We Finally Know What Happens After Watchmen Ends

DC Comics spent three decades publishing a sequel to Watchmen.Watchmen started in 2016 with DC’s Rebirth and "The Button".This seminal comic series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons ended in 1987. Readers wanted a follow-up, so DC took time to make the big project right.

Legendary creators Geoff Johns and Gary Frank shaped the storyline for Doomsday Clock.Geoff Johns and Gary Frank shaped the storyline for Doomsday Clock.Johns and Frank shaped the storyline for Doomsday Clock.Doomsday Clock.Johns and Frank started building Doomsday Clock long before its November 2017 release with the universe-altering one-shot.DC Universe: Rebirth.DC Universe: Rebirth came out in 2016. That comic showed Batman finding The Comedian’s button in the Batcave. This thread continued in a Batman/Flash crossover called “The Button.”

The action in.Doomsday Clock #1.Doomsday Clock #1 picks up seven years after the events of Watchmen.Watchmen.In that universe, Watchmen ended in 1992. Ozymandias revealed his world-saving plan: fake an alien attack and kill millions to make Earth nations unite instead of fighting nuclear war. Heroes swore secrecy, avoiding undoing Ozymandias’ horrific act. Rorschach refuses and is vaporized by Doctor Manhattan.

A memorable final cliffhanger shows a young assistant at the New Frontiersman paper.New Frontiersman.That paper revealed Rorschach’s journal. It showed the truth about Ozymandias’s actions and detailed the real story behind Watchmen.Watchmen.The world takes time to accept the vigilante’s story. By the time Doomsday Clock starts, the situation is clear: Ozymandias is a fugitive, wanted for millions of murders. The Americans and Soviets face mutual destruction again.Doomsday Clock.Doomsday Clock begins the jig is up. Ozymandias is a fugitive, wanted for millions of murders. The Americans and Soviets face mutual destruction again.

Adrian Veidt ends WatchmenWatchmen.Adrian Veidt ends Watchmen as a complex antihero, certain he saved the world. He starts Doomsday Clock in a different spot: as a fugitive from millions of murder charges. The revelation of Ozymandias’s crime undoes the Cold War peace. Ozymandias also gets brain cancer, and the 'smartest man in the world' nears death.Doomsday Clock.Doomsday Clock is set in a different place. Adrian Veidt is a fugitive from millions of murder charges. Ozymandias’s crime undoes the Cold War peace. Ozymandias suffers brain cancer, and the 'smartest man in the world' is dying.

Although Watchmen ends with Walter Kovacs’s death, the opening of Doomsday Clock shows a new vigilante taking Rorschach’s role.Watchmen.Watchmen ends with Walter Kovacs’s death, and Doomsday Clock begins.Doomsday Clock.Doomsday Clock reveals a new vigilante took Rorschach’s mantle. Later issues show Rorschach II is Reggie Long, the son of Dr. Malcolm Long, the psychiatrist who treated the original Rorschach in prison.

Malcolm and his wife Gloria die in Ozymandias’ false flag alien attack. Their son survives, though traumatized. While recovering in an asylum, Reggie gets his father’s notes on Walter Kovacs’s mind and becomes obsessed with the late antihero.

Adrian Veidt’s crimes getting worldwide attention pushes Reggie out of the asylum. He takes Rorschach’s identity and hunts Ozymandias for revenge. But when Reggie finds the fugitive, his feelings change. He agrees to help Ozymandias save the world again.

The answer to saving the world from nuclear annihilation seems clear to Ozymandias and Rorschach II: Doctor Manhattan, the only person in the universe with actual superpowers.WatchmenOzymandias and Rorschach II see the way to save the world from nuclear annihilation as obvious. Only Doctor Manhattan, the only person in the universe with actual superpowers, offers a solution.

Manhattan has not been seen since the original series. He set off to explore reality and life. Ozymandias believes drawing Manhattan back to Earth fixes everything. He recruits Rorschach II to help achieve this seemingly impossible task.

The plan to bring back Doctor Manhattan starts when Rorschach II frees two criminals, Marionette and Mime, from prison. Erika Manson and Marcos Maez are not from the original Watchmen series.WatchmenErika Manson and Marcos Maez were former costumed villains. Manhattan put them away in 1985 after they tried to rob a bank.

Manhattan spared the murderous duo instead of exploding them because Marionette was pregnant. This fact makes Ozymandias think she can remind the good doctor of the hero he once was. With the new team, they board the Owlship and fly toward humanity’s big blue salvation.

While on the run, Adrian Veidt found a way to track Doctor Manhattan using the electrons constantly leaking from his body. Ozymandias also modified Nite Owl’s ship to follow Manhattan’s trail through “quantum tunneling.”

This leads them past another world or galaxy. They reach a different universe: the DC Universe. Doctor Manhattan appears to spend time in the world of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, jumping realities searching for meaning.

Doctor Manhattan is not just visiting the DC Universe. Although he says at the end of Watchmen he hopes to create life in another galaxy...Doctor Manhattan seems to have chosen to play god on a different Earth with his powers. This follows his comment in Watchmen.Doctor Manhattan has been busy in the DC Universe. He hopes to create life in another galaxy. Manhattan settled for playing god on a different Earth with his powers. Doctor Manhattan appears responsible for the 2011 “New 52” reboot and many other DC continuity changes.

Some characters, including Batman and the Flash, suspect an entity meddles with reality. Manhattan covers his tracks by viciously killing the Reverse-Flash when he gets too close to the truth.

The new vigilante team boards the Owlship, following Doctor Manhattan to the DC Universe. They land in Gotham City quickly. Ozymandias’s plan failed. The Americans and Soviets fight again. The group escapes just as nukes begin falling in a global nuclear war.

All of the Watchmen. This film shows the escape to the DC Universe right as the bombs drop.Characters not on the Owlship, like Nite Owl and the Silk Spectre, face doom. Ozymandias hopes Doctor Manhattan can rewrite history and stop the destruction.

Landing in Gotham City, Ozymandias and Rorschach II lock Marionette and Mime onto the ship. They search for Doctor Manhattan. Research shows they need help from the two smartest men in the DC Universe. Rorschach goes to Wayne Manor. He meets Bruce Wayne. He finds the Batcave and confronts Batman.

After sharing his wild story and pancakes with Wayne, Rorschach II gets tricked into Arkham Asylum. Batman must investigate. Reggie Long’s past makes this bad. Rorschach plots his escape while the Dark Knight watches him.

Adrian Veidt seeks his DC Universe match: the megalomaniac Lex Luthor. Luthor immediately points out flaws in Ozymandias’s world-saving plan. Luthor quipped, “If you’re the smartest person on your planet, I’d hate to meet the dumbest.”

Luthor seems ready to listen to Ozymandias and believe his story. Alternate worlds are old news to DC Universe citizens. Before their talk moves past joking, Veidt and Luthor face an unexpected intruder.

Adrian Veidt receives a blast from the past. Eddie Blake, The Comedian, enters the Lexcorp penthouse. Blake shoots at Veidt, hitting Lex Luthor instead. The Comedian was last seen thrown out a window to die in the opening pages of Watchmen. An unexpected return throws a wrench into the works., so seeing him alive in the DC Universe is a surprise.

Doctor Manhattan plucked Blake from time and gave him a second chance on a new world. The Comedian still remembers who killed him. Ozymandias barely escapes the encounter with his life.

Ozymandias and Rorschach II meet with the DC world's smartest minds. Mime and Marionette pursue simpler goals. They escaped the Owlship using an invisible lock pick. The couple went to a bar for a drink. They then clashed violently with Joker henchmen. Hearing about a similarly styled villain, Mime and Marionette sought out the Clown Prince of Crime to understand him.

Doomsday ClockThe clock contains timely references to current issues. The most relevant is the “Supermen Theory.” This in-universe conspiracy suggests the American government created most metahumans. People question these claims. This draws the attention of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, two determined Metropolis journalists.

Lane follows her instincts to a recovering Lex Luthor, but he denies involvement. Luthor also claims the Supermen Theory is true. He states an unnamed former member of the Justice League created the metahumans.The former member of the Justice League was behind the creation of the metahumans in question.The former member of the Justice League created the metahumans in question.

Adrian Veidt faces a near-fatal fight with The Comedian. Veidt is briefly hospitalized. He escapes again and meets Batman. The two board the Owlship for a tense talk. A riotous Gotham mob stops their discussion.

Batman falls from the Owlship. The crowd, angry about the Supermen Theory, beats him badly. Someone hands the unconscious Dark Knight to The Joker. The Joker has just met Mime and Marionette's new acquaintances.

The Supermen Theory angers the American public. Other nations disagree about US-created superhumans. Several countries believe a “metahuman arms race” has run for decades without their knowledge. They plan to catch up. Black Adam, a supervillain and ruler of Kahndaq, offers asylum to any metahuman, regardless of their criminal record.

A group of villainsA group of villainsThe Riddler leads a group of villains to discuss Black Adam’s offer. The Joker, Mime, and Marionette join them. They bring an unconscious Batman to the gathering.

The Riddler’s villain gathering does not go well. The Comedian interrupts their meeting. He starts killing villains with bullets and grenades.

The Comedian seeks Marionette and Mime. They escape. The Comedian tracks them down after a night together. The Joker also followed them. He knocks Eddie Blake down with an electric buzzer and steals his smiley face button.

This makeup and madness trio sticks together for now. They see The Comedian as their best shot at finding Doctor Manhattan. Marionette and Mime get closer to solving the main mystery.Doomsday ClockOzymandias and Batman.