Doomsday Clock # 6 DC Comics, Annotated, Part 1

We reached the midpoint of Doomsday Clock and at first glance, number 6 has very little progress. This is not really a criticism, just an observation; since the mini-series seems to settle in a structural groove similar to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Watchmen . The 1986-87 classic had problems rebuilding the world in alternating periods, including its own number 6.

Of course, saying much more would involve SPOILERS, so we hope you have your copy handy. Like Question # 4, which makes a lot of ink flow, it is going to be a bit of a departure;

Doomsday Clock Number 6 was written by Geoff Johns, designed by Gary Frank, colored by Brad Anderson and written by Rob Leigh. Amie Brockaway-Metcalf has designed the text pages, and we deeply regret not having it listed in the credits earlier. Brian Cunningham was the editor, with Amedeo Turturro as associate editor.

Mistress of the puppets (Cover, Pages 1, 5, 12, 21, 25)

This issue reveals the childhood Erika "Marionette" Manson, and more particularly the traumatic events that put her on the criminal track. Daughter of a puppeteer who immigrated to the United States, she learned at a young age that her father was forced to make puppet smuggling for a group of corrupt police officers. Eventually, Erika's father was hanged, telling him through a suicide note to essentially get out of the city and never look back. The overall flashback period is not really clear, although we can reduce it based on some clues in the story.

First, the cover. The puppets Nite Owl and Nixon offer the greatest hints, even if they are slightly contradictory. According to the extract Under The Hood of Watchmen number 3, Nite Owl I retired in 1962, paving the way for Nite Owl II to begin venturing a bit later. (The costumed career of Ozymandias began in 1958, while Dr. Manhattan came on the scene in 1959.) However, although Richard Nixon was an important public figure as vice president of Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) he was not elected president himself until 1968. Therefore, most likely that means 1968-69 at the earliest.

RELATED: Doomsday Clock: What is the role of Nathaniel Dusk in Johns & Frank's Event?

Other puppets can push the date later. Page 5 shows us a pharaoh Anubis (the Egyptian god of the dead, a favorite of Ozymandias), a nymph of the woods a Kermit- esque frog and the little tramp of Charlie Chaplin . None of them is particularly specific to the period; but a Unnamed man of Clint Eastwood (first appearance in 1964 A Fistful Of Dollars ), which looks like Albert Einstein Hong Kong Phooey ( first appearance in 1974), and perhaps the TV version of Cathy Lee Crosby of Wonder Woman (also 1974).

The super-scary puppet on the far left of page 21, panel 4 is probably the most anachronistic. It's "Frank" from the Michael Fassbender film of the same name, which in turn was inspired by "Frank Sidebottom", the masked character on stage of musician Chris Sievey who appeared in 1984.

Although we We will not get too hooked to establish a specific year for these flashbacks, we are comfortable putting them in the early 1970s. Assuming that Erika and Marcos were about ten, this would make Marionette and Mime in their early twenties in 1985, and in their late 20s to early 30s in 1992 ( Watchmen time). Again, for contextual reasons, the second generation of masked criminals began in the late 1950s, added Nite Owl II and Silk Specter II in the mid-1960s and ended in 1977 with the Keene Act. (Dr. Manhattan and the Comedian have continued to do government-sponsored work, which is perhaps what Erika thinks on page 12.) Speaking of which, all the corrupt plot adds a layer of complexity to the police strikes that inspired the legislation.

After the D-Clock number 2 flashback we know that Marionette and Mime were still active super-criminals just before the events of Watchmen . We base this on the nostalgic bottle of the bank teller and on the figurine of Ozymandias of his little boy. This flashback also revealed that Marionette was pregnant. In this issue (page 25), we see that her baby was taken away while she was in prison, and Mime was not allowed to be present at birth.