There have been a whole lot of mystery around the release of Doomsday Clock, and now that this series has made its debuted, the veil is lifted. Anticipation has been pretty high since the fans found out that characters of the Watchmen had been set to make a huge splash in DCU.
As promotions and advertisements for series helmed by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank were released, the fans have become privy to a very shocking revelation. This is that Rorschach, a conspiracy theorist will make a return to Doomsday Clock. It had made sense as the antihero was a driving force of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ story. But he had been killed in Watchmen‘s final act.
Johns and Frank have a task which will come under a whole lot of scrutiny by the fans of the Watchmen series. Rorschach was a fan-favorite, and his death was befitting of his arc. Some of the fans are wary of the sequel series and dread how the character’s death will be undone.
The answer to the question is no, it does not hurt Watchmen’s conclusion. Doomsday Clock starts in the Watchmen universe as people scream for Adrian Veidt’s head. Then Rorschach comes up to his old tricks of beating the security guards and scaring the criminals who rather stay in prison cells. The hat, scarf, long trench coat, blotted mask, it is all there. This is Rorschach back to life with a grumbling voice.
He is not sure what date it is and makes a detailing of the issue’s events very unreliable. He is very brutal to the enemies but he is different. He is much warmer and less assured in the decisions that he makes. Rorschach has returned and Walter Kovacs remains dead. The man under the blotted mask is someone else as Rorschach is quick to point out. “Not same guy,” he says. “Different.” Then, in case readers may think that Kovacs was pretending to be someone else, Rorschach then takes off his glove and proves that he is a different person by revealing the color of the skin.
It may appear that Johns understands that Kovacs’ death in Watchmen was something that should not be touched or even undone. But he also understands the power of the mask and the character. In Doomsday Clock #1, fans see that people recognize Rorschach. Whoever is under the mask knows the strength of the costume, an awareness that shall prove crucial to the story and the world of the Watchmen.
Perhaps the world knows it needs a Rorschach, like the people of the DCU know that the world needs Batman. The twist has become part of Doomsday Clock, which was billed as a sequel, into a story about legacy. Now, the mystery begins: Who is under the mask?
