WARNING: The following post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Doomsday Clock #9, on sale now.

Like its predecessor, Doomsday Clock has for the most part been telling a fairly dense story. Since it's not just a sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, but a bona fide Big Event which reshapes DC Comics' shared superhero universe, it's got some lofty goals. Accordingly, these annotations have tried to see what D-Clock is trying to do via its parade of Easter eggs, minutiae, and assorted narrative devices.

Still, not every issue can hold hidden treasures; and this one is probably the series' least complicated installment. Although we're not yet into spoiler territory, for now we'll say that the issue spends most of its page count calling back to Geoff Johns' previous DC events (and one in particular). The issue ends on a significant revelation about the history of the DC Universe, and it does advance the overall plot in a meaningful way; but it's pretty straightforward about everything.

Therefore, grab your copy of Issue #9 and get ready to follow along, because we've still got a lot to get through!

Doomsday Clock issue #9 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.

Bat-Fam, Shaz-Fam, Charltons (Pages 5, 16)

New for 1986!
The ex-Charlton heroes get their own DC house ad (1986)

We're still on that massive roll call, and Page 5 starts off inside the Bat-Rocket. Rex "Metamorpho" Mason has been mentioned already in this series, so here he's joined by a pair of fellow Outsiders. Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden created Jefferson "Black Lightning" Pierce for April 1977's Black Lightning issue #1, while Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo created Tatsu "Katana" Yamashiro for July 1983's Brave and the Bold issue #200.

Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson created Dick "Robin" Grayson for April 1940's Detective Comics issue #38, and Marv Wolfman and George Pérez put him in the Nightwing suit starting in June 1984's Tales of the Teen Titans issue #43. Likewise, Gerry Conway and Don Newton created Jason "Robin" Todd, who first appeared in March 1983's Batman issue #357. Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke introduced Jason as the new Red Hood in February 2005's Batman issue #635.

Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino created Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon for January 1967's Detective Comics issue #359. Here she's wearing her New 52-style costume, which she hasn't worn since October 2014's Batgirl issue #34. Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff created Batwoman (Kathy Kane) for July 1956's Detective Comics issue #233; but this is the Kate Kane version, created by Greg Rucka and J.G. Jones and first appearing in August 2006's 52 issue #7. (Kate's first Batwoman appearance was in September 2006's issue #9.) We think that the blonde woman is Stephanie "Spoiler" Brown, created by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle for August 1992's Detective issue #647.

We're guessing that the penultimate group is in the Pax Romana. Pat Masulli and Bill Fraccio created Son of Vulcan for May 1965's Mysteries Of Unexplored Worlds issue #46. Given an array of super-powers by the Roman gods, reporter Johnny Mann fought evil first for Charlton Comics, before DC took over that company's characters in the 1980s. Johnny was killed in 1991's War of the Gods miniseries, and several years later Scott Beatty and Kieron Grant created a second Son of Vulcan (Miguel Devante) for a short-lived SOV series debuting in August 2005. Nevertheless, based on the costume, this appears to be the original Son of Vulcan.

Naturally, he's on a ship with the erstwhile Marvel Family, who also get their powers (directly or otherwise) from classical mythology. Bill Parker and C.C. Beck created Billy "Captain Marvel" Batson for February 1940's Whiz Comics issue #2, but thanks to the nuances of intellectual property law, he's now called Shazam. Ed Herron and Mac Raboy created Billy's colleague Freddy Freeman, a/k/a Captain Marvel Junior, for the December 26, 1941 issue of Whiz (#25). Otto Binder and Marc Swayz created Mary "Mary Marvel" Batson for the December 11, 1942 issue of Captain Marvel Adventures (#18). The others are members of the New 52-era "Shazam Family," created by Geoff Johns and first appearing as such in August 2013's Justice League issue #21 (pencilled by Gary Frank). They include Eugene Choi, Pedro Pena and Darla Dudley, all of whom first appeared in July 2011's Flashpoint issue #1 (pencilled by Andy Kubert). They were incorporated into the main DC timeline as of June 2012's Justice League issue #8 (pencilled by Frank).

Geoff Johns and Lee Moder created Courtney "Stargirl" Whitmore for July 1999's Stars and STRIPE issue #0. Back when there was a Justice Society, Stargirl and Captain Marvel were teammates.

Last but certainly not least are the Charlton characters in Blue Beetle's Bug. Steve Ditko created, in whole or part, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Captain Atom, Nightshade and the Question (Vic Sage). Ditko and Gary Friedrich created Ted Kord for November 1966's Captain Atom issue #83; Ditko and Joe Gill created Captain Atom for March 1960's Space Adventures issue #33; Ditko and David Kaler created Nightshade for September 1966's Captain Atom issue #82; and Ditko created the Question for June 1967's Blue Beetle issue #1. They are the characters who inspired Watchmen's Nite Owl II, Doctor Manhattan, Silk Spectre II and Rorschach. The other Charlton-influenced Watchmen characters were Ozymandias (Peter Cannon, whose rights are currently with Dynamite Comics) and the Comedian (Peacemaker). That reminds us – Joe Gill and Pat Boyette created Christopher "Peacemaker" Smith for November 1966's Fightin' Five issue #40. He appears on Page 16. DC did try to make these characters into their own team, as seen in the poorly-titled September 1999-February 2000 6-issue miniseries The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons). Written and inked by Bob Layton and pencilled by dink Giordano, it didn't get much traction.

The DC versions of Captain Atom and the Question have changed significantly from the Ditko-created Charlton Comics originals. Cary Bates and Pat Broderick gave Captain Atom a new secret identity and man-out-of-time origin story (March 1987's Captain Atom issue #1), while Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan remade the Question into a Zen-influenced martial artist (February 1987's The Question issue #1). As if putting all these characters in the Bug weren't enough, this issue shows us Captain Atom versus Doctor Manhattan, on Page 27.

Other characters who we can presume were on the ships, and just not seen until now, show up on Page 16. Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino created Buddy "Animal Man" Baker for September 1965's Strange Adventures issue #180. Infantino and John Broome created Ralph "Elongated Man" Dibny for April-May 1960's Flash issue #112. Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner created Mari "Vixen" McCabe for July 1981's Action Comics issue #521. Jack Kirby created Etrigan the Demon for August-September 1972's Demon issue #1.

John Broome and Murphy Anderson created the Atomic Knights for a series of post-apocalyptic adventures starting in June 1960's Strange Adventures issue #117 (and set, incidentally, in the wastelands of 1992, following the Hydrogen War of 1986). The Knights' leader was named Gardner Grayle. Eventually the Atomic Knights were revamped for present-day use, appearing in the Infinite Crisis tie-in miniseries Battle for Bludhaven (starting in June 2006) and then in Final Crisis. The Atomic Knights wear high-tech armor and ride giant greyhounds, which you can see faintly on Page 16. The Knight in this issue can be seen more clearly on Page 30.

NEXT PAGE: Wonder Woman's Doomsday Clock Role Is Not What We Expected

Edifice Complex (Pages 7, 9)

U N?
The new Teen Titans see the sights, from 1980's NTT #1

As of May 2018 and Dark Nights: Metal issue #6, once again the Hall of Justice (Page 7) is (according to Super Friends' narrator Ted Knight) "the great hall of the Justice League." Similar buildings housed the League during the 2006-2011 Justice League of America series and the 2011-2012 Justice League International. Alex Toth designed the Hall of Justice for the Super Friends cartoon, which premiered on September 8, 1973.

Maybe it's just us, but Superman's hospital bed (Page 7) seems to share some readouts with Han Solo's carbon-freezing coffin.

With Wonder Woman's D-Clock debut (Page 9), all of the founding Justice Leaguers have now appeared in this miniseries. In fact, all of the "Satellite Era" League has either appeared or been mentioned (the Atom gets name-checked on Page 10) except for the Phantom Stranger. His membership was always a little iffy, though. Of course, William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter created Wonder Woman, who first appeared in December 1941-January 1942's All-Star Comics issue #8. Gardner Fox and Gil Kane created Ray "Atom" Palmer for September-October 1961's Showcase issue #34.

According to Wikipedia, the headquarters of the United Nations (Page 9) is in a building "designed by a board of architects led by Wallace Harrison, and built by the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz." Construction began on September 14, 1948 and was finished on October 9, 1952. As we might expect, it's been the site of many superhero battles on DC-Earth. Among other things, the New Teen Titans fought Gordanian slavers there in their first issue (November 1980), while the future Justice League International saved the General Assembly from a terrorist attack in May 1987's Justice League issue #1. In the early 1980s, Wonder Woman worked at the UN in her secret identity of Diana Prince; and in her role as ambassador from Themyscira she visited there often.

Seems Like Old Times (Page 17)

You go, Guy
Guy Gardner follows his bliss on Apokolips, from Justice League International #21

Jack Kirby created Darkseid, who first appeared in December 1970's Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen issue #134. Darkseid first fought the Justice League in an October-December 1980 three-parter guest-starring the Justice Society (Justice League of America issues #183-85).

Marv Wolfman and George Pérez created the Anti-Monitor, who first appeared in shadow in May 1985's Crisis On Infinite Earths issue #2, and in full at the end of August 1985's COIE issue #5. John Broome and Gil Kane created Thaal Sinestro, the renegade Green Lantern, for July-August 1961's Green Lantern issue #7. Dan Jurgens created Doomsday, who first appeared in November 1992's Superman: The Man of Steel issue #17. Otto Binder and Curt Swan created Brainiac for July 1958's Action Comics issue #242. Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky created Despero for October-November 1960's Justice League of America issue #1.

Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan created Superboy-Prime, a/k/a the Superboy of Earth-Prime, for November 1985's DC Comics Presents issue #87. Twenty years later, Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez turned him evil in time for December 2005's Infinite Crisis issue #1. The Brat of Steel then turned up in 2007's Green Lantern crossover "The Sinestro Corps War."

And yes, Guy Gardner has fought each of these villains and/or their minions. Specifically, he went up against Apokoliptian forces in 1986-87's Legends miniseries and in 1988's Justice League International issues #20-21; faced off against Brainiac in the 1992 Superman crossover "Panic in the Sky"; fought Despero in 1990's JLI issues #39-40; and battled Doomsday in 1992's Justice League America issue #69.

NEXT PAGE: Firestorm Gets a New, Doctor Manhattan Rewritten Origin Story

Odds And Ends (Pages 8, 14-15, 20, 28-30)

He's got the whole Moon in his hands
Kyle Rayner traps the Crime Syndicate, from JLA: Earth 2

Page 8 checks in with the despondent Rorschach II. "You see what you want to see" is a callback to issue #4, where Byron "Mothman" Lewis tells Reggie "I see what I want to see [and] what I see is what is."

Page 14 shows the Green Lanterns sealing off Mars with a power-ringed forcefield, not unlike Kyle Rayner's power-ringed prison around the Crime Syndicate's lunar headquarters in 2000's JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel.

Professor Stein is "visible" on Page 15, Panel 6. That's par for the course in ordinary Firestorm appearances, but it's the first time we've seen such a thing in D-Clock. It does run counter to the Watchmen-inspired formalism which limits what's on-panel to what a regular observer would see. In other words, since nobody else would see Professor Stein in this way, the reader wouldn't either.

Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman created Doctor Fate (Page 20) for May 1940's More Fun Comics issue #55. We would have listed him along with the other super-folks in the space flotilla, except we're not sure he came to Mars with them.

Speaking of Watchmen formalism, pages 28-30 get away from the 9-panel grid. Starting with the bottom tier of Page 28, there are four panels per row; and Page 30 ends with what may be a new-to-either-series layout. We read this as a further slide into chaos, and it freaks us out a little.

Faux-Rigin Story (Pages 24-25, Text Pages)

Imagine what he could have designed *without* the booze
Martin Stein sees both sides, from Firestorm #1

Page 25 is an almost-complete rewrite of the classic Firestorm origin from March 1978's Firestorm issue #1 and July 1986's Secret Origins issue #2. As told therein, Martin Stein designed the Hudson Nuclear facility as the world's first completely automated nuclear power plant. It was the culmination of his life's work and represented the overcoming of both personal and professional obstacles. When Stein's ex-colleague Danton Black got an injunction delaying the plant's opening, Stein disobeyed it, having put up with too many delays already. Unfortunately, a group of terrorists led by one Eddie Earhart set off explosives inside the plant, creating an explosion of radiation which transformed Stein and Ronnie Raymond (Earhart's unwitting dupe) into Firestorm.

While D-Clock's account of Firestorm's origin leans heavily on this classic version (as opposed to the "Firestorm Protocols" of the New 52), there's no real way to reconcile the two. As related by creators Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom (and penciller George Tuska in the Secret Origins version), Ronnie went to the power plant to try and impress his girlfriend by doing something socially conscious, and Stein was a frustrated physicist with a drinking problem and a failed (and childless) marriage. There was no hint of intrigue with regard to either man. The best explanation we can come up with is that the changes are an unintended consequence of Doctor Manhattan's timeline shenanigans.

Speaking of which, if Page 24 establishes that March 1978's Firestorm issue #1 took place seven-ish years ago, and there's an overall modern-age superhero timeline of fifteen years – five years from the New 52 plus ten years which Doctor Manhattan "stole" – then the DC Comics of the late 1970s fall about halfway through that timeline. That actually makes some sense, considering that Superman and Batman were celebrating their 40th anniversaries in the late '70s and their 80th anniversaries last year and this year. We know that doesn't quite line up, but we kind of like the symmetry.

Ed Raymond, Ronnie's dad, first appeared in April 1978's Firestorm issue #2. This is the first we're hearing that Martin Stein had a son.

Caregiving In Crisis? (Page 30)

heroes in crisis

The "Seneca" quoted on Page 30 is Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a/k/a Seneca the Younger, son of Seneca the Elder (naturally). Born around 4 BC, he died in 65 AD, probably framed for being a conspiracy to assassinate the Roman emperor Nero. He wrote tragedies in addition to his philosophical writings, and was a Stoic philosopher. As it happens, one of the Seneca quotes on the Daily Stoic website reads, "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." Reconciling those quotes (or what might be two versions of the same quote) makes us think that Seneca was referring to "kindness" and "crisis" as two sides of the same coin. Every human in crisis is an opportunity for another to be kind. That doesn't exactly play into the very meta use of "crisis" in a DC Comics adventure, but it's good advice nonetheless.

What did you spot in Doomsday Clock #9? Let us know in the comments!