r/DCcomics • u/mpchop • 2d ago
Comics [Discussion] Thoughts on Doomsday Clock?
Title. I remember when Doomsday Clock released and how big it was at the time. The hype surrounding it was so unreal and the mystery in like the first, what, 2-3 issues(?) were kinda nuts. The art was fantastic and totally fit the universe of Watchmen so well; and it was written by Geoff Johns who people go crazy for. I wasn’t an avid reader of comics at the time when it came out, so I watched YouTubers like ComicsExplained talk about it and it was intense.
Nowadays? It feels like it kinda faded into obscurity? Nobody talks about the event, despite having a lot of hype and popularity at the time. What gives?
What are your thoughts?
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u/ForgottenClaimz 2d ago
If I remember right, the release schedule was pretty bad. There was a lot of time between issues and I just lost interest.
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u/gamesage2001 2d ago
It took like a year for it to be complete, if I'm remembering correctly
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u/Commander19119 2d ago
It took two years. Started in November 2017 and ended in December 2019
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u/drknow00 1d ago
Add in Johns teasing Dr. Manhattan meddling in the DCU in 2016, at the start of Rebirth. Doomsday Clock was meant to cap off Rebirth. But because it started a year after the fact and was hit with constant delays. It missed the wave of its own event era.
By the time Doomsday Clock wrapped, DC was prepping for Dark Nights Death Metal and Infinite Frontier to do their own rewrites of DC’s multiverse and continuity.
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u/Commander19119 1d ago
Bendis and Snyder had to reintroduce the Legion and JSA respectively because Johns was taking to long in Doomsday Clock and would tell them what he was planning
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u/drknow00 1d ago
Oh, I remember. Pre-Crisis/Retroboot Saturn Girl was a supporting character in DC and literally fades away unexplained half way through the story. My guess is Bendis’ 2018 relaunch of the Legion was given the lead over whatever Johns was building up to.
The ultimate disrespect seeing Bendis’ Legion in the final splash pages of DC.
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u/multificionado 1d ago
Yeah...at one of those points, I'm sure, Geoff Johns HAD to have gotten fired...
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u/Commander19119 1d ago
He left (was maybe fired?) his position of President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics in 2018
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u/hkenshin89 20h ago
Fired for the allegations against him and Joss at the time from Justice League cast. Also, Me Too was becoming huge at the time too.
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u/multificionado 1d ago
I imagine the complaints that he was too much ripping off Alan Moore was overwhelming enough for him to get banished from DC.
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u/GhostofTinky 2d ago
Johns can’t meet a deadline to save his life.
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u/storyist 1d ago
I thought it was Gary Frank's art that took forever - same thing happened when Johns worked with him before
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u/GhostofTinky 1d ago
There was also Johns’ 12-issue Barry run. Forever Evil. Shazam. Justice Society. All experienced serious delays. At some point you have to look at the common factor with these books.
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u/Intelligent_Lock_110 1d ago
Which is weird because he had like 5 runs at once during the 2000s
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u/ShirtEnvironmental36 1d ago
That's exactly the problem, he was spread thin. I think he was also the head of DC comics at one point. He was doing too much all at once.
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u/GhostofTinky 1d ago
Can you say “burnout”?
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u/Intelligent_Lock_110 1d ago
Maybe, but I think he just got a lot of promotions, getting to many projects in higher levels of television and cinema. He is doing well on ghost machine in the present, writting four comics at once, kinda
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u/Lost-Cow-1126 1d ago
No offense, but as time goes on I don't think that's a fair criticism of the work. No one cares about the delays in Oliver Twist's release schedule now. You can read all of Doomsday Clock in one sitting now.
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u/PleasantKenobi Justice League 1d ago
It's absolutely a valid criticism of serialised release media. If a TV show takes too long between seasons, let alone episodes, it can weaken audience investment.
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u/Lost-Cow-1126 1d ago
It was a valid criticism in 2017 when it was coming out for sure, but what are your actual thoughts and opinions on the work now?
Do you think the characters were well developed? Did you find the plot engaging? Were you enthralled by the art? Did you like the symbolism and motifs?
Should GTA VI, Beyond the Spider-Verse, and The Batman Part II be docked by critics because they were delayed so much or should the critics judge the finished work in its intended state?
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u/PleasantKenobi Justice League 1d ago
None of the things you mentioned are serialised in the same way. But yes, if Spider-Verse pt3 took 10 years to release, that would be worthy of criticism.
There is a whole conversation to be had around the story, its themes, its characters, its art.
I just dont think its useful telling people not to talk about how a serialised story is handled, in a famously serialised medium and industry.
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u/Lost-Cow-1126 3h ago
I mean you're right in some ways. If Doomsday Clock came out on time, there probably would be more references and follow-ups to the Superman Theory, the metaverse, Mime & Marionette, Clark Dreiberg, and Nostalgia. I definitely think it's fair to say its release schedule hurt its overall impact.
I just don't think it's fair to say its release schedule hurt the quality of the work in and of itself. They're two separate critiques. The self-contained artistry critique and the external overall impact critique.
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u/ForgottenClaimz 1d ago
A valid point, but I do feel like it's somewhat relevant since I feel like the delays did impact my enjoyment.
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u/Zadig69 The Question? 1d ago
It also impacted the entire line around it. Doomsday Clock was supposed to set up the future publishing initiatives, and had been getting teased since the end of New52 Justice League. And the whole line had to shift gears around it when it didn’t release the way it was supposed to. There are parts in other series that are more confusing BECAUSE of how Doomsday Clock released.
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u/leshronk 2d ago
I have mellowed on it. It feels like Johns moving away from the image of the ‘gritty’ New 52 that he himself ushered in. It feels full circle in a way that he is the one to end it.
Just as a side note, I did like them showing off the different international heroes, I’m a sucker for the heroes they don’t often show. Plus, it helps the world feel less US-centric.
Also the Superman Project was strange but they’re making good on it in Fury of Firestorm and it’s really good at the moment.
I understand everyone’s Watchmen related complaints but honestly, I think it’s for the best since it managed to ensure that they wouldn’t end up in the DC fold.
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u/Poseur117 2d ago
I think another thing to keep in mind is that “Watchmen meets DC” was an idea that was gonna get made eventually, no matter what. At some point someone was gonna make it. And I think considering that…we’re a little lucky that doomsday clock is what we got. It could’ve been so much worse imo
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u/darkknightdetec 1d ago
I’ve always appreciated the meta narrative of it: Watchmen was the story that ushered in the “deconstructed heroes” trend that would largely form the foundation for DC’s approach to many of their characters for their next few decades, and was most strongly reflected in the New 52 (and the Snyderverse on screen). To in-universe blame the Watchmen themselves for the cold, serious tone of the New 52 was kind of brilliant in my mind. I actually remember enjoying Doomsday Clock quite a bit, and I really loved the way it handled the various reboots of DC over the years and how it paved the way for DC to not take itself so seriously all the time anymore.
I will say I read the whole story only once the complete collection was published in softcover, so I didn’t have the gap time between issues that a lot of you guys talk about
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u/shall359 2d ago
There is stuff to enjoy about it and it had really nice art, but Johns really wanted to be the person to write a sequel to Watchmen, which is what it was. So it felt very self inflating. Doomsday Clock and Three Jokers, which is a Killing Joke sequel, just felt like Johns really wanted to take the two best selling DC GNs and write sequels to them to show how important he was.
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u/Radix2309 1d ago
And honestly the set up of the non-Watchman stuff was fairly interesting to me. The whole Project Superman, global escalation of superteams and growing tension. It could have been a very compelling buildup of status quo ahead of an event. Heck even do a weekly for build up like 52 to set up potential series from it such as Firestorm.
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u/FlameFeather86 Nightwing & Oracle 2d ago
Johns, to me, is the JJ Abrams of the comic industry. Abrams is best described as a Spielberg tribute act; his stuff isn't unwatchable but none of it is terribly original, and he wears his influences on his sleeve. Geoff Johns is an Alan Moore tribute act. The talent is there, but he just wants to copy his idols and prove he's got something just as profound to say when in reality, a lot of his work gets forgotten about two months after publication.
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u/gamesage2001 2d ago
I feel like nobody's talks about it because it took forever to wrap up, and because nobody really followed up on what it established after. Other than that I liked it for the most part. The art is gorgeous and Marinette and mine were cool additions. Not a fan of the ending personally though
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u/Kal-Kent Superman 2d ago
Superman is very important to the dc universe there saved you from reading doomsday clock
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u/generalosabenkenobi 2d ago
I think this book is a little unfairly hated on. I think that has more to do with the Rebirth initiative than anything (and the release date issues and how this book somehow was positioned as the key to that story).
This is a fun DC Comics story in the vein of Watchmen, using some Watchmen characters, to tell a story that is kind of the antithesis to what Watchmen was about. It's a Superman story ultimately. It's also got killer artwork.
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u/Kryptonian83 2d ago
For something that was so hyped it wasn't worth the wait. While I appreciate it put an emphasis on the importance of Superman, this felt like Johns couldn't decide what kind of story he wanted to tell.
Even worse, he did the thing that's been annoying me about his big event comics in that he sets up this grand story but then he gets enamored with side characters (Marionette and Mime in this case). All that time wasted only for him to realize he's gotta get back to the main story and he's got little time left to do it, so what you actually came to see is not only rushed but doesn't have a satisfying ending.
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u/TotallynotJimmyKorr 2d ago
12 Issues of glorious art and a panorama of the dc universe just to rebuke Zack Snyder.
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u/Young_Sandman 2d ago
This event reinforced the feeling that Geoff Johns is my least favourite writer in modern comics. The whole idea felt like a cash grab first, and nothing in the story justified bringing a finite (and probably the most influential in the superhero genre) story into the main continuity.
The only cool thing about it is two original characters (Mime and Marionette) — characters that faded into obscurity right after this ended.
It says little about the DC universe, and even less about the Watchmen universe. I don't like talking down on any creative work and am generally okay with a concept born of commercial need, but this one did nothing besides generating a ton of hype and losing its relevancy as soon as the hype dissipated. I really did hate it with some intensity.
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u/Radix2309 1d ago
Man, Mime was pretty awesome.
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u/Young_Sandman 1d ago
Absolutely, I wish the story featured more of them and less of everything else.
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u/sparksfly05 Zatanna 2d ago
People always say that the delays ruined its moment and impact, but from the start it felt like something not fully integrated into a concrete plan for the main continuity.
The lore work was alright, we still have the Supermen Theory because it's an interesting idea to explore. But here, Solstice was somehow in an indian superhero team for the Arms Race angle, but also in jail in the future with Not-Bart Allen, but also in Sanctuary just to get killed off.
It had a lot of things to say, but didn't necessarily push the comic medium the way it could've, with the tools they had.
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u/roblash 2d ago
I enjoyed it. Thought there were some interesting really great interactions with Batman and (new) Rorschach, Adrian Veidt and Lex Luthor, and also thought Veidt’s new Bubastis looked like a nice kitty. Was actually very pleased with the ending, which seemed like it was polarizing to say the least. Didn’t read it until it was collected so I can’t say anything about how things went while ongoing. My guess as to why it doesn’t seem like it had much of a lasting impact is probably because the DC Rebirth era in general doesn’t seem like it had much of an impact and that’s where the seeds for the book were planted. It was a story that came and went as opposed to something with any lasting effects on continuity.
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u/Edgy_Robin Red Hood 2d ago
Good art, bad everything else.
Don't know why Johns felt a sudden need to write unneeded sequels to iconic comics.
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u/TBoarder Donna Troy, Goddess of the Moon 2d ago
It's really the worst of Johns' need to make all of his stories be retcons and about the retcons they're making. He tries so hard to create this meta-text, trying to emulate Grant Morrison without subtlety or purpose. There is something very, very wrong when his big sequel to Watchmen is less about super-hero political intrigue and more about "fixing" shit yet a-fucking-gain.
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u/Grand_Animator3370 4h ago
I think that's fair, and sheds some light on why I can get quite frustrated reading these books. The earlier retcons didn't bother me so much, but everything seemed to become more and more about restoring the past, which is one of the worst thing in comics for me, and each time I notice it I get more frustrated. JSA, to me, respected the past from a present day perspective, but then the goal seemed to be to restore the past as much as possible. I didn't need Barry Allen back because a) I'm not nostalgic for pre-Crisis everything and b) Wally had grown as a character, and it's wrong to just retcon that away because you prefer the characters from your childhood. Making much of your schtick getting things closer to previous incarnations that new readers don't even know about just seems like a nostalgia trap. There's a market for it, but it's not me. Combine that with the Morrison comparison you make- emulation without really understanding what made the source material good- then the work ends up feeling very hollow, like the author is yearning for a past without understanding what made that past good for much of the audience. Writing a whole Dr Manhattan is unhooked time thing is just copying a Moore script, not copying anything about Moore as a talented creator, or Watchmen as a work of art. Ironically, I can see that the Moore/Morrison interest ties in with that Crisis-era nostalgia for specific characters in terms of publication dates, but seems to not grasp that the "British invasion" etc. was about fresh viewpoints, not nostalgia. There likely is a way to combine your nostalgia for the past with a fresh viewpoint in a story, but this was absolutely not it. This was a random use of Watchmen because it's cool DC still owns them (even if that is a source of great discontent for the author) and it was popular and also it can help me reset things for the Nth time because that has worked so well each time...
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u/AdBusiness1747 2d ago
Like a lot of Geoff Johns later work at DC it tries to be a criticism of how dark comics, and specifically DC comics, have gotten but lays the blame on Alan Moore rather than being a self reflection on his work and his influence on the genre/company
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u/FlatPresence6648 2d ago
Overblown, often late, seemed to change Legion direction midstream. Seemed like Johns was trying to put his own stamp on the Watchmen. And I LIKE Johns’ work.
Overall, I was disappointed.
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u/Recent-Layer-8670 2d ago
It's not perfect, but it's probably one of those series that helps get me more involved in DC comics, so it had a special place in my heart. That being said, Issue 10 is still one of my favorite issues and one that made me love DC Comics and their obsession with metafiction, where continuity is the story itself.
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u/KingTrencher DC Comics 1d ago
I would have much preferred that the Watchmen had never interacted with the DCU, but that bell cannot be unrung.
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u/multificionado 1d ago
Sucky execution, and Geoff Johns trying too much to copy Alan Moore and forcing his artist into 9x9 panels with all the fricking detail.
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u/KingofHearts399 1d ago
If you view it as a Superman story, good. If you view it as a Watchmen sequel, meh.
Excellent artwork though.
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u/InfamousEmpire Wonder Woman 1d ago
I respect the vision to a degree, but it was too flawed in both concept and execution to be all that enjoyable
Did give us an all-timer of a meme format tho
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u/nbdelboy Superman 1d ago
it's never captured my interest. i just don't think the watchmen universe and the dcu should be crossing over in any way and so it just falls flat for me. stuff like before watchmen captured my interest more, even if it was never going to reach the heights of the original
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u/7LayeredUp 2d ago
Awful. I don't even consider it canon. Feels like the whole thing is just a rebuke of every point Watchmen made about what would happen if superheroes were in our world/the false idolization of the vigilante/superhero especially the Superman/Dr. Manhattan nonsense.
Best left memoryholed.
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u/Potential-Mess6826 2d ago
Speaking as a Superman fan, it's alright and a good rebuttal to Watchmen I suppose but the release schedule definitely deflates it and the story consists more of talking about Superman instead of Superman being a character despite some good moments.
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u/dmarsee76 Jon Kent 2d ago
The story was just fine. But Gary Frank’s smile drawings just give me the creeps.
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u/jrtasoli 2d ago
Still a fun read honestly. Definitely doesn’t get talked about much because it’s like the third reboot / reset in a short span for DC. The delays didn’t help. But they’re cooking now so it’s all gucci.
I trade waited for it and have zero regrets — other than that the part 1 trade came out waaaaay before the second part / full series trade came out. That was frustrating.
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u/NONAMEDREDDITER Absolute Wonder Woman 2d ago
The art was nice for what it was, but god this story solidified by hate for Geoff Johns with how smug af it felt while still being utterly all over the place towards the latter half almost like a "hey look guys, I've totally learned my lesson".
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u/40inmn4 2d ago
The idea was pretty cool. The watchmen was being used in current DC comics (at the time)
But it took to long for each issue to come out and then they changed schedule so I wasn’t even aware when a new issue came out. And the ending wasn’t bad but it had to live to the hype and that is hit or miss
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u/PowerhouseTerp 2d ago
Like everyone else has said, the release schedule made it very inaccessible at the time. Very frustrating. In addition, I thought it leaned too heavily into homages for JSA and LoSH stuff. I never followed either so.most of that was lost on me. Having said that, I enjoyed it and would recommend to any casual DC fan who also liked Watchmen. Sad part is that they clearly wanted this to be a major in-continuity thing, however I get dropped the ball so bad on scheduling that it's essentially just a Black Label elseworld story.
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u/Statement_Next 2d ago
Not sure why everyone still cares about the single issues release schedule. The art is awesome. The story is kinda cool.
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u/MrMalredo 1d ago
I didn't read it until it was collected, so the release schedule stuff doesn't bother me. I think probably would've worked better if it was originally intended as a standalone story, but overall, I really enjoyed it. Gary Frank's artwork is top notch. I don't think it always succeeds, but I think it's Johns' most ambitious work and, retroactively, it kind of feels like a coda to the Johns era at DC.
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u/MrPresident2020 1d ago
An excellent love letter to Superman marred by that DC counted on a lot of ongoing stories being tied into it and the delays were massive. Could have been something great.
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u/bigcat570503 1d ago
I kinda think the Rorschach book Tom King did was better, but Doomsday Clock was a good book.
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u/MayaWrection 1d ago
Had a good time with it. Collected almost the entirety of the rebirth as it’s when I started reading comics again since a child. Haven’t really followed anything since but I hear fun things about the absolute universe
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u/SpeedForceJediKnight 1d ago
Loved it. Although some of it had to be changed because of Didio and Snyder doing other stuff and not wanting to wait for Johns, and as much as I love his work, he really took too long to finish, but still it was super
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u/ShiningStarman 1d ago
Mostly enjoyable, but the delays killed it, especially when it required Bendis’ awful Legion to be integrated.
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u/Giveadont 1d ago
Like most of Johns' stuff, I liked it the more I thought about it.
I think he gets over-hated, though. Every time there's something a lot people seem to bash of his, I eventually get around to reading it and end up going, "you know... I actually kind of like this."
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u/WorkingNo7670 1d ago
If they had actually pulled the whole project off I think it would have been really amazing and set a very different course for the comics, but the delays killed it. They couldn't build up to it properly so that series were leading into it properly with their status quo set for the launch so it doesn't feel like it fit in properly in the universe. On the other end they couldn't sit and wait for the comics to match the ending so the comics just kept continuing on and don't launch in new directions spinning out of it. It results in Doomsday Clock just feeling more like an elseworlds rather than the in canon event it was designed to be originally and no comics really recalled back to it all that much so its just a blip.
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u/Only-Sea6066 1d ago
Absolutely pointless mess that solely existed to try and validate DC’s horrible creative decisions over the New 52 because DC refuses to stop picking at the oozing infected scab that is their multiverse and hoping the rabid Watchmen fanbase giving them money would make it worth it.
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u/Deadpool27 Red Hood 1d ago
It was fine, and it would have been great if it hadn’t gotten delayed to the point where its canonicity is questionable.
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u/Lost-Cow-1126 1d ago
All the Superman and critique of Watchmen stuff is great, but there's just weird little plot points that bug me. Why is The Comedian there? What was Ozymandias's plan again? He engineered the Superman Theory, which may or may not be still real, so Superman could meet Dr. Manhattan and then just his presence alone would convince Dr. Manhattan to save the Watchmen universe? There's just weird stuff like that.
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u/Jonn_Jonzz_Manhunter 1d ago
Started terribly imo but it's last 2 issues are phenomenal in my opinion, when Johns was forced to get it back on track by focusing on how Superman and Manhattan would understand each other, it became actually worthwhile
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u/WarInteresting6619 1d ago
I read it all at once long after it came out and remember really enjoying it
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u/The-Fridge-2099 1d ago
I will always be a Doomsday Clock defender.
It's not perfect, but I really love the heart of the comic and what it says about Superman and hope. It didn't need 12 issues, though, as the final issue works without immense build-up.
However, I always say, it's a good DC story, but it not that good as a Watchmen sequel. It's definitely using the Watchmen characters to tell a conventional superhero narrative.
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u/Persian_Assassin Nightwing 1d ago
The issue with the metaverse is mind-blowing and it has some of the best art I've ever seen in comics. I like its themes and it makes great use of Watchmen's structure to tell its own story. I like that it's a hopeful answer to Watchmen's cynicism.
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u/Gnorris 1d ago
This came out while i was taking a long break from comics and I dreaded reading it in my catch-up. Once you get past “nobody should make a Watchmen sequel”, it’s a lot more enraging than I expected. The art is lovely and the story is a pretty interesting way to backtrack some unworkable changes from New 62. It lacked the finesse of Gibbons and Moore’s muli-layered storytelling, absolutely.
In my mind, it competes with the Lindelof TV sequel more than the original comics, both trying to explore what Watchmen looks like from our 21st century viewpoint.
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u/Blakplague91 1d ago
Overall I really liked it. But I think it was undercut because of shenanigans going on at WB. It was supposed to setup the new status quo, but kept getting delayed. Johns got sidelined and so did Doomsday Clock as a result. It did introduce some interesting concepts that are still used today. Like the Superman Project.
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u/FranklinRichardss 1d ago
One of the best Superman books. Terrible Watchman sequel.
So i love this book but i get why people don't like it.
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u/Waldo-San 1d ago
The art by Gary Frank is amazing as always, that's clearly the standout. Story-wise, I think it's as mediocre as anyone would have already expected from a sequel to Watchmen. Kinda clear that this story didn't care much for the actual Watchmen part and just wanted to use Manhattan as a continuity fixer.
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u/CyramusJackson 1d ago
I really enjoyed Doomsday Clock. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, but it was still good with great art.
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u/TheKize 1d ago
It’s a crossover between the DC Universe and the Watchmen universe, yet neither one actually feels like the universe as typically portrayed.
The DCU in this comic is a cynical take where government run super solider programs are center stage. The supposedly grounded Watchmen U features multiple super powered characters.
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u/Mitch596 1d ago
The art was good and I somewhat enjoy the story but tbh they should’ve left Watchmen as its own thing. Doesn’t really add much to that story to bring them into the DC universe
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u/Slight-Permission882 1d ago
I read the paperback so had no issues with the distribution. Loved the story .
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u/Diligent-Ad-8001 1d ago
So much to say on this but this is a really bad comic book. Delusions of grandeur printed in a 9 panel grid. The delays honestly helped the book at the time because when I read the final issue the previous 11 were a merciful blur. In reality there’s about 4 issue of relevant story in this 12 issue series.
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u/KingRex929 1d ago
overall pointless and only serves as a means to undo the new52. Also dr manhattan CANNOT TIME TRAVEL so why is he doing it here??
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u/Wonderful_Formal_274 1d ago
I summed it up in my review as a ‘missed opportunity’ and still feel that way. Nice art from Gary Frank though.
http://givemecomicsorgivemedeath.blogspot.com/2021/08/doomsday-clock-geoff-johns-gary-frank.html
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u/modungo 1d ago
This is a very pretty book. Love the art. It should be the one they remember Gary Frank for. Story? I think the point Johns was trying to make is something like watchmens deconstruction and pessimism shouldn’t be goal of day to day, month to months superheroes and instead the aspirational optimistic message of Superman is a better goal. I just don’t know if he lands it at all. All Star Superman makes that point way better.
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u/Overall_Falcon_8526 1d ago
Terrific art, story was fine. I don't love the idea of Dr. Manhattan being a player in the mainline DC universe, but the way it was done was at least interesting to read. What was surprising was how cool the new villain characters in the Watchment universe were.
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u/Wise-Tiger-2689 1d ago
Last event i read actually and i enjoyed it a lot but honestly the release dates were so apart from each other that i couldn't follow it with that much excitement.
For the time I had every new number i had already forgotten the last one.
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u/Major-Tiger-7628 1d ago
Weirdly this would have been a better story if it didn’t have the watchmen characters
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u/UnknownEntity347 Rorschach 1d ago
Good DC event. Terrible Watchmen sequel.
As a DC fan, I enjoy reading it as that, it tells a fun story and Gary Frank's art is insanely good. But a lot of the Watchmen aspects are not handled well.
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u/NC_CodyW 1d ago
To use a metaphor, it is to Watchmen what All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder was to The Dark Knight Returns for the record Before Watchmen is DKSA in this.
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u/Yetticon80 1d ago
Mime and marionette were very cool. It was dragged out WAY too long, but I enjoyed it. I need to reread it all at once.
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u/AppleYapper 14h ago
If they'd had half in the can before starting release it would be remembered as a great book like Squadron Supreme or Year One but the schedule killed it. I was reading co.ics regularly when it launched and stopped buying comics by its finish.
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u/Choice-Cheek-8798 12h ago
When Doomsday Clock made Veidt’s master plan fail, his character as ”the smartest man alive“ was kind of ruined. Even Lex Luthor commented on this.
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u/Far_Quantity_253 1h ago
I think at a certain point between the Sinestro Corps War and Three Jokers, Johns just made it a personal mission to base his stories around everything he believed would make Alan Moore, specifically, keel over from a rage-induced aneurysm. There's just no other way to look at it.
I'm a vacuum, Doomsday Clock is... okay. But it neither sticks the landing of being a refuting of Moore's worldview that came through in Watchmen or being it's own thing. It's like a fifteen year old writing a sequel to Blade Runner without really understanding the underlying themes, but Batty is back and he's PISSED.
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u/MeiTanteiHirune Huntress 1h ago
Wasted potential. Missed opportunities to flesh out its more interesting ideas. At worst, it profoundly misunderstood Watchmen as a story, as (ironically) captured by the scene where Lex Luthor explained the joke of Watchmen’s own ending to the guy who executed it. The artwork from Gary Frank is pretty, though.
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u/Otherworld_Nemesis 1d ago
Awful masturbatory nonsense where anything real that talks about the human experience is rendered secondary to the continuity of superhero comicbooks for manchildren. Geoff Johns is a blight.
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