Doomsday Clock: It Looks Like the Supermen Theory May Be Fake News

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Doomsday Clock #5 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, in stores now.

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank have been shining a rather cynical light on superheroes and the DC Universe in Doomsday Clock. Aside from the introduction of the Watchmen characters into the DCU, the book also introduces the Supermen Theory, an in-universe explanation of why so many metahumans are operating in the United States that hinges on them being a government creation/weapons program. As you might expect, the theory has increased tensions between the DCU's superpowered and non-superpowered populations, but the truth could be even more sinister.

In issue #5, just as anti-superhero paranoia seems to be reaching its height, the idea that the Supermen Theory is nothing more than a hoax has been floated. Instead of telling the secret origin of the DC Universe, it might be a cleverly designed trick engineered by some unseen force in order to create distrust in the superhero community. If the DC Universe is secretly being manipulated behind the scenes, it can only be Doctor Manhattan who is behind all this. However, before Doomsday Clock gets that far, the Supermen Theory still must be disproven first.

Lois Lane is on the Case

In today's media landscape of sensationalized headlines and "fake" news, it appears that even the Daily Planet has been forced to join this new age of journalism. The truth isn't as important as a version of the truth that will bring in more readers, and this doesn't sit well with Lois Lane. Her article covering the attack on Lex Luthor from Doomsday Clock #4 has been altered to point the finger at metahumans. Perry White is changing newspaper headlines in order to feed into the metahuman paranoia, sell papers... and get clicks.

Outraged by the state of journalism in this more cynical DCU, Lois voices her belief for the first time that, "Someone's behind all this." In order to discover the truth, save the image of her husband, and set things right in the world, she must "Get out there and prove them wrong," as Perry describes it. This award-winning investigative journalist is on the case, and looking for the truth. Can she find evidence that the Supermen Theory is, in fact, actual fake news?

Her first stop is to interview Lex Luthor, who is still recovering from the attack. Given the use of the name "Supermen" in Supermen Theory, she immediately believes this is a sign that Luthor is responsible for everything. However, it seems that he is not involved with the government, and is actually doing his own investigations. He claims that this investigations is what made him a target in the first place. Whether the information he gives to Lois is legitimate or not, it promises to blow the conspiracy wide open.

According to Luthor's own investigating, he has discovered that the person in the government who is responsible for creating metahumans for the United States is actually a metahuman themselves. What's more, this mysterious metahuman was actually once a member of the Justice League. Could a superhero have really done all this to the DC Universe, or is Lex simply sending Lois down a deeper rabbit hole? In the end, this could all be a plot by Doctor Manhattan to manipulate Superman.

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Multiple superheroes and villains have been connected with the Supermen Theory, but it's not clear who is telling the truth. According to the theory, metahumans like Metamorpho, Man-Bat, Element Girl, Lady Clayface, Firestorm and Killer Frost were all created by the government in an attempt to make soldiers who could rival the power of Superman. However, in the time since the Supermen Theory has gone public, conflicting reports have surfaced.

Dr. Kurt Langstrom initially went public with his connection to the Department of Metahuman Affairs, which is reportedly responsible for creating superpowered beings. Langstrom's research was connected to the department before he was transformed into Man-Bat. Dr. Louise Lincoln, the villain known as Killer Frost, also came out to confess her connection to the conspiracy. She also fingered Captain Atom, Firehawk, Moonbow and Typhoon as fellow creations of the Department of Metahuman Affairs.

Despite these confessions, there are some superheroes who deny their connection to the government. When interviewed by the media, Firestorm is firm in his denial of the Supermen Theory, calling it "Total bullshit." He went on to explain that he gained his abilities in an accident, like many superheroes have over the years. However, is this the real truth, or is this only Ronnie Raymond's perceived truth? Perhaps he doesn't realize that his accident is not as innocent as he believes it to be.

When the Supermen Theory was initially introduced, it was perceived as a new truth. However, there is building evidence to suggest that maybe it's all just fake news. Instead of a secret government conspiracy to create super soldiers, this might all be an agenda designed by one man in order to introduce distrust between human and metahuman population and eventually destabilize the world.

Watchmen told its story of secrets and cynicism with the threat of nuclear wars a backdrop. Doomsday Clock seems to be doing the same thing, but with a crisis of truth looming over everything.