In Doomsday Clock #11, the penultimate issue, the truth behind “Rebirth” is revealed as Batman searches for the one person he believes can help him save the world…Rorschach!

With just one issue to go, Doomsday Clock #11 amps up the confrontation. The world is on the brink of chaos and we find out why. Doomsday Clock #11 features the worn-out trope of the villain telling his whole plan.

It wouldn’t be too far off from calling the issue a recap issue. Writer Geoff Johns focuses on Ozymandias as he tells Saturn Girl how he’s manipulated everything. It almost feels like Johns uses the issue to make his choppy narrative a bit easier to understand. And, with such delays, a way to remind the reader what’s going on.

The issue is interesting in that it does a solid job of ratcheting up the tension. There’s a great build-up as Ozymandias watches the world burn. People have taken to the streets and Johns uses real world “villains” like Vladimir Putin to add a bit to the tension. Still, it feels like we’ve been there before with aliens attacking a city. And Ozymandias admits this in a way. With that being the case, the world’s smartest man, doesn’t seem all that smart and creative. We’re not getting something new here, we’re just getting “Watchmen Redux” with metahumans replacing nuclear weapons.

There’s also too many suspensions of disbelief. Really, Batman beats people up in one location and suddenly nuclear weapons can’t be launched?

The art by Gary Frank continues to be solid. The color by Brad Anderson and lettering by Rob Leigh feels like a bit of an homage to the original material. It also does its best to deliver visuals for what is a choppy mess of a story. The action is great but should be “epic” moments feel a bit anticlimactic. The prime example being Superman’s confrontation with Black Adam.

The issue packs a lot in and in doing so feels unfocused. The issue is supposed to be chaos and Ozymandias watch it from his base of order. There’s something there in the concept but in the end it feels like we’ve seen this before and there’s just a bit too much thrown in. Some focus and this could have been a winner.

Story: Geoff Johns Art: Gary Frank
Color: Brad Anderson Letterer: Rob Leigh
Back Matter Design: Amie Brockway-Metcalf
Story: 6.0 Art: 7.75 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review