It's been over a year since DC relaunched its universe with the DC Rebirth Special #1 comic book by writer Geoff Johns and superstar artists Ivan Reis, Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver and Phil Jimenez. The purpose of this massive 80-page comic was to jumpstart a new direction for DC's line of titles, a bridge between the modern approach of the New 52 and a return to the old continuity. Under Johns' direction, Rebirth re-established many beloved aspects of the universe while setting up all new mysteries for the future.

These mysteries led to a jaw-dropping conclusion that revealed that Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan was at the center of the Rebirth mystery, and all signs pointed to him being the one responsible for the creation of the New 52 timeline. Although we've only gotten teases to his involvement in the past year, he is set to take center stage in November's Doomsday Clock, a series penned by Johns, and drawn by artists Gary Frank and Brad Anderson.

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Answers are sure to come in Doomsday Clock, but until the book arrives, we still have a lot of questions, questions that were set up all the way back in the DC Rebirth Special. While some mysteries have since been explored in other books, like the involvement of the mysterious Mr. Oz, or the identity of the villain responsible for making everyone forget about Wally West, others have yet to be resolved, or, in some cases, even mentioned.

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The Three Jokers Mystery

In the opening pages of the DC Rebirth Special, Wally's first stop to find an emotional lightning rod is inside the Batcave, where he tries to approach Batman, the man who can solve anything. Little does Wally know, however, that Batman is already in the midst of an investigation that he can't quite seem to crack: the three Jokers mystery.

Rebirth-Three-Joker-Mystery

First revealed after the events of Justice League: Darkseid War, yet another one of Geoff Johns' stories, Batman came to discover that there were in fact three different Jokers when he asked the Mobius Chair, a chair that contains all the knowledge in the universe, the Joker's true identity. In the Rebirth Special, we see the Dark Knight following up on this mystery, as he learns that the Joker appears to be both in Civic City and Baltimore simultaneously.

RELATED: From The Ashes: 15 DC Rebirth Comics You Should Be Reading Right Now

Intriguingly, DC is also currently releasing two Batman events that feature two very different versions of the Joker. In “The War of Jokes and Riddles” by the creative of Tom King and Mikel Janin, a story set in the past of Gotham City, we see a younger Batman desperately trying to stop a war between the Riddler and a far more serious, far darker Joker. Then, in writer Scott Snyder's Dark Days: The Forge and The Casting, the two-part opening act of the Dark Nights: Metal event, we saw that there was a Joker that Batman kept, in secret, locked beneath his Batcave. What all of this means yet, we do not know, and the different stories may not even be related to this mystery, but it seems like the three Jokers conundrum is gaining more steam as Rebirth moves forward.

Johnny Thunder and the Justice Society of America

Not long after visiting the Batcave, Wally West heads to a home for the elderly where he meets its residents, Johnny Thunder. Now well into his 90s, Thunder's rantings leave his caretakers to believe he's insane. In fact, he was once a proud member of the Justice Society of America, and able to summon the power of Yz, the Thunderbolt, a powerful genie. But, as it turns out, the JSA wasn't a part of the history of the New 52, the timeline Manhattan created after Flashpoint.

Rebirth-JSA-Johnny-Thunder

Since Wally hails from before the New 52 and Flashpoint, he knows and remembers the JSA. Thus, when he meets Johnny for a brief instant, he encourages Johnny to bring his friends back, that they're going to be needed in the fight ahead. Whether Wally meant a fight against Doctor Manhattan and the Watchmen or something else entirely remains a mystery for now.

Dr Fate Kent Nelson returns DC Rebirth

Some time later, we see Johnny Thunder again, this time in the pages of The Flash #21, the second chapter of “The Button” storyline by writers Tom King and Joshua Williamson. In this appearance, we see Thunder is still in the his home for the elderly, screaming for his genie to appear. While he hasn't found his friends yet, he now has the fire within him to do so. What Thunder doesn't know is that one of his friends has apparently surfaced. In the pages of Blue Beetle #9, the original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, finally returned. Not only did he help Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes defeat a villain, he also left them with a promise, that he would be watching...

Who watches the Watchmen? Is it Doctor Fate? The JSA? Either way, there is still much to be explored in the mystery of Johnny Thunder, the JSA and their role in Rebirth.

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When, Exactly, Did Doctor Manhattan's Influence Begin?

As Wally was pulled through the Speed Force, he said that ten years had been stolen from the world's heroes, that their strength and bonds had all been made weaker, just as we glimpse a dark hand emerge out blue energy -- energy reminiscent of Doctor Manhattan's. But another mystery emerges when Wally theorizes that all of this had begun even before Flashpoint. It seems unlikely that Johns added this line as a mere throwaway, so begs the question: did Doctor Manhattan influence the heroes even before creating the New 52? And if so, when?

DC-Rebirth-timeline-mystery

It's possible that we were given a hint at that much later on; an answer, or at least the inkling to one, was offered in The Flash #21. In the second part of “The Button” crossover story between the Batman and The Flash titles, Bruce and Barry use the Cosmic Treadmill to catch up with the Reverse-Flash, but in doing so, both heroes catch a glimpse at events from a past they never knew. Mainly, we see three events: the formation of the Silver Age Justice League, events from Identity Crisis, and Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Flash 21 DC timelines

While all of these moments could be interpreted as mere glimpses of memories Batman and The Flash no longer have, it could also be a hint that Manhattan was partly responsible for influencing some of DC's biggest events, as far back as the formation of the DCU's first superhero team. There's no way to know just yet, but Doomsday Clock may hold the answer.

Saturn Girl and The Legion of Super-Heroes

Saturn Girl, one of the founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, briefly appears in the Rebirth Special -- but she's not in the 31st century, where she belongs. Instead, she is in the present, and in police custody. She says that she has come to Earth to speak with Superman. When she is informed that Superman is dead (he was at the time), she isn't taken aback, and simply states that she can wait. With a smile, she further states that everything will be fine, because she knows exactly what was going to happen, that Superman would return. Her need to speak to him seems to hint at his importance in the events to come. And seeing as how Doomsday Clock will pit Superman directly against Doctor Manhattan, we just might find out why Saturn Girl needs to speak to him so dearly in the pages of that event.

DC Rebirth Saturn Girl

However, things didn't go so well for Saturn Girl after this. She was later seen in Batman #9, drawing a Legion symbol in her cell at Arkham Asylum where she's housed under the name of Jane Doe. Then, in Batman #21, the first chapter of "The Button," we see her in Arkham again, although this time she is not calm like in the DC Rebirth special. She still knows the future, but now she's screaming that Superman won't come, even though he's already returned, and that his absence would lead to the death of the Legion.

Batman 21 Saturn Girl

Is this Manhattan's doing? By taking on Superman, could the Doctor lead to the doom of the Legion? Whatever the answers may be, Superman's role in this mystery seems as pivotal as the Watchmen themselves.

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Doctor Manhattan's Endgame

What is Doctor Manhattan after? We know he's been meddling with the timeline of the DC Universe, but for what purpose? The first glimpse we caught of him was in the closing moments of Darkseid War, where he proceeded to kill both Owlman and the New God Metron when they learned of his existence. He later killed Pandora, one of the oldest beings in the universe, in a scene where she appeared to defy him. Somehow, Pandora knew what Manhattan was up to, what he had done, and what he would do in the future. Further, she knew him to be a cruel monster. Whatever she knew, it resulted in her death, and that doesn't bode well for what's still to come.

Justice League Darkseid War Watchmen mystery

Then, we turn our attention to the fourth planet of the solar system, Mars. In Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan took residence on the red planet, building himself a clockwork castle of glass where he could live in solitude. In the epilogue of the Rebirth Special, we are similarly taken to Mars -- but is this the DC Universe's Mars, or Watchmen's Mars? If the former, then what is Manhattan doing there, and what is he waiting for? How did he come in possession of Wally West's watch? Did he take it from him in the Speed Force, before Wally was pulled back to reality by Barry Allen? Whatever he's up to, the time on the watch, the time on the clock, is a quarter to midnight. And with the arrival of Doomsday Clock, we're at only three minutes to midnight. Three minutes... to Superman?

Why Was The Comedian's Button Hidden In The Batcave?

In the closing moments of the DC Rebirth Special, we were left with a shocking twist: the revelation of the famous Watchmen button, surfacing in the Batman's cave. But why was the smiley-face button left there in the first place? Was it happenstance, providence... or strategy?

Found embedded in the cave's wall following Wally's short visit, it could be that the arrival of the blood-covered and iconic symbol of Watchmen was left there purposefully by Manhattan. In fact, we now know, partially, where the investigation into the button led both Bruce and Wally's mentor, Barry Allen. Following the Reverse-Flash, who had taken the button from Batman, the two super-heroes ended up in the Flashpoint timeline, where Bruce came face-to-face with his father Thomas, the grittier and far more brutal Batman of this alternate timeline. As seen in Batman #22,  Thomas managed to give Bruce a few meaningful words of advice: Stop being Batman, and live, instead -- a message Bruce has kept in mind ever since, and something that led to him getting down on one knee and proposing to Selina Kyle in Batman #24.

DC Rebirth Watchmen button

Since one of Doctor Manhattan's signature powers is to see all of time in one single moment, every second, every cause and effect, it's entirely possibly that he knew that leaving the button in the Batcave would lead to Bruce following the button into the Flashpoint timeline, leading to a meeting with his father, who would tell him to move on from the cape and cowl. Perhaps one of Manhattan's goals is to end Batman -- but why? Is Batman the only one who can defeat Doctor Manhattan? Is Bruce one of the crucial cogs in the complex mechanism that is the Rebirth mystery?

DC Rebirth Doomsday Header

Whatever Doctor Manhattan is up to, whatever mysteries are left to answer, the clock is nearing midnight. What happens then is anyone's guess, but it sure seems like darkness will fall across the DC Universe when it does.