Superman in Doomsday Clock

[Frontier]

Johns says that "Superman is the story" and Lee says that its a Watchmen sequel. Can it be both? I don't know...

Well, given the context, I think it was always going to be a Watchmen sequel in some form even if Superman is central to the story.

[TruthAndJustice]

A sequel or just a story that uses a couple of WATCHMEN characters that, ultimately, is about the superhero genre itself and what it ought to be? About how while WATCHMEN is a great story, its influence on mainstream comics has been mostly awful? (Rorshach, dude, he's so badass, let's make a ton of characters like that, let's make Batman be as violent and "crazy" as we can get away with.)

I trust Geoff Johns. I don't trust DiDio or Lee. Best to just ignore them.

[DragonPiece]

Well Johns just showed the page of the tumor was on the watchmen world, not the DCU. So I guess lex doesn't have cancer.

[Sacred Knight]

Heeere we go. A really interesting plot point and it ends up not having to do with Superman or anyone associated with him at all. And its actually going to feature the actual Watchmen world? I couldn't care less about revisiting that place. In fact Superman has yet to be mentioned even once.

Level of concern: rising. This does indeed sound more and more every bit just a straight Watchmen sequel and less a Superman story like Johns purported in the beginning. I mean there's room for it to switch between the two settings but Superman's not even being talked about in this panel and its supposedly his story. And all that's being talked about is Rorschach. I dunno, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions too early...but Johns has burned Superman before. A lot. So I'm concerned.

[FishyZombie]

It's probably a Watchmen sequel with Superman as the protagonist. Can't say I care for them revealing that Ozymandias gets exposed, liked the ambiguity of the Watchmen ending. But then again, that was the most likely outcome of Rorsach's journal being found. So I'm still on board. Suspect that'll piss some people off though (revealing that Adrian's plan gets exposed)..

[Sacred Knight]

A progtagonist that can barely get a mention. I think that's what bothers me most. The complete lack of enthusiasm at these cons when it comes to Superman. They just don't act like they care that much. They talk about Batman, they're enthused. They talk about Flash, they're enthused. What they themselves earlier labeled as Superman's story comes up to bat, and he's not even discussed. I just don't get it.

My interest has taken a dive this afternoon.

[Frontier]

Heeere we go. A really interesting plot point and it ends up not having to do with Superman or anyone associated with him at all. And its actually going to feature the actual Watchmen world? I couldn't care less about revisiting that place. In fact Superman has yet to be mentioned even once.

Level of concern: rising. This does indeed sound more and more every bit just a straight Watchmen sequel and less a Superman story like Johns purported in the beginning. I mean there's room for it to switch between the two settings but Superman's not even being talked about in this panel and its supposedly his story. And all that's being talked about is Rorschach. I dunno, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions too early...but Johns has burned Superman before. A lot. So I'm concerned.

I think they'll be a major shift once Superman and the DCU starts getting more involved.

If anything these six pages are more for context.

[FishyZombie]

A progtagonist that can barely get a mention. I think that's what bothers me most. The complete lack of enthusiasm at these cons when it comes to Superman. They just don't act like they care that much. They talk about Batman, they're enthused. They talk about Flash, they're enthused. What they themselves earlier labeled as Superman's story comes up to bat, and he's not even discussed. I just don't get it.

My interest has taken a dive this afternoon.

I'm not physically at comic con, I'm in a library staring at my phone while trying to write an essay for class. So you likely know more more than me, but I'm reading the article on CBR, and I'm seeing a fair share of quotes by Johns in reference to Superman and Lex there. Again, you probably have a more informed opinion than me if you saw the actual panel.
http://www.cbr.com/doomsday-clock-ge...nel-nycc-2017/

[Bored at 3:00AM]

This looks very good. I'm surprised by how direct a sequel to Watchmen this is, and how relevant this comic seems to today.

Very much looking forward to how a character like Superman will mesh with all this.

[Sacred Knight]

I'm not physically at comic con, I'm in a library staring at my phone while trying to write an essay for class. So you likely know more more than me, but I'm reading the article on CBR, and I'm seeing a fair share of quotes by Johns in reference to Superman and Lex there. Again, you probably have a more informed opinion than me if you saw the actual panel.

I was reading a summary too, maybe the one I read wasn't accurate or something because I really only saw Superman mentioned once, via a question from the audience near the end, and even that had nothing to do with the story. In any case maybe I'm just being a Debbie Downer right now but I was just expecting more Superman related stuff.

[titansupes]

Definitely disappointed to hear they didn't talk about Superman much (at all?), and I really liked our speculation that Lex was the one in the X-Ray, AND I was disappointed to see so much of the post-Watchmen world being detailed.

However--

I just read the preview pages, and I think both art and writing are of a really high quality. A little too obvious with it's inspiration (Trump, NK and Russia etc. Even the news anchor shouting "Rise up!" being named Howard (Network) etc)... But I really enjoyed it none-the-less.

Cautiously hyped.

EDIT: Oh and yeah, a certain character appearing at the end was... We'll see. One line of dialogue makes me think it could be a fake out.

[superduperman]

So it really does look like a Watchmen sequel. Which is the one thing I said I would be against more than anything. But this actually looks really good. I'm guessing it was meant to be relevant. By the sound of it, basically America becomes a fascist state. With DC characters in the Watchmen universe, I wonder if we find out that Dr. Manhattan actually created what we know of as the DCU. Which would explain the constant reboots. He gets bored and decides to start again periodically. Did he bring Rorschach back to life or did someone else take up the mantle in honor of him? Sort of like V. I'm sure Alan Moore is none too pleased with any of this. Which is my biggest hang up. He has legitimate grievances.

[Last Son of Krypton]

I'd like to know Moore's reaction to this.

[TruthAndJustice]

Might it be that Ozymandias has the tumor?

I admit, I'm surprised to see Rorschach again in something other than a flashback. Then again, maybe it's not the original Rorschach. I really hope that Johns didn't decided to have Dr. Manhattan...re-compose him. But I've liked enough of Johns' writings that I'm willing to give him a chance.

I mean the whole idea of a sequel to Watchmen, in any sense, makes part of me say NOOOO!!! but within this context the other part of me is willing to withhold judgment, for now.

[Embryonic Superman]

Yeah, that was startling in how well written it was. Don't get me wrong. I like a lot of what Johns has done over the years, but he's a guy whose ambitions sometimes get the best of him. This though? It was chilling in how of-the-moment it felt. I felt existential dread reading these pages, and I didn't fully expect that from this event.

I've never been one to view the Watchmen characters as complete sacred cows, and I think this whole idea is so gonzo that it might just work in a way that Before Watchmen didn't. That it ties into Superman during that character's current renaissance and my renewed fandom for his world only sweetens this for me. So with that being said, did anyone notice how these six pages take place on November 22, 1992? Aside from November 22nd being the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, it was also a few days after the release of Superman #75. So, taking this at face value, the Watchmen world was descending into a fascist apocalypse shortly after Superman died in real time. I have to wonder what the correlation is there, what the link is between the DCU and the Watchmen world, and how Superman and Manhatten are linked. It definitely gives an added potent meaning to "Doomsday Clock".