Deconstructing the Doomsday Clock #7

Having crossed the halfway point of this 12-issue crossover between the DC Universe and the world of the WATCHMEN, we finally get to a place where we get answers. What has Doctor Manhattan been up to all these years, what is Ozymandias ultimate plan, and, of course...

Whatever Happened to the Justice Society of America?

Johnny Thunder has been convinced that he had a genie at his command once upon a time. So why does nobody remember him? Why does nobody remember Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of the Golden Age, and the rest of the age of heroes that followed him?

The answer is pretty simple: Doctor Manhattan altered the events.

Which totally and irrevocably alters what we know of Doctor Manhattan. Because time, according to him, is immutable. What will be has already happened, and what happened is still happening. So now all of a sudden he's capable of altering events of the past? Perhaps that's a quality unique only to the DCU, something brought about no doubt by Barry Allen or Eobard Thawne -- and perhaps that's why Doctor Manhattan killed the Reverse-Flash when they encountered, because he was a being capable of changing the timeline he had so carefully constructed.

Rorschach II has escaped his confinement in Arkham Asylum with the help of Imra Ardeen, a telepath from the future Legion of Super-Heroes. She is optimistic that everything is going to be all right, because it's all history. They have been joined by the aged Johnny Thunder, and when we last saw them they had found the mystical green lantern that would have given Alan Scott his power. Sadly for Johnny, it doesn't contain the genie he's been seeking -- but it still has power, power which Adrian can utilize, in conjunction with his uniqely bred pet, Bubastis II, to track down Jon Osterman.

Meanwhile, the Comedian -- who was taken from the moment of his death and replaced with an exact duplicate by Manhattan -- has tracked down Mime and Marionette, only to be taken down by The Joker and held captive. We learn that he was sent here by Manhattan to kill Bubastis II, indicating that Manhattan did not want to be tracked. But Manhattan should also have seen that this would not have worked, since he can see into the future -- to a point.

Yes, Manhattan has a blind spot -- a permanent one that he cannot see past, no matter how far he looks. It's an end of him -- or of everything. And it begins with Superman.

This is also the pivotal point where we get a plot twist. Because someone has been lying to us all this time, and those who have been lied to aren't taking it all that well. And the scariest, most frightening thing of all?

Adrian Veidt has a plan. And it terrifies Saturn Girl!

This story also features Batman, because Batman. I almost forgot he was there.