Doomsday Clock's Supermen Theory Has Led To A Metahuman Arms Race

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Doomsday Clock #3 by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Doomsday Clock has nothing to do with the Watchmen characters. The Supermen Theory, a conspiracy theory that has swept through the DC Universe, posits that there’s a reason why 97% of all superhumans are American. Those who subscribe to it believe the American government made an active effort to create as many superhumans as it could, under the cover of freak accidents and quirks of birth. With the theory taking over the world, it’s led to a metahuman arms race that has every other country rushing to catch-up to the USA, with some bizarre and deadly results.

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According to The Supermen Theory, both Metamorpho and Man-Bat were results of a concerted effort by the US government to create superhumans as a response to the arrival of Superman, in order to have the most superpowered beings on the world while making it seem like accidents and coincidences.

Doomsday Clock #3 reveals that a third person has come forward to claim involvement with the program: Sondra Fuller AKA Lady Clayface, a character who first appeared in Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo’s Outsiders in the late-eighties. Originally, Fuller was turned into Lady Clayface by the terrorist organisation Kobra, a decision she willingly accepted due to her hatred of her own face. It’s not a far cry to believe the same thing happened in Rebirth continuity, but due to the actions of the Department of Metahuman Affairs instead of Kobra.

It may be a coincidence, but so far the three characters associated with the conspiracy all have links to Batman and his extended operations. Man-Bat is, of course, a Batman villain, while Metamorpho is a longtime ally of the Dark Knight as a member of The Outsiders. Sondra Fuller was introduced as an enemy of The Outsiders who later fought Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael during his tenure as Batman.

It’s almost as if someone is trying to turn the public against Batman, and perhaps through association Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises. It’s highly suspicious that Lex Luthor and LexCorp is currently attempting a hostile takeover of Wayne Enterprises, and it would not be surprising to discover Luthor is responsible for The Supermen Theory as part of his ploy to lower public trust in Wayne and superheroes in general.

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Whether or not The Supermen Theory has any veracity or not is seemingly irrelevent at this point, as countries around the world are apparently scrambling to catch up in an arms race which the USA has already won. Whether through accident or design, the United States has so many more superhumans than any other country on Earth, creating something akin to a nuclear deterrent of superpowers. It’s not too dissimilar from the creeping threat at the heart of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' original Watchmen tale. Look at it as the DCU twist on the standoff between America and the USSR which caused Ozymandias to create his squid-monster in an attempt to unite the countries against a common threat.

Doomsday Clock #3 shows a look at how the Supermen Theory has affected different countries, with an explosion Germany linked to an attempt to create their own metahumans, somehow linked to the German hero The Wild Huntsman. In an attempt to capitalize on the panic, LexCorp has developed Metagene Detectors which have already been established in airports around the world, while countries such as Pakistan, Russia and Qurac are accused of using them to round up potential superhumans and presumably force them into service.

One more interesting tidbit buried in Doomsday Clock #3 is the mention of the “mysterious unnamed head of the Department [of Metahuman Affairs],” which all but confirms that the head of the DMA will be someone we already know. Who that is is another matter entirely, but the ongoing developments of The Supermen Theory is something to keep an eye on as Doomsday Clock progresses, and as the DC Universe catches up to its one-year-later status quo.

Doomsday Clock #4, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, is scheduled to go on sale Wednesday, March 28. The remainder of the series will be released on a newly announced bimonthly schedule.