You would expect Geo-Force, who has worked with Batman and other disparate heroes to balk at the Superman Theory. But it actually does make sense for him to follow other countries on this one. He essentially served as a black ops agent for Batman and knows all too well how possible it is for other countries to do so with their own metahumans. Plus even if he doesn't believe the Superman Theory is true he knows that other countries don't necessarily have to stay within their borders to gain superhuman agents.
Geo-Force is conspicuously absent from Batman's recent Outsider roster. His behavior here may be either the reason or the result of that. If he was like this before the new roster then not being invited back makes sense. If he was like it after it may be a result of Batman slighting him.
In the final issue, Batman hands Reggie his Rorschach mask back. Reggie refuses it, saying that Rorschach destroyed his father and led to the death of his entire family. Batman acknowledges he sees a monster in the mask, but he can take the monster's image and shape it, making people see something else. He'd know, given the entire idea of Batman is to take the image of Bruce Wayne's fears and turn it into a hero of justice! Not only it neatly ends Reggie's Character Development arc, it does it by guiding him through his perception issues ("he sees what he wants to see").
On that note, is it any wonder why one of the running themes — "You see what you want to see" — involves Rorschach? That's exactly what a Rorschach testis.
Of course Batman believed Rorschach's diary — he'd already known there was an incursion from the Watchman universe in The Button.
From a meta-perspective, Doomsday Clock undoes Crisis on Infinite Earths, because the problem that DC perceived in 1985 — the multiverse was too confusing for people to follow — is no longer an issue, chiefly because of the internet and Wikis that track everything.
Also from a meta perspective, with lampshade hanging thrown in: of course Lex doesn't often use language like his Ironic EchoPrecision F-Strike to The Comedian, and not just because he's Wicked Cultured. For the majority of his existence in any universe the Comics Code Authority wouldn't have let him. Doesn't make it any less awesome a moment.
Anyone can learn to use magic in DC. So it should come as no surprise when Doctor Manhattan is able to, even if how quickly he learns it does.
That hand that's always depicted at the Big Bang in the DCU? That's now Dr. Manhattan's!
The claim that the Joker doesn't want other people in his territory wearing makeup may appear contradictory to how he has had a well-documented history of employing henchmen masquerading as clowns, but it makes more sense with the revelation in Darkseid War that there were actually three different Jokers all along, as it would be believable for the three different Jokers to have differing viewpoints on other people wearing makeup. Heck, since this is the Joker, it's also plausible that he made up the rule as an excuse to kill some of his goons on a whim.
Fridge Horror
It seems a bit severe for the DCU to have gotten as bad as it has but then you remember that the events of Dark Nights: Metal, Christopher Priest's Justice League run, and Justice League: No Justice led to a constant string of disasters as well as Broken Pedestal going into effect for the Justice League. Not only would people be traumatized by several devastating events in a row but the League's efforts at thwarting and undoing the damage are seen as cleaning up their own mess at best. Throw in a theory about superhumans being created by the United States as covert operatives and the rest of the globe would see it as the States having unwittingly unleashed near apocalypse several times over.
Saturn Girl seems much more focused and cheerful than she was in The Button. It could be a sign of her strengthening her resolve... or she could have lost it a bit after hitting the Despair Event Horizon. Or she could be a Stepford Smiler right now who is desperately trying to fix things with the few resources she has available. Either way she is more than likely not in a good place.
The reformation of Young Justice and the return of several younger, more hopeful, heroes takes place prior to this story. What exactly happens to them once they reach this point?
There is a disquieting fact with the return of the Legion of Superheroes in the final chapter. Instead of the Preboot Legion coming to save Clark from the Meta Battle (which was what would narratively make sense)... it's Brian Bendis' new Legion. Even with Jon restoring what was missing to the DCU, the original Preboot Legion are gone for good in favor of their new favorite writer's team. The last we'll probably see of the Preboot Legion is Ferro Lad's ring retroactively disappearing, and Imra's sad, delayed Ret-Gone. On the bright side, they still exist in another universe of the infinite Earths, and so can always have new stories now. Geoff Johns has made it so DC can publish new tales of any incarnation of the DCU.
is.
