WARNING: The following post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Doomsday Clock issue #10, on sale now.

At long last Doomsday Clock issue #10 is here, taking us 80 percent of the way through the big-event series. Back in the annotations for issue #8, we predicted that the climactic Superman/Doctor Manhattan throwdown would happen around issue #11, and that issues #9 and #10 would catch up on other cast members. (We also predicted that issue #11 would be out around June 5, 2019, so we're not exactly batting 1.000.)

Anyway, issue #10 does indeed catch up with a couple of featured players, and otherwise makes the wait for the big fight worthwhile. We've already discussed actor Carver Colman and his on-screen alter ego Nathaniel Dusk in the first half of the issue's annotations, here. However, when Doctor Manhattan starts reflecting on his journey, we admit we had our minds blown just a little. Naturally, to say much more would involve MAJOR SPOILERS, so before you scroll further, grab your copy and follow along!

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Based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' classic 12-issue series Watchmen, Doomsday Clock issue #10 was written by Geoff Johns, drawn by Gary Frank, colored by Brad Anderson and lettered by Rob Leigh. Amie Brockaway-Metcalf designed the text pages. Brian Cunningham was the Editor, with Amedeo Turturro as Associate Editor.

Time For A Change (Pages 7-8, 11, 14, 23)

Mr. Mind makes the Multiverse
Creating Earth-10, Earth-50 and Earth-5, from 52 #52

Issue #10 gives us the most detailed insight yet into Doctor Manhattan's trip across space and time. As mentioned in part 1 of these annotations, Page 7 implies that he has come straight to DC-Earth from Watchmen's world, perhaps drawn there by some mysterious tonal shift (Page 8). The journey has affected his perception of time, because he sees himself facing Green Lanterns and others on Mars (Page 8) but he can't quite do the same in Old Hollywood (Page 11). Instead, he can only "see" Colman – perhaps in the sense that he's present in the moment – in one-year increments. This gives him a unique relationship with Colman, and it makes us wonder just how limited Dr. M's involvement in the DC timeline has been.

While it may be "limited," it's also targeted towards specific events. Let's back up a little and suppose that there's no malevolent force behind Dr. M's arrival on DC-Earth in April 1938. Instead, let's take D-Clock at its word. Doctor Manhattan was drawn to DC-Earth on April 18, 1938 because that's when Superman first appeared – and everything in the Multiverse revolves around Superman.

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This is not exactly a new concept. It goes back at least as far as the final issue of 2005-06's year-long 52 miniseries (July 2007; co-written by Geoff Johns). There, readers learned that the whole DC Multiverse – all 52 worlds, at the time – was the product of one universe replicating itself. Although the interference of a cosmic predator affected each replication in a different way, they all tended to be based around the foundational DC characters, especially Superman. 2008-09's Final Crisis miniseries featured multiple Supermen analogues, including Earth-50's Majestic, Earth-5's Captain Marvel, Earth-10's Overman, Earth-3's Ultraman, and (in the Superman Beyond tie-in) Earth-4's Captain Atom. Since Doctor Manhattan was based on Captain Atom, and Cap was now considered a Superman analogue, by the transitive property Doctor Manhattan was a Supes analogue as well. Of course, Watchmen issue #4 had already made that connection; but these DC events help confirm it.

Thus, in this respect Doctor Manhattan's tinkering is another version of what Mister Mind (the aforementioned cosmic predator) did to the 52 worlds of the current Multiverse. The "many worlds" theory, mentioned by Dr. M on Page 14, posits simply that every action which could have happened, or will happen, has in fact happened somewhere. This, in turn, is not incompatible with the current origin of the DC Multiverse, created by the cosmic being Perpetua and watched over by her three sons (Late June 2019's Justice League issue #22, written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Francis Manapul). That account also puts Earth at the center of the Multiverse, and states that Perpetua's Multiverse is only one of many, with others created by other beings. Needless to say, at some point it all gets big enough that there's room for everything, which we suppose is the point of a Multiverse in the first place.

Anyway, before we move on we'll note that physicist Bryce DeWitt (1923-2004) was born Carl Bryce Seligman and changed his name in 1950 in response to anti-semitism he experienced in Europe. Wikipedia says that he "advanced the formulation of Hugh Everett's many-worlds interperetation" among many other achievements in the field of theoretical physics.

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So if Perpetua created the current Multiverse, with Earth as its center; and there are other Multiverses created by other beings; then what's so special about Doctor Manhattan's DC-Earth revelations? Mainly it's the notion, delineated on Page 23, that Earth's universe (Designate Zero, as Grant Morrison called it), is really a "Metaverse," constantly changing but occupying the same spot in reality. Dr. M tells us that the Metaverse "stands apart from the Multiverse," which in turn "reacts" to it in various forms; including parallel worlds, alternate timelines and dimensions, and the Dark Multiverse.

This change is noteworthy because it alters our perception of DC-Earth from just one corner of the Multiverse to its prime mover of events. See, when the Multiverse came along in the Silver Age (in September 1961's seminal "Flash of Two Worlds," from The Flash issue #123), the different worlds were treated as if they had always existed in perpetuity. From a reader's perspective, in the late 1940s and early '50s, DC had simply switched from publishing stories about Earth-Two (i.e., the Golden Age) and started publishing stories about Earth-One. However, both Earths each had their own past and future, as did each of the other Multiversal worlds. Changing Earths was like changing a channel, inasmuch as the channel kept broadcasting whether you watched it or not. D-Clock now says that there was only one channel all along, although every change created a new storytelling opportunity.

The Earth-2 void, from Crisis On Infinite Earths #11
Two Supermen and two Flashes discover the Earth-Two void, from Crisis On Infinite Earths #11

Consider the immediate aftermath of the first Crisis. In February 1986's Crisis On Infinite Earths issue #11, the Supermen of Earths-One and -Two, the Flash of Earth-Two, and Kid Flash (Wally West) find themselves on a singular DC-Earth, re-created via a trip to the Dawn of Time. Everyone seems to have a home on this Earth except Earth-Two Supes, so they use the Cosmic Treadmill to investigate. They do get back to Earth-Two's vibratory frequency, but it's not there, having been replaced with a yawning void of unfriendly cosmic energy. In short, the change they made at the dawn of time closed off that storytelling opportunity, so there's nothing left of Earth-Two's universe.

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Still, subsequent attempts to restore the Multiverse treated its parallel dimensions as omnipresent, albeit hard to access. It took Flash-style speedster powers to travel through Hypertime (in the "Dark Flash" saga of issues #152-59, September 1999-April 2000); and if you didn't have those, you needed something like Fourth World technology (Superboy issues # 60-64, March-July 1999). Although the Multiverse was only gone for a relatively short period, it's still not an everyday thing.

This might not sound like it makes a difference, but it does. There was no Earth-Two until there was an Earth-One which contrasted with it. Until then, there was just the regular DC-Earth, which saw Superman appear first on April 18, 1938. That leads us into the next section....

The Worlds According To Superman (Pages 13, 19, 21, 24)

Superman's origin, circal 1961
The origin of Superman circa 1961, by Otto Binder and Al Plastino

In illustrating the changes to the Metaverse, Doctor Manhattan traces the history of Superman reboots. Obviously the first Superman account starts with June 1938's Action Comics issue #1. Superman smashing the green car is most famous from the issue's cover, but it's also a plot point in the story. The people reacting to it on Page 13 aren't in Action issue #1, though.

Doomsday Clock also places Metropolis in New York (at least in the original 1938 account), although April 1939's Action issue #11 says that Superman lives in Cleveland, Ohio. In June 1939's Action issue #13, Superman's home base is situated near New York's Sing Sing prison. Metropolis is first named in September 1939's Action issue #16, and it's placed in New York State in Fall 1939's Superman issue #2.

Page 19 states that the Silver Age Superman first appeared in Metropolis in 1956, but we're not sure if this refers to a specific story. 1956 is considered a good candidate for the start of the Silver Age, since Barry "Flash" Allen first appeared in September-October 1956's Showcase issue #4. July 1956's Superman issue #106 includes the story "Superman's First Exploit" (by Edmond Hamilton, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye), but all the pertinent exploits there happen in flashback. The Superboy stories started with January-February 1945's More Fun Comics issue #101, so in a sense they are the first Earth-One Superman stories. The first modern-day Superman story which refers to his Superboy career may well be "Superman's Secret Past," from July 1954's Superman issue #90. Written by Hamilton and drawn by Al Plastino, it features Supes' attempts to preserve his secret identity during a return to Smallville. Naturally, though, both of these 1950s stories take place when Superman has already been well-established in Metropolis. Ironically, if 1956 Supes' rocket landed "twenty-five years ago," that would place it in 1931 – too early for the 1945 Superboy stories, which featured a younger Boy of Steel. Probably the closest Silver Age origin story to the 1956 date is in July 1961's Superman issue #146; and in fact Panel 5 seems to be taken from that story.

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Thankfully, it's easier to peg the October 1986 revision (Page 19), since that lines up with the first issue cover date of John Byrne and Dick Giordano's Man of Steel. Page 19, Panel 7 and Page 21, Panel 4 are taken from MOS issue #1. Page 19, Panel 8 features the redesigned Kryptonian spacecraft from Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu's 12-issue Superman: Birthright miniseries (September 2003-September 2004), while Page 19, Panel 9 is from the first issue of Johns and Frank's Superman: Secret Origin (November 2009).

Page 21 shows a couple of accounts of Jonathan Kent's death, first from May 1963's Superman issue #161 and then in a reference to December 2008's Action Comics issue #870. The panel of Clark visiting his parents' graves in "1956" is also very similar to page 2, panel 3 of the Superman #161 story. The New 52 version of the Kents died in a flashback related in February 2013's Action Comics #15. We covered it back in the annotations for D-Clock Issue #1.

Finally, Page 24 shows us the two versions of the New 52 Superman, who debuted in November 2011's Action Comics vol. 2 issue #1. The black "S" on the red cape is common to both versions. In this account of Supes' beginnings, he started out wearing a blue T-shirt with the "S" symbol, plus jeans and heavy workboots. Some six in-universe months later, during a battle with Brainiac in May 2012's Action issue #7, he acquired the suit of shiny Kryptonian armor. Jim Lee designed the armored look, while Rags Morales drew the issues of Action which introduced the so-called "Springsteen Superman."

Heroes, A Philosopher and a Photo (Pages 5, 6, 8, 13-17, 22, 25, 28)

FDR and Superman organize the JSA
FDR and Superman organize the JSA, from DC Special #29

Pages 14-17 depict the Justice Society of America. We've already discussed Green Lantern, Hourman, and Johnny Thunder; but not so much the other members. Writer Gardner Fox co-created the Flash (Jay Garrick), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson) and the Sandman (Wesley Dodds). Artist Harry Lampert co-created the Flash, while artist Dennis Neville co-created Hawkman; and both debuted in January 1940's Flash Comics issue #1. Artist Howard Sherman co-created Doctor Fate, who first appeared in May 1940's More Fun Comics issue #55; while artist Bert Christman co-created the Sandman, who first appeared in 1939's New York World's Fair Comics issue #1.

The Atom (Al Pratt) was created by writer Bill O'Connor and artist Ben Flinton, and first appeared in October 1940's All-American Comics issue #19. Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily created the Spectre (Jim Corrigan), who first appeared in February 1940's More Fun Comics issue #52.

During the JSA's original tenure, they met in a nondescript office building in fictional Civic City. The building depicted here looks more like their brownstone Gotham City headquarters, which debuted in February 1976's All-Star Comics issue #58.

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The "November 1940" date most likely comes from the JSA's Earth-Two origin story, as related by writer Paul Levitz, penciller Joe Staton and inker Bob Layton in August-September 1977's DC Special issue #29. There, readers learned that President Franklin Roosevelt organized a team of super-heroes which would become the JSA, shortly after his reelection in November 1940.

Thanks to Saturn Girl's presence in D-Clock, we've discussed the Legion of Super-Heroes already in these annotations. Page 22 riffs on Curt Swan and Stan Kaye's cover of the Legion's introduction in April 1958's Adventure Comics issue #247. Since Doctor Manhattan is now (well, "now" being relative for him) aware of Saturn Girl's importance to Superboy, we wonder how their Doomsday Clock interactions will go.

On Page 23 Doctor Manhattan mentions Extant, the time-traveling supervillain formerly known as Hawk, and later Monarch. Hank "Hawk" Hall was created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates as part of the superhero duo Hawk and Dove. They first appeared in June 1968's Showcase issue #75 and eventually joined the Teen Titans. Through no fault of his own, Hank was drafted to become the supervillain Monarch, antagonist of 1991's Armageddon 2001 crossover, which was written by Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil and drawn by Dan Jurgens. A few years later, Monarch reinvented himself as Extant for 1994's Zero Hour crossover. He died in a battle with the Justice Society in October 2000's JSA issue #15 (co-written by Geoff Johns), but was brought back to life in May 2010's Blackest Night issue #8 (written by Johns). This put his evil deeds behind him and allowed him to resume a superheroic career.

Page 25 gives D-Clock another explicit connection to 2016's DC Universe Rebirth special, in the person of the aforementioned Wally West. Introduced in January 1960's Flash issue #110, Wally (as Kid Flash) was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. He succeeded Barry Allen as the third Flash in March 1986's Crisis On Infinite Earths issue #12, but was erased from history by the New 52 relaunch. His appearance here, in his old Kid Flash uniform, lines up with his popping in and out of reality during the Rebirth special.

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We covered all the superheroes on Mars already, and we see a handful of them here. Identifiable on Page 5 are Elasti-Woman and the fishnets of Zatanna. Green Lantern Hal Jordan shows up on Page 8, but he's "incapacitated" on Page 9 along with Martian Manhunter, Katana, Batgirl, GL Jessica Cruz, and the Flash (Barry Allen). Zatanna's leg appears again on Page 28, as Dr. M strolls to what looks like a final confrontation with Superman.

In the background of panel 6 on Page 6, we see a movie poster for something called Bog Monster. Since we can't find any movie with that name, let alone one in the late 1920s/early 1930s, we're guessing it's a Swamp Thing reference.

Socrates, who supplies Page 28's concluding quote, was born approximately in 470 BC and died in 399 BC. We didn't find much background for this issue's quote, but it sure seems appropriate to the many-worlds interpretation. Since apparently Socrates never wrote down any of his teachings, all that we know of him comes from secondary sources. From him we get the "Socratic method" of teaching, which involves asking a series of questions to arrive eventually at a particular answer. In a way, then, this process resembles, and/or mirrors, the many-worlds interpretation. Just as the answer to each Socratic question leads to an ultimate resolution, so do the various branches of choices lead to an infinite range of possible settings. Maybe we've thought about this a little too much.

Finally, on Page 13 we see Carver Colman pick up the photo of Jon and Janey at the boardwalk from Watchmen issue #4. The photo appears to travel with Doctor Manhattan throughout his journey, because it shows up on Mars next to Zatanna and her colleagues (Page 5). We note this not because we're ready to follow it across space and time, like some demented Family Circus trail; but because we're just accepting that it will always pop up wherever we least expect it.

What did you spy in Doomsday Clock #10? Let us know in the comments!