Doomsday Clock May Be A Mature Readers Superman Story

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Holy, Sh__! Is Doomsday Clock A Mature Readers Superman Story?

By Stephen Gerding

Published Oct 7, 2017

With Doomsday Clock featuring four-letter language and a character who wears no clothes, we have to wonder if DC is releasing a mature readers Superman story.

SPOILER WARNING: This article includes minor spoilers for Doomsday Clock #1, on sale November 22.

In addition to introducing the Watchmen characters to the DC Universe, Doomsday Clock will venture into another area no in-continuity Superman story has previously tread -- it will be the first mainstream DCU event series to feature R-rated language.

OK, so perhaps it's not quite R-rated, but it certainly gave readers pause to see the word "shit" claimed not once, but twice in the preview of the anticipated first issue. While the comic has been solicited with a TEEN+ rating, and the opening pages are obviously based in Watchmen's reality and not the DCU, it was still jarring to see the word appear in what is being promoted as a Superman story.

While Johns didn't address the first issue's language during the Doomsday Clock spotlight panel at New York Comic Con, he did hint at the potential of another adults only aspect of Watchmen making it through to Doomsday Clock's story. Namely, Doctor Manhattan's tendency to walk around in the nude.

“How naked is Doctor Manhattan?” panel host and The Magicians author Lev Grossman asked. Johns didn't answer outright, and the answer is most likely, "No, we're not going to see full frontal nudity in a Superman comic," but did point out that there are times where he’s naked and times where he’s not naked in Watchmen, so... “We’ve got follow the rulebook. I didn’t write the rules.”

Doomsday Clock #1 is scheduled for release on Nov. 22, though fans willing to stay up late can purchase it from participating stores at 11:57 PM on Nov. 21; issue #2 will arrive in late December.