Doomsday Clock Expands The Metahuman Arms Race To Even More Countries

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Doomsday Clock #6 by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that Doomsday Clock is set in a nebulous point roughly one year in the future of the current DC Universe, but the in-depth backmatter — echoing similar material in the back of the single issues of Watchmen — helps to provide more context to this slightly unfamiliar DC Universe and goes into great detail about the differences between then and now.

Last issue, we were introduced to the super-teams of the metahuman arms race, which was ignited by The Supermen Theory; the idea that the majority of America’s superhumans are actually government agents created by the US instead of aliens, magicians and people at the receiving end of some sort of scientific accident. The latest installment of Doomsday Clock goes into the super-teams of the world in a bit more depth, revealing three more international groups and their members, as well as an in-depth look at the one nation serving as a safe haven for metahumans ostracized by the Supermen Theory.

Big Monster Action - Japan

The leader of Big Monster Action is Rising Sun, aka Isuma Yasunari, who was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon in 1982’s DC Comics Presents #46 as a member of the Global Guardians. A child of survivors of the nuclear bomb attack on Nagasaki, Isuma dedicated his life to the research and eradication of cancer, which had taken his grandparents and nearly claimed the life of mother as well. He was a founding member of Big Science Action, Japan’s answer to the Justice League of America and likely the inspiration for the new team’s name. Yasunari’s teammates Hammersuit Zero X joined him as member of the new team, but don’t have backstories to speak of outside of Grant Morrison’s notes for Final Crisis.

Goraiko was a member of the Ultramarine Corps, an international alternative to the JLA which was born out of General Wade Eiling’s attempts to replace the team, only for them to rebel and open the roster up to all nations on their floating city of Superbia. Naiad, aka Mai Miyazaki was a character introduced during John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake’s run on Firestorm, something that seems to be a key touchstone for Doomsday Clock, and she was the water elemental introduced alongside Swamp Thing, Firestorm and Red Tornado, who served as the elementals for Earth, Fire and Air.

Ram, aka Takeo Yakata was one of a select number of humans chosen by the Guardians of the Universe to be evolutionary advanced, and he became a living computer. As with several other members of various teams in the metahuman arms race, Takeo was a member of the short-lived New Guardians team from the late-eighties. Finally, Toshio Eto aka Samurai isn’t a character with a rich history in comics but was actually introduced as a member of the Super Friends, as one of several original characters introduced to make the team less white and American. He has appeared in a few comics here and there but mostly in small cameos with no real defining appearance to speak of.

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The Elite Basu - Iran

The Elite Basu of Iran are led by Sayeh The Seer, who is the younger sister of Kahina, an original member of Aquaman’s side-project team, The Others. When her sister died, the gift of visions passed to Sayeh who was institusionalised as a result but as later freed the villain known as Legend and went on to join The Others in her sisters place for a short time, before returning to Iran to raise Kahina’s children.

There is no hero in the DC Universe called The Blacksmith of Tehran at the moment, but a quick look to Iranian mythology and folklore tells the story of Kāveh the Blacksmith, or Blacksmith of Isfahan, a man whose children died due to the actions of the tyrannical Zahāk and rose up against him, uniting the country and placing the power back in the hands of the people. Similarly, The Patient One doesn’t have a history in the DC Universe and there wasn’t anything in Iranian history or mythology that we could find, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

There have been several villains in the DC Universe known as Manticore, most of whom served as members of the anti-Suicide Squad team known as The Jihad, though there was a heroic incarnation who served on the Global Guardians in the mid-2000s. Sirocco was a speedster introduced in Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco’s Superman storyline Camelot Falls, as part of a future team of heroes and villains assembled by Lex Luthor. Finally, Super-Shayk is a character who made their only appearance in 52 #12.

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The Sleeping Soldiers - Australia

Not to be confused with either Beautiful Dreamer of The Forever People or Dream Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dreamer aka Betty Clawman was another member of the New Guardians; a young aboriginal girl who gained the ability to enter the Dreamtime, where she exists as a disembodied cosmic force capable of influencing people’s dreams, and according to the backmatter to Doomsday Clock #6, she has been confronting world leaders in their sleep, though the Australian government denies this.

The Argonaut is a heavily armed Austrailian hero who made one appearance teaming up with The Shade to stop terrorists attacking Sydney Opera House, while Miss Midnight doesn’t seem to be a character that currently exists in the DC Universe, though she could bear some relation to Dave Clark, the Spirit-inspired vigilante created by Jack Cole. Dark Ranger will be recognizable to fans of Grant Morrison’s run on Batman; a member of the Club of Heroes and later Batman International, he was once Scout, the sidekick of the original Ranger, and became the Dark Ranger after his mentor’s death.

Umbaluru was an aboriginal vigilante who travelled to Gotham in order to reclaim a sacred artifact, but clashed with Batman in the process before teaming up once they realised they were on the same side. Finally, the Tasmanian Devil aka Hugh Dawkins, was another member of the Global Guardians who later joined the Justice League International and served on the Ultramarine Corps also. His most recent incarnation is married to the magical hero Extraño, coincidentally another one of the New Guardians.

Black Adam - Kahndaq

The last spot on the map is reserved for Kahndaq — whose place on the map is conveniently obscured by other documents — the home of Black Adam, who has slowly become one of the most important players in the background of Doomsday Clock. Black Adam has opened his borders to the persecuted superhumans of the world to find safety in his country, and has bloodily shown the whole world what happens when people try to hurt those under his care.

While it’s unknown which heroes and villains have taken him up on his offer, it’s safe to assume The Creeper is among them, as Adam was seen saving Jack Ryder from terrorists in the previous issue of Doomsday Clock. According to the backmatter, both Giganta and Sandstorm have committed to joining Black Adam’s cause, and earlier in the issue the Rogues considered it and Doctor Sivana endorsed it.

Whatever’s going on in Kahndaq may prove to be one of the most important tipping points for the whole series, as Black Adam is building his own metahuman army... and there isn’t anyone that can stop him.