Doomsday Clock: How Doctor Manhattan Rebooted the DC Universe, Revealed

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Doomsday Clock #9 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, on sale now.

In Doomsday Clock #7, Doctor Manhattan makes casual mention of an occurrence that's had a tremendously significant impact on current DC continuity. In that issue, Manhattan speaks of interfering with the life of Alan Scott, who was destined to become DC's first Green Lantern. Doc's machinations resulted in Scott's death, rather than him fulfilling his destiny.

Green Lantern, of course, played a pivotal role in the formation of the original Justice Society of America. No Alan Scott means no JSA, so in current Rebirth continuity DC's first all-star super team never existed. That's no coincidence, as Manhattan's presence and meddling in the DC Universe since the advent of Rebirth has already become apparent. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock #9 shows just how far-reaching his meddling has become.

No JSA Also Means No…

Alan Scott became Green Lantern by taking hold of the lantern that gave him his powers and saved his life in the immediate aftermath of a train wreck. In Rebirth, Doctor Manhattan's cold, calculating maneuver simply moved that lantern inches from Scott's grasp, so instead he simply died in that accident along with the other victims aboard. This meant no Justice Society, but that wasn't the end of the ripple effect.

The spiritual successor to the Justice Society, the Justice League, came together just fine in Rebirth, so it might appear that any kind of butterfly effect stemming from Alan Scott's death ended there. But there's another startling revelation made by Doc Manhattan relating to his manipulation of Scott's intended fate. That revelation is that Scott's death also directly impacted the formation of another super team centuries later, the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Didn't See That Coming (or Going)

In Doomsday Clock #9, Manhattan snags a familiar artifact floating through space: a Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring. The ring is dripping with blood. That blood is revealed to belong to the Legion's first member to give his life on a mission, Ferro Lad. Ferro Lad, of course, sacrificed himself to defeat the Sun Eater back in Jim Shooter and Curt Swan's Legion story in Adventure Comics #353, over half a century ago.

The explosion that killed Ferro Lad, however, apparently spared his ring, according to Manhattan's observations. That same explosion somehow caused his ring to cascade back through time and into Doc's hands. However, when Manhattan acknowledges his interference with Alan Scott's fate, a curious side effect occurs. Ferro Lad's ring disappears from his hand.

The reference directly ties the original Green Lantern's fate with that of not only Ferro Lad's, but the entire Legion of Super-Heroes, or lack thereof. And not only the entire Legion, but also everything in between.

NEXT PAGE: Manhattan's Meddling Could the End of Everything (or the Beginning)

The End of... Everything?

Upon seeing the ring disappear, Doctor Manhattan goes through some quick chronological observations working back through time, only to make a very disturbing discovery. From the Legion's timeline on back, Manhattan peers into reality and sees nothing, only darkness. Darkness going all the way back to little more than a decade from the present day, and possibly even earlier.

The implication is clear. Doc's meddling with Alan Scott will lead to reality-altering consequences in a very short amount of time. Manhattan reminds readers that the last thing he does see is an angry Superman ready to take him down in a fight. Since a good part of DC's contingent of superheroes has just landed on Mars to confront him, the moment glimpsed in that vision seems to be imminent.

There will be no Legion of Super-Heroes in Rebirth continuity, because Rebirth continuity doesn't appear to have much time remaining. If the events of Doomsday Clock are the sole determining factor, that is.

A Sign of Hope?

There's one curious oddity in that sequence with Doctor Manhattan, though, and it's one that might provide the slightest bit of optimism in an otherwise dire forecast.

When Ferro Lad's ring disappeared, the drops of blood that clung to it remained intact on Manhattan's palm. It's possible that could just be a matter of creative license on the part of Frank, or maybe even an artistic slip missed by editors. It could also mean that, while there might be no Legion flight rings or Legion of Super-Heroes, the boy who would be Ferro Lad, Andrew Nolan, may still exist.

It seems unlikely, though, given Manhattan's perception that reality ceases to exist come the year 2030, unless there are plans to make Ferro Lad the most powerful and reality-defying hero in the DC Universe. So, perhaps the blood isn't Ferro Lad's at all, but instead someone else's. But if someone still exists in the year 3019, more than a millennium after reality is slated to be destroyed, then there's a ray of hope. Hope that something or someone is still alive 1000 years in Rebirth's future.

So Long, Rebirth?

As DC's Rebirth initiative over the past few years has all but promised the return of classic franchises like the JSA and Legion, Rebirth itself has therefore been a transitional phase. Rebirth continuity currently does not feature these teams, so that points to another kind of reality alteration required to bring them back.

Doctor Manhattan has been directly linked to these kinds of alterations. Might the pending destruction he envisions, either his own or that of current reality, be the defining moment that sees a true rebirth? The rebirth of the original DC Universe?

With three issues remaining in the series, the majority of DC's heroes stand at Manhattan's doorstep, ready to try and stop his manipulations. The next issue of the oft-delayed series, Doomsday Clock #10, is currently slated to ship April 3.