WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Doomsday Clock #12 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, on sale now.

After leaving the world of Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan may have broken the DC Universe, but he puts it back together in Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock #12.

As Doomsday Clock #7 revealed, the current incarnation of the DC Universe, which started with the New 52 reboot in 2012, can be traced back to Manhattan meddling with a key moment in DC history. Manhattan prevented Alan Scott from ever becoming the first Green Lantern, which in turn prevented the formation of the Justice Society of America.

As the Doomsday Clock finale confirms, the lack of Golden Age heroes never inspired a young Clark Kent to become Superboy before he was Superman. And without Superboy to inspire the future's young generation of heroes, there was nothing to spark the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, either. However, Manhattan addresses all of those problems in this issue by rewriting his interference with DC history and causing ripple effects throughout the modern DC Universe.

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The New 52 is No More

Doomsday Clock Alan Scott Lantern Manhattan

Throughout Doomsday Clock, Manhattan has previously foreshadowed his encounter with Superman, and it goes exactly as he envisioned. What's different, however, is his interpretation of the outcome -- or rather, the nothingness he has seen in its wake. Knowing that only darkness follows their meeting, Manhattan came to the conclusion that either Superman would destroy him, or that he would destroy everything.

What Manhattan never foresaw was a third possibility that Superman put forth himself. Instead of destroying everything, Superman suggests that Manhattan use his powers to save everything instead. Inspired by Superman's words, Manhattan does indeed then bring about the "end" that he foresaw. However, it wasn't the end of the DC Universe; it was merely the end of the changes he had inadvertently brought about by messing with DC history.

After moving the lantern that would have saved Alan Scott out of his reach, he moves it back, allowing Alan Scott to become the original Green Lantern. That paves the way for the subsequent formation of the Justice Society, Clark Kent's early adventures as Superboy and the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

True to the DC Rebirth initiative that heralded Doomsday Clock and brought Manhattan into the DCU, the DC Universe itself is reborn, and the New 52 era is officially over. Like the other defunct versions of the main DC Universe, the world of the New 52 is relegated to DC's wider multiverse as Earth-52.

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Long Live the Legion, and the JSA – and a Few Others, Too

Even though previous issues seemingly teased a massive brawl between Superman and Manhattan at the end of Doomsday Clock, fans didn't get the cosmos-shaking throwdown they might've been hoping for.  Superman does engage in battle, but it's not against Manhattan. Instead, he takes on an assembly of the world's international heroes and villains. Those metahumans include Russian Firestorm Pozhar, Black Adam and others who had sought to take the Man of Steel down after the chaotic misunderstanding in Red Square in Doomsday Clock #8. As these forces converge on Washington D.C., Superman is forced to turn his attention to the other metahumans as they attack, while Manhattan simply watches.

As Manhattan had long expected, an enraged, red-eyed Superman does indeed throw a punch in Manhattan's direction -- but it's not meant for Manhattan. Instead, it takes out Pozhar, who was about to attack Manhattan from behind. The surprise move gives Manhattan pause, and it gives Superman the opportunity he needs to appeal to Manhattan and convince him of a third choice that doesn't revolve around destruction.

Superman's appeal not only reaches Manhattan and inspires him to fix past history, but that fix gives Superman the upper hand in his battle. With the reality instantly restored, the Man of Steel is joined by his newly-restored allies -- the complete JSA and Legion of Superheroes. Ultimately, Black Adam and company are defeated by the united millennium-spanning heroes.

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The DC Universe is Officially Reborn

Doomsday Clock Kents Reunion

In addition to restoring the past and future of the DC Universe, Manhattan's actions also restore the present. As it turns out, the Justice Society is still operational in the modern-day, just as the team was in the days before the New 52. Alan Scott himself appropriately confirms as much, noting that the JSA will be launching an investigation into the U.S. Department of Metahuman affairs. Scott's long-absent adult children -- Obsidian and Jade -- are seen standing at his side.

There's another notable super-family reunion that reunites Clark Kent with his Earth parents Jonathan and Martha, who are both also restored to reality in the wake of Manhattan's fix. Where they were killed in a car crash in the New 52 timeline, a young Superboy saved them in the new DC Universe timeline.

Meanwhile, Mime and the expectant Marionette, partners in crime from Watchmen's world who were introduced in Doomsday Clock, are another family left to set down new roots in the DC Universe. Doctor Manhattan has transported the remaining Watchmen cast to their reality to help rebuild their own world or face their respective fates.

With Doomsday Clock's finale. DC's Rebirth has been completed, as many characters who were absent from the New 52 era make their official return. The darker tone and harder edge of the New 52 era had its detractors, and Manhattan's change of heart in Doomsday Clock makes it seem like he was one of them. However, Manhattan has effectively removed himself from the DC Universe, leaving the fully reborn world to flourish again on its own terms.

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