This chapter to the Doomsday Clock series sees the return of Dr. Manhattan.
During our last trip into the world of Doomsday Clock, we made a slight detour from the main story. Since the beginning of this series, we’ve followed original characters Mime and Marionette, but know little about them. Told through flashbacks, the story of these two villains is a mix of sweet and dark. Along with the backstory, we see the Joker leads them to other DC supervillains. Unfortunately, such a large gathering of villainy gains the attention of the Comedian, who was saved by Dr. Manhattan. The anti-hero attacks the villains but gets caught by Joker, Mime, and Marionette to be tortured. While all of this was going on, where are the other heroes?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
After saving Johnny Thunderbolt, Rorschach and Saturn Girl prepare to take him somewhere safe with Alan Scott’s Green Lantern. Ozymandias is able to triangulate their location to come and pick them up. On board the ship, he explains to the group that Saturn Girl and Johnny have more significant parts to play a Bubastis, the kitten Ozymandias brought on the journey, will lead them to Dr. Manhattan.
Meanwhile, in Gotham, Comedian is getting tortured by Joker, Mime, and Marionette. The couple hopes to get a straight answer on where Manhattan is, but Comedian only reveals he was ordered to kill Bubastis. Before they can kill him, the villainous trio is interrupted by Batman and Ozymandias’ group.
We get a ton of revelations this chapter, and they are mind-blowing. During the fight between the psychos and heroes, we finally get the appearance of Doctor Manhattan and begin to get answers. One after another, things get more bizarre and intriguing as Manhattan dissects Ozymandias’ plan. By the time he goes off, it’ll keep readers more invested than they ever have been. Add that to the brutal fight between the heroes and the psychos; we have a pretty phenomenal issue.
Art:
While I am usually a fan of Gary Frank’s art, this time around the quality begins to waver. While it doesn’t detract from the issue as a whole, there are some panels that feel off—an unwarranted creepy face here, illogical movement in the fight there. It’s tiny details like that cause you to scratch your head and wonder why. That being said, there are even more breathtaking panels that are extraordinary. The buildup and appearance of Doctor Manhattan, in particular, stand out as being well drawn and well colored. In the end, the art has hiccups, but overall still looks fantastic.
Conclusion:
It’s issues like this that make me irritated that each new chapter comes out every two months. The story is great. The art is fantastic. By the end of the issue, I wanted to run out to buy the next one. I highly recommend picking up this issue before it’s too late.
