or that Doomsday Clock still isn't ramping up to the conclusion it's been billed to have. If Metal finishes and Wally is still in his current "status quo" then there's still more work to be done.

I don't think Metal will do everything, because Doomsday Clock is clearly going to be the place where the JSA and LSH return, but I think the JLA, Teen Titans and Young Justice continuity could be restored.

[jackolover]

That's...not at all who Doctor Manhattan was.

Okay. What is your take on Manhattan?